Rwanda Militia Commander 'Tired Of War'

Key Events In Rwanda

Updated: 9:32am UK, Sunday 21 September 2014

Up to 5 million people have died in DR Congo during two decades of violence which followed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Many of those blamed for the mass killings fled to DRC, then called Zaire.

Here is a timeline of key historical events in Rwanda:

:: January 1, 1932: Belgium, which controlled Rwanda, introduced identity cards which distinguished between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis for the first time. These cards helped identify Tutsis in the 1994 massacre.

:: November 5, 1959: A Hutu rebellion against the Belgian colonial power and the favoured Tutsis led to 150,000 Tutsis fleeing to Burundi.

:: July 1, 1962: Rwanda and Burundi became independent with the Hutus ruling in Rwanda and Tutsis retaining power in Burundi.

:: December 1, 1963: Up to 20,000 Tutsis massacred in Rwanda in response to a cross-border attack by exiled Tutsis in neighbouring Burundi.

:: June 10, 1987: Exiled Tutsis from Rwanda formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Uganda.

:: October 1, 1990: A 7,000-strong RPF force attacks Rwanda from Uganda following the death of thousands of Tutsis at the hands of the government-trained Interahamwe militia.

:: August 4, 1993: The Arusha Accord brought an end to the civil war and a power-sharing agreement between the RPF and the Hutu-led government.

:: October 5, 1993: UN Security Council establishes a peacekeeping mission to oversee the Accord and around 2,500 UN military personnel were deployed.

:: April 6, 1994: Aircraft carrying President Habyarimana of Rwanda and President Ntaryamira of Burundi was shot down, killing all on board.

:: April 7, 1994: Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a moderate Hutu, and 10 Belgian Peacekeepers were murdered by Rwandan government soldiers.

This marked the start of 100 days of genocide which saw up to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus killed by extremist Hutus.

:: July 19, 1994: RPF takes control of Rwanda and sets up a Government of National Unity. About  2 million Hutus, including some involved in the genocide, flee to Zaire fearing revenge attacks.

In the following 20 years, fighting continued in DRC with Rwanda accused of invading to pursue Hutus implicated in the genocide and of supporting rebel movements there.

Numerous ceasefires failed to stop the bloodshed and the UN declared that by 2001, 2.5 million had died.

Further peace deals followed, with agreements to hand over Hutus blamed for the genocide in Rwanda.

But more fighting erupted in 2008 as Rebel General and Tutsi Laurent Nkunde's forces clashed with Congolese troops. Rwanda denied backing Nkunde.

Other groups, like the infamous Lord's Resistance Army and pro-Hutu militias intent on the overthrow of the Rwandan government, have operated  inside DRC and added to the bloodshed.

More recently, warlords like Bosco Ntaganda and Thomas Lubanga have been brought to justice but Congolese and Rwandan troops clashed on the countries' borders as recently as June this year.

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Rival Afghan Leaders Sign Power-Sharing Deal

A deal to create a power-sharing government in Afghanistan has been signed by the rival presidential candidates after months of wrangling following a disputed election.

Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, who will become president under the deal reached on Saturday night, embraced rival Abdullah Abdullah, who takes the new role of chief executive, after they signed the agreement in a ceremony broadcast live on television.

The deal, brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry, was swiftly welcomed by Washington.

"This agreement marks an important opportunity for unity and increased stability in Afghanistan," said a statement issued by the White House.

"We continue to call on all Afghans - including political, religious, and civil society leaders - to support this agreement and to come together in calling for co-operation and calm."

The deal ends three months of political wrangling

A Downing Street spokesman welcomed the deal, adding: "This will bring to an end a period of uncertainty and enable a peaceful and democratic transfer of power.

"The UK remains committed to supporting Afghanistan. We look forward to working with the new Government to help the Afghan people realise the prosperous and peaceful future they deserve."

