DTN News - DTN TURKEY: Kurds Flee Into Turkey in Their Thousands To Escape Isis Offensive: Call For Aid And US Air Strike

DTN News - DTN TURKEY: Kurds Flee Into Turkey in Their Thousands To Escape Isis Offensive: Call For Aid And US Air Strike

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources DTN Turkey ‏@DTNTurkey .... http://bit.ly/1mwMm62 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 29, 2014: Kurds flee into Turkey in their thousands to escape Isis offensive: Call for aid and US air strike... 
http://bit.ly/1mwMm62    (DTN Turkey) 

Kurds flee into Turkey in their thousands to escape Isis offensive

Call for aid and US air strikes as Isis extremists' advance on Kobani triggers unprecedented flood of refugees

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DTN News - ISLAMIC STATE NEWS: U.S. and Allies Hit ISIS Targets in Syria

DTN News - ISLAMIC STATE NEWS: U.S. and Allies Hit ISIS Targets in Syria

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources The New York Times
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 22, 2014: The United States and allies launched airstrikes against Sunni militants in Syria early Tuesday, unleashing a torrent of cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs from the air and sea on the militants’ de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria, and along the porous Iraq border.

American fighter jets and armed Predator and Reaper drones, flying alongside warplanes from several Arab allies, struck a broad array of targets in territory controlled by the militants known as the Islamic State. American military officials said the targets included weapons supplies, depots, barracks and buildings the militants use for command and control. Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from United States Navy ships in the region.

The strikes represent a major turning point in President Obama’s war against the Islamic State and open up a risky new stage of the American military campaign. Until now, the administration has bombed Islamic State targets only in Iraq, and had suggested it would be weeks if not months before the start of a bombing campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria.

The strikes come 13 days after Mr. Obama announced in an address to the nation that he was authorizing an expansion of the military campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

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DTN News - ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA (ISIS): Arab Allies Pledge To Help U.S. Fight Islamic State #2 (Images)

DTN News - ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA (ISIS): Arab Allies Pledge To Help U.S. Fight Islamic State #2 (Images)

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 13, 2014: A day after President Barack Obama outlined a strategy to combat Islamic State militants, Washington's international allies didn't make clear how far they would go to join military operations even as they pledged their support.

Mr. Obama vowed to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the extremist group which has grabbed territory across Iraq and Syria and harbors ambitions for more. After a day of consulting with Secretary of State John Kerry in Saudi Arabia, most of Iraq's neighbors signed onto a statement of support.

In the communiqué, leading Arab states committed to working with the U.S. to cut off the flow of foreign fighters and funds into the Islamic State,


Turkey—which has opposed allowing the U.S. to use bases on its territory for airstrikes against Islamic State—didn't sign the communiqué. Nearly 50 Turkish diplomats are being held by militants in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which Islamic State captured in June.

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DTN News - ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA (ISIS): Arab Allies Pledge To Help U.S. Fight Islamic State

DTN News - ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA (ISIS): Arab Allies Pledge To Help U.S. Fight Islamic State
*Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ISIS
*Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL
*Extent of Cooperation in Military Operations Still Unclear

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 13, 2014: A day after President Barack Obama outlined a strategy to combat Islamic State militants, Washington's international allies didn't make clear how far they would go to join military operations even as they pledged their support.

Mr. Obama vowed to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the extremist group which has grabbed territory across Iraq and Syria and harbors ambitions for more. After a day of consulting with Secretary of State John Kerry in Saudi Arabia, most of Iraq's neighbors signed onto a statement of support.

In the communiqué, leading Arab states committed to working with the U.S. to cut off the flow of foreign fighters and funds into the Islamic State,

Turkey—which has opposed allowing the U.S. to use bases on its territory for airstrikes against Islamic State—didn't sign the communiqué. Nearly 50 Turkish diplomats are being held by militants in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which Islamic State captured in June.

In Europe, Germany said it wouldn't take part in airstrikes, while the U.K. said it wasn't ruling out participation. Several dozen European and other countries agreed during this month's North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Wales to support the campaign, but as of Thursday, many were still weighing the specific nature of their involvement.

At the core of the emerging alliance, said U.S. and Arab officials, is an agreement with the Saudi government for it to host a training facility for thousands of Syrian rebel fighters who are combating both the Islamic State and President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Administration officials said Wednesday the deal was in place, but said late Thursday talks were still ongoing.

