US boosts reward on ISIS leader to $25 mn-25 مليون دولار مكافأة لمن يدلي بمعلومات عن زعيم داعش

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

The United States on Friday more than doubled the bounty on the head of the shadowy leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to $25 million.

The announcement by the State Department "Rewards for Justice Program" came as US-backed local forces close in on the Islamist militant group's main urban strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the cities of Mosul and Raqa.

The cash will be paid to anyone who can offer "information leading to the location, arrest or conviction" of the elusive militant, known to his followers as "Caliph Ibrahim".

"Under al-Baghdadi, ISIL has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, including the brutal murder of numerous civilian hostages from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States," the State Department said.

"The group also has conducted chemical weapons attacks in Iraq and Syria in defiance of the longstanding global norm against the use of these appalling weapons, and has enabled or directed terrorist attacks beyond the borders of its self-declared caliphate."

Baghdadi has kept a low profile, despite having declared himself the leader of a renewed Muslim caliphate, but last month released a defiant audio message urging his supporters to defend Mosul.

It is not clear if he is in the besieged city, where he declared his caliphate in 2014 after the ISIS group seized territory covering much of eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

The video, which showed a man with a black and grey beard wearing a black robe and matching turban, is the only one IS has released of Baghdadi to date.

He has been reported wounded in US-led coalition air strikes multiple times, but the claims have never been verified, and his apparent survival has added to his mystique.

According to an official Iraqi government document, Baghdadi was born in Samarra in 1971 and has four children with his first wife -- two boys and two girls born between 2000 and 2008.

An Iraqi intelligence report records that Baghdadi has a PhD in Islamic studies and was a professor at Tikrit University.

Baghdadi apparently joined the insurgency that erupted after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and spent time in an American military prison.

قالت وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية، اليوم الجمعة، إن الولايات المتحدة زادت قيمة المكافأة المرصودة لمن يدلي بمعلومات تقودها إلى "أبو بكر البغدادي زعيم تنظيم داعش الإرهابي".

وأضافت الخارجية الأمريكية "إنه تم رفع قيمة المكافأة إلى 25 مليون دولار، من مبلغ 10 ملايين دولار الذي تم عرضه لأول مرة عام 2011، عندما أضيف اسم البغدادي إلى قائمة الإرهاب الأمريكية"، منوهة إلى أن التهديد الذي يشكله البغدادي "زاد بشكل كبير".

وقالت وزارة الخارجية إنه "في ظل زعامة البغدادي، أصبح التنظيم الإرهابي مسؤولًا عن مقتل الآلاف من المدنيين في منطقة الشرق الأوسط، ومن بين ذلك عمليات القتل الوحشي للعديد من الرهائن المدنيين من اليابان والمملكة المتحدة والولايات المتحدة".

وأشارت الخارجية الأمريكية أيضا إلى الهجمات بالأسلحة الكيميائية التي شنها التنظيم الإرهابي في كل من سوريا والعراق، في تحد للمعايير الدولية ضد استخدام هذه الأسلحة.

‪#‎German‬ parliament approves military action in ‪#‎Syria‬ against ‪#‎ISIS‬

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, casts her vote whether Germany will join the international alliance in their fight against the Islamic State group (ISIS) militants in Syria at the German Federal Parliament in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Dec.4, 2015

Lawmakers approved Friday plans for Germany to take on a direct role in the battle against the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Syria, answering France's appeal for help after the deadly Paris attacks.

Parliament agreed to the mandate for the deployment of Tornado reconnaissance jets, a frigate and up to 1,200 troops by an overwhelming majority of 445 votes in favor and 146 against.

The green light for the mission that could become Germany's biggest deployment abroad comes three weeks after militants killed 130 people in a series of attacks in Paris.

The atrocities prompted France to invoke a clause requiring EU states to provide military assistance to wipe out the IS group in Iraq and Syria.

Britain joined the US-led bombing campaign over Syria on Thursday, striking an ISIS-held oil field as the momentum to take action against the militant group increases.

