US-Led Airstrikes Target Oil Sites In Syria

Cameron: 'We Must Tackle Islamic State Together'

Updated: 12:41pm UK, Thursday 25 September 2014

Islamic State has "murderous plans" to expand and carry out terrorist atrocities across the world, David Cameron has warned.

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, the Prime Minister said the militant group's rapid advance could be tackled with help from Iran and an end to Bashar al Assad's regime in Syria.

Mr Cameron was speaking ahead of an emergency debate in Parliament on Friday where he is expected to win cross-party support for airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq.

MPs will vote on whether RAF planes should join the US, France and five Arab states in bombing IS positions, possibly by the weekend.

The Cabinet is also meeting in London to discuss action against IS.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats pledged their support after a formal request for assistance from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi put potential UK involvement on a legal footing.

The Prime Minister insisted Britain had learned from "past mistakes" in Afghanistan and Iraq, but they would not become an excuse for inaction.

"Isil (Islamic State) is not a problem restricted to just one region. It has murderous plans to expand its borders well beyond Iraq and Syria and to carry out terrorist atrocities right across the world," he said.

"It is recruiting new fighters from all over the world. Five hundred have gone there from Britain and one of them almost certainly brutally murdered two American journalists and a British aid worker.

"We should learn the lessons of the past. But we have to learn the right lessons. Yes to careful preparation; no to rushing to join a conflict without a clear plan.

"But we must not be so frozen with fear that we don't do anything at all."

The Prime Minister's proposals only include military action in Iraq and not Syria, however, the Government has indicated that could expand but would need to be put to another vote.

Speaking on his regular LBC radio programme the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "If we were to decide to take a fuller role on Iraq and Syria then we would go back to the vote."

However, he insisted there would not be boots on the ground.

When asked about the cost of the action Mr Clegg said: "There will be funds to contribute to this but we can't say how much at the moment." But he added: "It will not break the bank."

During an historic meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier, Mr Cameron extended an invitation to Iran to join the fight against IS.

"We have severe disagreements," he said. "Iran's support for terrorist organisations, its nuclear programme, its treatment of its people; all these need to change.

"But Iran's leaders could help in defeating the threat from Isil. They could help secure a more stable, inclusive Iraq; and a more stable, inclusive Syria."

The Prime Minister added that an end to Bashar al Assad's regime in Syria was key to defeating the militant group.

"The failure to meet people's aspirations can create a breeding ground where extremist and even terrorist insurgency can take root," he said.

"In Syria, it must mean a political transition and an end to Assad's brutality. I know there are some who think that we should do a deal with Assad in order to defeat ISIL.

"But this view is dangerously misguided. Our enemies' enemy is not our friend. It is another enemy. Doing a deal with Assad will not defeat ISIL."

The PM was speaking as the US and an Arab alliance launched a fresh wave of airstrikes against strategic IS targets in Syria.

The attacks resulted in the death of a 19-year-old British insurgent from Brighton who was reportedly fighting alongside Islamist group Jabhat al Nusra against the Syrian regime.

In France, President Francois Hollande is holding an emergency meeting of his defence council following the "cowardly" beheading of French hostage Herve Gourdel in Algeria by IS-linked extremists.

French flags were set to be flown at half-mast after Mr Gourdel's murder and fighter jets carried out more airstrikes in Iraq on Thursday.

The Dutch Defence Ministry also said it was advising military personnel not to wear their uniforms on public transport over fears they could be targeted.

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Iraq Front Line 'Trenches' Like World War One

By Stuart Ramsay, Sky News Chief Correspondent

One can see the front line between the peshmerga and the Islamic State fighters from quite a distance on the outskirts of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

Their flags flutter in the wind. But they are so close now that from some angles you can't tell which is in front of the other.

This is the most dangerous and close front line in this conflict.

They are metres apart. Peshmerga soldiers gingerly peer over the earth wall that separates the two sides. There are snipers everywhere.