American air attacks alone won't be enough to stop ISIS according to Daniel Serwer of John Hopkins University. He joins the News Hub to discuss. Photo: Islamic State

Among other uncertainties, U.S. and Arab officials said discussions about Mideast governments providing basing and overflight rights to American warplanes are ongoing. Also unclear is whether any of the leading Arab states would join in U.S. airstrikes against militants in Iraq and Syria. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates joined in the 2011 air campaign in Libya that helped overthrow strongman Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Adding urgency to the effort, the Central Intelligence Agency in a new estimate Thursday said the size of the militant group at least doubled over the summer. Islamic State "can muster" between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters, said agency spokesman Todd Ebitz, citing a new review of intelligence reports from May through August.

In the agreement reached in Saudi Arabia, countries said they would participate in military efforts "as appropriate," which U.S. officials defended, saying it was reasonable to allow countries to decide on the extent of their participation.

"It was important; we made progress; the coalition is growing and now it has a clarity of purpose with the region, which is essential to our possibilities of success," Mr. Kerry told reporters in Jeddah.

In the cases of Turkey, European and Middle Eastern allies, U.S. officials said there was time to allow for "a deliberate, prudent process."

"'What role can you play? What are we all going to do together?'" State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, describing the nature of the discussions. "That process will be ongoing."

The U.S. military began a laborious process of gearing up for military training operations following new instructions Wednesday from Mr. Obama, preparing for expanded airstrikes in Iraq and the start of a first-ever air campaign in Syria. Officials said some components of the plan could take several months to come together.

Part of the military training operations will depend on congressional action to approve a $500 million funding request from the Obama administration. The request faced procedural and political obstacles on Thursday.

Overall, the process reflected the difficulty of forming a new international coalition to confront a growing regional threat.

In the communiqué signed by Arabic countries, officials pledged to curb the promotion of the Islamic State's radical Islamist ideology through their religious centers, media outlets and social media sites.

"There is no limit to what the kingdom can provide in this regard," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said following the meeting with Mr. Kerry in Jeddah. "The kingdom is determined to face and overcome this scourge."

Mr. Kerry said he would continue his efforts to enlist Mideast support for the U.S. campaign during stops in Turkey, Egypt and France in the coming days.

U.S. officials also said the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month will be a key venue to promote Washington's operations against Islamic State.

Russian and Syrian officials on Thursday indicated they would challenge Washington's strategy.

Russian officials said the Obama administration would need to get a U.N. Security Council resolution to launch military strikes inside Syria against the Islamic State. Syrian officials said they supported military operations against the terrorist organization but only if they are coordinated with Mr. Assad and his military leaders.

"There should be no mistakes," Syria's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, told NBC News on Thursday. "Betting on other forces is a very big mistake."

Mr. Kerry at a news conference brushed off the Kremlin's suggestion that U.S. military action in Syria would violate international law.

"I'm really rather surprised that Russia would dare to assert any notion of international law, after what has happened in Crimea and eastern Ukraine," he said.

For many Arabic governments, a request to commit forces is considered likely to be met with deep reservations, said Alaa Batayneh, a member of Jordan's Senate who served as the country's energy minister until last year.

"Having boots on the ground is a red flag for many countries, and Jordan is one of them," Mr. Batayneh said.

For Saudi Arabia, in particular, the stakes are high in the campaign against Islamic State, which has vowed carry its fight to the kingdom's monarchy. But as one of the leading Sunni Muslim states, Saudi Arabia is hesitant to commit its troops to a war against fellow Sunni Muslims, however extreme they might be, for fear it would generate a domestic backlash.

"The Saudis need to respond and fight. The knife is on their necks, and they can't rely on the U.S. fighting the fight for them anymore," said a Lebanese security official familiar with the discussions over Arab troop deployments.

The Lebanese army has been fighting Islamic State since the militants streamed across the border last month.

While Saudi Arabia has funded and armed Syrian rebels, the training operation would be a new step in its commitment to bring down Mr. Assad's regime, said Jamal Khashoggi, an analyst close to the government.

"When you open training camps for groups that fight another government, that's a declaration of war" with potentially deep repercussions, Mr. Khashoggi said.

—Carol E. Lee, Ahmed Al Omran, Mohammed Alakraa and Jeffrey Sparshott contributed to this article.