After repeatedly ruling out the use of "boots on the ground", US President Barack Obama also agreed to send as many as 100 Special Forces to Iraq, with a mandate to carry out raids inside Syria.

A broad coalition of 60 countries has been battling IS since August 2014, although involvement in Syria has been more limited with some Western nations wary of how military action could actually end up serving President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which they view as no longer legitimate.

But reticence seemed to have melted away following the Paris attacks, and in the Netherlands, which has been bombarding the IS in Iraq, the government too is coming under pressure to widen the aerial campaign to Syria.

Even in Germany, where there has traditionally been reluctance to engage in military missions abroad, the government's decision to take direct action in Syria has been largely met with support.

An opinion poll in Die Welt newspaper Friday showed broad public backing of 58 percent of people surveyed in favor of the military deployment while 37 percent were against.

The support came despite a large majority of 63 percent believing that the risk of a terror attack on German soil will rise as a result of Bundeswehr involvement in Syria.

Meanwhile, France's President Francois Hollande will on Friday visit the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean off Syria where it is being used to conduct air strikes on Islamic State targets.

"He will meet military personnel taking part in operations to intensify the fight against Daesh in Syria and Iraq," a statement from the presidency said, using another name for the militant group that has claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks.

Germany's Justice Minister Heiko Maas said the case for deployment was watertight legally.

"The Germans can be certain that the deployment to Syria neither violates international law nor the constitution," he told on Friday.

"We must stop this terrorist gang of murderers. That will not be achieved with military action alone, but neither would it be achieved without," he said.

The package approved by parliament includes six Tornado aircraft which have no offensive fighter capability and are specialized in air-to-ground reconnaissance.

A German frigate will be deployed to protect the Charles de Gaulle, from which French fighter jets are carrying out bombing runs, and the tanker aircraft could refuel them mid-air to extend their range.

Separately, Germany has also pledged to send 650 soldiers to Mali to provide some relief to French forces battling militants in the West African nation.

But the opposition warned that Germany is being forced to make a weighty decision too hastily.

"We are being made to decide in three days if Germany would once again be dragged into a war. We do not want to be dragged into a war at the speed of a Tornado," the Left party's Petra Sitte told parliament.

But Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen defended the swift action, saying it sends a "signal that we are resolved to fight ISIS".

BREAKING NEWS : Sputnik : Main illegal oil transportation routes located on Turkey-Syria border

BREAKING NEWS : Sputnik : Main illegal oil transportation routes located on Turkey-Syria border

Snapshot from Russia Today TV

The general staff has irrefutable evidence on Turkey's involvement in illegal oil trade. Moscow calls on Turkey to open access to places where, according to the retrieved Russian intel, ISIS oil trade centers are located. 

"We have identified three main oil routes," Rudskoy said.

The western route leads to the Turkish ports in the Mediterranean, the northern — to Patma oil refinery, and the eastern — to Dzhazri transfer point. 

The ministry provided photographs of columns of oil fuel tankers on the Turkish-Syrian border. Fuel tankers with oil freely cross the border between Turkey and Iraq, according to Russia's General Staff.

The oil from ISIS-controlled areas in Syria is being shipped to third countries for processing after having been transported to Turkey, the General Staff noted.

Russian Defense Ministry's information on ISIS oil trucks in Syria will be made publicly available online.

Putin sends air defence missiles to Syria to deter Turkey

A Sukhoi Su-24 jet fighter drops flares during a joint Kazakh-Russian military exercise at Otar military range, west of Almaty

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered state-of-the art air defence missile systems to be deployed at a Russian air base in Syria following the downing of one of its warplanes by Turkey, a move that raised the threat of a military confrontation between the NATO member and Moscow.

The S-400 missile systems will be sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia, located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey. The systems are capable of targeting Turkish jets with deadly precision. If Russia shot down a Turkish plane, NATO would be required to intervene.

Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber on Tuesday, saying it crossed into its airspace from Syria despite repeated warnings. One of its two pilots was killed by militants after bailing out, while his crewmate was rescued by Syrian army commandos and delivered in good condition to the Russian base early Wednesday.

