Free Republic

Syrian army says it will 'bring down' any Turkish war planes in its airspace The Syrian military said on Oct. 20 that it would bring down any Turkish war planes entering Syrian air space, a response to air strikes carried out by Turkey overnight in northern Syria. "Any attempt to once again breach Syrian airspace by Turkish war planes will be dealt with and they will be brought down by all means available," the Syrian army general command said in a statement. Turkish air strikes hit a group of Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG), the military wing of the...

More than 1.5 million Germans, many of them highly educated, left Germany during the past decade. — Die Welt. Germany is facing a spike in migrant crime, including an epidemic of rapes and sexual assaults. Mass migration is also accelerating the Islamization of Germany. Many Germans appear to be losing hope about the future direction of their country.

A woman living in a picturesque German ski resort hit by a 'major migrant crime wave' has told how she carries pepper spray for protection because she no longer feels safe. Barbara Plant said she will not go out alone at night in Garmisch-Partenkirchen amid concerns over 250 migrants being housed in a disused army complex in the town. Many other women in the Bavarian resort also say they are worried for their safety in what the mayor called 'an explosive situation' after police blamed a record increase in crime on asylum seekers. 'When it gets dark I stay indoors,'...

A Russian carrier fleet which passed through the English Channel today deployed heavily-armed guards to deter anyone approaching the warships. A number of guards, equipped with AK-74 assault rifles and heavy machine guns were spotted on the flight deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov as it passed by the White Cliffs of Dover. The powerful fleet was ordered to pass through the Channel, which is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, in single file.

The Russian aircraft carrier fleet is on its way to pass through the English Channel on its way to join Bashar al-Assad's bombing campaign in Syrian city Aleppo, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. The eight-strong flotilla, led by the Admiral Kuzentsov, has completed training its pilots for bombing missions while it has been tracked by the Royal Navy's HMS Richmond and several NATO vessels. And Vladimir Putin's admirals are keen to ramp up the pressure on Britain's warships by calling in extra assets from the Mediterranean in a mission dubbed 'Operation Sea Fist' by the Russian media. A MOD...

Sweden to give ISIS fighters housing grants and free driving licences to encourage them to reintegrate into society Lund County in Sweden is examining plans to reintegrate jihadi defectors 140 Swedes have come back after fighting with terrorists in Syria and Iraq Reintegration plan would see defectors given housing benefits and driving licences By Julian Robinson for MailOnline Published: 14:59 GMT, 19 October 2016 | Updated: 22:09 GMT, 19 October 2016 Sweden is planning to give ISIS defectors housing grants and free driving licences to encourage them to reintegrate into society, it has emerged. Lund County council in southern Sweden...

Turkish president blasts U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State ahead of Ash Carter’s visit By Carlo Muñoz and Guy Taylor - The Washington Times - Updated: 10:43 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will be walking into diplomatic buzz saw Thursday when he arrives in Turkey a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a blistering critique of the U.S.-backed campaign to oust the Islamic State group from neighboring Iraq, demanded a bigger role for Turkish military forces. Mr. Erdogan’s remarkable outburst was the latest sign of difficulties the Obama administration faces in keeping the various members...

Rebel fighters today captured the town of Dabiq in northern Syria - which holds huge symbolic value - from ISIS. Turkish troops, part of what is known as Operation Euphrates Shield, and planes helped various rebel groups push ISIS - sometimes referred to as Daesh - out of Dabiq. Dabiq holds crucial ideological importance for ISIS because of a Sunni prophecy that states it will be the site of an end-of-times battle between Christian forces and Muslims.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi went on state television early Monday to announce that the crucial battle to end Islamic State’s ruinous reign of terror in Mosul and western Iraq had finally begun. “Today I declare the start of these victorious operations to free you from the violence and terrorism of Daesh,” al-Abadi said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL. Shortly before the prime minister told Iraqis that “God willing, we will win,” two Canadian generals who are privy to the battle plans said they were convinced the end of the hardline jihadists in Iraq was inevitable and fast approaching....

As the US officially enters the Yemen military campaign, the UK appears ready and willing to precipiate a catalytic event from which there is no going back. With relations between Russia and the West at post-Cold War lows and deteriorating fast, Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots have been given the go-ahead to shoot down Russian military jets when flying missions over Syria and Iraq, if they are endangered by them. The development comes with warnings that the UK and Russia are now "one step closer" to being at war, according to the Sunday Times. While the RAF's Tornado pilots have...