With the departure of foreign troops, the new administration faces huge challenges in fighting an emboldened Taliban-led insurgency and paying its bills amid plummeting tax revenue.

It will also face significant difficulty in improving the lives of ordinary Afghans as aid flows fall and as contracts with the Nato-led coalition dry up.

The signing ceremony took place at the presidential palace which is still occupied by outgoing leader Hamid Karzai, who had been in power since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.

US Secretary of State John Kerry brokered the deal

Mr Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi said Mr Ghani is expected to be sworn in as president within a week.

He said one of Mr Ghani's first acts would be to sign a long-delayed bilateral security agreement with the US to allow a small force of foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014.

The uncertainty surrounding the political transition has seen more Taliban-led attacks across Afghanistan, just as the newly trained Afghan security forces prepare to lead the fight against the militants on their own after foreign troops withdraw.

Teams from the Ghani and Abdullah camps met late into Saturday night to try to finalise the power-sharing deal before the planned release of results of a UN-monitored audit of all eight million ballots cast in the June 14 run-off.

No time has been set for the announcement.

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Jude Law 'Overwhelmed' By DR Congo Suffering

Key Events In Rwanda

Updated: 9:32am UK, Sunday 21 September 2014

Up to 5 million people have died in DR Congo during two decades of violence which followed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Many of those blamed for the mass killings fled to DRC, then called Zaire.

Here is a timeline of key historical events in Rwanda:

:: January 1, 1932: Belgium, which controlled Rwanda, introduced identity cards which distinguished between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis for the first time. These cards helped identify Tutsis in the 1994 massacre.

:: November 5, 1959: A Hutu rebellion against the Belgian colonial power and the favoured Tutsis led to 150,000 Tutsis fleeing to Burundi.

:: July 1, 1962: Rwanda and Burundi became independent with the Hutus ruling in Rwanda and Tutsis retaining power in Burundi.

:: December 1, 1963: Up to 20,000 Tutsis massacred in Rwanda in response to a cross-border attack by exiled Tutsis in neighbouring Burundi.

:: June 10, 1987: Exiled Tutsis from Rwanda formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Uganda.

:: October 1, 1990: A 7,000-strong RPF force attacks Rwanda from Uganda following the death of thousands of Tutsis at the hands of the government-trained Interahamwe militia.

:: August 4, 1993: The Arusha Accord brought an end to the civil war and a power-sharing agreement between the RPF and the Hutu-led government.

:: October 5, 1993: UN Security Council establishes a peacekeeping mission to oversee the Accord and around 2,500 UN military personnel were deployed.

:: April 6, 1994: Aircraft carrying President Habyarimana of Rwanda and President Ntaryamira of Burundi was shot down, killing all on board.

:: April 7, 1994: Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a moderate Hutu, and 10 Belgian Peacekeepers were murdered by Rwandan government soldiers.

This marked the start of 100 days of genocide which saw up to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus killed by extremist Hutus.

:: July 19, 1994: RPF takes control of Rwanda and sets up a Government of National Unity. About  2 million Hutus, including some involved in the genocide, flee to Zaire fearing revenge attacks.

In the following 20 years, fighting continued in DRC with Rwanda accused of invading to pursue Hutus implicated in the genocide and of supporting rebel movements there.

Numerous ceasefires failed to stop the bloodshed and the UN declared that by 2001, 2.5 million had died.

Further peace deals followed, with agreements to hand over Hutus blamed for the genocide in Rwanda.

But more fighting erupted in 2008 as Rebel General and Tutsi Laurent Nkunde's forces clashed with Congolese troops. Rwanda denied backing Nkunde.

Other groups, like the infamous Lord's Resistance Army and pro-Hutu militias intent on the overthrow of the Rwandan government, have operated  inside DRC and added to the bloodshed.

More recently, warlords like Bosco Ntaganda and Thomas Lubanga have been brought to justice but Congolese and Rwandan troops clashed on the countries' borders as recently as June this year.