Absolutely nobody out here drops their guard for a second. On the wall, that single second lapse in concentration could cost you your life.

These battle lines are reminiscent of World War One. Two armies dug into these huge berms, trenches really, and a watery no man's land, a canal, dividing them.

Ramsay with peshmerga forces

The peshmerga are determined but lightly armed. The IS fighters are determined and heavily armed. But this is now a static front.

The pesh, as they are known, want to attack but know that across the canal IS aren't just well dug in but have the support, or at least tacit support, of the local population.

So this is about holding the line. The Kurds are hoping that will change.

In the clear blue skies above there is an occasional glint of light from the fuselage of jets patrolling and looking for IS targets.

We could hear the jet engines change tone as they began their descent into a bombing raid.

US jets have been involved in raids on IS in Iraq

From maybe a mile away we heard the explosion of a bomb drop and shortly afterwards the smoke rose into the air.

This has just started in this area but is happening across the north of Iraq. The coalition forces are attacking.

It has brought quiet to the front line. IS can't move when the jets are up. When it goes quiet they try to bring their vehicles forward.

The front lines are so close they hope the jets won't attack for fear of killing the Pesh.

In truth there have been a number of friendly fire incidents already and they are likely to continue if the US-led coalition ramps up the target selection and carries out a lot more bombing.

It's inevitable and the peshmerga understand that.

Islamic State fighters are heavily armed and determined

"We are fighting for the whole world, you have to understand that, we are fighting for everyone against these barbarians," Brigadier Bapir Sheik Wassany told me, looking across into IS territory.

"If you attack from the air and give us better weapons we will smash them. We don't want soldiers, we want weapons and airstrikes."

The pesh do have a tendency to get a bit carried away with the rhetoric.

But as a whole the Kurd military, made up of Special Forces and the Counter Terrorism Group, along with the peshmerga and a rather difficult alliance with Shia militia, can be pretty effective if they have the weapons and the all-important "Air" - the coalition's jets.

The reality is, though, that war cannot be won from the air.

In fact this war on IS probably can't be won without the actual support of the Sunni population where IS have made their home in Iraq and Syria.

Iraqi peshmerga troops load rockets into a launcher in northern Iraq

In a refugee camp in an Arab district of Kirkuk I chatted for an hour or so with Sunni refugees.

They have escaped their towns to avoid the bombing and to a degree IS, but mainly to escape the Shia militias; finding sanctuary in Kurdistan.

"We are protected by a military with one goal, to look after its people; answering to a government with one goal, to look after its people," their leader told me.

"If the airstrikes are 100% accurate on IS then we will go home. But if the Shia militia replace IS it will be worse," he said.

These people need a government that represents them and an army that they trust. If that happens then IS are finished here.

But it doesn't look likely for now and IS haven't gone anywhere.

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FBI: Islamic State's Jihadi John Identified

FBI Director James Comey says the bureau has identified the Islamic State (IS) militant known as Jihadi John.

But Mr Comey told reporters at the agency's headquarters in Washington DC he would not reveal the man's name or nationality.

The FBI director would not name the militant known as Jihadi John

He reportedly said: "I believe that we have identified him, I'm not going to tell you who I believe it is."

Asked if he would prioritise capturing the killer, he said: "We will do, and expend the effort that I think the American people would want us to and expect us to."

The UK Home Office said it did not comment on security operations.

Jihadi John appears to be left-handed and of average height and build

The jihadist group shocked the world when it released videos of a man with a southern English accent apparently killing two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and a British aid worker, David Haines.

In the three clips, the suspect holds a long knife and appears to begin hacking at the captives' necks. He shows only his eyes in all three videos.

Mr Haines widow has backed targeted British airstrikes.

The British Ambassador to the US, Sir Peter Westmacott, said last month the UK was close to identifying the suspect.

(L-R) James Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Haines

Sophisticated technology, including voice-recognition software, was being used to track him down, he added.

From the footage, the militant appears to be left-handed and of average height and build.

He was said to lead a small group of British jihadis who became known by hostages as The Beatles.

