US President Barack Obama at the UN in 2013. (photo credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
NEW YORK (AP) – For US President Barack Obama, the participation of five Arab nations in airstrikes against militants in Syria marked an unexpected foreign policy victory as he plunges the US deeper into a military conflict in the Middle East that he has reluctantly embraced.
The US announced the strikes hours before Obama was due to arrive in New York for three days of talks with foreign leaders at the annual United Nations General Assembly. The cooperation by Arab partners provided a significant boost to Obama’s efforts to build an international coalition to take on the Islamic State militants who have moved freely across the border between Iraq and Syria.
US officials said Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates participated in the strikes against Islamic State targets, as Obama significantly ramped up US military involvement in Syria, a country that has been mired in a brutal three-year civil war.
“America is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations,” Obama said during remarks from the White House shortly before departing for New York. “This is not America’s fight alone.”
While in New York for the UN meetings, Obama will also be facing other crises that highlight the extraordinary range of challenges demanding US attention across multiple continents. He’ll speak at a high-level UN meeting on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and meet with other leaders to discuss Russia’s provocations in Ukraine.
Along with the fight against the Islamic State, the trio of crises has raised questions about the effectiveness of Obama’s foreign policy and negatively affected the American public’s views of his handling of world affairs.
Obama was also to speak Tuesday at a UN meeting on climate change. And he’ll address the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual gathering hosted by former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The White House said Obama’s remarks will focus on bolstering civil society around the world.
But the bulk of the president’s agenda in New York will focus on bolstering the coalition that will take on the Islamic State militants. While the US has been carrying out strikes against militant targets in Iraq, Monday’s strikes were the first in Syria.
Obama has insisted the US would not be alone in trying to root out the Islamic State group, but the public commitments from allies had been few and far between. Before Monday night’s strikes, only France had committed to airstrikes in Iraq, and Saudi Arabia had volunteered to host US-led training missions for Syrian rebels.
Even with the actions from Arab nations, the US is seeking to rally other partners for future cooperation. High on the list is Turkey, a US ally and NATO member.
“Nations like Turkey have their own clear, vested personal interest in confronting the threat that’s posed by ISIL,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, referring to the Islamic State by one of its many acronyms. “All of the mayhem and havoc that ISIL is wreaking in Iraq and in Syria is right on Turkey’s doorstep. And it’s certainly not in their interest for all that instability and violence to be occurring so close to their border.”
Obama is not scheduled to have a formal bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York, though the leaders are likely to have some interaction on the sidelines of the discussions.
Obama will hold his first meeting with new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who took office in August amid a US-led push to make his country’s government more inclusive to Sunnis who had turned against Baghdad and toward the Islamic State group.
The president will also chair an unusual UN Security Council meeting Wednesday at which members are expected to adopt a resolution that would require all countries to prevent the recruitment and transport of would-be foreign fighters preparing to join terrorist groups such as the Islamic State. However, Obama administration officials have acknowledged that UN resolutions can be notoriously difficult to enforce.
Officials say Russia’s threatening moves in Ukraine will be a focus of discussions among diplomats and world leaders in New York, though there’s no expectation that specific action will be taken. Russia holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and has repeatedly vetoed resolutions related to its months-long conflict with Ukraine.
Before departing New York on Thursday, Obama will also address a UN meeting on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The White House has said it expects nations to announce pledges to send money, equipment and personnel to hard-hit nations, following on Obama’s announcement last week that the US will send 3,000 military forces to West Africa.
Heavily armed Houthi fighters cruised the streets in four-wheel-drive vehicles [Reuters]
Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi has vowed to restore state authority and warned of a “civil war” in the Sunni-majority country as Shia rebels were seen in near-total control of the capital, Sanaa.
“Sanaa is facing a conspiracy that will lead towards civil war,” Hadi said in a speech at the presidential palace on Tuesday, two days after the rebels took control of all other key state institutions in the capital, overshadowing a UN-brokered peace deal.
“Many powers came together, either those who lost their interests in yemen or those pushed by their personal grievances to take their revenge on their country rather than on individual, or the opportunistic who take advantage of any disaster to attack the country,” said Hadi.
Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from Sanaa, said that the president’s comments had created a lot of confusion in the country.
“It’s not clear to many people here. They don’t know what he means. Is the conspiracy the fact that he was made to sign a deal that he didn’t like to sign? Or conspiracy whether he now has second thoughts about the Houthi takeover and he sees it in it’s real nature? He did not mention who is behind this conspiracy,” said our correspondent.
Hundreds of rebel fighters manned checkpoints on the airport road and other major throughfares in the capital on Tuesday, while heavily armed patrols cruised the streets in four-wheel-drive vehicles, AFP news agency reported.
‘Sanaa will not fall’
Rebels were posted outside the public offices they entered on Sunday, which include the main government building, parliament, army headquarters and the central bank, alongside small detachments of military police.
But Hadi insisted that “Sanaa will not fall.”
UN envoy Jamal Benomar, who brokered Sunday’s agreement aimed at ending deadly fighting between the rebels and Sunni Islamists, said the rebels’ taking of key institutions virtually without resistance seemed to signify the “collapse” of the security forces in Sanaa.
As Benomar spoke, the peace accord seemed to be holding after a week of clashes between Shiite rebels and Sunni fighters that the government said killed at least 200 people.
The Houthi rebels, who last year rebranded themselves as Ansarullah (Supporters of God), waged a decade-long insurgency in the mountainous north before launching a bid for power in Sanaa last month.
Meanwhile, Reuters news agency citing witnesses and a local official, reported that a drone similar to that used by the US to track down and attack suspected members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula, crashed in the southern part of the country on Tuesday.
Witnesses said the aircraft crashed after it hit a mountain near the city of Beihan in the southern Yemeni Shabwa province.
A local official confirmed the aircraft crashed after it struck Shoab Mountain near Beihan and said that Yemeni troops and members of a local militia allied with the government quickly surrounded the area of the crash to keep onlookers away.
Footage of what a Syria opposition group claims is a Syrian Su-24 fighter jet in flames after being shot down by the IDF near the border. (screen capture: YouTube)
At 8:57 on Tuesday morning, shortly after a Syrian Sukhoi-24 penetrated a half-mile into Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights, the Israel Air Force shot the fighter jet out of the sky. The entire affair, from the moment the decision was made until the two pilots ejected over Syrian soil, took one minute, the IAF said Tuesday.
Its ability to do damage to Israeli sites, and a sort of firm pedagogical approach to the defense of Israel’s borders, led to the decision to shoot down the Syrian jet with a Patriot surface-to-air missile, even though it seemed quite clear that the plane was not streaking toward Tiberias or Tel Aviv.