Putin said the Russian plane remained in Syria’s skies when it was shot down. He described Turkey’s action as a “crime” and a “stab in the back,” warning of serious consequences.

He said that the Russian Foreign Ministry’s warning to Russians not to visit Turkey was needed “because we can’t exclude some other incidents following what happened yesterday and our citizens in Turkey could be in significant danger.”

On Wednesday, the Russian leader ordered the military to deploy the S-400s to Hemeimeem and took other measures that “should be sufficient to ensure flight safety.”

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday that the Russian missile cruiser Moskva already has moved closer to shore to protect the Russian aircraft flying missions near Syria’s border with Turkey with its long-range Fort air defence system.

“It will be ready to destroy any aerial target posing a potential danger to our aircraft,” he said at a meeting with military officials.

Shoigu also said that from now on all Russian bombers will be escorted by fighters on their combat missions in Syria. He said that his ministry has severed all contacts with the Turkish military.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who canceled his planned trip to Turkey after the incident, described the shooting down of the Russian plane as a “planned provocation.”

He said the Turkish action came after Russian planes successfully targeted oil infrastructure used by the ISIS group, alleging that Turkey benefited from the oil trade.

Lavrov also said that Turkish territory was used by “terrorists” to prepare attacks in other countries, but offered no details. He said that Russia “has no intention to go to war with Turkey,” but added that Moscow will re-consider its ties with Ankara.

Some leading Russian tourist agencies already have suspended the sales of tour packages to Turkey. Nearly 4.5 million Russians visited Turkey last year, second only to German tourists.

Some Russian lawmakers suggested that Moscow should respond to the downing of the plane by cracking down on Turkish companies in Russia, but Lavrov said that “we don’t want to artificially create problems for Turkish producers and exporters, who aren’t responsible for what has happened.” Still, he added that “we can’t but react to what has happened.”

Russia was the biggest source of Turkish imports last year, worth $25 billion, which mostly accounted for Russian gas supplies.

Most Turkish exports to Russia are textiles and food, and although Turkish food exports have not been covered by the Russian food embargo, they fell by 40 percent in January-September this year compared to a year ago.

Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Lavrov agreed to a meeting "in the coming days," during their telephone conversation Wednesday, but Lavrov said he has no such plans.

Turkey informed the U.N. that two Russian planes disregarded warnings and violated Turkish airspace "to a depth of 1.36 miles and 1.15 miles in length for 17 seconds."

Lavrov shrugged off the Turkish argument that it had no other choice but to shoot the plane down, pointing at the 2012 downing of a Turkish warplane by Syria in its airspace, saying that Ankara argued then that a brief incursion wasn’t a reason to shoot down its jet. He also pointed at routine violations of Greece’s airspace by Turkish combat planes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that his country doesn’t wish to escalate tensions with Russia over the downing of the plane.

Speaking at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation economy meeting in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Turkey favors “peace, dialogue and diplomacy.” He defended his country’s move to shoot down the plane saying: “no one should expect Turkey to stay silent to border violations or the violation of its rights."

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also sought to ease tensions, saying that Russia is Turkey's "friend and neighbor" and insisting relations cannot be "sacrificed to accidents of communication."

In a sign of the tensions, protesters in Moscow hurled eggs and stones at the Turkish Embassy, breaking windows in the compound. Police cleared the area and made some arrests shortly after the protest began.

Davutoglu told his party's lawmakers on Wednesday that Turkey didn't know the nationality of the plane that was brought down on Tuesday until Moscow announced it was Russian.

He again defended Turkey's action, saying Russia was warned on several occasions that Turkey would take action in case its border is violated in line with its military rules of engagement.

Davutoglu also said Russia is an "important partner and tops the list of countries with which we have shown great sensitivity in building ties."

The Turkish prime minister, however, also criticized Russian and Syrian operations in Syria's Turkmen region, saying there is "not one single" presence of the ISIS group there. Davutoglu demanded that operations there stop immediately.