Deadly Taliban assault at Kandahar airport overshadows Afghan peace talks

At least 37 people have been killed and 35 wounded in a Taliban assault on the Kandahar airport compound, Afghan defense officials have said — as a major conference on security in the region got underway in neighboring Pakistan.

The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the attacks, targeted residential compound and military bases at the airport, which is used by Afghan, U.S. and NATO military forces. The siege was declared to be over Wednesday afternoon local time but the attack could overshadow the high-level talks in Pakistan aimed at reviving peace talks, while underlying the continued threat from armed groups.

Officials told Al Jazeera the attackers used AK-47 assault rifles and wore military uniforms during the assault. They said all the fighters were killed and Afghan forces had retaken control of the area.

Afghan special forces deployed to the scene had to move slowly to retake the airport as any fast movement could have caused civilian casualties due to a hostage situation, military officials said.

A man who was trapped in a building near the airport told Al Jazeera that residents were told to remain inside and take cover in case Afghan or US-NATO forces mistook them for fighters.

The incident was the second major Taliban attack in Kandahar within the past 24 hours.

It is likely to lead to questions as to how the attackers were able to gain access to one of the most heavily fortified military compounds in the country.

On Monday night, Taliban forces stormed a Kandahar police station and engaged in a lengthy firefight in which three police officers and two of the attackers were killed, he said.

The latest siege in Kandahar ended just hours after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani landed in Islamabad for the Heart of Asia regional conference that aims to revive peace talks with the Taliban.

"I strongly reiterate our commitment to lasting and just peace within which all movements that resort to arms convert themselves to political parties and participate in the political process legitimately," he said.

"Violence is not the way in a democratic society."

Pakistan too has said it is committed to renewing the Afghan peace process.

"The emergence of newer and more threatening terrorist groups like Daesh should also strengthen our resolve against terrorism," Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's prime minister, said at the conference on Wednesday, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group. 

"We should envisage collective and coordinated measures on the regional security front to ensure that the gains and struggle against terrorism are durable and irreversible."

The meeting, an annual gathering of Asian and other countries, comes months after the first, inconclusive talks between the Afghan government and the group.

Pakistani authorities hosted peace talks in early July. But the second round of talks were indefinitely postponed following news of the death of Mullah Omar, the group's leader.

In an audio message released last week, purportedly by Omar's successor, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, Mansoor said the Taliban "won't agree to have peace talks if our demands are not met" — including the implementation of Islamic law in Afghanistan.

The message also dismissed reports of Mansoor sustaining injuries in a gun battle during a gathering of several Taliban figures in Pakistan, as "propaganda" aimed at dividing the group.

Last month, a breakaway faction of the Taliban elected its own leader, Mullah Mohammed Rasool Akhund, sparking speculation over the unity of the group.

Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, the faction's spokesperson, expressed interest in peace talks last month.

Violent clashes between the two rival Taliban factions erupted in southern Afghanistan early last month leaving several dead from both sides and confirming the rift.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/12/9/taliban-assault-at-kandahar-airport-overshadows-afghan-peace-talks.html

Russia discussed declaring war on Turkey after jet was shot down but decided against it

Russia discussed declaring war on Turkey after its Su-24 was shot down last month, it has been revealed.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said the incident on November 24, which resulted in the death of a Russian pilot, gave grounds for war.

However Russia decided against "symmetrical response".

Mr Medvedev told a Russian TV station: "What did 20th-century countries used to do in a similar situation? A war began.

"That was a direct assault on a foreign state. In the present situation a war is the worst what could happen.

"That’s why a decision was taken not to give a symmetrical answer to what the Turks had done.

"Yet we had to make them understand they’re going to hold responsibility for their actions.

"Exactly for that reason and for the safety of our citizens the relevant decisions were taken."

Russia has been flying bombing missions against Syrian rebels and ISIS.

However Turkey said the jet had violated its airspace.

The wreckage landed in Syria, with one pilot, named as Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshov, killed by Syrian rebels while his colleague, Captain Konstantin Murakhtin, was saved in an overnight operation by Russian special forces.

It has been confirmed that David Cameron discussed the incident with Putin over the phone.

