Turkey Arrests 10 Suspected Of Recruiting For IS
Turkish police have detained 10 people on suspicion of recruiting for the IS militant group, the state-run Anadolu Agency is reporting this morning.
The 10 were arrested in raids by anti-terror police early this morning on a street in the capital Ankara, Anadolu said.
Hollande: Threats Won't Weaken France
French President Francois Hollande has said that his country will not allow threats to weaken its resolve against terrorism.
Hollande's comments came hours after the IS group released a video claiming to show the militants who carried out the November 13 attacks in Paris training and carrying out atrocities in IS-controlled territory.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN's Syria Envoy, is to give a press conference at 3p.m. Geneva time (9 a.m. New York time) today on the Syria talks.
Kyrgyzstan To Recognize Uzbek Militant Group As Terrorist Organization
Prosecutors in Kyrgyzstan have asked a court in the Osh district to rule that an Uzbek-led jihadist group fighting in Syria is a terrorist organization.
The group, known as both Jannat Oshiklari and Tawhid wal-Jihod, is based in Aleppo province and joined Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Al-Nusra front last year.
"For the purposes of Kyrgyzstan's national security and in protection of human and civil rights and liberties and foundations of the constitutional order, the regional Prosecutor's Office has filed a petition with the Osh City Court to recognize as terrorist the [Tawhid wal Jihod] group and ban its activities," Osh Region Prosecutor Aibek Turganbayev told Interfax.
Turganbayev said that in late 2015, 16 members of the group were arrested in Kyrgyzstan, including several Kyrgyz nationals who had returned home after fighting in Syria.
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Syrian state news agency SANA has posted this video of government troops in the town of Rabia in Latakia, which it recaptured from rebels on January 24.
Rabia was the last major rebel-held town in Latakia province and its capture was the second strategic victory for Syrian government forces in the province, who retook the rebel stronghold of Salma on January 12.
"In the coming weeks, we will be able to announce that all of Latakia -- city and province -- is free from armed groups," an army commander in Latakia told AFP.
Tajikistan Says Over 1000 Of Its Citizens Are Fighting Alongside IS
The authorities in Tajikistan say that over 1,000 Tajik nationals are fighting alongside the IS group in Syria.
The figure is over double the previous estimate given by the Tajik government for the number of Tajiks fighting in Syria.
Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rakhimzoda said that 61 Tajiks had returned from Syria and Iraq and that 148 Tajik citizens had been killed there.
Hollande: "We Will Strike Against IS Again And Again'
French President Francois Hollande has vowed that France and its allies are prepared to strike against the IS group "again and again."
"[IS] is provoking us on the worst possible way," Hollande said, according to Reuters.
Violent Clashes Still Taking Place In Northern Latakia: Monitor
Violent clashes between rebels and Syrian government forces are still taking place in several areas of Jabal al-Turkmen and the outskirts of Jabal al-Akrad in northern Latakia province, according to the Britain-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
SOHR notes that Russian support has enabled pro-government forces to advance and take control of 36 towns and villages in Latakia in the past two weeks, of which the rebel strongholds of Salma and Rabia are the most important gains.
'Russia Seeks Rebels Who Killed Pilot Of Downed Su-24 In Rabia': Turkish Media
The Turkish media is reporting that Russian soldiers are searching in the newly-recaptured town of Rabia in Syria's Latakia province for rebel fighters who killed Oleg Peshkov, the pilot of the downed Russian Su-24 jet in November.
Peshkov was shot after parachuting from his jet, which had been downed by Turkish F-16s. The incident prompted a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Russia.
According to Hurriyet News:
Alparslan Çelik, a Turkish citizen who claimed to have shot Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov, and his group were in the rebel-held Rabia town in the western coastal province of Latakia, which was recently recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces, where soldiers were looking to “take revenge,” Russian DNI and Lifenews have reported.
Is this claim accurate? In fact, Hurriyet appears to be relying on a mistranslation of the Russian sources.
In its report of the storming of Rabia on January 24, DNI.ru headlined that "Syrians Are Taking Revenge For The Russian Pilot" but did not say that soldiers were actively seeking Peshkov's alleged killer. Instead, the report noted that the rebels involved in Peshkov's death were reportedly hiding in Rabia. Vesti.ru also reported that the rebels who killed Peshkov might be hiding out in the town.
The Russian media has made an emotional link between the capture of Rabia and the downing of the Su-24. Pro-Kremlin media is reporting that Syrian government troops involved in the capture of Rabia had fought in t-shirts with Peskov's photograph on them.
"Some of our lads who took part in the offensive in the north of Latakia wore t-shirts with a portrait of Oleg Peshkov. In memory of the heroism of the dead commander who was killed right here," RIA Novosti quoted a Syrian commander as saying.
Kremlin Deflects Questions On Military Op In Syria To Defense Ministry
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters this morning that any questions about the Russian military operation in Syria should be addressed to the Defense Ministry.
"The air force is in Syria where it is carrying out its mission. Regarding that -- where it is concentrated, this issue should be addressed by professionals, our defense office," Peskov said.