Related Images;

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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Pentagon Describes Anti-ISIL Operations in Iraq

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Pentagon Describes Anti-ISIL Operations in Iraq

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth + DoD News, Defense Media Activity
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - August 19, 2014: (WASHINGTON) The U.S. military used fighters, bombers, attack, and unmanned aircraft to conduct 35 strikes that eliminated ISIL positions in and around the Mosul Dam complex, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement released yesterday.

Kirby’s statement reads as follows:
Over the past 72 hours, at the request of the Iraqi government, the U.S. military used fighters, bombers, attack, and unmanned aircraft to conduct 35 strikes that eliminated ISIL positions in and around the Mosul Dam complex. In all, we destroyed over 90 targets including a range of vehicles, equipment, and fighting positions. 

Iraqi forces have cleared the dam and are working to further expand their area of control. Secretary Hagel remains extraordinarily proud of the men and women serving on land and sea who conducted these operations. 

He knows they stand ready to continue such missions as needed. Secretary Hagel also commends the way in which Iraqi forces worked together in this operation. It reflects the growing determination of Iraqis to fight back against ISIL.

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DTN News - IRAQ DEFENSE NEWS: Iraq Sending 4,000 Volunteers To Help In Ramadi

DTN News - IRAQ DEFENSE NEWS: Iraq Sending 4,000 Volunteers To Help In Ramadi

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources airforcetimes.com 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 12, 2014: (BAGHDAD) — Iraq is airlifting some 4,000 volunteers to an embattled city west of Baghdad to help bolster government forces locked in a running battle with Sunni militants there, authorities said Saturday.

Around 2,500 of the volunteers arrived in Ramadi, located 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of the capital, on Friday and are to be joined by the remaining 1,500 on Saturday, said Gen. Rasheed Flayeh, the commander of operations in Anbar province. The men are being ferried out to Ramadi from Baghdad by helicopter, he added.

The vast majority of volunteers are Shiites who have answered a call from the country's top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to defend Iraq from the militants who have overrun of much of the country's north and west over the past month. The Sunni militant blitz is led by the Islamic State extremist group, which has unilaterally declared the establishment of an Islamic state ruled by Shariah law in the territory it controls straddling the Iraq-Syria border.

The government's reliance on Shiite militias — who have deployed in sizeable numbers to several cities across the country — to help counter the threat from Sunni militants has ramped up sectarian tensions, and helped fuel fears that Iraq could return to the wholesale sectarian bloodletting that engulfed the country in 2006 and 2007.

There are already worrying signs of such violence.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that Iraqi security forces and government-affiliated militias appear to have killed at least 255 prisoners in six cities and villages since June 9. It said five of the mass killings took place when security forces were fleeing as militants advanced, and that the vast the prisoners killed were Sunni.

Most members of the security forces and militias are Shiite. The six incidents appear to be aimed at avenging the deaths of Shiites captured and killed by the Islamic State group, Human Rights Watch said.

There is also evidence the militants have carried out mass killings. The Islamic State group posted graphic photos online last month showing the militants killing dozens of police and soldiers. The Iraqi military confirmed the photographs and said around 170 soldiers were killed. Human Rights Watch put the number between 160 and 190.

Ramadi is the capital of Anbar, an overwhelmingly Sunni province and one of the most active battle fronts in Iraq. The Islamic State group and other Sunni militant groups seized control of the Anbar city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi in January. The government has since reasserted its control of Ramadi, but Fallujah remains in insurgent hands.

The militant onslaught over the past month has touched off Iraq's worst crisis since the last U.S. troops left in 2011 and sapped public — and international — confidence in Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The Iraqi leader's opponents, and even many of his former allies, accuse him of trying to monopolize power and alienating the Sunni community, and are pushing him to step aside and not seek a third consecutive term. Despite the pressure, al-Maliki has vowed not to withdraw his candidacy for the prime minister's post, and points to his State of Law bloc's capturing the most seats in April elections to claim he has a mandate.

Iraq's new parliament is scheduled on Sunday to hold its second session since the elections amid hopes that lawmakers can quickly decide on a new prime minister, president and speaker of parliament — the first steps toward forming a new government. It failed to make any progress in its first session, and postponed its second session until Sunday.

On Saturday, the U.N. special envoy to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, warned that failure to quickly elect new leadership "risks plunging the country into chaos."

"It will only serve the interests of those who seek to divide the people of Iraq and destroy their chances for peace and prosperity," he said. "Iraq needs a team that can bring people together. Now is not the time for mutual accusations, now is the time for moving forward and compromising in the interest of the Iraqi people."