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Alibaba Bigger Than Facebook On Market Debut

Alibaba Boss Like A Rock Star At 'Epic' IPO

Updated: 7:22pm UK, Friday 19 September 2014

By Hannah Thomas-Peter, New York Correspondent

As Jack Ma swept past me on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I asked him how he was feeling.

He smiled at me, waved and mouthed "ok" before turning to a bank of cameras trained on the founder and spiritual leader of Alibaba.

"Ok," felt like a bit of an understatement.

Such was the demand and volume associated with the Alibaba IPO it took nearly two-and-a-half hours for the New York Stock Exchange's designated market maker (DMM) to decide on the right opening price.

The DMM is a person, not a computer. In this case it was Barclays' Glenn Carell.

He was also the DMM for the Twitter IPO, and is responsible for gauging appetite and supply, honing in on the right opening price for a stock.

It's a big job.

If there are technical problems he can override the system and trade on paper.

If there's uncontrollable volatility he can use his company's own cash to step in and stabilise things.

He told Sky News: "This is a very exciting day for me.

"It's the biggest IPO ever, and we really want to get the best price for opening.

"We have to go slow and get it right."

As traders crowded in on Glenn communicating orders from clients, electronic requests also poured in from across the world, flashing up on screens in front of his team.

Over two hours the price indicator range, which helps investors know how much the shares will cost once trading begins, crept from around $80 to over $90.

"Investors really want this stock," said Meridian Partners trader Jonathan Corpina.

"They see a very well-diversified company with huge international exposure.

"Even if US investors don't know the brand name, the product is easy to understand, and it's a good one."

As Glenn yelled "we're getting close!" the traders bunched together like rugby players in a scrum, whoops rang out, tension rose.

"Come on Glenn what's the price? Close it, close it," muttered one trader, his electronic trading tablet buzzing and beeping with impatient clients.

"$92.70!" came the shout, and trading began, starting with a short-lived 'pop' up to $99, before settling back down in Glenn's predicted range.

"Phew" said one NYSE executive to another.

"I tell you, that was pretty epic."

Glenn looked relieved as trading continued smoothly, confessing he would be having a glass of champagne later that evening.

Jack Ma may well do the same.

As he left the exchange to get in to his car, it was as if a rock star had left his concert.

Fans yelled and screamed and cheered and photographed for all they were worth.

Ma waved, smiled and slipped in to a waiting SUV.

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Kerry Says Iran Has A Role in Defeating IS

The Day I Came Face To Face With Islamic State

Updated: 7:53am UK, Tuesday 16 September 2014

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

I was told to wait on the side of a road outside a mosque in the Syrian city of Aleppo. An Emir speaking in the mosque would see me after prayers.

As hundreds of worshippers streamed through the open doors, a young man with long, black hair emerged surrounded by the most thuggish bunch of gunmen I had ever come across in Syria, and that takes some doing.

They fired up matt black cars, jeeps and trucks with anti-aircraft guns welded to the floor. He stopped briefly and shook my hand while my trusted translator introduced me.

He never took his eyes off me as he was asked if we could film in his area. He nodded and told us to follow them.

His convoy screamed down the road past their headquarters and crossed two blocks into the territory of another gang. The trucks split into sections and they surrounded a building.

Then they started firing. Hundreds if not thousands of rounds smashing through doors and windows, brick work pulverised into dust, walls collapsing. If there was anyone inside they died. It was brutal. I had just met ISIS.

It was in the early months of 2013 and ISIS was growing stronger by the week. I would regularly come across them or other groups who would soon join them, over the next few months.

It soon became clear to me and my translators and guides that the usual dangers of travelling through Syria that I had been dealing with since the winter of 2011 had got a lot worse.

Stories of violent roaming checkpoints, abductions, killings and the imposition of strict Sharia law in previously relaxed secular areas began to grow.