Turkey attacks YPG positions north Syria, Kurds respond ARA News Tel Abyad – Turkey’s military targeted a headquarters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) near the city of Tel Abyad in northern Syria. “The Turkish artillery bombed the YPG-held village of Khenitiya in Tel Abyad countryside, targeting a YPG security office,” YPG officer Salih Watti told ARA News. The attack, which took place in the afternoon on Wednesday, only caused material damage. No casualties were reported. However, the Kurdish YPG responded to the fire by launching artillery shells at Turkish Army installations near the Syrian border. It was not...

People ask me all the time: How do I find out if my town is targeted? Frankly there is no list put out by the federal government and its paid resettlement contractors. They are very secretive about the selection process. We heard recently that there are 47 new sites and we have only so far identified those listed below. But, this article from Watertown, NY is a prime example of how you get a hint that something is up! Usually a local newspaper writes a puffy piece like this one about how great it would be for Watertown to revitalize...

Russians in Syria 'act like Nazis in Guernica' Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell has condemned Russia for its part in the siege of Aleppo. Tuesday 11 October 2016 Russia is behaving in Syria as the Nazis did during the bombing of Guernica in Spain in 1937, according to Tory MP Andrew Mitchell. Mr Mitchell accused Moscow of "shredding the international rules-based system of law", ahead of an urgent Commons debate on the humanitarian situation in Aleppo. The former international development secretary compared the Kremlin's role in the conflict to that of the Nazis during the Spanish Civil War over...

Ex-Mossad chief says it’s OK for Israel to support al Qaeda in Syria because al Qaeda never attacked Israel.

As her husband vows to 'cleanse' the northern city of Aleppo with relentless airstrikes, Syria's First Lady Asma al-Assad is playing the role of a kind-hearted humanitarian in Damascus. The wife of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is believed to live in the centre of the capital city with their three children. The area has been largely spared from the relentless violence that has swept the country since 2011. Posts on an official presidency Instagram account show the British-born First Lady, who was educated at King's College London, greeting female graduates, hugging the orphaned children of regime soldiers and sharing...

"The conflict in Syria is part of Washington’s prime goal to impose global hegemony, President Bashar Assad told a Russian newspaper. Terrorists in Syria, he said, are being used by the US and its Gulf allies to assert control over the region, primarily to weaken Iran. Stating that the West and especially the United States never stopped the Cold War mentality in pursuit of world dominance, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Assad said that global tensions, especially when it comes Syria, are escalating into World War III. “The whole issue is about keeping the hegemony of the...

U.S. President Barack Obama and his top foreign policy advisers are expected to meet on Friday to consider their military and other options in Syria as Syrian and Russian aircraft continue to pummel Aleppo and other targets, U.S. officials said. Some top officials argue the United States must act more forcefully in Syria or risk losing what influence it still has over moderate rebels and its Arab, Kurdish and Turkish allies in the fight against Islamic State, the officials told Reuters. One set of options includes direct U.S. military action such as air strikes on Syrian military bases, munitions depots...

ISIS previously has used commerical, off-the-shelf drones for surveillance and to deliver ordnance, and now it is is using drones to deliver explosives, Colonel John Dorrian, the spokesman for U.S. military operations in Iraq, told reporters on Wednesday. He confirmed that one enemy drone exploded after it was shot down: “We know that there was an improvised device on a — on a — a drone. And when that was brought back to the camp, it exploded. So, the reason or the way or the manner in which that happened — still digging into that.” Dorrian said the drones have...

As the US officially enters the Yemen military campaign, the UK appears ready and willing to precipitate a catalytic event from which there is no going back. With relations between Russia and the West at post-Cold War lows and deteriorating fast, Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots have been given the go-ahead to shoot down Russian military jets when flying missions over Syria and Iraq, if they are endangered by them.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his top foreign policy advisers are expected to meet on Friday to consider their military and other options in Syria as Syrian and Russian aircraft continue to pummel Aleppo and other targets, U.S. officials said. Some top officials argue the United States must act more forcefully in Syria or risk losing what influence it still has over moderate rebels and its Arab, Kurdish and Turkish allies in the fight against Islamic State, the officials told Reuters. One set of options includes direct U.S. military action such as air strikes on Syrian military bases, munitions depots...