He urged lawmakers to attend Sunday's session and succeed in choosing a new speaker of parliament.

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DTN News - IRAQ IN TURMOIL: Iraq's Crisis Changes The Battle Space In Syria

DTN News - IRAQ IN TURMOIL: Iraq's Crisis Changes The Battle Space In Syria

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Stratfor
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 26, 2014: Concerns that violence in Iraq could disrupt supplies have stoked volatility and driven international benchmark Brent above $114 a barrel. OPEC is ready to pump extra oil in the event of any supply disruptions caused by Iraq and its biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, can ramp up to capacity if needed, oil officials said on Tuesday. For now the market is well-supplied and prices above $114 a barrel are the result of market nervousness, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said. Here’s a look at Iraq’s oil and gas production.

Summary

The conflicts in Syria and Iraq are connected. The border between the two countries has become meaningless, and the emerging crisis in Iraq has direct consequences on the fighting in Syria. Neither the Syrian regime nor the rebels that oppose it stand to gain a decisive advantage from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant's recent actions in Iraq. As things stand now, the primary beneficiary will be the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant itself.

Analysis

Because of the way its military advance in Iraq has played out, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has earned prestige and a propaganda boost -- it is viewed as a competent organization capable of decisive results. This growing perception will be crucial in the group's ability to attract a growing share of the foreign fighters heading toward the region, and possibly draw additional Syrian rebel fighters to its ranks. The group's seizure of weapons and vehicles -- much of this equipment taken from retreating Iraqi soldiers -- and reportedly more than $1 billion in funds during the recent Iraq offensive will only increase its attractiveness to jihadist fighters. 

Click to Enlarge

The equipment taken includes armored vehicles, small arms, ammunition, artillery, communication devices, uniforms and logistical vehicles. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant may have also seized night vision equipment and air defense weaponry. This gear would provide a substantial boost on the battlefield in Syria, and the group has indeed already begun to transfer some of this equipment across the border.
The growth in the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant's prestige could in theory have detrimental effects on the rebels and on the Syrian regime. Since the transnational jihadists serve the cause of neither, their efforts in Iraq will create a mixed set of variables for the combatants in Syria.

Effects on the Syrian Regime

Perhaps the greatest negative consequence for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad is the shift of Iraqi Shiite militants back to their homeland to confront a resurgent Sunni opposition. The Syrian regime has come to rely heavily on foreign fighters -- be they Hezbollah combatants, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advisers or Shiite volunteers from across the region -- to bolster its ranks and negate its demographic disadvantage. These foreign fighters, most notably the Hezbollah members, played a critical role in halting the string of defeats that beset the regime in late 2012, and they continue to spearhead regime offensives across Syria. Furthermore, and unlike what has happened with the Syrian rebels, the regime has not suffered from divisive infighting due to the influx of foreign fighters.

Click to Enlarge

With the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and its allies advancing south toward Baghdad from Mosul, and with sectarian emotions flaring across the region, Iraqi Shiite fighters are keen to return to their homeland -- they have made this desire abundantly clear in statements and videos. Even Hezbollah has threatened to dispatch fighters to Iraq. Though Hezbollah is unlikely to shift much of its efforts from Syria to Iraq -- partly for logistical reasons, but mostly due to the regime's critical dependence on the group -- it will probably move additional fighters to Syria to help offset losses of Iraqi militia. There is already substantial evidence that thousands of Iraqi Shiite fighters are on their way home. Iraqi fighters have reportedly withdrawn from Syrian fronts in the coastal province of Latakia and in al-Meliha, in the suburbs of Damascus, while witnesses have reported seeing convoys of trucks leaving the football stadium that served as the Iraqi militia base in the northern city of Aleppo. 

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant's current focus on Iraq has also wrought a notable decline in the intensity of rebel infighting. In the months prior to the fall of Mosul, rebel infighting in Deir el-Zour province in particular resulted in hundreds of rebel casualties as Jabhat al-Nusra and its rebel allies battled against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant fighters. Though these clashes continue, particularly in Aleppo and Deir el-Zour provinces, the intensity of the fighting has markedly decreased, a clear sign that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has turned its attention, and likely a large number of its fighters, to Iraq. It could always move its forces back across the unrecognized border, but for now, the group appears to be prioritizing Iraq and will likely keep reinforcing its fight there against Iraqi government counteroffensives.

