New Pictures Of IS Militant 'Jihadi John' Emerge
The SITE Intelligence Group have tweeted these images of Mohammed Emwazi, the IS militant known as "Jihadi John," who was killed in a U.S. drone strike last year.
Turkey Wants Kurds, Not PYD, In Syria Talks
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said his country wants Kurds to attend the Syrian peace talks -- just not the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), or its military wing the People's Protection Units (YPG) Hurriyet is reporting.
“We believe there should be a table where Kurds, Arabs, [Turkomans], Sunnis, Nusayris [Arab Alevis] and Christians are all together. The Kurds’ presence at the table is necessary,” Davutoglu said.
“A table without Kurds will be lacking. However, we are against the [People’s Protection Units] YPG and the PYD, who repress Kurds, being at the table, but not against Kurds."
The YPG is fighting against the IS group in northern Syria.
Libya Lost $68B From Attacks on Oil, Industry Chief Says
Libya has lost $68 billion from attacks on its oil facilities, says Mustafa Sanalla, the head of the state oil company.
AP reports:
Islamic State militants have been attacking Libyan oil facilities since the start of the year.
Sanalla said the group doesn't want to hold the facilities, but disable them. His $68 billion estimate of lost production and exports since 2013 does not include damage and losses from the fire at the big port of Ras Lanuf last week or to any other facilities.
Instead of blaming Islamic State alone, he levelled his most harsh criticisms at the Petroleum Facilities Guard, the force that is meant to protect oil facilities.
Describing the 27,000 member force as more of a hindrance than an asset to keeping such sites secure, he suggested that while they may not be directly allied to Islamic State, they share the same goal: keeping the country destabilized.
So, Will Syria's Saudi-Backed Opposition Attend Peace Talks?
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has sent out invitations -- but will the Saudi-backed Syrian opposition actually attend the Syria talks, which are now set to start on Jan. 29 in Geneva?
Opposition groups are meeting right now in Riyadh to talk about whether or not to attend -- and the armed groups are strongly opposed to going to the talks, according to analyst Charles Lister.
UN Syria Envoy Has Sent Invitations To Syria Talks
The UN's Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, has sent out invitations to the Syria talks, due to start on Friday.
But to whom has he sent them?
Russia Is Defending Its Own Interests In Syria: Former FSB Chief
The military defeat of the Syrian government would strengthen terrorist groups like IS and Al-Qaeda and increase threats to Russia, Nikolai Patrushev, the Chairman of Russia's Security Council and former FSB chief has said.
Patrushev describes Russia's military actions in Syria from within a counter terrorism perspective, arguing that Russia is defending its own interests by fighting terror outside its borders in Syria. The former FSB chief also paints Russia as a powerful global military power that is "defending other countries in the world against international terrorism."
Patrushev made his comments in an interview with Russian daily Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK), translated below:
MK: How realistic was Russia's assessment of the situation when it took the decision to begin its military operation in Syria? Aren't we doing someone else's dirty work for them [lit. "dragging someone else's chestnuts out of the fire] e.g. for Assad, Iran?
Patrushev: Recently in North Africa and the Middle East, international terror groups like IS, Al-Qaeda and the Al-Nusra Front have intensified. The scaling up of their activities represents a threat to many states including Russia. The military defeat of the Syrian Arab Republic and the possibility of its fall would inevitably lead to the strengthening of these groups and later to the refocussing of extremists to Russian territory.
Previously, we have encountered the actions of international terrorists in Russia. But this cannot be allowed [to happen again]. In regard to this we are fighting international terrorism outside our country. In Syria we are defending first and foremost our own interests and also the security of other countries from international terror.
MK: Don't our military actions in Syria fall into the category of those that are relatively easy to start but very difficult to complete properly? Won't we have to fight in this country for many years?
Patrushev: In Syria there are issues that we definitely must resolve. This requires some time, but the faster the military operation is completed, the better.
Dutch Labor Party Backs Syria Air Strikes
The Dutch Labor Party now supports air strikes against the IS group in Syria, creating a parliamentary majority for approval, an official has said, Reuters is reporting.
The Labor Party is the junior partner in the Dutch coalition government.
Mass Grave Of IS Victims Found In Iraq's Ramadi
Security forces say they have found a mass grave in the Iraqi city of Ramadi containing the remains of at least 18 people killed by IS militants.
Ramadi was recaptured from IS at the end of December.
Recruitment Of Children, Even As Suicide Bombers, Commonplace In Syria
Here are some tweets with key comments from this morning's Humanitarian Update on Syria by the UN.
IS uses Pankisi Gorge in Georgia: Lavrov (TASS)
Moscow has information that the IS group in Syria and Iraq is using the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia in its interests, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said, according to TASS.
Russia had obtained reports that IS was using the "hard to access terrain" to "train, rest and replenish their supplies," Lavrov said.