A Kremlin statement read: "The two leaders exchanged views on current matters concerning security in the Middle East, particularly with regard to efforts to reach a settlement in Syria.

"Mr Putin and Mr Cameron noted that their two countries share similar views regarding the threat posed by ISIS and other terrorist groups active in the region. In this context, they discussed ways to organise bilateral cooperation through various state agencies.

"Mr Cameron expressed his condolences over the destruction of Russia’s fighter plane in Syria. Mr Putin invited British specialists to take part in decoding the data from the downed Su-24 plane’s flight recorders."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/russia-discussed-declaring-war-turkey-6980175

Putin threatens to use nuclear weapons against Isis but hopes they ‘will never be needed’

Vladimir Putin has said he hopes nuclear warheads will not be needed to deal with Isis, after Russia launched cruise missiles from its submarine at the militant group in Syria.

During a meeting in the Kremlin, Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told the President that Kalibr cruise missiles had been fired by the Rostov-on-Don submarine from the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.

President Putin said the new cruise missiles could also be equipped with nuclear warheads - but that he hoped they would “never be needed”.

According to Russia Today, he said: “We must [analyse] everything happening on the battlefield, how the weapons operate.

"The Kalibrs (sea-based cruise missiles) and KH-101 (airborne cruise missile) have proved to be modern and highly effective, and now we know it for sure – precision weapons that can be equipped with both conventional and special warheads, which are nuclear.

“Naturally, this is not necessary when fighting terrorists and, I hope, will never be needed.”

Mr Shoigu said TU-22 bombers also took part in the latest raids and that a munitions depot, a factory manufacturing mortar rounds and oil facilities had been destroyed. He added that Israel and the US had been informed before the air strikes were launched.

Russia's air campaign has been taking place since 30 September.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/putin-has-threatened-to-use-nuclear-weapons-against-isis-but-hopes-they-will-never-be-needed-a6766196.html

ISIS show off TANKS and devastating hi-tech weapons looted from Iraqi army and bought from West

The militants showed off their military power as part of their slick PR campaign - but rarely use their armoured vehicles because they are an easy target.

ISIS propagandists have released pictures of the sophisticated and devastating weapons it wields as part of its campaign of terror across the Middle East - including heavy TANKS.

The militants showed off their military power as part of their slick PR campaign - but fail to mention they rarely use their armoured vehicles because they are an easy target for the warplanes of Russia, America, Britain and France.

They were featured on Terrormonitor's Twitter feed and were reportedly taken during fighting at Deir Ezzor military airport.

Britain, France, Russia and the United States provided most of the weapons being used by ISIS to carry out appalling war crimes, a new report claims.

As the UK joins its allies in carrying out airstrikes in Syria, the Government has come in for renewed accusations of having sown the seeds of conflict itself.

A new study by Amnesty International claims much of the weaponry used by Islamic State (IS) fighters was supplied by the same Western powers now trying to bomb it out of existence.

Huge supplies of guns, rifles, mortars and missiles have been flowing into Iraq for years as the state struggled to retain control after British and American forces withdrew.

Oliver Sprague, Amnesty UK’s Arms Programme Director, said: "Decades of free-flowing arms into Iraq meant that when IS took control of these areas, they were like children in a sweetshop.

"The fact that countries including the UK have ended up inadvertently arming IS, should give us pause over current weapons deals.

"The UK was one of the key supporters of a global Arms Trade Treaty, intended to prevent the proliferation of arms and their use in horrific abuses like IS are committing."

"Risks need to be far more carefully calculated, and we shouldn’t wait for this worst-case-scenario to happen before acting to prevent sales of arms which could fuel atrocities."

Although Soviet Kalshnikovs are the most commonly used, the oldest piece of kit in the IS arsenal is believed to be a British World War One rifle.

Amnesty says IS fighters acquired a windfall of internationally manufactured arms after taking control of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, in June, 2014.

They included US-manufactured weapons and military vehicles which they then used to take control of other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber killed at least six people outside a Shi'ite mosque in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, according to police and medical sources, in an attack claimed by Islamic State.

Seven others were wounded in the attack, which took place in the mainly Shi'ite Ubaidi neighbourhood of eastern Baghdad and targeted worshippers leaving the mosque, police said.