However, Washington and its allies will be increasingly nervous about supplying advanced weaponry to the rebels in Syria. Having shown it can seize weaponry from the Iraqi army, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant's potential ability to seize weapons delivered by the United States to often ragtag rebel groups worries the Americans. This re-evaluation comes at a particularly bad time for the rebels, who seemed on the verge of finally convincing the United States and other allies to deliver substantially more weapons to their fighters. 
Interestingly, while the regime preferred not to interrupt its enemies' infighting, it undertook a notable aerial bombing campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, both within Syria and across the border in Iraq, after the fall of Mosul. Two things can explain this turn of events. First and less important, the regime may sense an opportunity to strike at the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and relieve pressure on regime forces that come into contact with the militant rebels -- particularly the 17th division in Raqqa province -- while the group is busy in Iraq. The primary reason, however, is the regime's need to demonstrate that it is invested in the well-being of its allies, and in particular that it is attuned to the concerns of its patron, Iran. With the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant becoming a major threat to Baghdad, Hezbollah and Tehran's interests in Iraq, the Syrian regime will try to show that it is doing its part in the wider struggle. The al Assad regime can leverage an opportunity to share intelligence with others, since the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is now the prevalent regional threat.

It is clear that the fall of Mosul and the spike in the fighting in Iraq have further complicated an already elaborate regional conflict where borders are fast losing their importance. For the Syrian battle space, the developments in Iraq bring a mixed array of advantages and disadvantages to the varying combatants. Even if it does not decisively tilt the battle, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant's Iraq pivot will play an important role in the conflict in Syria.

Read more: Iraq's Crisis Changes the Battle Space in Syria | Stratfor
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DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: President Obama Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: President Obama Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 25, 2014: President Barack Obama, on a visit to Afghanistan, said on Sunday his administration would likely announce soon how many troops the United States will keep in the country, as it winds down its presence after nearly 13 years of war.

Speaking at a briefing by military commanders at Bagram Air Base, Obama said one reason for his trip was to discuss the U.S. footprint for the rest of this year - when the bulk of troops are scheduled to be withdrawn - and afterward.

"We'll probably be announcing some decisions fairly shortly," said Obama, who flew into the main U.S. base in Afghanistan for a brief, surprise visit.

The trip on Memorial Day weekend, his fourth visit to Afghanistan, comes as Obama is buffeted by criticism at home that his handling of foreign policy has been too passive in dealing with crises from Syria to Ukraine and Russia. He is to respond to the criticism in a speech on Wednesday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Obama also delivered remarks to troops at Bagram, getting hollers from the crowd as he told them, "I'm here on a single mission and that is to thank you for your extraordinary service." He was also set to visit wounded soldiers.

His trip was bound to be seen by some critics as an attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of military veterans who are alarmed at allegations that government-run medical facilities in the United States have not provided timely care for veterans.

At Bagram, Obama was briefed by Army General Joseph Dunford, who heads U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham.

NO PLANS TO VISIT KARZAI

Obama had no plans to visit the Afghan capital Kabul or meet

President Hamid Karzai and other government officials during a trip expected to last only a few hours. This allows him to avoid getting immersed in the country's presidential election campaign to choose a successor to Karzai, who has long been out of favor in Washington.

In an indication of the frayed relations between the Obama administration and the Karzai government, the Afghan president rejected an invitation extended through the U.S. embassy to meet Obama at Bagram, Abdul Karim Khurram, Karzai's chief of staff, told Reuters.

"President Karzai said he would warmly welcome him if he comes to the palace but in no way he would go Bagram to meet him," Khurram said.

Karzai has irked Obama by refusing to sign a bilateral security agreement that Washington wants before it will agree to leave a contingent of U.S. troops behind in Afghanistan for training Afghan forces and counter-terrorism operations, after the formal U.S. troop drawdown.

In turn, Karzai has long expressed anger at civilian deaths in Afghanistan. He told the Washington Post in an interview in March that the war in Afghanistan was not fought with his country's interests in mind.

In a statement issued before Obama's arrival in Afghanistan, Karzai criticized the U.S. phone surveillance program, saying it violates his country's sovereignty.

In his remarks to troops at Bagram, Obama said he was hopeful that the U.S.-Afghan bilateral security agreement would be signed once a new Afghan president was sworn in.