“We can’t tolerate any sort of violations of Israeli airspace,” said Brig. Gen. (res) Ramm Shmueli, a former head of the IAF’s intelligence wing, in a conference call. The jet, he said, would have been over Israel proper “in 10-20 seconds.” It was potentially one minute from the Sea of Galilee and four minutes from Tel Aviv.
Shmueli said the aircraft was loaded “with armaments,” a statement that the IDF refused to comment on. He added that Israel believes the jet’s “intention was not to attack us,” but rather was a part of the Syrian regime’s battle against the rebel forces, which hide in the shadow of Israel’s military deployment on the Golan Heights. Nonetheless, he said, a “fast airplane, fully loaded with ammunition, can drop this ammunition immediately against Israel, so we can’t take any chances.”
The wind, he said, pulled the pilots and the debris back over the Syrian border.
The last time Israel shot down a Syrian jet was in November 1985, when a formation of Israeli F-15s downed a pair of Syrian MiG-23s. Of late, though, ever since the war in Syria began to take root along the border region, there has been “an increase of tens of percent” in the number of times the air force has had to scramble planes to protect Israeli airspace, the IAF said in a statement.
The IAF added that the decision-making process of shooting down a plane in Israeli airspace is “a regulated and frequently drilled procedure.”
This is assuredly true, but if one is to begin to trace a doctrine that has emerged from Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s 18 months in office it would have to revolve around the clarity of Israel’s declarations and the willingness it has displayed to enforce them.
In the past, such declarations have not been carried out. In 2000, after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, prime minister Ehud Barak reportedly said that if one of the hairs on the heads of one of Israel’s soldiers should fall, “the land of Lebanon will burn.” Several months later, amid the Second Intifada, Hezbollah killed and captured three soldiers along the border and Lebanon remained unsinged.
Prime minister Ariel Sharon promised something similar after the August 2005 withdrawal from Gaza. Shortly thereafter, the rocket fire on Israel’s south began again and the retaliations failed to materialize.
Ya’alon, it would seem, has made it a central pillar of defense policy that Israel will starkly declare its red lines and act in accordance with them, whether the timing is convenient or not. He has made a point of responding to all cross-border fire out of Gaza, even if fired by groups not entirely under Hamas control.
On the Syrian border, he has reportedly ordered several airstrikes within Syria, when the regime has enabled the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah, and he has instructed the IDF to respond to all intentional cross-border violence in the Golan Heights and all threats from the regime.
Twice in the last three weeks Israel has shot Syrian aircraft out of the sky. On August 31 the IAF downed a Syrian drone circling over the Quneitra region, apparently collecting intelligence on the rebel positions and clearly crossing into Israeli airspace, according to IDF sources.
Then, too, it seemed certain that the drone was not on a suicide mission inside Israel. But in an era of intense uncertainty, a period during which states have folded and al-Qaeda has taken up positions a few yards from the apple orchards on the Golan Heights, Israel’s position, as dictated by Ya’alon, has been one of the few stabilizing factors.
“We believe that by using this precious opportunity and avoid the mistakes of the past, we [Iran and Saudi Arabia] can deal with this crisis successfully,” Saudi foreign minister says.
Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
Warming up to Iran? Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal
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Photo credit: Reuters
For decades the opposing ends of Middle East power politics, Saudi Arabia and Iran may be driven to set aside at least some of their differences by the rise of a mutual enemy: Islamic State.
The Sunni militant group is as hateful to Tehran for its threat to the rule of Iran’s Shiite allies in neighboring Iraq and Syria as it is to Saudi Arabia for its pursuit of fundamentalist theocratic rule in an Islamic caliphate.
“We are aware of the importance and sensitivity of this crisis and the opportunity we have ahead of us,” Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said after meeting his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in New York on Sunday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
“We believe that by using this precious opportunity and avoid the mistakes of the past, we can deal with this crisis successfully.”
It was the highest-level meeting between the two countries since the election of the Hassan Rouhani as Iranian president last year.
Zarif also sounded upbeat, saying: “Both my Saudi counterpart and I believe that this meeting will be the first page of a new chapter in our two countries’ relations,” according to IRNA.
“We hope that this new chapter will be effective in establishing regional and global peace and security and will safeguard the interests of Muslim nations across the world.”
There were first hints of detente last month when both countries welcomed the appointment of Haidar al-Abadi as Iraq’s prime minister after Islamic State’s lightning advance across northern Iraq forced his predecessor Nouri al-Maliki from power.
Al-Maliki was close to Iran, where he had spent years in exile while Saddam Hussein maintained Sunni rule in Iraq, but was accused by his opponents of ruling for the Shiites only — breeding resentment and rebellion among the Sunni minority, and paving the way for IS to threaten the survival of the state.
Once Iran came to see al-Maliki as too divisive and withdrew its backing, it removed a thorn in relations with Riyadh.
Soon after, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met Prince Saud in Jeddah for what he called “constructive” talks about Islamic State and Israel’s attack on Gaza, and spoke of “opening a new page” in relations. And a week ago, Riyadh said it planned to reopen its embassy in Baghdad after two decades.
But there is much mutual suspicion — and competing interests — to overcome.
Iranian leaders see Riyadh as a stooge for their American foes, and remain angry at Saudi Arabia’s backing for Iraq during its eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s.
Saudi Arabia’s ruling princes for their part fear that Iran’s clerical elite remains determined to export the message of its 1979 Islamic Revolution to Shiites across the Middle East, not least to Lebanon or the wealthy Sunni-ruled monarchies of the Gulf.
Riyadh sees the sudden advance of Shiite Houthi rebels in Saudi Arabia’s impoverished neighbor Yemen over the past week as evidence of such efforts.
Saudi Arabia has also backed mostly Sunni Syrian rebels fighting Iran’s ally, President Bashar Assad, whose government is dominated by members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Both Riyadh and Tehran have accused each other of fuelling the bloodshed.
Nonetheless, Rouhani pledged after his election to improve ties with Iran’s Gulf Arab neighbors as well as the West.
Iran’s tone has been far less confrontational than under his predecessor, but overcoming decades of suspicion will take more than a meeting of foreign ministers.
“It’s a good sign that they met, and maybe through Iraq there can be a bit of movement on Saudi-Iranian relations,” said Mohammed al-Zulfa, a former member of the Saudi Shoura Council, appointed by King Abdullah to advise the government on policy.
“But … we will have to wait and see if they really arranged something in this meeting in New York.”
During U.S. trip next week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to highlight the dangers the world would face if terrorists groups or Iran obtained nuclear weapons • Netanyahu to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on October 1.