We heard of local people, aid workers and journalists, some of them my friends, being taken. But we had good relations with the fledgling ISIS leadership and by keeping a very low profile and with a network of drivers who knew every road we managed to avoid the checkpoints and disappear into the teeming streets of Aleppo.

In a school room converted into a court another Emir, Abu Al Homam, ruled on local disputes. Handing out judgements with a ruthless uncompromising efficiency.

He told me they did not execute people although he insisted he could. At that stage he said cutting people's hands off was enough to instil order over Aleppo's growing problem of crime.

But as I asked about a beheading we had been told of, one of my team saw the Emir's adviser shaking his head indicating that he should not admit to ordering the death penalty. Later locals told me it was common.

Abu Al Homam was not strictly speaking ISIS at that point. But he talked of the creation of a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and warned Western governments not to interfere in the business of Muslims.

All sounds pretty familiar now, beheadings and caliphates and the like.

With remarkable speed ISIS grew. From Al Raqqha to the east of Aleppo, with access to oil fields and out of the reach of the Syrian government forces, they stabilised, launched their takeover of much of northern Iraq and changed their name to Islamic State.

While some of the myriad jihadist groups in Syria are fighting IS they have become the pre-eminent power. Their ruthlessness and total disregard for reasonable norms have surprised everyone.

A senior intelligence officer in Iraq explained the difference between IS and even al Qaeda's most extreme members.

"With AQ I could rationally argue that what they did in beheading a person was against the Koran. It might take days, but they would listen and often they would accept it and agree it was wrong," he told me.

"IS are totally different. They do not care. They are bloodthirsty and pure evil. They need to be destroyed as an organisation and then killed," he added.

For people like me who have worked so hard reporting the uprising in Syria against the regime of Bashar al Assad, this is all very depressing. Whatever anyone says, the uprising was real. It was not a jihadi-inspired takeover. But in many ways it is now.

Travelling was always dangerous, but with IS spies in areas they don't control and desperate people prepared to hand over foreigners to IS for cash it is probably too dangerous to go there right now.

Last year I set out for Al Raqqah. A long, dangerous trip with multiple car swaps. Finally we reached a house and were told to wait for people in the city to fetch us.

They never arrived, but after a day some other rebels did and offered to take us in. We thought long and hard. To go would break all my own safety rules, but I was tempted. Had they driven the road? Was it okay?

After hours of talk they admitted they had not been to the city in four days. I declined their invitation and they waved to us as they headed off.

An hour down the road they drove into a checkpoint. All four were killed on the side of the road. These are the days of IS.

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Freed Islamic State Hostages Return To Turkey

Dozens of Turkish hostages seized by Islamic State militants in Iraq have been freed in what Turkey's President described as a secret rescue operation.

The 49 hostages - including diplomatic staff, special forces soldiers and children - were taken from the Turkish consulate in Mosul in Iraq on June 11 after the city was overrun by Islamic State (IS) fighters.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said they were released after a "pre-planned operation" involving the country's intelligence services.

Mr Davutoglu hugs a child. It is not known if she is one of the hostages

"After intense efforts that lasted days and weeks, in the early hours, our citizens were handed over to us and we brought them back to our country," he said.

It was not immediately clear what Turkey had done to secure the safe return of the hostages, but Turkish independent broadcaster NTV said no ransom was paid and there were no clashes with insurgents during the operation to release them.

President Tayyip Erdogan said: "I thank the Prime Minister and his colleagues for the pre-planned, carefully calculated and secretly conducted operation throughout the night.

Mr Davutoglu (L) gets on a plane with the freed hostages

"MIT (the Turkish intelligence agency) has followed the situation very sensitively and patiently since the beginning and, as a result, conducted a successful rescue operation."

Police formed a cordon outside the airport in the southern Turkish city of Sanliurfa as the hostages arrived in buses with curtains drawn.