The FBI director also said around a dozen Americans are believed to be currently fighting with extremist groups in Syria.

He said more than 100 Americans in total had either managed to reach Syria, had been arrested while trying to travel there, or had gone and returned.

In his briefing, Mr Comey said a shadowy al Qaeda cell in Syria known as the Khorasan Group may still be plotting attacks on the West.

He said there was no sign yet that US airstrikes this week, which American officials believe killed Khorasan's leader, had disrupted the group's plans.

It comes as the US continued to carry out airstrikes on targets in Syria - and after officials dismissed reports that IS was planning to attack US and French subway systems.

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IS-Linked Group Beheads Hostage In Video

A French hostage has been beheaded in a video released by an Algerian group linked to Islamic State.

Herve Gourdel, a 55-year-old hiker from Nice in southern France, was kidnapped on Sunday by Jund al Khilifa.

The group had given France a 24-hour deadline to stop its airstrikes against IS in Iraq.

French president Francois Hollande confirmed the video was genuine and denounced the killing as "cruel and cowardly".

He added that he will be chairing a special security meeting at the Elysee Palace on Thursday.

In the clip issued by Algerian militants, the tourist was seen kneeling with his arms bound behind his back, as four masked men read a message in Arabic condemning France.

Mr Gourdel was then pushed on to his side and held down.

Shortly after the group - known as the Caliphate Soldiers in English - released the video, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius insisted the abduction would not deter his nation's participation in a US-led offensive against IS.

The video was entitled A Message With Blood To The French Government, and began to circulate on jihadist websites on Wednesday.

It began with an excerpt of Mr Hollande making a speech, before showing Mr Gourdel in his final moments of life.

Prior to the mountain guide's beheading, Mr Hollande had insisted: "As grave as this situation is, we will not give in to any blackmail, any pressure, any ultimatum, no matter how odious, how despicable."

In a statement before news of the killing emerged, Mr Gourdel's family said they had learned of the kidnapping "with great pain", and described him as a "father, partner, son, brother and very dear friend".

Intelligence sources believe there could be 10 Western hostages still being held by Islamic State.

One Briton, David Haines, and Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff, have been killed by the group in the past few weeks.

Islamic State has threatened to kill Alan Henning, a British aid convoy volunteer.

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Apple 'Pulls Back' iOS 8 Update Due To Flaws

New iPhone Selling For Thousands In China

Updated: 12:17pm UK, Tuesday 23 September 2014

Consumers in China are willing to pay as much as £2,000 to get their hands on a new iPhone 6.

The latest phone from Apple is not yet available in China, despite being made there, but that has not stopped the most dedicated of consumers from trying to buy from overseas sellers.

Sky News has seen numerous posts on Chinese social media websites where the phones are being sold at massive premiums.

One phone, apparently bought in Hong Kong, is now being advertised on China's Taobao marketplace for RMB19,500 (£1,950). Another appears to have been bought in Britain and shipped out to China for re-sale.

A standard iPhone 6 retails at £539 in the UK without a contract, and is as little as £99 with a contract.

The border between China and Hong Kong has been a smuggling route for centuries. The trade was once opium and weapons, but now it is phones.

Over the past three days, 600 iPhone 6 handsets have been seized by customs in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, having been smuggled over the border with Hong Kong.

According to the China's Guangzhou Daily newspaper, smugglers had hidden the phones in boxes of tea, coffee and toothpaste.

The iPhone 6 has not yet been given a launch date in mainland China because the telecoms authorities are yet to give it a licence.

But even without access to the Chinese consumer market, Apple still managed to sell 10 million of the new handsets globally in one weekend alone.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said: "Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn't be happier."

The first batch of iPhones was only available in the US, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, France, Germany and the UK. The limited release has caused mayhem among the Apple faithful.

In Japan, the release marked the first time that iPhones were sold without a SIM lock. This prompted dozens of Chinese buyers to fly to Japan and queue outside Japanese Apple stores.

