The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

US-led strikes hit IS-held oil sites in Syria

Beirut, September 25
US-led airstrikes targeted Syrian oil installations held by the militant Islamic State group overnight and early today, killing nearly 20 people as militants released dozens of detainees in their de facto capital, fearing further raids, activists said.

The latest strikes came on the third day of a US-led air campaign aimed at rolling back the Islamic State group in Syria, and appeared to be aimed at one of the militants' main revenue streams.

The US has been conducting air raids against the group in neighbouring Iraq for more than a month.

The Islamic State group captured most of Syria's largest oil fields earlier this year and is believed to be partly funding its operations by smuggling oil out and selling it on the black market.

At least four oil installations and three oil fields were hit around the town of Mayadeen in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and two local activist groups. A third activist group loyal to the militants confirmed the reports.

At least 14 militants were killed, said the Observatory, which gathers information from a network of activists on the ground. Another five people who lived near one of the refineries in the northeastern Hassakeh province were also killed, the Observatory said, adding that they were likely the women and children of the militants.

Two activist collectives reported higher death tolls. It is common to have conflicting casualty figures in the chaotic aftermath of such events.

The planes came "with a terrifying sound and red lights before the explosions," one activist wrote, documenting each explosion.

The militants, meanwhile, freed at least 150 people from a prison in their de facto capital of Raqqa in northeastern Syria, fearing more strikes, according to activists there.

Other strikes hit checkpoints, compounds, training grounds and vehicles of the Islamic State throughout the territory they hold along the Euphrates River in northern and eastern Syria, with strikes hitting near the Turkish and Iraqi borders. — AP

Plot to attack US, Paris subways: Iraqi PM

New York: Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday his country's intelligence operation has uncovered a plot for an imminent attack on subway systems in United States and Paris. Haider al-Abadi said he was told of the plot by Baghdad, and that it was the work of foreign fighters of the Islamic State group in Iraq. Asked if the attacks were imminent, he said, “Yes”. Asked if the attacks had been thwarted, he said, “No”. Al-Abadi said the United States had been alerted. He made the remarks at a meeting with journalists on the sidelines of a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. AP

France considers joining strikes

PARIS: France is considering whether to extend its air strikes to Syria and increase security in public places after militants linked to the Islamic State group beheaded a French hostage, officials said on Thursday. President Francois Hollande's office announced that France will "intensify" its support for Syrian opposition forces fighting the Islamic State extremists. A presidential aide would not elaborate on what kind of support or whether it could involve military action. AP

Cameron wants UK to join in

UNITED NATIONS: The British Prime Minister said he would ask Parliament to approve joining international airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq. David Cameron announced the move in his address to the UN General Assembly. Cameron did not mention the prospect of also joining the US-led international airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria that began this week. The threat of the terror group's grip on large parts of both Iraq and Syria has dominated this week's annual gathering of world leaders. AP

Ukraine PM asks West to keep sanctions on Russia

United Nations, September 25
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called on the West not to ease sanctions on Russia, in his address to the UN General Assembly. "We ask our partners not to lift sanctions until Ukraine takes control of its entire territory," Yatsenyuk said.

He spoke just hours after US President Barack Obama offered to lift sanctions against Moscow if it threw its weight behind an unravelling peace deal with Kiev.

Yatsenyuk said Russia must abide by "all points" of a peace deal that provides for autonomy in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow rebels have been fighting Kiev since April.

"Every day, despite the ceasefire, we are losing Ukrainian soldiers, we are losing civilians and the shelling is still going on," he said. Denouncing a Russian "invasion" of Ukraine, the prime minister accused Moscow of violating the UN charter and declared that it should be known as the "insecurity member" of the Security Council.

He called on Moscow to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and cut off support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly denied that it is providing aid to the insurgents.

"We are the country that needs peace, and it's difficult to hammer out any kind of peace deal, starring down the barrel of a gun," he said. In his address to the 193-member assembly, Obama earlier said that the recent ceasefire deal in eastern Ukraine offered an opening towards diplomacy and peace.

"If Russia takes that path - a path that for stretches of the post-Cold War period resulted in prosperity for the Russian people - then we will lift our sanctions and welcome Russia's role in addressing common challenges," Obama said. — AFP

Abu Sayyaf threatens to kill 2 Germans

Berlin, September 25
An al-Qaida-linked terror group has threatened to kill two German hostages it kidnapped in the Philippines unless Germany pays a ransom of USD 5.6 million and halts its support to US-led airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Abu Sayyaf group set the deadline of October 10 to meet the demands including a ransom of USD 5.6 million (250 million pesos) in a letter sent to the families of the two hostages, the German and Filipino government in lieu of the safe release of the Germans who were kidnapped during a yachting holiday off the Palawan Island in April.

The threatening letter by one Abu Rami was also posted yesterday on a website - World Analysis, an open source information resource for geopolitical events - which showed three photos of the two Germans, doctor Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71 and his companion Henriete Dielen, 55.