The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan may drop well below 10,000 - the minimum demanded by the U.S. military to train Afghan forces, Obama administration officials briefed on the matter say.

There are now about 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, down from 100,000 in 2011, when troop numbers peaked a decade into a conflict in which more than 2,100 Americans have been killed.

Obama left Washington under cover of darkness on Saturday night and flew for more than 13 hours to arrive at Bagram on Sunday night local time. He brought with him country music star Brad Paisley to provide entertainment for the troops.

Wearing an Air Force One bomber jacket, Obama was also joined by national security adviser Susan Rice and special counselor John Podesta, who has a son stationed in Afghanistan.


(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and Jessica Donati and Hamid Shalizi in Kabul; Editing by Caren Bohan and Frances Kerry)

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DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: Russian Air Force to Receive More MiG-29SMT

DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: Russian Air Force to Receive More MiG-29SMT

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Defense Update
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 16, 2014: The Russian Defense Ministry has signed a 17 Billion Rubbles ($473 million) contract with the United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) MiG corporation for the delivery of 16 MiG-29SMT fighters, the Novosti news agency reported. The MiG-29SMT is an upgraded variant of the MiG-29. It is operational with the Yemeni Air Force since the mid-2000s and with the Russian Air Force since 2008. In the past this model was also offered to India, Syria and Venezuela but failed to gain orders. More recently it was offered to Egypt.

Under the new order the 16 aircraft will be delivered over the next 3 years; the current order will help maintain the MiG-29 production line, expected to shift to the manufacturing of the MiG-35S. By that time, UAC is expecting the initial order for 100 MiG-35Ss from the Russian Air Force to be signed, with initial deliveries commencing after 2016. The contract also includes ground support and test equipment. The MiG-29SMT is an upgrade package developed for the MiG-29, bringing the avionics and weapons delivery capabilities of existing MiG-29 fighters (9.12 to 9.13 Build) to those of the more advanced MiG-29M (9.15 Build). These aircraft will help rebalance the heavy/light fighter fleet within the Russian Air Force, currently tipping toward the modernised heavy fighters (Su-34, MiG-31, Su-30), while the light fighter fleet is comprised of much older MiG-29s (about 220).

The Russian Air Force already operates 28 such aircraft, primarily on air superiority missions. Introduced in 2004 and built in 2006-2007, these aircraft were originally destined for Algeria but were refused by the customer claiming they didn’t meet the agreed quality standard. Eventually the aircraft were handed over to the Russian Air Force. The 16 currently on order will be new build, receiving the SMT upgrade during assembly.

As such, the new MiG-29SMT will be fitted with a multifunction, multimode Zhuk-ME radar with air/air and air/ground operating modes, uprated RD-33 ser.3 engines with afterburning thrust rated 8,300 kgf (81.4 kN) each. It will also get new avionics, a digital cockpit and improved navigation system. The cockpit of the MiG-29 SMT includes two new large-format multi-function display MFD-10-6 and implements the concept HOTAS. The aircraft is equipped for improved night attack capability, and secondary reconnaissance missions.

The aircraft has six underwing hardpoints and a ventral hardpoint carrying centreline pylon carrying up to five tons of payload. Its basic air/air load is comprised of R-73E, RVV-AE or R-27R1/R2 air/air missiles and expanded weapons fit that includes guided weapons such as the Kh-29T(TE) air-to-surface missiles (TV guided), Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles or KAB-500KR/L EO/Laser guided bombs. For maritime strike missions the aircraft can carry Kh-31A supersonic antiship missiles.

The MiG-29SMT carries an enlarged dorsal fuel tanks doubling the operational range of the ‘Fulcrum’ (to 836 nm / 1550 km). Having more fuel in the internal tanks would also clear more underwing hard points for weapon carrying. This modern is also fitted with aerial refuelling probe. To reduce radar reflection and improve survivability the MiG-29SMT is painted in special radar-absorbing paint.

According to the manufacturer, the modernisation introduced in the MiG-29SMT has ‘tripled’ its combat effectiveness and reduced operating costs by 40 percent.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Defense Update
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DTN News - IRAQ UNREST: Dozens Killed Across Iraq As Militants Seize Village

DTN News - IRAQ UNREST: Dozens Killed Across Iraq As Militants Seize Village

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources AFP

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 21, 2014: Kirkuk — Militants controlled a northern Iraqi village for several hours Friday as attacks nationwide killed 27 people, including at least 10 policemen, amid a surge in bloodshed ahead of parliamentary elections.

