The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	US forces tried to rescue scribe Foley, other hostages but failed Washington, August 21 US forces tried to rescue journalist James Foley and other American hostages during a secret mission into Syria and exchanged gunfire with Islamic State militants only to discover the captives were not there, officials said on Wednesday. The mission, authorised by President Barack Obama based on US intelligence, took place earlier this summer, the officials said. The details were disclosed a day after a video surfaced showing a militant beheading 40-year-old Foley. The Syrian Government on Thursday denied any such operation had taken place inside its territory, though it does not control large areas where Islamic State operates. US officials would not say exactly when the operation took place but said it was not in the past couple of weeks. They said US Special Forces and other military personnel, backed up by helicopters and planes, dropped into the target zone in Syria and engaged in a firefight with Islamic State militants, several of whom were killed. The incident appeared to be the first direct ground engagement between the United States and Islamic State militants, seen by Obama as a growing threat in the Middle East. Lisa Monaco, Obama's top counter-terrorism aide, said in a statement that Obama authorised the mission because it was his national security team's assessment that the hostages were in danger with each passing day. "The U.S. government had what we believed was sufficient intelligence, and when the opportunity presented itself, the president authorized the Department of Defense to move aggressively to recover our citizens. Unfortunately, that mission was ultimately not successful because the hostages were not present," said Monaco. The National Security Council said later on Wednesday it had never intended to disclose the operation. "An overriding concern for the safety of the hostages and for operational security made it imperative that we preserve as much secrecy as possible," the NSC statement said. "We only went public today when it was clear a number of media outlets were preparing to report on the operation and that we would have no choice but to acknowledge it." The Syrian government dismissed the reports of the raid. "It did not happen that American war planes attacked terrorist positions in Syria, and that will not happen without the consent of the Syrian government," Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi said in remarks published by the Syrian news agency SANA. — Reuters Foley’s captors asked for huge ransom: Reports Washington: Islamist militants earlier asked a ransom of over $132 million from US journalist James Foley's family and employer but made no demands in their last message before brutally beheading him on camera, according to media reports. 'Terrorists' help US in battle against IS Washington has acquired an unlikely ally in its battle against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, a group of fighters it formally classifies as terrorists. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), condemned for its three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, says it played a decisive role in blunting the militants' sweep through Iraq, which triggered US air strikes to halt their advance. "This war will continue until we finish off the Islamic State," said Rojhat, a PKK fighter speaking from a hospital bed in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish region in Iraq. US opens criminal probe into beheading of journalist The US Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the death of American journalist James Foley, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday. Foley was beheaded by the Islamist militant group Islamic State, an act shown in a video released on Tuesday in which the group called for the US to end its airstrikes in Iraq. The identity of Foley's killer, whose face was covered in the video, is unknown. The mission in Syria The secret mission, authorised by President Barack Obama based on US intelligence, to rescue journalist James Foley and other American hostages took place earlier this summer US Special Forces and other military personnel, backed up by helicopters and planes, dropped into the target zone in Syria and engaged in a firefight with Islamic State militants The incident appeared to be the first direct ground engagement between the United States and Islamic State militants, seen by Obama as a growing threat in the Middle East The Syrian Government on Thursday denied any such operation had taken place inside its territory, though it does not control large areas where Islamic State operates
	US offers $30 m for info on top Haqqani commanders Washington, August 21 The US has offered a bounty of $30 million for information leading to the location of top five leaders of the Pakistan-based dreaded Haqqani network, which is blamed for several attacks in Afghanistan, including on the Indian missions in the war-torn country. Under it's Rewards for Justice programme, the State Department authorised rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the location of the Haqqani network top commanders Aziz Haqqani, Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, Yahya Haqqani, and Abdul Rauf Zakir. It also has increased its previous reward offer of up to $5 million for information on the group's leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, to up to $10 million, the State Department said in a statement. Haqqani network, a Taliban-affiliated group, was designated a terrorist network by the US and UN in 2012. Haqqani network is responsible for many high-profile attacks in Afghanistan, including the 19-hour attack on the US Embassy in Kabul and the nearby ISAF headquarters in September 2011. The Indian Embassy in Kabul was attacked twice in 2008 and 2009 that left 75 people dead. The attack was blamed on Haqqani Network. — PTI
	3 Hamas commanders killed in Gaza Intense Israel-Gaza conflict resumes after collapse of ceasefire Gaza/Jerusalem, August 21 An Israeli air strike killed three senior Hamas commanders in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a clear sign of its intention to hit the group's armed leadership days after a ceasefire failed. Hamas, which dominates Gaza, named the men as Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhoum, the three highest-ranking casualties it has announced since Israel started its offensive six weeks ago. All three, killed in the bombing of a house in the southern town of Rafah, had led operations against Israel over the past 20 years, the Islamist movement said. The Israeli military and Shin Bet, the internal security service, confirmed it had targeted two of the men. Following the collapse on Tuesday of a 10-day ceasefire, the Israeli military appears to have ramped up its efforts to hit the leadership of Hamas's armed wing. Late on Tuesday, the Israeli air force bombed a house in northern Gaza, an attempt, Hamas said, to assassinate Mohammed Deif, its top military commander. Deif's wife, daughter and seven-month-old son were killed but Deif escaped, Hamas said. At a news conference on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to say whether Israel had tried to kill Deif, but said militant leaders were legitimate targets and that "none are immune" from attack. Tens of thousands of Palestinians marched at the funeral of the three Hamas commanders on Thursday, firing weapons into the air in anger and calling for revenge. "The assassinations of the three Qassam leaders is a grave crime," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. "But it will not break our people and Israel will pay the price for it." Amos Yadlin, former chief of Israel's military intelligence and head of Tel Aviv University's INSS think-tank, said Israel, which was engaged in indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas in Cairo until Tuesday, had now changed its game plan. "The PM has adopted a strategy which says 'You shoot at us, we'll hit you seven times harder, you want attrition? We have intelligence and an airforce that will crush you with greater force," he told Israel Radio. — Reuters
	Thai junta leader appointed PM Bangkok, August 21 Thailand's coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha was appointed Prime Minister on Thursday by a legislature he hand-picked, giving the army chief a veneer of legitimacy even while the military presses on with efforts to silence its critics. The army seized power on May 22 in a bloodless coup following six months of sometimes deadly street protests that contributed to the ousting of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose populist government was opposed by the Bangkok royalist establishment. Although Prayuth's appointment paves the way for an interim government to be set up in the coming weeks, power will remain firmly in the junta's hands. The General has said he plans to press ahead with a year of political reforms before a new election that he said will take place by late 2015. "It is designed to give him the power to run the country according to the law. The premier position will give him legal power in the Thai governance system," Gothom Arya, a lecturer in human rights studies at Mahidol University, told Reuters. The nomination comes as no surprise as the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) that chose Prayuth is largely considered little more than a rubber stamp parliament tasked with enacting sweeping reforms under the army's watch. The 60-year-old Prayuth will retire as army chief in September but will stay on as head of the junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order. His appointment will need to be endorsed by Thailand's king. In the weeks leading up to the coup Prayuth denied rumours that the military was planning to take control, but a Reuters report in May revealed the army had a plan ready that ran through various scenarios and how the military should respond. — Reuters An act of hand-picked legislature The nomination comes as no surprise as the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) that chose the new PM is largely considered a rubber stamp parliament tasked with enacting sweeping reforms under the army's watch General Prayuth was named as the next PM after the NLA voted 191-0 in his favour in an uncontested race Although Prayuth's appointment paves the way for an interim government to be set up in the coming weeks, power will remain firmly in the junta's hands