"The suicide attacker was trying to enter the mosque before a guard stopped him, but he blew himself up," said one policeman near the scene of the attack.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/isis-show-tanks-devastating-hi-6981636

Most ISIL weapons were seized from Iraqi army

Decades of reckless arms trading and the poorly regulated flow of weapons into Iraq have contributed to the accumulation by the Islamic State in Iran and the Levant (ISIL) of a "vast and varied" arsenal which is being used to commit war crimes on a massive scale in Iraq and Syria, an international rights group said Tuesday.

Amnesty International's report, based on expert analysis of verified videos and images, says most of the group's weapons, ammunition and equipment were looted from the Iraqi army. It says the weapons were manufactured and designed in more than two dozen countries, including Russia, China, the United States and European Union member nations.

ISIL swept across Iraq in the summer of 2014, capturing the second largest city, Mosul, and taking weapons left behind by fleeing Iraqi security forces, including U.S.-supplied arms and military vehicles. The group has also snatched arms from Syrian forces after capturing military bases there.

"The vast and varied weaponry being used by the armed group calling itself Islamic State is a textbook case of how reckless arms trading fuels atrocities on a massive scale," said Amnesty researcher Patrick Wilcken.

"Poor regulation and lack of oversight of the immense arms flows into Iraq going back decades have given IS and other armed groups a bonanza of unprecedented access to firepower," he said, using another acronym for ISIL.

Amnesty International said the range and scope of the group's arsenal reflects decades of "irresponsible" arms transfers to Iraq. It also faulted a lack of oversight following the 2003 invasion, when the United State spent billions of dollars arming and training Iraqi security forces. "Lax controls over military stockpiles and endemic corruption by successive Iraqi governments have added to the problem," it said.

The report documents ISIL’s use of arms and ammunition from at least 25 countries. Among the advanced weaponry in the ISIL arsenal are man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, guided anti-tank missiles and armored fighting vehicles.

Amnesty International called on all states to adopt "a complete embargo" on Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups "implicated in committing war crimes." It said any state transferring arms to Iraq should invest heavily in controls, training and monitoring in order to meet international standards.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/12/8/most-isil-weapons-seized-from-iraqi-army.html

Russian submarine equipped with cruise missiles off Syria coast

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian submarine equipped with cruise missiles has entered the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea and is near the coast of Syria, Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying on Tuesday.

The submarine is equipped with missiles similar to those used by the warships of Russia's Caspian flotilla to strike Islamic State targets, the source was quoted as saying.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/russian-submarine-equipped-cruise-missiles-off-syria-coast-090933518.html

Trump defends proposed ban on Muslims into U.S., says 'no choice'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his call to ban Muslims from entering the United States, calling it a temporary measure in a time of war.

Trump likened his proposal to those implemented by former U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt against people of Japanese, Germans and Italian descent during World War Two.

"What I'm doing is no different than FDR," Trump said on ABC's "Good Morning America" program in one of a round of heated television interviews where he defended his plan in the wake of last week's California shooting spree by two Muslims who authorities said were radicalized.

"We have no choice but to do this," the candidate seeking the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential race told ABC. "We have people that want to blow up our buildings, our cities. We have figure out what's going on."

Critics have said his plan rejects American values by singling out people solely based on their religion.

Fellow Republican candidates as well as Muslims in Pakistan and Indonesia have denounced the plan.

Two international organizations, the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration refugee agency, also rejected Trump's comments.

Trump's was the most dramatic response by a presidential candidate, even as other Republicans have called for a suspension to U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to allow 10,000 refugees from Syria.

On Tuesday, he reiterated that the plan would be temporary, telling ABC that the ban would last until Congress acts on the issue. He also said that an American citizen who is Muslim would be allowed back into the country after an overseas trip.

Still, he said he did not support internment camps, which Roosevelt had set up during World War Two.

"I don't want to bring to bring them back at all," Trump said. He added that his plan had met with "tremendous support" from thousands of people who "just want to see something happen."

http://news.yahoo.com/trump-defends-proposed-ban-muslims-u-says-no-133617669.html