Officials: US Bombs ISIS Drone in Iraq

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Photo Credit: Defense News

Photo Credit: Defense News

US warplanes have bombed a small drone used by Islamic State extremists in Iraq, marking the first time American-led forces had targeted an unmanned aircraft flown by the jihadists, officials said Wednesday.

The strike took place on Tuesday near the western city of Fallujah, destroying “a remotely piloted aircraft” and a vehicle with the IS forces, according to a statement from the US military command overseeing the campaign against the group.

The drone, used for battlefield surveillance, was “small-scale” and not a sophisticated aircraft equivalent to some US-made robotic planes that can fly at high altitudes or launch missiles, US defense officials said.

After flying the drone for a short period, Islamic State militants placed it on a vehicle. American aircraft then struck the vehicle near Fallujah, officials said. (Read more from “Officials: US Bombs ISIS Drone in Iraq” HERE)

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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Tunisia Museum Attack, Massacre

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Gun MenISIS apparently claimed responsibility Thursday for the deadly terrorist attack at a landmark museum in the heart of that country’s capital, a mass shooting that has shaken the birthplace of the Arab Spring and stirred questions about militants in the country.

In an audio statement posted online Thursday, ISIS identified two men — Abu Zakariya al-Tunisi and Abu Anas al-Tunisi — it said used “automatic weapons and hand grenades” to kill and injure what it called “crusaders and apostates” in the Bardo Museum in Tunis. Tunisian Health Minister Said Aidi said 23 people are believed to have been killed, including at least one who died at a hospital overnight.

And that bloodshed, the ISIS message warned, is “just the start” . . .

A U.S. official told CNN there is no reason to doubt the claim’s authenticity. That said, American officials are checking the platform that the statement went out on, including the extent to which it’s tied to the group calling itself the Islamic State.

The current U.S. thinking is the attack may have been carried out by local “franchise” adherents to ISIS, rather than centrally directed by the Islamist extremist group’s leadership, which is now thought to be in Syria. (Read more from “ISIS Apparently Claims Responsibility for Tunisia Museum Attack” HERE)

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After Embarrassing Wait, Obama Congratulates Netanyahu on Election Victory

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Photo Credit: Times of Israel

Photo Credit: Times of Israel

US President Barack Obama on Thursday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his recent election win, after a campaign that seemed to sour relations between the two allies.

Obama spoke to the Israeli leader “to congratulate him on his party’s success in winning a plurality of Knesset seats,” the National Security Council said in a statement.

According to the White House, Obama “emphasized the importance the United States places on our close military, intelligence, and security cooperation with Israel, which reflects the deep and abiding partnership between both countries.”

The two leaders “agreed to continue consultations on a range of regional issues, including the difficult path forward to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” . . .

Earlier, spokespeople in the White House and State Department indicated the US would re-evaluate its approach to the peace process and its support for Israel in the United Nations in the wake of Netanyahu’s comments. (Read more from “After Wait, Obama Congratulates Netanyahu on Election Victory” HERE)

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U.S. Military Loses Contact with Predator Drone Flying over Syria

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A Pentagon official confirmed the U.S. military lost contact with an unarmed Predator drone Tuesday while it was flying above northwestern Syria, but could not corroborate reports that the aircraft was shot down by President Bashar Assad’s air defenses.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said that U.S. forces lost contact with the drone about 1:40 p.m. Eastern time and that the reason for its disappearance was being investigated.

The incident marks the first time a U.S. aircraft has gone down since President Obama authorized airstrikes against Islamic State militants in the summer. Since then, Predator drones have been flying daily missions above Iraq and Syria.

Predators are flown from bases across the globe, but the military official would not discuss where the U.S. aircraft was being controlled from or where it was based before they lost contact with it.

Earlier Tuesday, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said the country’s air defenses had brought down a U.S. surveillance plane in the coastal province of Latakia. (Read more from “U.S. Military Loses Contact with Predator Drone Flying over Syria” HERE)

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ISIS Vows to ‘Blow up the White House, Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower’

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En route to conquering the European cities of Paris and Rome, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria says they plan to “blow up” the White House, Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower.

ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani detailed the terror group’s plans to conquer Portugal, Spain, Paris and Rome in an almost 30-minute audio message to the West, “So They Kill And Are Killed,” which references a Koran verse.

“We won the day Europe and U.S. dreamt of reclaiming Tal Hamis, Mosul, Sinjar, Tikrit, Qaim, Derna, Tell Abyad, and more,” stated the ISIS mouthpiece, as transcribed by Ynet News.

“We — with Allah’s help — want Paris, before Rome and Islamic Iberia and after we blow up the White House, Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower before Paris, and Rome,” al-Adnani warned. “The Muslims will return to power, to be the vanguard and lead in every place.” (Read more from “ISIS Vows to ‘Blow up the White House, Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower'” HERE)

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Iran Reportedly Confronts US Officials at Geneva Nuclear Talks over GOP Letter

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Iranian officials reportedly have confronted their U.S. counterparts twice over an open letter from Republican senators to Tehran that warned any agreement on Iran’s nuclear program would be unlikely to last beyond President Barack Obama’s term of office.