At one Apple store in the city of Osaka, police were called after Chinese customers' anger boiled over when the store ran out of the phones.

An Apple representative in Beijing refused to comment on the unofficial market and would not confirm when the phone would be released in China. 

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US Coalition Pounds IS Targets For A Third Night

US and Arab coalition aircraft have bombarded Islamic State targets in Syria for a third night as Barack Obama promised to "dismantle this network of death".

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined the operation to destroy oil refineries in eastern Syria which are capable of producing millions of dollars' worth of revenue for the group.

A mix of manned and remotely-piloted aircraft were used to target oil production facilities near Al Mayadin, Al Hasakah and Abu Kamal.

US Navy F-18E Super Hornets leave after receiving fuel over northern Iraq

A statement released by US Central Command said early indications suggested the strikes had been successful.

"These small-scale refineries provided fuel to Isil (Islamic State) operations, money to finance their continued attacks throughout Iraq and Syria, and an economic asset to support their future operations.

"The US conducted these strikes as part of the President's comprehensive strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy Isil.

Syrian Kurds fleeing the Islamic State cross into Turkey

"The US and partner nations will continue to conduct airstrikes against Isil in Syria and Iraq and support Iraqi forces as they go on the offensive against this terrorist group."

But Syrian Kurds who fled towns and cities overrun by Islamic State said the group had responded to the airstrikes by focusing its assault near Syria's border with Turkey.

Despite the coalition's military superiority, an intensifying advance by IS militants on the northern town of Kobani underscored the difficulty Washington faces using airpower alone.

Obama warned IS militants to "leave the battlefield while they can"

"Those airstrikes are not important. We need soldiers on the ground," said Hamed, a refugee who fled into Turkey from Islamic State.

A teacher from Kobani who made it across the Turkish border said two of his brothers had been captured by the group.

Mazlum Bergaden said: "The situation is very bad. After they kill people, they are burning the villages. When they capture any village, they behead one person to make everyone else afraid.

"They are trying to eradicate our culture, purge our nation."

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 militants and five civilians were killed in the airstrikes.

Some 140,000 Syrian Kurds have crossed into Turkey in the last four days alone, and authorities are preparing for many more.

US President Barack Obama has called on the world to join together to destroy Islamic State, which he branded a "network of death".

Addressing the United Nations, he vowed to keep up the pressure on the militants, warning them to "leave the battlefield while they can".

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Rebel Leader Hails 'Revolution' In Yemen

Large parts of Yemen's capital Sanaa have been taken over by Shia rebels in what their leader described as a "successful revolution".

Around 200 people were killed in fighting last week between the Houthi insurgents and government forces.

Yemen's president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has signed a power-sharing agreement with the rebels, who had called for the "corrupt" government to quit.

Rebel leader Abdel Malik al Houthi said the deal had been a victory for "all the people".

And he said it could lead to price cuts and economic reforms to ease pressure on Yemen's poorest amid fuel price rises.

In a dramatic power shift, the rebels had pushed deep into the capital and control the central bank and several military bases.

Mr al Houthi said in a televised speech: "These great efforts created this great success - victory - for all the people, forcing an answer to popular demands.

"If it is implemented, this agreement will also change the government, which the people called to fall, to fail, because it stood on an unjust, non-consensual basis."

The rebels have taken over key buildings in the capital

He said the rebels had also removed "the most dangerous obstacles facing the state".

This was a reference to the Houthis' main opponents - Sunni tribal fighters and a powerful general, Ali Mohsen al Ahmar, who is backed by Sunni Islamists but was defeated by the rebels.

Mr al Houthi also vowed to go after al Qaeda in the country, calling the terror group the "remaining obstacle".

He said the way to battle them was through building a strong army and security forces with support of the "popular committees", a phrase used to refer to his rebel forces.

The president has defended himself, insisting he had not surrendered the capital to the rebels and saying a foreign "conspiracy" was at work.