The Prime Minister, who cut short an official trip to Azerbaijan to travel to Sanliurfa, hugged the hostages before boarding a plane with them to the capital, Ankara.

The hostages were taken in Mosul and returned to Sanliurfa

Mr Davutoglu did not provide further details on the circumstances of the release, but said it was carried out through "MIT's own methods".

Sky's Senior Correspondent Ian Woods said: "It seems that some sort of deal must have been done because these are people, unlike the Western hostages, journalists and aid workers, these were people who were not in the country of their own volition.

"To describe this as something co-ordinated by the intelligence service suggests that a deal has been done. It was described as a rescue mission, but we should not think of this as such because is it unlikely they could rescue all 49 people without casualties."

Seizure of the hostages put Turkey in a difficult position as a summit of 30 countries met in Paris last week to co-ordinate their response to the IS threat.

IS fighters in Mosul, Iraq. File image

The nations agreed to "support the Iraqi government by any means necessary - including military assistance".

Turkey resisted joining the coalition and the United States was careful not to push Ankara too hard as it worked to free the hostages.

The hostage release comes as Turkey opened up its border to thousands of Kurds fleeing clashes with IS in neighbouring Syria.

Under tight security, the refugees, mostly women and children, crossed to the Turkish side of the border in the southeastern village of Dikmetas.

The group is still holding British hostage Alan Henning

"We have taken in 4,000 brothers," Mr Davutoglu told reporters.

"The entries have started now. The number might increase. Their needs will be met. This is a humanitarian mission."

Islamic State has killed two US journalists and a British aid worker who were working in Syria in retaliation for airstrikes that Washington launched against them in Iraq.

IS is also holding two British hostages captured in Syria who have appeared in videos released by the group.

A group of Muslim scholars has made a direct appeal to IS to release hostage Alan Henning.

Mr Cantlie was seen in an IS video

In a video message posted online, the men told the 47-year-old's captors that killing him would be against Islamic law.

Mr Henning, a taxi driver from Salford, was delivering aid in Syria when he was captured in December near the town of al Dana.

A video released on Thursday showing British journalist John Cantlie, who is also believed to be held by IS.

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New IS Video Shows Another British Hostage

British Muslims Plea For 'Mercy' For UK Hostage

Updated: 8:39am UK, Thursday 18 September 2014

British Muslim leaders have united to call for the Islamic State extremist group to release the UK hostage Alan Henning.

They have urged the militants to show mercy to the 47-year-old from Salford, and to let him go unharmed.

The father of two travelled to Syria with charity workers in December, but was kidnapped and now faces beheading at the hands of the terrorist dubbed Jihadi John.

The intervention came as a friend of Mr Henning, who was on the same aid convoy, made a direct appeal to IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, to show "compassion and mercy".

In the video the man describes travelling "several times" to Syria with Mr Henning.

"On all occasions, we - your Muslim brothers - brought him with us under our care and protection," he says.

"Alan was so moved by the suffering of the Syrian people, in particular the children, that he devoted all his free time in raising money and awareness about their suffering.

"He washed cars to raise money, he collected aid, he talked to everybody he met about crimes committed against the Muslims in Syria."

More than 100 Muslim leaders have signed a statement to IS pleading for Mr Henning's release, and branding them "monsters" for the brutal murder of fellow hostage David Haines.

In a letter published in the Independent newspaper, they said: "We, the undersigned British Muslim Imams, organisations and individuals, wish to express our horror and revulsion at the senseless murder of David Haines and the threat to the life of our fellow British citizen, Alan Henning."

They said those holding Mr Henning hostage must accept that what they are doing is against the Koran and "constitutes the worst condemnable sin".

The Muslim Council of Britain was among the signatories.

Dr Shuja Shafi, the council's Secretary General, said: "Such a man should be celebrated, not incarcerated. Taking such people hostage, and murdering them, are against the principles laid out in the Qur'an and our Prophetic traditions."

