Saudi Arabia 'holds suspect in Khobar Towers bombing'

Al-Sharq al-Awsat did not say when or by whom Ahmed al-Mughassil was detained in Beirut  

The main suspect in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia is reported to have been captured.

Ahmed al-Mughassil was apprehended in the Lebanese capital Beirut and then transferred to Riyadh, the Saudi-owned newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported.

There was no immediate comment from the Saudi authorities, but a US official confirmed Mr Mughassil was being held.

He has been indicted by a US court for the attack, which killed 19 US military personnel and a Saudi citizen.
The US has accused Iran of being behind the bombing - something it has denied.

In a report published on Wednesday, al-Sharq al-Awsat said Mr Mughassil, a Saudi national, had been "disguised in a way that made it hard to identify him".

The newspaper quoted official Saudi sources as saying Saudi security personnel had received information about the 48-year-old's presence in Beirut. It did not give further details about when or by whom he was detained.

Later, a US official told the Associated Press that Mr Mughassil was in custody.

Saudi Hezbollah

The US had offered a $5m (£3.2m) reward for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Mr Mughassil, who it alleges was the head of the military wing of Saudi Hezbollah, also known as Hezbollah al-Hijaz, a branch of the Iran-backed Lebanese Shia Islamist movement that operated in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom.

Mr Mughassil was one of 13 people named in a 2001 indictment filed at a US District Court in Virginia.

It says that on 25 June 1996 Hezbollah al-Hijaz members drove a tanker filled with plastic explosives into the car park at the Khobar Towers housing complex near the eastern city of Dhahran and detonated it, all but destroying the nearest building.

In 2006, a US District Court judge ordered the Iranian government to pay $254m in damages to the families of 17 of the 19 Americans killed in the attack after it failed to respond to a lawsuit.

The judge said he had been persuaded by former FBI agents that the truck bomb had been assembled at a base in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley operated by the militant Shia Islamist movement, Hezbollah, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards. He also concluded that the attack had been approved by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

However, the 9/11 Commission Report said in 2004 that "while the evidence of Iranian involvement is strong, there are also signs that al-Qaeda played some role, as yet unknown".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34064110

Turkey denies involvement in Nusra kidnappings

Members of Liwa Hamzah, a newly formed Islamist brigade from the Syrian eastern city of Deir Ezzor, hold flags of Jabhat Al-Nusra on Feb. 25, 2013.

Turkey’s foreign ministry has denied claims that the country helped al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the al-Nusra Front, which is accused of kidnapping several US-backed Syrian fighters last month.

"It is a deliberate and vicious slander… claiming that Turkey has a relationship with an organization which was declared as 'terrorist'," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic on Wednesday.

Bilgic said any article claiming that Turkey was involved in the kidnapping was a "fiction".

The al-Nusra Front twice attacked an encampment of “Division 30” rebels in northwestern Syria last month, capturing several fighters from the moderate group, including a Division 30 commander.

The Division 30 group, which incorporates US trainees, said in a statement on social media that seven of its fighters were later released by the al-Nusra Front.

The train-and-equip program, jointly organized by the US and coalition partners, is intended to help prepare Syrian opposition fighters in the campaign against Daesh. It is part of an agreement signed by the US and Turkey on Feb. 17 to allow up to 1,000 U.S. troops to participate in the training in Turkey.

http://www.albawaba.com/news/turkey-denies-involvement-nusra-kidnappings-735774

Islamists kill at least seven in southern Somali attack

MOGADISHU: Islamist al Shabaab militants killed at least seven people including a regional official and local police commander in an attack on a government convoy in southern Somalia on Wednesday, officials and the group said.

Al Shabaab attacked the convoy between Garbaharey and Baladhawo towns in the Gedo region, near the Kenyan border.

The al Qaeda-allied group frequently launches attacks on officials in its bid to topple the Western-backed government and impose its strict interpretation of Islam on the nation, which is struggling to rebuild after two decades of war.