Yemen's president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi

That appears to be a veiled reference to Iran, which he has accused of arming and supporting the Houthis. Iran denies doing so.

Yemen has struggled to recover after veteran autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted amid Arab Spring protests in 2011.

The military split between forces loyal to Mr Saleh and those backing General al Ahmar, who had backed the uprising and went on to become a military adviser to Mr Hadi.

The divisions contributed to the rise of al Qaeda militants and the advance of the Houthis.

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New Phil Spector Prison Mugshots Released

Two new photos of the former record producer and songwriter Phil Spector show the toll prison life has taken on him.

Spector is without his wigs these days

The most recent image, from October 2013, shows a bald, sombre-looking Spector staring straight into the camera.

The 73-year-old is serving 19 years to life after shooting the actress Lana Clarkson at his California mansion in 2003.

An earlier photo of a smiling Spector is dated July 24, 2013.

Before his conviction, Spector was known for the array of wigs he would wear in public and during his two trials in 2007 and 2008.

California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said the October photo was taken when Spector was moved to the prison system's huge California Heath Care Facility in Stockton.

The facility provides medical and mental health care to the state's sickest inmates, including those with chronic conditions.

Ms Thornton said she could not reveal details of Spector's health because of state medical privacy regulations.

Lana Clarkson and Spector during his 2009 trial

Spector always maintained his innocence and claimed Clarkson died from accidental suicide.

A 2013 HBO film called Phil Spector, written and directed by David Mamet and starring Al Pacino as Spector and Dame Helen Mirren as a defence lawyer, depicted a fictionalised account of the murder and trials.        

Spector in court in 2005

Spector became known for his Wall of Sound production method. He worked with a number of huge stars in the 1960s, co-writing the Righteous Brothers hit You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling.

He produced The Beatles' album Let It Be in 1970.

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Abu Qatada Not Returning To UK, Says May

Timeline: Qatada Legal Battle

Updated: 10:35am UK, Wednesday 24 September 2014

Abu Qatada challenged and ultimately thwarted every attempt by the Government to detain and deport him for many years.

Here is a timeline of the legal battle.

1993: Abu Qatada claims asylum when he arrives in Britain on a forged passport.

1994: Allowed to stay in Britain.

1995: Issues a "fatwa" justifying the killing of converts from Islam, their wives and children in Algeria.

1998: Applies for indefinite leave to remain in Britain.

1999: April - Convicted in his absence on terror charges in Jordan and sentenced to life imprisonment.

October - Speaks in London advocating the killing of Jews and praising attacks on Americans.

2001: February - Arrested by anti-terror police over involvement in a plot to bomb Strasbourg Christmas market. Officers find him with £170,000 in cash, including £805 in an envelope marked "For the mujahedin in Chechnya".

December - Becomes one of Britain's most wanted men after going on the run from his home in west London.

2002: Arrested by police in a council house in south London and detained in Belmarsh high-security jail.

2005: Freed on conditional bail and placed on a control order but arrested again in August under immigration rules as the Government seeks to deport him to Jordan.

2008: April: Court of Appeal rules deportation would breach his human rights because evidence used against him in Jordan might have been obtained through torture.

May - Granted bail by the immigration tribunal but told he must stay inside for 22 hours a day.

June - Released from Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire and moves into a four-bedroom house in west London.

November - He is rearrested after the Home Office tells an immigration hearing of fears he plans to abscond.

December - Qatada's bail is revoked by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) after hearing secret evidence that the risk of him absconding has increased.

2009: Five Law Lords unanimously back the Government's policy of removing terror suspects from Britain on the basis of assurances from foreign governments and it is ruled he can be deported to Jordan to face a retrial on the terror charges.

He is awarded 2,800 euro (£2,500) compensation by the European Court of Human Rights after the judges rule that his detention without trial in the UK under anti-terrorism powers breached his human rights.

2012: January - European judges rule he can be sent to Jordan with diplomatic assurances but not while "there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him".

February - He is released on strict bail conditions.