It comes as new footage shows Mr Henning en route to Syria, saying it is "all worthwhile" to make sure aid gets to where it is needed.

Mr Henning, a taxi driver, was kidnapped within 30 minutes of crossing from Turkey into Syria.

He had volunteered to drive an ambulance full of medical aid as part of a community-funded charity trip organised by volunteers from Bolton and the UK Arab Society.

It is believed he was abducted by IS in Al Dana, a town 38km (24 miles) from Aleppo.

Reports suggest he was separated from Muslim counterparts by masked men.

Friends who travelled with him said they made desperate attempt to get him freed before returning to the UK.

The man in the video appeal describes Mr Henning's commitment to raise as much money as he could for refugees of Syria's civil war.

The YouTube appeal was partly co-ordinated by Cage - a group campaigning against the so-called "war on terror".

Emotionally overwhelmed at the end of the video, the man urges IS leader al Baghdadi to "please, please, please, release Alan."

"He has no affiliation with any political agenda," he says.

"Show him compassion and mercy as he showed compassion and mercy to Muslims of Syria."

Mr Henning appeared at the end of the video released on Saturday in which Mr Haines was beheaded by IS - with a threat that he would be next.

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Cantlie Video: New Tactic From Islamic State

I've never seen a hostage video like this before. Neither have the people I've spoken to with experience of these things.

It is surreal and it represents a new tactic from Islamic State.

As we have come to expect from this organisation, it is professionally filmed, and from a number of camera angles.

There are few clues as to John Cantlie's location, save for a faint noise, perhaps a car horn, suggesting he might be in a town.

He has shaved dark hair and a trimmed goatee beard. His arms are resting on the table, his hands interlocked, he appears relaxed.

This video differs from previous ones in a number of ways:

There is no violence and none threatened.

Mr Cantlie appears by himself, none of his captors are to be seen.

He is indoors not in the Syrian desert.

John Cantlie

But what is common to all the recent videos, is the use of a hostage to spread the IS message and to question western policy.

Mr Cantlie appears calm, his words deliberate and his tone at times almost jaunty.

In previous videos, Islamic State have addressed President Obama or David Cameron. This video addresses the public directly.

Mr Cantlie delivers the words perfectly, suggesting he is reading off a script or reciting from memory.

There is no obvious sign that he is under duress but he confirms he is still a hostage and so we must assume he is being forced to do this.

Towards the end, he teases us, the viewer, with the promise of future appearances.

"Join me for the next few programmes and I think you may be surprised at what you learn," he says. It is delivered in the manner of a daytime television presenter.

Although this is a new approach from Islamic State, unfortunately it doesn't necessarily confirm that the group has abandoned the tactic of beheading hostages.

At 3 minutes, 16 seconds, the video fades to black.

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Obama's Syria Plan Clears Sceptical Senate

President Obama's plan to train and equip "moderate" Syrian rebels has passed Congress, despite misgivings among lawmakers.

Syrian refugees crowd a Turkish border fence on Thursday

The Senate backed the measure by 73 votes to 22, a day after it was approved by the House of Representatives.

Leaders of both parties are backing Mr Obama's strategy to help Syrian insurgents take on the Islamic State extremists, but the rank and file in each chamber expressed grave reservations.

"Intervention that destabilises the Middle East is a mistake," said Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, a potential 2016 presidential candidate.

"And yet here we are again wading into a civil war."

A jihadist gunman looks at bottles of perfume at a shop in Raqqa, Syria

Democratic Alaska Senator Mark Begich said he also disagreed with Mr Obama's strategy, adding: "It is time for the Arab countries to...get over their regional differences."

The administration dispatched its top officials to Capitol Hill for a second day to assure lawmakers there would be no US troops fighting in the Middle East.

The Pentagon chief is the latest official to rule out ground forces

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told a House panel that Mr Obama "is not going to order American combat ground forces into that area".