Shlomo Cesana, Gonen Ginat and Amos Regev
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
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Photo credit: AP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to New York next week and address the U.N. General Assembly. Netanyahu will highlight the dangers the world would face if terrorist groups or Iran obtained nuclear weapons. In a Rosh Hashana interview with Israel Hayom (the full interview will be published in Israel Hayom’s English newsletter on Wednesday), Netanyahu said, “This is a global danger. I think my duty as the prime minister of Israel is to explain that the threat we face is a threat to the entire world.”
Netanyahu also compared Israel’s current security situation to what it was before Operation Protective Edge. “We are in a better situation, but face a worse reality. The reality developing around us, in which radical Islam is advancing on all fronts, is a reality that challenges us and challenges the world. One of my duties as prime minister to make clear to the world that our war against these Islamic groups and countries, first and foremost the Islamic Republic of Iran, is also their war.”
“What is taking place between Iran and the Islamic State group is not a contradiction of caliphate ideology. One simply wants a caliphate and the other wants the rule of the Mahdi. What’s the big difference? These are just theological subtleties. Both, like all radical Islamic leaders, desire to first take over who is next to them and then later the entire world. The danger of groups with crazy ideologies is that they could get weapons of mass destruction.”
Netanyahu said he is concerned about the emerging nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran. “There are signs the powers will agree to accept Iran as a nuclear threshold state.”
Regarding Operation Protective Edge, Netanyahu said, “I decided the best way to deal with the array of problems was to deal a severe blow to Hamas in Gaza, but not to get drawn in there. Otherwise, the campaign would not have been 50 days, but rather 500 days, with very heavy prices, not just in human life.
“I’m happy our people demonstrated public resilience, strength and heroism,” Netanyahu said. “Our young generation, IDF soldiers, proved it is a great generation, a generation of heroes.”
During his trip, Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington. On Monday, the White House announced the meeting would take place on October 1.
“Obama faulted in terror fight, new poll finds,” The New York Times declared in one of its headlines last week. This conclusion was based on a survey conducted by the newspaper, which found that for the first time in his presidency, the majority of Americans disapprove of U.S. President Barack Obama’s policies on terrorism, and given a choice the American public prefers the Republicans’ policies on the issue rather than those of the Democrats.
This sentiment may have a serious affect on the midterm elections for Congress, scheduled to take place in November.
On the one hand, this position in unfair, since it was during Obama’s first term in office that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed. On the other hand, Obama cannot distance himself from his decision to end the war on terror, as declared by his predecessor George W. Bush.
This “war” has been renewed, but as the American president has stated, it will focus primarily on the Islamic State group. It seems that now, just as before, Obama has failed to fully understand the radical Islamist nature of all Arab and Muslim elements that subscribe to terrorism.
In a 1989 essay, historian and political scientist Francis Fukuyama claimed that the end of the Cold War had spelled the end of the clashes between various ideologies and cultures, and that it ushered in a new era in which all nations and their leaders will subscribe to liberal and democratic values.
Few dared argue with this optimistic theory at the time, and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was quick to conclude that with the demise of the communist threat, the strategic alliance between the United States and Israel was no longer an absolute must.
Some had disagreed with Fukuyama’s rosy prediction, but we were the minority. At the time, I was among those who warned that the potential threat posed by Islamic fundamentalism may one day make all of us miss the Cold War.
In his new book, “Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy,” Fukuyama himself admits that the future of liberal democracy is ambiguous, but he fails to directly link the democratic West’s theoretical decline with the external threat posed by Islam.
Henry Kissinger, however, offers a more realistic worldview, and in his latest book, “World Order,” he notes that the Islamist world negates the values at the very heart of Western society and culture, and labels anyone who does not belong to the Muslim nation as an “infidel.” Infidels, as everyone knows, must be killed.
The horrors perpetrated by Islamic State have reignited the public and professional debate in the U.S. about the threat of terrorism and its political implications.
Obama hopes he would be able to limit his anti-Islamic State campaign to aerial strikes, but as U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey have already said, it is only a matter of time before Washington has to decide on a ground operation.
Islamic State may dominate the headlines now, but the group is only one of many, albeit more sophisticated and organized than most. The American administration and with it European leaders are somehow still in denial as to the true scope of the terrorist threat, and the fact that the Islamic State’s horrific acts, including their signature decapitations, are in fact perpetrated by other jihadist groups.
The view of Hamas is also plagued by duality: It may be officially classified as a terrorist organization, but the West insists on remaining oblivious to Hamas’ ideological and theological affiliation with Islamic State, opting instead to subscribe to a skewed view by which Hamas is part of the “absence of solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Another monstrous absurd is the deliberate disregard to the fact that Iran, which is currently urged by the U.S. and its European allies to join the fight against Islamic State, is a major proponent of global terrorism.
Sobering up to reality, much like some wars, can be a gradual process. One can only hope that the U.S. and the rest of the free world come to their senses sooner rather than later; and that following the war — partial as it may be — against Islamic State, they would understand that terrorism is as terrorism does. Defeating Islamic terrorism and ensuring democracy has the upper hand mandates a comprehensive and systematic mobilization of all nations in the free world, and first and foremost the United States.
Follow live updates as US and Arab partners launch fresh offensive against the Islamic State, striking targets in Syria for the first time
The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea launches a Tomahawk cruise missile against Islamic State targets in SyriaPhoto: EPA/US Navy
15.26 There are three main takeaways from Barack Obama’s short statement on last night’s strikes against Isil targets in Syria, writes US Editor Peter Foster:
He took ownership for the strikes which happened “on my orders” even as he emphasised the role of the coalition, actually naming the Arab allies involved, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar.
He conceded, after weeks of downplaying the threat to the homeland from Isil, that the Al Qaeda off-shoot, the Khorasan group did pose a threat and were struck accordingly.
And he warned the US public that these strikes were were only beginning, that there were challenges ahead and that the long term strategy – which includes training up a moderate Syrian rebel force in camps in Saudi Arabia – would “take time” to implement.
15.20 A full transcript of Mr Obama’s (short) speech will follow. He began:
Last night on my orders America’s armed forces began strikes against Isil targets in Syria. Today, the American people gives thanks for the extraordinary service of our men and women in uniform.
He also discussed the coalition partners which took part in the strikes:
We were joined in this action by our friends and partners: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar. America is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations on behalf of our common security. The strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not America’s fight alone.
15.13 President Obama has begun his speech on the air strikes against Isil.
15:06 Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent, writes:
A Gulf Arab official has told me that four of the five Arab countries mentioned took an active part in the air strikes on IS positions in Syria.
• Saudi Arabia flew Tornadoes, and possibly Typhoons, from bases in northern Saudi Arabia and Jordan
• The United Arab Emirates flew fighters
• Bahrain flew three fighters
• Qatar did not launch fighters but hosts a US CentCom forward base in the Gulf
• Jordan flew fighters
14.48 Secretary John Kerry did not send a letter to the Syrian regime, as previously reported (see 10:30am post) but the US did give advance notification that it was preparing to launch strikes in Syrian territory, according to the US State Department. The notification was given by Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN, to her Syrian counterpart.