The Associated Press, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that the letter, which was signed by 47 of 54 GOP members, first came up in negotiations on Sunday and was raised again Monday in discussions led by Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

Zarif was quoted by Iranian state media after the meeting as saying the topics included the potential speed of a softening of U.S. economic sanctions and the new issue of the letter from the senators. “It is necessary that the stance of the U.S. administration be defined about this move,” he was quoted as saying.

Kerry and Zarif met for nearly five hours in Lausanne, the start of several planned days of discussions. Most of the Iranians then departed for Brussels, where they were to meet with European negotiators.

In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that “we are entering a crucial time, a crucial two weeks.” And German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that after “more than 10 years of negotiations, we should seize this opportunity.” (Read more from “Iran Reportedly Confronts US Officials at Geneva Nuclear Talks over GOP Letter” HERE)

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Images Have Been Posted of Vladmir Putin After Health Rumors Swirl

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Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared in a series of photos released by the Kremlin on Friday after a week in which canceled engagements led to speculation over his health.

The three images showed Putin meeting with the head of the Supreme Court in Moscow on Friday, the Kremlin said. State broadcaster Russia 24 also aired video footage of the meeting.

CNN cannot independently confirm that the meeting took place as stated.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov sought to quell the rumors of ill health on Thursday, joking that they were down to “spring fever,” Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported.

“When the sun comes up in spring, and as soon as spring is in the air, then the fever begins,” Peskov said. “Someone dreams of (Rosneft CEO Igor) Sechin resignation, others — of government resignation, while others have not seen President Putin on TV for several days,” he said, according to Tass. (Read more from “Images Are Posted of Vladmir Putin After Health Rumors Swirl” HERE)

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Massive Suicide Bombs Kill Christian Worshippers in Pakistan

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[Warning: this article contains graphic images, below]A Pakistani evangelist reports this morning that radical jihadists attacked Christian churches during the middle of worship, killing at least 14.

The BBC reports that more than 70 were injured in twin blasts at two separate churches.

One Pakistani pastor, currently working outside of Pakistan, told Restoring Liberty that the blame for the continuing attacks on Christian worshippers in Pakistan should be laid squarely at the feet of the country’s increasingly Islamist government:

One more time the Government of Pakistan failed to provide security to Christians in Pakistan. Twin suicide blasts in two different churches in my city, Lahore, Pakistan, during Sunday worship. 14 killed and 70 injured.

The Pakistani pastor notes that at one of the churches that was attacked, a boy stopped the attacker from entering the church, saving perhaps dozens of lives:

A little Christian hero, “Akash,” gave his life by stopping suicide bomber at the Church gate. He was in Church security team as volunteer. He saved many lives but he gave his life.

The pastor then hits the Pakistani government again for failing to protect its people:

Many of the Churches in Pakistan need security but government failed to do, so now the youth in Churches are trying to have their own people to stand on gate. PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN.

Moscow: Fire Breaks out at Novodevichy Convent

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The bell tower of Moscow’s historic Novodevichy convent, a Unesco world heritage site and the burial place of many prominent figures, has been threatened by a fire that broke out on Sunday night. Flames from construction scaffolding around the bell tower, which has been under renovation, rose high above the Moscow skyline as firefighters struggled to protect one of the city’s most beloved landmarks.

Law enforcement sources told Russian news agencies that the fire had started in the scaffolding about 30 metres above the ground, and moved up to the top of the tower, which is more than 70 metres high. According to the Moscow branch of the emergency situations ministry, the fire started at 10.41pm local time.

Firefighters were containing the blaze and “there is no danger of the fire spreading”, Alexander Gavrilov, first deputy director of the Moscow branch of the emergency situations ministry, told journalists at the scene shortly after midnight. No one was injured and the interior of the bell tower was not damaged, he said.

State news agency RIA Novosti later reported that the fire had been almost completely extinguished.

Gavrilov declined to comment on the fire’s possible causes. But the city’s cultural heritage department told news agency Interfax that the renovation work on the tower was being conducted in violation of safety regulations, which likely caused the fire. The department had previously noted violations but could not dismiss the construction contractor because the convent is under federal control. (Read more from “Moscow: Fire Breaks out at Novodevichy Convent” HERE)

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Since Boko Haram is Running Low on Suicide Bombers, You’ll Never Guess What They’re Using as an Alternative

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Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram is plotting to use cattle as suicide bombers, officials have said.

Nigerian authorities also suspect that the extremist group, which aims at establishing an Islamic caliphate in the country, is preparing dozens of suicide bombers to carry out large-scale attacks.

Mike Omer, coordinator of the National Information Centre, said: “Available intelligence reports indicate a plan by Boko Haram to use young male suicide bombers disguised as cobblers to hide explosives in their tool boxes and detonate them on soft target areas such as markets, restaurants, ATM locations, political rallies, worship centres as well as other public places,” according to Nigeria’s Vanguard daily.

“Also, there is indication of a plan by this group to use livestock such as, goats, cows, donkeys and camels laden with explosives to attack chosen targets.”

The extremist group is on a rampage killing thousands of people in Nigeria and neighbouring countries over the past several years as the armed insurgency has risen sharply in the recent months. (Read more from “Since Boko Haram is Running Low on Suicide Bombers, You’ll Never Guess What They’re Using as an Alternative” HERE)

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