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The word is Washington INFORMED Damascus of their intention to bomb inside Syria. This is not the same as consultation.
America's only allies in this are countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Unite Arab Emirates - the very countries giving support to ISIS and other 'moderate' and other jihadists.
The other country of course, is Israel
US and ‘partners’ launch airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria
America's only allies in this are countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Unite Arab Emirates - the very countries giving support to ISIS and other 'moderate' and other jihadists.
The other country of course, is Israel
US and ‘partners’ launch airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria
23
September, 2014
The
US military and partner nations from the anti-ISIS coalition have
launched the first attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria, the
Pentagon has confirmed.
Airstrikes
against Islamic State targets are currently underway in Syria,
according to a Pentagon official. The strikes reportedly involve
a mix of fighter, bomber, and tomahawk land attack missiles.
"I
can confirm that US military and partner nation forces are
undertaking military action against ISIL (ISIS/IS) terrorists in
Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack
Missiles,"Pentagon
Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
"The
decision to conduct theses strikes was made earlier today by the US
Central Command commander under authorization granted him by the
commander in chief. We will provide more details later as
operationally appropriate," he
added.
According
to NBC News, the US military is planning to attack up to 20 targets
in Syria, including“training
sites, headquarters of Sunni fighters and troop encampments.”
A
US official told ABC News that up to 20 locations have been targeted
in the airstrikes in and around Raqqa. Tomahawk missiles have been
fired from at least one ship in the Red Sea. The source also
said that Arab nations participating in the airstrikes will be
dropping bombs.
According
to Jonathan Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, five
Arab nations are taking part in the first round of airstrikes in
Syria: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab
Emirates. A US official speaking to Reuters confirmed the
participation of Arab partners in the attack, but refused to specify
who those partners were.
CENTCOM
says the decision to conduct airstrikes was made under authorization
granted by the US president.
The
Pentagon will not provide further details on the operation “until
later,” according to Reuters.
The
attack follows President Obama’s speech earlier this month, during
which he said that the US was prepared to “conduct a systematic
campaign of airstrikes” against Islamic State terrorists “wherever
they are.”
“That
means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL (ISIS/IS) in
Syria as well as Iraq,” Obama said on September 10. The US military
has already carried out over 200 strikes on Islamic State targets in
Iraq.
Last
Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel confirmed that the US
Central Command has a plan to take “targeted actions against ISIS
safe havens in Syria,” including striking infrastructure. The US
will also train and equip 5,000 members of the Syrian opposition to
fight militants from IS. The so-called ‘moderate’ opposition is
seen by the US as a legitimate power in Syria since the Assad
government has long lost all its legitimacy, according to US
officials.
More
than 40 nations have said they will participate in the anti-Islamic
State crusade, with more than 30 nations offering military support,
according to Hagel.
The
Syrian government was willing to cooperate in coordinating strikes on
Islamic jihadists, which the country has been battling for over three
years, but US officials rejected any possibility of such cooperation.
Any strikes on Syrian soil without Damascus’ consent will be
considered an act of aggression, Syria has warned.
Washington
should respect the sovereignty of Syria in its attempts to deal with
the Islamic State, Russia has warned repeatedly. Moscow previously
expressed concern that US airstrikes may target not only the Islamic
State, but also government forces loyal to President Assad.
In
a telephone conversation with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on
Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that airstrikes on
terrorist targets in Syria should not be carried out without the
consent of the Syrian government.
An act of war committed against Syria from the south
Israel shot down Syrian aircraft over Israeli-controlled airspace
RT,
23
September, 2014
An
Israeli Patriot missile shot down a Syrian aircraft that flew into
Israeli-controlled airspace on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing the
military.
“Moments
ago a Syrian aircraft infiltrated Israeli airspace. The IDF (Israel
Defense Forces) intercepted the aircraft in mid-flight, using the
Patriot air defense system,” a
military statement said. The type of plane was not disclosed.
Israeli
media are claiming that the downed aircraft was a Soviet-built
MiG-21fighter jet.
Syrian
state TV has confirmed that country's aircraft was downed by the
Israeli Air Force.
Images
have emerged reportedly showing two pilots ejecting from the shot
plane.
In August, when a drone from Syria intruded into Israeli airspace, the Israeli Air Force shot it down with a Patriot surface-to-air missile.