The statement reads:
The President made clear in his speech to the nation on September 10 that the United States would not hesitate to take direct action against Isil and terrorists inside Syria who were threatening the United States. Since that speech, we informed the Syrian regime directly of our intent to take action through our Ambassador to the United Nations (Ambassador Power) to the Syrian Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
We warned Syria not to engage US aircraft. We did not request the regime’s permission. We did not coordinate our actions with the Syrian government. We did not provide advance notification to the Syrians at a military level, or give any indication of our timing on specific targets. Secretary Kerry did not send a letter to the Syrian regime.
14:34 A coalition of 40 international human rights and humanitarian organisations, including the Save the Children, the Church of England, Amnesty International, and Islamic Relief, have urged world leaders to prioritise the protection of Syrian civilians as part of any further intervention in the Middle East.
David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, a member of the WithSyria coalition, said:
We need world leaders this week to set out how they will fulfil their promise of February, and work together to end attacks on civilians and ensure people get the aid they need. The world must not turn its back on the people of Syria who have been attacked both indiscriminately and directly for more than three years
UN Resolution 2139, passed in February, called for an end to indiscriminate attacks by all sides on civilians in Syria.
14.11 Bahrain has confirmed its warplanes joined those of other Gulf monarchies in bombing jihadist positions as part of a US-led coalition against extremists in Syria and Iraq, reports AFP.
“A formation of Bahrain Royal Air Force aircraft, joining brotherly air forces from the Gulf Cooperation Council and other friendly and allied forces… bombed and destroyed” jihadist positions, a defence official said.
The move comes as “part of international efforts to protect regional security and peace”, said the official, quoted by the state news agency BNA.
14:04 Jon Williams, ABC foreign editor, reports Iran President Rouhani says US-led airstrikes have “no legal standing” without UN Security Council approval or consent of Syria:
14:00 Syrian citizens check a damaged house they say was targeted by the coalition airstrikes in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Islamic State group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib, Syria . Source: AP
13:56 US-led air strikes killed at least 120 jihadists in Syria on Tuesday, a monitoring group said.
The dead included more than 70 members of the Islamic State (IS) group in the north and east of Syria, as well as 50 Al-Qaeda militants, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
13:46 Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, said Britain backed the bombing campaign, writes Ben Farmer. Speaking after talks with Gulf states including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Mr Fallon said:
At the Jeddah and Paris conferences there was strong agreement on the need for a coordinated response to the ISIL threat. In taking action to degrade and destroy ISIL terrorists it is important that key regional partners continue to play a leading role.
The UK supports the airstrikes launched by the US and regional allies last night which runs alongside the action the UK has already taken in the form of of reconnaissance flights, military equipment and humanitarian aid.
The UK Government continues to discuss what further contribution the UK may make to international efforts to tackle the threat we all face from ISIL.
13:20 We are expecting Mr Obama to speak on the Syria air strikes at 10:20am EDT (3:20pm in the UK).
Mr Obama will speak before departing the White House for New York City to attend the UN climate meeting, according to the official, who spoke to Reuters on background ahead of the official announcement.
The US Department of Defense’s joint staff director of operations also will hold a press briefing on the operations in Syria at 11am EDT (4pm in UK), the Pentagon said in a statement.
13:14 US President Barack Obama has used his “reluctant warrior” reputation to his advantage, writes US Editor Peter Foster in Washington:
Barack Obama has justifiably been tagged the reluctant warrior during his six years in office, but last night he used that fact to catch the world – and one suspects the Isil high command – by surprise.
For the last few weeks, all the signals in Washington appeared to point to Mr Obama playing the long game when it came to tackling Isil in Syria.
Officials talked about building up the capabilities of moderate Syria fighters to hold ground taken by air strikes, while the generals warned there was to be no “shock and awe”.
And then without warning and on the eve of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Obama pulled the trigger, apparently after seeking the quiet assent of both Syria and Russia so long as the strikes were confined to Isil targets.
It was an unexpectedly audacious move from a president who has done everything possible to stay out of the Syrian conflict.
And while it steals a tactical march over the jihadists, it also makes this – for all the efforts to draw in Arab allies – unequivocally “Obama’s war”
13:09David Blair says shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander’s position on the US-led airstrikes is confusing:
Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, says that Labour “understands and supports” America’s air strikes in Syria – but he also wants the Security Council to consider a UN Resolution. This is a confusing position. If Labour backs the air campaign anyway, then why is a new Resolution needed? If Mr Alexander has any legal qualms about the present action in Syria, then why does he “understand and support” it? And if he does have legal doubts, has he noticed that Syria’s own regime has declined to condemn the strikes on its territory? Does he also know of UN Resolution 2170, passed under Chapter VII of the Charter, which “demands” the disarmament of Isil?
12:52 A Downing Street spokesperson has said David Cameron supports the air strikes against Isil. The spokesman said:
The PM supports the latest air strikes against Isil terrorists which have been carried out by the US and five other countries from the Gulf and Middle East.
The PM will be holding talks at the United Nations in New York over the next two days on what more the UK and others can do to contribute to international efforts to tackle the threat we all face from Isil.
The UK is already offering significant military support, including supplying arms to the Kurds as well as surveillance operations by a squadron of Tornadoes and other RAF aircraft.
12:31 Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, says Labour wants a resolution on air strikes “brought to the Security Council of the United Nations”. He is not clear, however, whether Labour will make it a requirement of supporting air strikes, writes Steven Swinford.
Mr Alexander said: “ISIL represent a threat not just to regional security in the Middle East but to international security.
“So we understand and support the action taken by the United States and Arab allies in recent hours.
“Both the Prime Minister and the President are due in the United Nations this week so we are now urging a resolution should now be brought to the Security Council of the United Nations.”
12:25 Matthew Henman, head of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, has the following detail on the Khorasan group, which the US said it targetedin separate air strikesovernight “to disrupt the imminent attack plotting against the United States and Western interests” (see 08:33 post). Mr Henman writes:
There are reports this morning that US/allied air strikes in Syria’s Aleppo governorate targeted Jabhat al-Nusra, and more specifically “Khorasan” militants fighting therein. The name refers to Al-Qaeda fighters previously based in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran who have travelled to Syria to fight with Jabhat al-Nusra. They have been doing so for several years now, so should not be considered a new or distinct group as such.
12:13 President Obama will address the nation from the White House this afternoon about the Syria air strikes, it has been announced, before flying to New York to join other world leaders including David Cameron at the UN Climate Change Summit.