The group now controls increasingly smaller patches of territory since an African Union force and Somali troops drove it out of major strongholds in an offensive launched last year.

"We ambushed them but it turned into a fierce battle later," al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters. He said 18 people were killed.

Senior Somali police officer Elmi Nur said three militants and seven others, including a deputy district commissioner and a regional police commander, were killed.

"We have been launching operations to eliminate al Shabaab from the region. More police and military were sent after the ambush to chase the fighters hiding in the forested areas," he said.

Al Shabaab often cites higher numbers for those killed than official figures.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/islamists-kill-at-least-s/2078716.html

US, Turkey to launch 'comprehensive' anti-ISIL operation

Turkey and the United States will soon launch "comprehensive" air operations to flush Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters from a zone in northern Syria bordering Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Reuters on Monday.

Detailed talks between Washington and Ankara on the plans were completed on Sunday and regional allies including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan as well as Britain and France may also take part, Cavusoglu said in an interview.

"The technical talks have been concluded, yesterday, and soon we will start this operation, comprehensive operations, against Daesh," he said, using another name for the armed group.

The United States and Turkey plan to provide air cover for what Washington judges to be moderate Syrian rebels as part of the operations, which aim to flush ISIL from a rectangle of border territory roughly 50 miles long, officials familiar with the plans have said.

Diplomats say cutting ISIL's access to the Turkish border, across which it has been able to bring foreign fighters and supplies, could be a game-changer. U.S. jets have already begun airstrikes from Turkish bases in advance of the campaign.

Cavusoglu said the operations would also send a message to President Bashar al-Assad and help put pressure on his administration to come to the negotiating table and seek a political solution for Syria's wider war.

Ankara has long argued that lasting peace in Syria can only be achieved with Assad's departure. U.S. officials, meanwhile, have made clear that the focus of the coalition operations will be squarely on pushing back ISIL.

"Our aim should be eradicating Daesh from both Syria and Iraq, otherwise you cannot bring stability and security," said Cavusoglu. "But eliminating the root causes of the situation [in Syria] is also essential, which is the regime of course."

A Pentagon spokesman said U.S. and Turkish military officials had held talks on Sunday to work out the tactical details of integrating Turkish combat aircraft into the air campaign against ISIL.

"We're looking forward in the near future to welcoming Turkey into our combined air operations center," Navy Captain Jeff Davis said in Washington.

Cavusoglu said Syrian Kurdish forces, which have proved a useful ally on the ground for Washington as it launched airstrikes on ISIL elsewhere in Syria, would not have a role in the “safe zone” that the joint operations aim to create, unless they changed their policies.

Ankara is concerned that the PYD and its allies aim to unite Kurdish cantons in northern Syria and fear those ambitions will stoke separatist sentiment among its own Kurds.

"Yes, the PYD has been fighting Daesh ... But the PYD is not fighting for the territorial integrity or political unity of Syria. This is unacceptable," Cavusoglu said.

"We prefer that the moderate opposition forces actually control the safe zone, or Daesh-free areas, in the northern part of Syria, not the PYD, unless they change their policies radically in that sense."

Both Ankara and Washington had given this message directly to the PYD, he said.

PKK strikes to continue

Turkey's relations with the PYD, whose forces control territory on the eastern fringe of the proposed safe zone, are complicated by what officials in Ankara say are the group's deep ties with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought an insurgency against Turkey for three decades.

Cavusoglu said Turkey's military operations against PKK targets in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey, where Ankara has been carrying out airstrikes over the past month, would continue until the group laid down its weapons.

The government says it launched the action against the PKK in response to an escalation in attacks on members of Turkish security forces. Cavusoglu said 61 soldiers and police officers had been killed by the group in recent months.

Critics say Turkey is using what it calls its "synchronized war on terror," including its greater role in the U.S.-led coalition against ISIL, as a cover to attack the PKK and try to stem Kurdish political and territorial ambitions.

Ankara denies those accusations.