“The
IDF will not tolerate a breach of the State of Israel’s
sovereignty,” the army said.
The
area of Quneitra has become a major battlefield of the Syrian
conflict in recent weeks, where fighting between the Syrian Army and
the Al-Nusra Front militants linked to al-Qaida is raging.
On
Monday, the US-led coalition launched airstrikes against Islamic
State militants in Syria. The anti-ISIS coalition is using various
military aircraft to pound the IS militants: F-16 and F-18 fighter
jets, Rockwell B-1 strategic bombers, MQ-1 Predator drones and
Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles
‘US pushes own agenda while fighting terror’
Russian
President and UN Secretary General in a telephone call have exchanged
views on the joint efforts of the international community to fight
ISIS. The Russian side stressed that airstrikes on terrorist bases
should not be carried out without the consent of the Syrian
government.
Meanwhile Kurds are fleeing across the Syrian border into Turkey while the Turkish authorities use tear gas and water cannon against people demonstrating against ISIS
New clashes erupt at Syrian-Turkish border as 130k refugees flee
RT,
22
September, 2014
Clashes have resumed at the Syria-Turkey border, where thousands of Syrian Kurds have been trying to escape from the advance of the Islamic State fighters on their towns.
The
turmoil on Monday was filmed by RT’s Ruptly video agency, currently
at the scene.
"Tens
of thousands of Syrian Kurds have fled through the border which the
Turkish government opened on Friday - it's now closed again. There
are a few Kurdish families waiting for the last couple of days to get
in, in the blazing heat with no food and no water,"
Ruptly's Lizzie Phelan reported from the site.
"There
are also Syrian Kurds and Turkish Kurds [on the Turkish side of the
border] who want to go into Syria, because - as they say - they want
to form a human shield against an IS advance on Kobani, as there is a
lot of fear that if IS do take over Kobani, which is a city of 45,000
people, there will be a renewed exodus,"
Lizzie Phelan reported.
Turkish
authorities briefly closed the border on Sunday, after clashes broke
out between security forces and protesters, who had rallied in
support of the refugees.
The
number of Syrian Kurds who have crossed the border into Turkey over
the last several days, escaping from Islamic State fighters, has
exceeded 130,000, according to the latest estimate by Turkish
authorities.
The
figure was given by Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, who
believes the number of refugees is likely to grow.
"If
ISIL [Now the Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL] attacks continue in
the Kobane region, Turkey may face an intensive influx,"
Kurtulmus told reporters in Ankara, according to AFP.
"The
border is not being closed to refugees per se, it is being managed.
This is to ensure the civilian nature of asylum,"
Ariane Rummery, Senior Communications Officer of the UN Refugee
Agency, told RT. She added that the "management"
is a three-stage process, including a security screening, a health
screening "where people
can get vaccinations,"
and a registration process.
"I
think it's very important that the international community share the
burden and give any support they can to the hosting communities. We
have to remember that comparatively small numbers of refugees do move
further afield to Europe and so on, so we need open borders all
around in Europe and not just in the neighboring countries,"
Rummery told RT, adding that it's not just Turkey that needs help,
but also Lebanon and Jordan.
The
extremist group launched an offensive on Kurd-populated areas of
northern Syria on Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents to flee
their homes. The Islamic State has captured at least 64 villages
around the border city of Ayn al-Arab, or Kobani in Kurdish, which is
home to one of the largest Kurdish communities in Syria.
On
Sunday, protesters at the border accused Ankara of helping create the
problem of the Islamic State in the first place, by backing Syrian
rebels against President Assad.
Political
analyst Caleb Maupin also believes Ankara should share responsibility
for the current refugee crisis.
“The
fact that Turkey has allowed these extremists, which are seeking to
destabilize Syria to set up bases in Turkey and go over the border to
carry out their attacks in Syria... it’s going to come back to
haunt them. If you support these kinds of elements they will
eventually turn on you,”
Maupin told RT.
The
Turkish border with Syria has been reopened, but only at one point,
near the town of Mursitpinar, according to Turkey's emergencies
directorate, the AFAD.
"A
single point has been opened for displaced Syrians, so that we can do
identity control and give first aid, vaccinating people if
necessary,"
an AFAD official said, according to AFP.
The
UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, warned on Saturday that the total
number of refugees might eventually be estimated in the hundreds of
thousands.
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