12:09 British Conservative MP John Baron has warned against air strikes in Syria. He said:
IS has to be driven out of Iraq, given our responsibility to the Iraqi people following our misguided intervention in 2003. But air strikes into Syria are a higher risk strategy, with no certain outcome. The UK should be advising caution, particularly against mission creep.
11:58 Britain is “falling behind the curve” on Iraq and Syria because Labour is refusing to “get off the fence” on air strikes, Tory MPs have warned, writes Steven Swinford.
Parliament is likely to be recalled this week for a vote on military intervention after the US conducted air strikes for the first time in Syria.
Ed Miliband, the labour leader, has refused to say whether his party will support military action in Iraq despite pressure from the Conservatives.
Sir Gerald Howarth, a Tory back-bencher, said that Britain has a “moral duty” to intervene.
“I think they are betraying the national interest by refusing to say what they think about air strikes,” he said. “We are falling behind the curve on this, there is a clear moral case for intervention.”
11:51 Ruth Sherlock has received reports of a ‘high death count’ among Isil troops:
There are reports of a high death count among Isil troops. One Syrian from Raqqa told the Telegraph that the US airstrikes hit a building that was formerly the Syrian regime’s “political security branch”, which was now being used as an Isil base, killing everyone inside. “We think about 15 Isil fighters were killed in there,” the resident said, who asked for his name not to be revealed.
11:49 The US navy has released footage showing Tomahawk Land Missiles being fired from the USS Philippine Sea at Isil targets in Syria:
11:32 Russia has condemned the US-led air strikes against Isil. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement:
Any such action can be carried out only in accordance with international law. That implies not a formal, one-sided ‘notification’ of airstrikes but the presence of explicit consent from the government of Syria or the approval of a corresponding UN Security Council decision.”
11:29 The death toll from US strikes on al Qaeda-linked militants in northern Syria has risen to 50, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of those killed in the strikes, which targeted fighters from the Nusra Front in the northern Idlib area, had been non-Syrians, according to Reuters.
11:26 The UN refugee agency has said it is making plans to expect all 400,000 inhabitants of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani to flee into Turkey to escape advancing Islamic State militants.
“We are preparing for the whole population fleeing into Turkey. The population of Kobani is 400,000,” UNHCR chief spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a news briefing in Geneva.
“We don’t know, but we are preparing for that contingency.”
11:13David Blair outlines the Arab coalition supporting US air strikes against Isil:
Five Arab countries are supporting the US air campaign against Isil targets in Syria, according to the Pentagon. But only Jordan has confirmed that its aircraft have actually carried out air strikes. All of the others have kept silent, raising doubts over whether they are flying bombing missions, or confining their role to offering bases and opening their airspace.
The very fact that Arab countries are part of the coalition at all, however, allows America to demonstrate that the anti-Isil offensive is not simply a Western campaign in the Middle East.
The states named by the Pentagon are as follows:
Saudi Arabia
With 305 combat aircraft, Saudi Arabia possesses the most powerful air force in the Arab world. The backbone of the kingdom’s striking power is provided by two squadrons of US-supplied F-15 Eagles and three of British-supplied Tornados. This makes Saudi Arabia ideally placed to operate alongside a Western coalition.
Whether the Royal Saudi Air Force has actually struck targets inside Syria is unclear. So far, the kingdom’s rulers have kept silent. They have traditionally been deeply reluctant to deploy their own forces in Western-led military ventures. The last time this happened was in 1991 when Saudi Arabia joined the coalition that expelled Iraq’s army from Kuwait. But this decision was relatively uncontroversial because the kingdom’s own security was directly threatened by Iraqi forces.
King Abdullah has repeatedly urged America to intervene in Syria, but he may not feel able to deploy his own strike aircraft in this cause. If the kingdom has not flown bombing missions against Isil, its part in the offensive may be limited to opening its airspace for US aircraft.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE has 201 combat aircraft organised into three squadrons of US-supplied F-16s and three of French Mirages. Last month, the country showed its ability to carry out air strikes when the UAE bombed Islamist militias in Libya’s capital, Tripoli. In 2011, the UAE also joined Britain and France in the campaign that toppled Col Gaddafi’s regime.
But the UAE shares the traditional Arab reluctance to join Western-led military offensives. Whether its air force is carrying out combat sorties in Syria is unclear. If not, the UAE’s role may be confined to opening its air space and allowing the US to use al-Minhad military air base near Dubai.
Jordan
With only 85 combat aircraft, the Royal Jordanian Air Force ranks among the smallest in the region. Yet it remains highly capable – and King Abdullah leads the only Arab government which has publicly confirmed that its aircraft are striking Isil targets in Syria alongside the US.
But this comes as little surprise. Of the five Arab states named by the Pentagon as supporting the offensive, only Jordan is directly threatened by Isil fighters. The terrorist movement has captured the area of Iraq along Jordan’s eastern frontier. Hence King Abdullah can argue that Jordan’s participation is essential for national security.
Qatar
Made rich by the revenues of gas and oil, Qatar has laid ambitious plans to re-equip its air force. At present, however, the country possesses only 18 combat aircraft – 12 French Mirages and six antiquated training jets. This makes it highly unlikely that Qatar is flying bombing missions in Syria.
But Qatar also hosts the regional headquarters of US Central Command and al-Udeid air base, which serves as the hub for all American air operations in the Middle East. So the campaign against Isil is almost certainly being coordinated and controlled by US commanders based in Qatar. Yet that is probably the limit of the country’s participation.
Bahrain
With only 39 combat aircraft, Bahrain’s air force is one of the weakest in the region. The fact that the Pentagon named Bahrain as part of the anti-Isil coalition is a surprise. The country possesses only one ground attack squadron consisting of 12 antiquated F-5 aircraft, a model designed in the 1950s. This means that Bahrain’s air force is almost certainly incapable of striking targets in Syria. Instead, Bahrain’s participation is probably limited to opening its air space and allowing the US to use military facilities on the island, notably the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet.
11:07 A map showing the locations of US airstrikes in Syria. Click to view a larger version.
10:40 An update on Israel shooting down a Syrian jet (see 08:35 post) from the Telegraph’s Inna Lazareva:
Israel shot down a Syrian Sukhoi 24 fighter jet with a Patriot missile as the plane infiltrated into Israeli airspace this morning at around 9am local time. Jerusalem and Damascus consider each other enemy states and the incident marks the first time in almost 30 years that Israel has shot down a Syrian jet.
Two pilots ejected from the plane and landed on the Syrian side of the border.
According to the former head of Israeli air force intelligence Brig Gen (res.) Ram Shmueli, the plane was “fully loaded with ammunition”, and had penetrated approximately half a mile inside Israeli air space.
The IDF has not yet confirmed whether the infiltration was erroneous or on purpose, but some security officials have voiced scepticism that crossing into the Israeli airspace had happened by mere accident.