The latest unrest comes barely a week before campaigning begins for the April 30 election due to take place as Iraq grapples with its worst protracted bloodletting since a brutal 2006-2007 Sunni-Shiite sectarian war in which tens of thousands of people were killed.

The unrest has been primarily driven by anger among the minority Sunni Arab community, which alleges discrimination at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces, as well as by the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

Shootings and bombings on Friday mostly took place in Sunni-majority parts of northern and western Iraq, killing 27 people and wounding more than 50, security and medical officials said.

In Sarha, militants mounted a coordinated pre-dawn assault on the village involving gunmen and a suicide truck bomb, and held it for several hours before Iraqi soldiers managed to re-take control, said a military source and Shallal Abdul, mayor of the nearby town of Tuz Khurmatu.

Sarha is near the town of Sulaiman Bek, which has been repeatedly targeted over the past year by militants who have sought to take control of the area.

The latest move is a small-scale version of the ongoing, months-long crisis being played out in Iraq's western Anbar province, where militants hold major territory.

Clashes first erupted early Friday in the Sarha region of Salaheddin province, between anti-government fighters and police manning checkpoints.

There was also an explosion at a bridge in the area, Abdul said.

Shortly afterwards, a suicide bomber set off a fuel tanker rigged with explosives near an army base where senior police and military officers were meeting, killing 11 people and wounding five others.

Among those killed were police Brigadier General Ragheb al-Timimi, his deputy Colonel Jawad Mohammed, and two other army officers.

- Suicide bomber hits funeral -

Elsewhere in Salaheddin, gunmen killed five policemen and wounded five in an attack on a checkpoint outside Samarra, while three other policemen were killed by a roadside bomb in Siniyah.

In the ethnically mixed northern province of Kirkuk, twin car bombs killed two people and wounded 26.

And in Anbar province, where militants have held key territory for more than two months, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral inside a mosque in provincial capital Ramadi, killing six people.

In early January, anti-government fighters took control of parts of Ramadi and all of nearby Fallujah, just a short drive from Baghdad.

Security forces have since managed to wrest back control of most of Ramadi, but a stalemate has persisted in Fallujah, with soldiers staying on the outskirts and periodically shelling what they say are militant strongholds.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Friday's bloodshed, but Sunni militants including those linked to the powerful Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant jihadist group are typically blamed for attacking security forces and carrying out suicide bombings.

More than 300 people have been killed so far this month and upwards of 2,000 since the beginning of the year, according to AFP figures based on reports from security and medical sources.

Analysts and diplomats have called for the Shiite-led authorities to do more to reach out to the disaffected Sunni minority in a bid to reduce support for militancy, but with the election looming, political leaders have been loath to be seen to compromise.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources AFP
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DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Funeral For Top Hezbollah Commander Marches in Sidon

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Funeral For Top Hezbollah Commander Marches in Sidon

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 9, 2013: (Sidon, Lebanon) Hezbollah held a funeral procession in the suburb of the coastal city of Sidon Monday for a top military commander who was killed in Syria a day earlier.

The procession was led by Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad, the Imam of Haret Sayda Sheikh Abdel-Hussein Abdallah and a Hezbollah Commander, Ali Daoun.

Ali Bazzi's coffin was carried on the shoulders of Hezbollah members as the commander's friends fired shots in the air.

The large procession prompted the Lebanese Army to deploy at the northern entrance of the city and in several neighborhoods leading to Haret Sayda.

Sidon is the home of fugitive Salafi-labelled Sheikh Ahmad Assir who was a staunch critic of Hezbollah and its involvement in the Syrian crisis. Assir and his supporters were engaged in deadly armed clashes against the Army in June.

Bazzi is originally from the southern town of Bint Jbeil but his family moved to Sidon decades ago. His father owns a shoe shop in the area.

A Lebanese security source told The Daily Star Sunday that Bazzi was killed in a combat zone.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Hezbollah fighters were killed during battles in Nabk, one of the last rebel-held areas in the Qalamoun region bordering Lebanon.

Hezbollah-backed regime forces have launched a military campaign to root out rebel forces in Qalamoun, near the border with Lebanon.

Residents of southern Lebanon said Sunday that two other Hezbollah fighters – Ali Saleh and Qassem Ghamloush – were also killed in Syria Sunday and buried.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth 
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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