The threat came a few days after the IS asked its supporters to kill Westerners whose nations have joined the US-led global coalition of more than 50 nations to fight the militant group which has gained control over a large part of Syria and Iraq. — PTI

$5.6 million ransom demanded

n Two Germans — doctor Stefan Viktor Okonek (71) and his companion Henriete Dielen (55) — were kidnapped in April

n The Abu Sayyaf group set the deadline of October 10 to meet the demands including a ransom of $5.6 million

n The threatening letter by one Abu Rami was also posted on a website - World Analysis

Scotland Yard arrests 9 terror suspects in UK

London, September 25
Scotland Yard on Thursday arrested nine men across London on suspicion of being members of a banned organisation and encouraging terrorism. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Counter Terrorism Command are searching 18 premises across the city and one property in Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands region of England.

London-based radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary was also arrested. AP

The Met said the operation was part of an ongoing inquiry into Islamist-related terrorism and not in response to any immediate threat to the public.

London-based radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary is believed to be one of nine men arrested, who are all aged between 22 and 47. They are being held "on suspicion of being a member of a proscribed organisation, supporting a proscribed organisation contrary to Section 11 and 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and encouraging terrorism contrary to Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006," a Met statement said.

The banned organisation is believed to be Al Muhajiroun, set up alongside Choudary by Omar Bakri Muhammad, who was told he could not return from Lebanon to the UK after the 7/7 bombings.

The police said a number of residential, business and community premises are being searched; 11 in east London, one in west London, one in north-west London and five in south London. — PTI

Pak cop kills Christian accused of blasphemy

Islamabad, September 25
A Pakistani policeman shot two men in jail on Thursday, killing one accused of blasphemy and wounding another condemned to death on the same charge, lawyers and an activist said.

Christian pastor Zafar Bhatti was killed and 70-year-old Briton Muhammad Asghar, who has a history of mental illness, was wounded in the attack in Rawalpindi, next to the capital, Islamabad. Bhatti, who worked to protect the human rights of the country's beleaguered Christian minority, was on trial after an Islamic leader accused him in 2012 of sending text messages derogatory to the Prophet Mohammed's mother.

His family say police investigations show the phone was registered to someone else. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

Hamas, Fatah agree on return of unity govt in Gaza
Cairo: Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah said they reached an agreement on Thursday for the return of their unity government in Gaza ahead of negotiations with Israel next month. The Palestinian rivals had set up a unity government of independents in June but it never took hold, with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accusing Hamas of running a "parallel" administration as de facto ruler in the Gaza Strip. AFP

Nearly 100 Morsi supporters jailed in Egypt
Cairo: Nearly 100 Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt were on Thursday handed down stiff jail terms for up to 25 years after being found guilty of violence during protests supporting ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. A court sentenced 73 Muslim Brotherhood supporters in absentia to 15 years in prison for inciting violence in Kafr el-Sheikh police station last year. Nine other defendants were sentenced to 10 years in prison, while 4 others were sentenced to a year in prison. PTI

masterpiece: Workers prepare the ‘Unconditional Surrender’ sculpture by artist Seward Johnson of the US outside the Memorial of Caen museum in Caen on Thursday. The 25-foot statue of a sailor kissing a nurse is to spend a year in front of the Caen Memorial. Reuters

PIA airhostess arrested in Italy for carrying drugs
LAHORE: In yet another scandal involving PIA staff, an airhostess with the state-run airlines has been arrested in Italy after illegal drugs were recovered from her luggage at the Milan airport. The Pakistan International Airlines' flight-733 Lahore-Milan-Paris left for its destination from the Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore on Tuesday. On its arrival at the Milan airport on Wednesday, the immigration authorities detected illegal drugs in airhostess Rashida Amin's hand-carry luggage. PTI

4 Indians charged with bribing Singapore officer
SINGAPORE: Four Indians in Singapore were on Thursday charged in court with bribing a customs officer and fraudulently claiming Goods and Services Tax tourist refunds. The four Indians along with two Singaporeans were arrested after the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) had identified several suspicious GST refund claims using data analytics on its electronic tourist refund system (eTRS). PTI

‘British pilot had sex with teenagers in India’
LONDON: A British Airways pilot had sex with underage boys during his stopovers in India between long-haul flights and showered them with money and gifts, a court here has been told. Bartle Frere (50), a former captain with the airlines, was arrested for indecent assault, gross indecency and child porn offences dating back to 2001. IANS

Hundreds rescued from stricken boat off Cyprus
NICOSIA: Cypriot authorities on Thursday rescued hundreds of migrants, most of them women and children, after their boat hit rough seas off the coast of the eastern Mediterranean island. Some 345 people were thought to be on board the vessel 50 nautical miles (90 km) west of Cyprus. Reuters