According to Mr Shmueli, Israel is on high alert for incidents of this kind, including incoming “drones, airplanes and even civilian airplanes” participating in a “9/11 type scenario”.
Local residents living nearby told The Telegraph they have been hearing heavy bombardments and explosions for several days, including this morning.
Unverified video from YouTube shows US air strikes on Raqqa, Syria
10:30 The Syrian government said on Tuesday it had received a letter from US Secretary of State John Kerry delivered by the Iraqi foreign minister telling it the United States and its allies planned to attack Islamic State in Syria.
“The foreign minister received a letter from his American counterpart via the Iraqi foreign minister, in which he informed him that the United States and some of its allies would target (Islamic State) in Syria,” the Syrian foreign ministry said. “That was hours before the raids started.”
10:20 YouGov has been tracking public opinion on how to respond to the Isil threat. Some 52pc would now approve RAF air strikes on Isil in Syria, with 27pc opposing. Last month support and opposition were level at 37pc.
10:07 Former foreign secretary Jack Straw has said he is not against the principle of “proportionate and sensible” British involvement in military action against Isil although operations in Syria required “some kind of consent” from the Syrian government.
The Labour MP told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “We’re part of the Western alliance, we have key interests – direct and indirect – in the region, so in principle we should be involved provided the circumstances are right.”
Pushed on whether Britain should be involved in Iraq and Syria, Mr Straw said:
It depends on the circumstances. Syria only if there is consent of some kind by the Syrian government. There are quite big legal problems if there isn’t consent and I know there are discussions taking place in New York at the moment, or will be when they’re up, about a proper legal base for military action.
What I think is encouraging about what’s been announced overnight is there’s an alliance of Arab countries involved in this because it should not just be as the satans of the West coming in to defend their interests.
The biggest threat Isil poses is to the Arab world and to ordinary Arab people.”
09:58 More from the Telegraph’s Ruth Sherlock:
In Syria, it is more about politics than bombing raids. Whilst in Iraq Isil’s biggest asset is the sheer quantity of terrain it now controls, its biggest prize in Syria is its control of the country’s oil fields – through which the group reportedly makes several million dollars every day.
The key, say Syrians in the area where the US strikes took place, is for airpower to accompany adept political manoeuvring, where the US works to win the support of local Syrians.
One such group that the US and its allies should be working with is the Sheitaat tribe. Numbering up to 70,000, for decades this Bedouin tribe has controlled the transport routes to and from the lucrative oil fields.
In August this year Isil showed the Bedouins no mercy, reportedly killing up to 700 people as they slashed their way through the terrain and seized two major oil fields in northeastern Deir al-Zour province.
If the US can win the support of the Sheitaat tribe, they potentially have a useful ally in shutting down Isil’s biggest source of funding.
Airstrikes alone, however, could backfire, actually increasing local support for the jihadist group, residents of Raqqa have warned.
Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi said the rise of Isil in Syria was a direct result of US inaction against the Syrian regime, arguing that an opportunity for the extremists to take power was presented in the vacuum of law and order created by the Syrian civil war. He warned that US airstrikes on Raqqa might only make the situation worse:
“If the US strikes Raqqa it will increase the popularity of Isil. I think when Isil slaughtered the American journalists, they intended to provoke the West to start airstrikes as they know this would only increase their popularity.”
“Isil knows that because the civilian casualties would be high, they will become more popular.”
09:49 Air strikes by US-led coalition forces in Syria killed 30 fighters from al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and eight civilians including children, a group monitoring the war said on Tuesday.
The strikes targeted a residential building in Aleppo province used by Nusra Front, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The United States said earlier on Tuesday its forces had carried out eight strikes against al Qaeda-affilated militants west of Aleppo.
09:34 A threat to kill a French hostage in Algeria will not deter France from continuing air strikes on Isil fighters in Iraq, the French prime minister, Manuel Valls, said on Tuesday, writes David Chazan in Paris.
“These strikes, this commitment will obviously continue,” Mr Valls told Europe 1 radio in Berlin, where he has been meeting the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.
However, he said France was working with the Algerian government “to do everything to allow our compatriot to recover his freedom”.
An Algerian group linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) threatened to kill the hostage, Hervé Gourdel, 55, by the end of Tuesday unless France halts its bombing raids. Jund al-Khilifa (Soldiers of the Caliphate) said it was responding to a call from Isil to kill nationals of countries in the US-led coalition against the terrorist group.
France became the first western US ally to launch air strikes on Friday. Mr Gourdel, who was on a trekking holiday in a mountainous region of Algeria, was abducted on Sunday.
09:10 Syria’s Western-backed National Coalition opposition group welcomed air strikes by the United States and Gulf Arab allies on Islamic State strongholds in Syria on Tuesday, saying they would strengthen its struggle against President Bashar al-Assad.
“This will make us stronger in the fight against Assad… The campaign should continue until the Islamic State is completely eradicated from Syrian lands,” Monzer Akbik, special envoy to the president of the coalition, told Reuters.
09:02 The Telegraph’s Ruth Sherlock writes:
The military strikes on Syria by the United States and its allies will give President Barack Obama at least temporary respite from attacks by his critics that he is not doing enough to fight the jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
But while it may alleviate some domestic pressures, the attacks have opened a new and potentially dangerous chapter, both in the fight against Isil and in the Syrian civil war.
Local reports and YouTube footage suggest the airstrikes took place against targets in Isil’s capital Raqqa, as well as in the neighbouring northern provinces of Deir al-Zour and Aleppo.
The announcement that the United States would strike in Syria had temporarily cowed the jihadists, who were reported to have melted away from many of their positions to seek out hiding places where they could protect themselves from the strikes.
However, in the longer term bombing Isil from the air, especially in Syria, is a strategy potentially laden with pitfalls.
In Iraq, the air attacks have assisted the advance of a ground force on Isil positions; either the Kurdish peshmerga forces in the north of the country, or the Iraqi government and Shia allied militias further south.
The same would need to happen in Syria if the air attacks are to have effect. But it is less clear there who that ground force would be.
The so called “moderate opposition” groups – rebels who have not joined Isil or Al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra – who formed themselves initially to fight the Syrian regime have dwindled in strength and become fractured after three years of war with minimal western support.
The US and its allies are trying to reverse this trend, sending in weapons and providing training to build up the strength of this opposition as a ground force to counter Isil.
Past efforts to build up the strength of this opposition has failed as the groups fractured and squabbled among themselves over limited weapons supplies. Efforts to transform them into a proper fighting force then will take a long time, and, western diplomats have told the Telegraph, even then, they will not be strong enough in numbers to fight Isil alone.
08:57 Twitter users were discussing the US air strikes against Isil before they were officially announced.