Diplomatic sources told Reuters last Friday that a second group of rebel fighters trained in Turkey by the U.S.-led coalition could be deployed to Syria within weeks as part of the strategy to push back ISIL. 

The Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front said late last month it had detained some of a first group of less than 60 rebels, weeks after they were deployed, and warned others to abandon the program, highlighting their vulnerability.

"In the second group we have around 100 [fighters]," Cavusoglu said, but made clear that the ground forces were only part of the strategy.

"The train and equip program [alone] will not be enough to fight Daesh, that is why we agreed with the United States to start joint operations soon," he said.

Asked whether Iran's improving relations with West in the wake of its nuclear deal could help the prospects of a diplomatic solution in Syria, Cavusoglu was cautious.

"We are very happy to see that Iran has been normalizing its diplomatic ties with many Western countries ... Iran has better dialog with many Western countries and that is what Turkey fully supports," he said, noting Britain's reopening on Sunday of its embassy in Tehran.

"But the situation in Syria, or in the region including Yemen and Iraq, is totally different to the nuclear deal. What we expect from Iran is a more constructive role in Syria and Iraq, and in Yemen," Cavusoglu said.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/8/24/us-turkey-to-launch-comprehensive-anti-isil-operation.html

Explosion At Gas Terminal In Western Afghanistan Kills 10 Children Living In Refugee Camp

HERAT, Afghanistan — A series of large explosions at a gas terminal on the edge of the western Afghan city of Herat late on Monday killed 10 children and an adult living in a camp for people displaced by war.

The explosions were felt across Afghanistan's third largest city and images showed the subsequent fire reaching high into the night sky.

As well as 11 fatalities, at least 18 people were injured, said Mohammad Rafiq Shirzai a spokesman for the regional hospital in Herat. All were from the camp near the gas terminal.

It was not immediately clear whether the explosions were an accident or the result of an attack. Last year, militants attacked India's consulate in the city.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/afghan-gas-terminal-explosion_55dc19eee4b0a40aa3ac08e6?kvcommref=mostpopular

F-22 Raptors Will Be Deploying To Europe To Send A Strong Message To Russia

After teasing the possibility of Raptors deploying to Europe months ago, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has confirmed to reporters that Raptor is indeed going to be sent to Europe as part of an ongoing initiative to reassure NATO allies of America’s commitment to their defense.

Secretary James made it clear that the move to send the F-22 to Russia’s front doorstep is part of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s “strong and balanced” approach to reminding Russia of the consequences of extra-border ambitions:

“Rotational forces and training exercises help us maintain our strong and balanced approach, and we will certainly be continuing those in the future... For the Air Force, an F-22 deployment is certainly on the strong side of the coin.”

Exactly what F-22 unit will be sent to Europe and where they would be based remains unclear, although General. Mark Welsh, the U.S. Air Force’s Chief of Staff noted:

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“We’ll get the F-22 into facilities that we would potentially use in a conflict in Europe... This is a natural evolution of our bringing our best air-to-air capability in to train with partners... We have an aircraft with pretty advanced capabilities, and we need, and they would like, for us to be able to interoperate in multiple type scenarios... And being able to train side by side with them and do that kind of training is really, really important for us. And that’s what this is for.”

The Raptor’s inaugural long-term deployment to Europe (it has had a near constant presence in the Middle East) will most likely follow along the lines of what the Florida and Oregon Air National Guard have executed in their F-15C/Ds since Spring. As part of the ongoing Operation Atlantic Resolve, the Eagles hopped East from one key NATO base to another, training with local units along the way, before ending up at a temporary Eastern European air defense post.http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/its-migs-versu...

Our friend and renowned aviation photographer Frank Crebas just flew with the Florida Air National… Read more Read more

Sending a detachment of Raptors to Europe also points to the possibility that things are not necessarily improving when it comes to Russian-NATO relations. If anything else, they are getting worse as forward deploying the world’s only truly operational 5th generation fighter to Eastern Europe is a card best held until needed.