April - Rearrested as the Government prepares to deport him after Jordan gives assurances it will "bend over backwards" to ensure he receives a fair trial.

March - Qatada's legal team loses its bid to have the case heard by the Europe's human rights judges, clearing the way for deportation proceedings to continue.

May and August - Siac rejects Qatada's applications for bail.

October - Siac holds appeal hearing.

November - His appeal is granted and he is granted bail.

December - Qatada is moved to a larger residence in the greater London area.

2013: March 9 - It emerges Qatada has been arrested for allegedly breaching his bail conditions. He is ordered to stay in custody and sent to Belmarsh.

March 21 - Police reveal the cleric is being investigated over extremist material.

March 27 - Home Secretary Theresa May loses her appeal over Siac's decision to allow Qatada to stay in the UK. The Home Office vows to appeal.

April 17 - The Home Office formally announces that it is seeking leave from the Court of Appeal to take the case to the Supreme Court.

April 22 - The Court of Appeal refuses permission to go to the Supreme Court, forcing the Home Office to appeal directly to the highest court in the land.

April 23 - Theresa May tells MPs she has signed a new treaty with Jordan that should pave the way to deportation, but warns it might take "many months".

May 10 - Qatada's barrister says he will go back to Jordan voluntarily if the treaty on the use of evidence obtained by torture, guaranteeing he will not be tortured, is ratified by the Jordanian parliament.

May 20 - Qatada is refused bail by the Special Immigrations Appeals Commission after "jihadist material" is found on a computer memory stick.

July 2 - The new treaty between Jordan and Britain is fully ratified, sparking claims Qatada could be on a plane within days.

July 3 - A Jordanian government official tells AFP the cleric is due back on Sunday.

July 7 - Flown from RAF Northolt to Jordan

December 10: Pleads not guilty to terrorism charges at a state security court in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

2014: June 26 - Acquitted of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism over 1998 bomb plots allegations.

September 24 - Acquitted over plot to target Western tourists over the New Year in Jordan in 2000.

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Cameron Ready To Work With Iran To Defeat IS

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

David Cameron is to become the first British Prime Minister to meet an Iranian President since 1979 in a historic encounter in New York.

Downing Street says the meeting with Hassan Rouhani is part of efforts to mobilise support against the Islamic State and drop Iran's support for the Assad regime in Syria.

The Prime Minister will be attending the United Nations general assembly and is hoping to secure UN approval for a comprehensive strategy to deal with the brutal militant group.

The PM will dicuss the threat posed by Islamic State with Iran's president

It marks Mr Cameron's determination to enlist the active support of regional powers in the Middle East in taking on IS, which has seized control of swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

The group has also carried out a string of atrocities against local people and foreigners as it seeks to impose its own brand of extremist Sunni Islam.

Mr Cameron will also join US President Barack Obama and other members of the UN Security Council to discuss the threat posed by foreign fighters - thought to include hundreds of Britons - engaged in the conflict.

Officials say he will set out in his speech that the threat from extremism is faced by everyone and international action is required to defeat it.

World leaders meet annually for the event in New York which is often criticised for being long on talk and short on action.

Ahead of the encounter, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei issued damning criticism of the UK and the US calling them warmongers for their planned actions in Iraq.

Also on the agenda with be Iran's nuclear-enrichment programme

Britain has yet to commit support for air strikes and there has been US speculation it may step up its military intervention now the Scottish independence referendum is out of the way.

Britain and the US also hope to see a new UN Security Council resolution preventing the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria.

Tehran will also call for flexibility on its uranium-enrichment programme which has led to sanctions due to Western concerns any nuclear capability could be used militarily.

Downing Street said Mr Cameron had "no illusion" about the threat posed by Iran's nuclear operations, but was ready to work with Tehran if it was willing to join the effort to defeat IS.

There is a sense of urgency this year given the threat posed by IS, but also the catastrophic dangers posed by global warming. 

Ahead of the meeting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned time is running out to unite against the global threat of climate change. 

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