Abdulkader Hariri began tweeting about huge explosions in the city of Raqqa around 30 minutes before the Pentagon made its announcement:
08:45 An Islamic State fighter said on Tuesday the group will respond to US-led air strikes inside Syria and blamed Saudi Arabia for allowing them to happen.
“These attacks will be answered. The sons of Saloul are the ones who are to be blamed. It happened because of them,” he told Reuters, using a derogatory term for Saudi Arabia’s royal Saudi family.
08:35 Israel has shot down a Syrian fighter jet which entered their airspace, the first time in 25 years that Israel has taken such action against one of Syria’s planes, according to the Telegraph’s Robert Tait.
“A warplane that penetrated Israeli territory was successfully shot down a short while ago by the air defence systems along the Syrian border,” a military statement said, without giving further details.
Army radio said it was apparently a MiG-21 fighter jet which was shot down by a surface-to-air Patriot missile, with the wreckage landing on the Syrian-controlled side of the plateau.
08:33 The US military has confirmed its partners in air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria included Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
In a CENTCOM statement, it added the US military had taken action to disrupt “imminent attack” against the US and Western interests by “seasoned al Qaeda veterans” who had established a safe haven in Syria, according to Reuters. “These strikes were undertaken only by US assets,” it said.
The statement said the US had launched strikes from warships in international waters in the Red Sea and the North Arabian Gulf.
It said Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi and the UAE had “also participated in or supported the air strikes against (Islamic State) targets. All aircraft safely exited the strike areas,” it said.
The statement said:
A mix of fighters, bombers, remotely piloted aircraft and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles conducted 14 strikes against ISIL targets.
The strikes destroyed or damaged multiple ISIL targets in the vicinity of the towns of Ar Raqqah in north central Syria, Dayr az Zawr and Abu Kamal in eastern Syria and Al Hasakah in northeastern Syria. The targets included ISIL fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles, the news release said.
The US military also targeted another militan group, the al-Qaeda linked Khorasan Group:
Separately, the United States also took action to disrupt the imminent attack plotting against the United States and Western interests conducted by a network of seasoned al-Qaida veterans known as the Khorasan Group. The group has established a safe haven in Syria to develop external attacks, construct and test improvised explosive devices and recruit Westerners to conduct operations, the release said. These strikes were undertaken only by US assets.
In total, US Central Command forces conducted eight strikes against Khorasan Group targets located west of Aleppo, to include training camps, an explosives and munitions production facility, a communication building and command and control facilities.
08:30 Jordan has said its warplanes joined the strikes against Islamic State, becoming the first Arab state to confirm its participation in the raids.
“We took part in the strikes which are part of our efforts to defeat terrorism in its strongholds,” government spokesman Mohammad Al-Momani told AFP.
08:00 The Telegraph’s Ruth Sherlock writes:
I think this could be a dangerous step for the US in the fight against Isil. If air strikes are not coupled with a mission to turn the local tribes in northern Syria against Isil, it could actually increase support for the jihadist group.
There is also the question of how this plays out in terms of the Syrian regime. It’s difficult to see how the US can fight Isil in Syria without seeming as if it is, indirectly at least, supporting the Syrian regime.
07:57 Syrian state television said the United States informed Syria’s UN representative on Monday that Islamic State targets would be hit in Raqqa, which is 400 km (250 miles) northeast of Damascus. A group monitoring the war in Syria said at least 20 Islamic State fighters were killed.
07:55 Britain was not involved in the air strikes against Isil. The Ministry of Defence say discussions are ‘ongoing’ and no decision has been made.
07:52 A US official, speaking to the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity, said that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain were involved although their exact roles in the military action were unclear.
Qatar played a supporting role in the air strikes, the official said, in what is an unprecedented and unexpected show of regional solidarity against the Isil group that has rampaged through Syria and Iraq.
07:50 Also overnight, British hostage John Cantlie was once more paraded by Isil extremists to deliver a message of defiance against the US and their allies in the latest video to be released online.
The video, close to six minutes long, is titled ‘Lend Me Your Ears – Messages from the British Detainee John Cantlie’ and is tagged as episode one. At the end of the film Cantlie urges viewers to “join him next time”.
An US AV-8B Harrier jet launching from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (US NAVY / Christopher Lindahl/EPA)
07:45 Welcome to live coverage of the US campaign against Islamic State (IS). Overnight, the US and its allies launched a fresh offensive against the fighters of the Islamic State (Isil), striking targets in Syria for the first time using cruise missiles, drones as well as warplanes.
The strikes were concentrated around the city of Raqqa, the militants’ main stronghold close to the border with Iraq.
“US military and partner nation forces have begun striking Isil targets in Syria using mix of fighters, bombers and Tomahawk missiles,” said Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.
The IDF says aircraft did not fall in Israeli territory but did enter Israel’s airspace before interception, assessment is that it was en route to attacking Syrian rebels; Syria: Proof Israel supporting Islamic State.
Ahiya Raved
Latest Update: 09.23.14, 12:12 / Israel News
The IDF confirmed Tuesday morning that a Syrian fighter jet was shot down by an Israeli patriot missile over the Golan Heights. It was the first time in over thirty years a Syrian jet has entered Israel and the IDF think the jet crossed into Israel by accident en route to attacking rebel positions on the Golan.
“A jet was successfully intercepted by our aerial defense system along the Syrian border,” the IDF said in a statement. According to a military source, the jet entered Israel for a couple of seconds, penetrating a few hundred meters before turning back, at which point he was hit by the patriot missile.
A senior air force officer told Ynet that, “At 8:57am a Sukhoi 24 fighter jet crossed 800 meters into Israeli territory and then the decision was made to shoot it down. From the moment that the decision was made until impact, one minute and 20 seconds passed. The missile hit and as far as we know, the Syrian crew ejected successfully.”
Pieces of the Syrian jet fell near Quneitra in Syria. The initial indications of the security forces is that the plane was en-route to attack rebels in the area of Quneitra, which was captured last month by al-Qaeda affiliated militants and has been the site of massive clashes in recent weeks.
The officer stressed that the military was responding to a credible threat from the jet. “We identified the Syrian jet at a height of 10-14,000 feet. That’s a height considered comfortable for an attack run. A fighter jet can reach the Sea of Galilee in less than a minute and everywhere else in five.”
Syria responded to the incident, saying it was further proof of “Israel’s support of the Islamic State group and the Nusra Front,” the al-Qaeda-linked rebel group fighting in the Quneitra region.
A senior military source added that “the discovery, identification and interception was quickly and professionally executed and the IAF stood its guard. The interception was done with a surface to air Patriot missile.”
“Moments ago a Syrian aircraft infiltrated Israeli airspace. The IDF intercepted the aircraft in mid-flight, using the Patriot air defence system. The circumstances of the incident are being reviewed,” an initial IDF statement said.
