United States Launches Airstrikes in Syria - Real Target Is Assad

http://www.activistpost.com/2014/09/united-states-launches-airstrikes-in.html

Monday, September 22, 2014

United States Launches Airstrikes in Syria - Real Target Is Assad

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Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post

Late Monday evening, September 22, the United States began the first of its airstrikes inside Syria.

Although details are still murky about where the attacks took place and what targets were actually hit, the Pentagon has acknowledged responsibility for the bombings.

According to USA Today, Rear Admiral John Kirby stated that "I can confirm that U.S. military and partner nation forces are undertaking military action against ISIL terrorists in Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles. Given that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time."

USA Today reports that the strikes were carried out both by bomber jets and by ships firing cruise missiles. It is said that the strikes have hit about 20 ISIS targets, including what is being called “headquarters buildings” for “militants who have based their movement in Syria.”

The attacks were not carried out with the coordination and cooperation of the Syrian government. Nor were they carried out with Syrian government permission.


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http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syria-blasts-coalition-islamic-state-25654470



Syria Blasts Coalition Against Islamic State
DAMASCUS, Syria — Sep 21, 2014, 3:00 PM ET
By ALBERT AJI Associated Press



Syria's parliament speaker said Sunday that the U.S. should work with Damascus to battle the Islamic State extremist group rather than allying with nations which he accused of supporting terrorism.
Speaker Jihad Laham was apparently referring to Saudi Arabia and other countries backing rebels trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Obama is currently working to form a global coalition to confront the Islamic State group, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq. The U.S. meanwhile has been conducting airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq since August. Obama last week authorized strikes against the group in Syria.
U.S. officials have ruled out direct coordination with Assad's government, a move which has infuriated Syrian officials who say any airstrikes without their consent would be a breach of the country's sovereignty.
They also appear to be concerned that an anti-Islamic State group coalition might ultimately shift targets to assist rebels in overthrowing Assad.
During a parliament session, Laham, the speaker, said those "who really want to combat terrorism, must cooperate with Syria in accordance with long-term plans and not by supporting terrorist organizations under false titles."

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With reporting by Diaa Hadid in Beirut.

http://news.antiwar.com/2014/09/22/us-begins-airstrikes-against-isis-targets-in-syria/

US Begins Airstrikes Against ISIS Targets in Syria

Pentagon: About 20 Targets Hit in Attacks

by Jason Ditz, September 22, 2014
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The American war on ISIS has expanded into Syria tonight, with Pentagon officials issuing a brief statement claiming credit for a round of about 20 targets hit in northeastern Syria this evening.
The attacks involved both the use of US bombers, including F-22 and B1s, fighter warplanes including F-16s, F-15s, and F/A-18s. They’ve also fired Tomahawk cruise missiles from the USS Arleigh Burke in the Red Sea. Details of what was hit are not clear so far, though some reports say that an ISIS headquarters was among the targets.
The Pentagon insisted it wouldn’t provide addition details about the “ongoing operations,” but plenty of information continued to emerge in the hours that followed the strike.
Indications are that the Tomahawk cruise missiles struck first, and that the US strikes centered around attacks on buildings, and people on the scene reported the sky was “full of drones” over the ISIS capital of Raqqa.
The strikes were reportedly joined by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Each has expressed support for regime change against the Syrian government in the past.
President Obama announced his intention to expand the war into Syria almost two weeks ago, though officials at the time said the order hadn’t actually been issued yet.
Attacks in Syria are expected to be more complicated than the strikes in Iraq, with even less intelligence about where ISIS forces are, and no official coordination with the Syrian government. The drones reported so far appear to be surveillance drones, and there has been no confirmation of drone strikes involved in the attacks.
The Syrian government had initially expressed opposition to unilateral US strikes on their territory, even if it is territory seized by ISIS. So far there has been no statement issued by Syria on the attacks.

See Link For Pictures

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/1409021-syria--turkey-refugees-islamic-state-pictures-photography/

Photographer Captures Tens of Thousands Fleeing ISIS, Entering Turkey

Scott Johnson
for National Geographic
Published September 21, 2014
At least 66,000 Syrian Kurds streamed into Turkey on Saturday, fleeing the latest advances of the Islamic State—the violent Sunni group that has declared a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq—as it moved further north in a bid to extend territorial control. The militants’ onslaught left as many as 40 towns and villages in northern Syria, including the border city of Ayn al-Arab, called Kobani in Kurdish, virtually empty, as thousands of men, women and children sought safety.

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Turkey has received more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees since the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which erupted in spring 2011 and quickly morphed into a vicious civil war that spawned multiple extremist groups, including the Islamic State.