Secretary of State John Kerry told another committee the administration appreciated the danger of a "slippery slope". 

Focusing lawmakers' minds, the Islamic State paraded their latest hostage on Thursday.

They released a video showing a British journalist, who they said he was their prisoner.

The extremists have already beheaded three Westerners after capturing a third of Syria and Iraq.

A protester is removed as the Defence Secretary testifies before the House

The group also took over 21 villages in northern Syria this week, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The House approved the Obama proposal by 273-156 on Wednesday.

Republicans, usually stalwart antagonists of the president, backed the measure by more than double the margin of his war-weary Democratic allies.

The Islamists took 21 Syrian villages this week, sparking a refugee exodus

The plan, which is an amendment to a short-term spending bill, does not include the $500m (£300m) the White House says it needs to arm and train the rebels.

The idea is that US troops will train Syrian rebels at camps in Saudi Arabia, a process that could take a year, say military officials.

Defence officials have said they expect to recruit and train about 5,000 non-extremist rebel fighters.

But lawmakers have expressed doubt this will be enough to take on the Islamic State, who the CIA estimates can muster up to 31,000 fighters.

Mr Obama's strategy is to use American warplanes to help Kurdish peshmerga fighters and national forces in Iraq and the rebels in Syria do the fighting on the ground.

Fears of mission creep were raised two days ago when the nation's top military leader, General Martin Dempsey, raised the possibility of US ground troops eventually fighting in Iraq.

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Obama Again Rules Out Iraq Combat Role For US

President Barack Obama has reiterated there will be no US combat troops in Iraq, a day after his top general raised that very possibility.

Mr Obama spoke upon receiving an update from military chiefs at US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, about the US campaign of airstrikes against the Islamic State militants.

"The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission," he told troops at MacDill Air Force Base.

"They will support Iraqi forces on the ground as they fight for their own country against these terrorists.

President Obama and US Central Command chief, General Lloyd Austin

"As your commander in chief, I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq."

Army General Martin Dempsey told Congress on Tuesday he might recommend to the president that US troops fight alongside Iraqi forces if the current strategy of airstrikes failed to break the Islamic State group.

Since last month, the US has conducted more than 160 airstrikes to weaken the extremists.

Secretary of State John Kerry said the group must be stopped "end of story"

Mr Obama plans to rely on US air power as well as Iraqi and Kurdish forces and the Syrian opposition to carry out the fight on the ground.

The House of Representatives approved by 273-156 Mr Obama's request for authority to equip and train "moderate" Syrian rebels to take on the Islamic State.

Testifying before a Senate committee on Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry said Islamic State forces "must be defeated. Period. End of story".

A displaced Iraqi child displays his drawing at a refugee camp in Irbil

US Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, appeared to leave the door ajar for US combat troops, as he visited Iowa.

Asked about Gen Dempsey's remarks, he said: "We'll determine that based on how the effort goes."

But Iraq's new prime minister said foreign ground troops were "out of the question".

Haider al Abadi, who took office this month, said: "Not only is it not necessary, we don't want them. We won't allow them. Full stop."

Shia fighters, who have joined the battle against IS, train in Najaf

However, Gen Dempsey, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said half of Iraq's army is incapable of working with the US to recapture territory from Islamic State.

Only 26 of 50 Iraqi army brigades were capable partners for the US, he said, as he flew to Paris for a meeting with his French counterpart.

The others were too dominated by Shias to be part of a credible national force, he added.

Meanwhile, Islamic State has released a video warning the US that fighters await it in Iraq if troops are sent there.

Islamic State fighters have seized large parts of Iraq and Syria

The 52-second clip, entitled Flames Of War, shows fighters destroying tanks, wounded US soldiers and others about to be killed.

It ends with a text overlay that reads "fighting has just begun".

The CIA estimates the Sunni militant group has somewhere between 20,000 and 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told NC News the Islamic State militants want to "kill humanity".

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