Then again, the size of America’s air superiority fighter fleet has shrunk so much over the last 25 years that the Eagle community, made up of about 192 aircraft in total (about 25 percent of which are being used for training and development), may not be able to sustain these types of deployments alone while also meeting their homeland defense, regional deterrent and their many training goals. Additionally, both aircraft, the super complex F-22 and the aging F-15C, require large amounts of maintenance to keep them airworthy at any given time. As such, calling the F-22 to deploy to Europe may be an acknowledgement of an inevitable logistical reality as much as a strategic play.http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/why-its-sad-th...

34 years ago, the USAF set out to build a fighter that could guarantee American air superiority for … Read more Read more            

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/f-22-raptors-will-be-deploying-to-europe-to-send-a-stro-1726259671

RAF and SAS kill 40 fighters in stunning raid on IS stronghold

The Royal Air Force has launched its most devastating attack against Islamic State to date – killing at least 40 jihadis in a single air strike as missions in Iraq have been stepped up in the wake of the Tunisian beach massacre.

The lethal assault by RAF Tornado jets destroyed an IS fortress near Mount Sinjar, killing more extremists than any previous British mission against the terror group and heralding a major upsurge in the UK’s war effort.

Details of the mission emerged as The Mail on Sunday established that since an Islamic gunman slaughtered 30 British tourists in Tunisia, the RAF has dropped twice as many bombs on IS targets as it did in the same period before the attack.

The increase in strike missions by RAF fighter-bomber aircraft and drones also follows severe criticism that Britain was not doing enough to eradicate the terror group.

Earlier this year, MPs from the Defence Select Committee issued a scathing report of the UK’s response to the threat of IS, describing it as ‘strikingly modest’, with no strategic plan and insufficient military personnel dedicated to the task.

The unprecedented operation was spearheaded by a pair of Tornado GR4 fighter-bombers, an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft and the UK’s new intelligence-gathering Rivet Joint spy plane, which flew over Mount Sinjar and identified an IS command centre, a barracks, ammunition silos and equipment depots.

Then on August 4, the Tornado GR4s took off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, crossed the eastern Mediterranean and flew on a southerly bearing towards Sinjar.

The jets and Rivet Joint then circled overhead while Special Air Service (SAS) and Kurdish Peshmerga troops crept into positions within one-and-a-half miles of the IS stronghold.

The Tornados struck first, launching at least six laser-guided Paveway missiles into the IS positions. Many militants were killed in the blast while others attempted to escape only to meet a barrage of mortars and rocket fire from the SAS and the Peshmerga. The Tornados then refuelled before returning to Cyprus.

Raid: Stills of RAF Tornado GR4s attacking fortified ISIS near Mount Sinjar in Iraq at the beginning of August

A defence source said: ‘Intelligence work allowed the coalition to mount a large, carefully planned air attack on this array of targets, co-ordinated with a barrage of mortar and heavy weapon fire. Initial analysis indicated that the attack was a success.’

Since the Tunisia attack on June 26, the number of sorties by RAF aircraft over Iraq, as reported on a British Government website, has remained relatively constant.

But while approximately 25 missiles were fired in the 50 days before the incident, 50 have been launched since then, according to publicly released figures. Last night, former Chief of the General Staff, Lord Dannatt, said: ‘The Tornado raid on Mount Sinjar is exactly the sort of mission that UK forces should be conducting.

‘Only last year our television screens were filled with the atrocities being committed against the Yazidi and Christian communities in that region.

‘ISIL fighters must understand that there will be a reckoning – sooner or later. Their barbarity will catch up with them.’

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson added: ‘The UK continues to play a leading role in activity that has, so far, seen ISIL lose 25 per cent of its territory in Iraq.

‘RAF aircraft have carried out more than 260 air strikes and have flown over 1,200 missions, we have about 800 people supporting operations against ISIL and have trained nearly 2,000 Iraqis on the ground.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3207366/Jihadi-John-Britain-carry-cutting-heads-chilling-new-video-man-said-hooded-butcher-beheaded-two-British-hostages-vows-come-home-murder-unbelievers.html