The aircraft was shot down over the Golan Heights, where fighting from Syria’s civil war has occasionally spilled over. The IDF currently think the jet was en route to attacking rebel targets near the border with Israel when it entered Israeli airspace.
The aircraft was intercepted by a US-manufactured Patriot missile, the spokesman said.
Israel last downed a manned Syrian aircraft in 1985, when Israeli fighters on a surveillance mission over Lebanon destroyed two Syrian MiG-23s that approached them.
Initial reports from 9 am said a patriot missile was fired in the Golan Tuesday morning, shooting down a suspicious aircraft that infiltrated Israel’s airspace from Syria. It was initially unclear if the aircraft was an UAV. The IDF said the aircraft did not fall in Israeli territory but did enter Israel’s airspace.
Jet intercepted after infiltrating Israeli airspace, army says
By Spencer Ho and Times of Israel staffSeptember 23, 2014, 9:59 am
A Russian MiG-29 such as those used by the Syrian air force. Illustrative (Photo credit: CC-BY-SA Krasimir Grozev/Wikimedia Commons)
The IDF shot down a Syrian fighter plane over the Israeli Golan Heights Tuesday using a Patriot missile, the army said.
The army said the plane had infiltrated Israeli airspace before it was shot down.
The plane was reported to have been a Russian-made MiG-21 fighter jet.
Syrian media confirmed the plane was hit and downed near Quneitra, near the Israel-Syria border, according to Israel’s Channel 2.
Unconfirmed photos uploaded to Twitter by a Syrian opposition group claimed to show the downing of the aircraft near the border with Israel.
The army shot down an unmanned Syrian aircraft August 31 as it flew near Quneitra, the Syrian town that has been the stage for fighting between rebels and regime forces for the past month.
Shells from Syria have landed sporadically on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights for the past several weeks as Syrian regime forces and rebel factions battle for the Quneitra crossing, with the rebels reportedly gaining control of almost the entire Syrian border with Israel.
Meanwhile, UN peacekeepers have largely evacuated their Syrian position, moving most of their equipment and personnel from Camp Faouar, their main headquarters in Syria, to Israel.
Perfect timing for Rosh Hashana, settling the “account” just as the Jewish year ends and a New Year begins.– AP)
Marwan Kawasmeh and Amer Abu Eisha of Hevron located and killed in exchange of gunfire.
Murdered (L to R): Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha’ar, Naftali Frenkel courtesy of the families
Marwan Kawasmeh and Amer Abu Eisha of Hevron, who abducted and murdered three yeshiva boys Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha’ar, Naftali Frenkel in June, were located and killed in exchange of gunfire early Tuesday morning.
The operation was carried out by the Yamam, a special unit of the Border Police, and the IDF, in Hevron. An attempt was made to arrest the suspects but an exchange of fire developed in which they were killed.
The operation was made possible by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), which located the murderers’ hideout. In the last few days, several Hamas suspects were arrested and questioned on the assumption that they were assisting the fugitives.
“We have been pursuing these two since the abduction,” said Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brig. Gen. Tamir Yadai. “Last night the investigation ripened as regards their location and we have been surrounding the place where they were hiding since 1:00 a.m. We killed them and there are arrests of several other collaborators.”
“We began areesting suspects and at the same time we applied [IDF] ‘pressure cooker’ protocol on the house. It is a big house and they hid out in a secret arms store on the basement floor. The floor is not visible from the outside. At one stage they went outside and opened fire. One was shot and the other fell inside, into a hole.”
“There was use of weapons, like hand grenades and the deployment of explosives that were prepared ahead of time,” he added. “We know that they have been staying in this location quite a lot in the last few days. We know for certain that they were not here the whole time. They had weapons like M-16s, a Kalachnikov and handguns, too.”
Kawasmeh’s close relative Hussam was arrested in Jerusalem in August for planning the attack, which was carried out physically by Marwan, along with Amer Abu-Eisha.
The abduction and murder reportedly was planned by a third Kawasmeh, Mahmoud, along with Hussam, under the support of Hamas’s military branch, the Al-Qassam Brigades, through their branches both in Gaza and abroad.
The Brigades transferred funds via Mahmoud to purchase a car with an Israeli license plate, weapons and hideouts which were arranged in advance,according to security sources. They added that the three Israeli teens were buried on land purchased by the Kawasmeh family long before the attack. Hussam admitted in investigation to having shaven his beard off and obtained a forged passport in an attempt to flee the country to Jordan.
Marwan Kawasmeh (L) and Amar Abu-Eisha Israel Security Agency
After going missing on June 12, Eyal Yifrah, 19, and 16-year-old classmates Gilad Sha’ar and Naftali Frenkel, were declared kidnapped the next day.
Suspicion immediately fell on Hamas after intelligence pointed towards the involvement of Kawasmeh and Abu-Eisha, whose names were publicized two weeks later.
An 18-day search for the three teenagers ensued, accompanied by a crackdown on Hamas in Judea and Samaria, but the search ended in tragedy after their bodies were found in field close to the Arab village of Halhul near Hevron. They were buried side-by-sidein the city of Modi’in.
The three boys are believed to have been murdered very shortly after being kidnapped; one source close to the murder investigation said a recording of a call made by one of the boys as he was being kidnaps provides crucial evidence that the murder had been pre-planned from the very start.
The source claimed the kidnappers used a silenced weapon, indicating their attempt to actually use the gun, and dressed up as religious Jews to lure the victims into their car.
He took ownership for the strikes which happened “on my orders” even as he emphasised the role of the coalition, actually naming the Arab allies involved, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar. 
Last night on my orders America’s armed forces began strikes against Isil targets in Syria. Today, the American people gives thanks for the extraordinary service of our men and women in uniform.
Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, says that Labour “understands and supports” America’s air strikes in Syria – but he also wants the Security Council to consider a UN Resolution. This is a confusing position. If Labour backs the air campaign anyway, then why is a new Resolution needed? If Mr Alexander has any legal qualms about the present action in Syria, then why does he “understand and support” it? And if he does have legal doubts, has he noticed that Syria’s own regime has declined to condemn the strikes on its territory? Does he also know of UN Resolution 2170, passed under Chapter VII of the Charter, which “demands” the disarmament of Isil? 
Parliament is likely to be recalled this week for a vote on military intervention after the US conducted air strikes for the first time in Syria. 
There are reports of a high death count among Isil troops. One Syrian from Raqqa told the Telegraph that the US airstrikes hit a building that was formerly the Syrian regime’s “political security branch”, which was now being used as an Isil base, killing everyone inside. “We think about 15 Isil fighters were killed in there,” the resident said, who asked for his name not to be revealed. 
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