World News & Breaking News II

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel has told lawmakers that it's in Germany's interests to arm the Kurdish fighters who are battling Islamic extremists in Iraq.

The government decided Sunday to send 16,000 assault rifles, millions of rounds of ammunition, hundreds of anti-tank weapons and several armored vehicles to forces fighting the Islamic State group, breaking with Germany's previous reluctance to send weapons into conflicts.

Merkel on Monday told a special session of parliament the decision was "very carefully weighed."

She said German officials faced a choice between "taking no risks, not delivering (weapons) and ultimately accepting the expansion of terror" or supporting those fighting the extremists.

Merkel said "the immense suffering of many people cries out and our own security interests are threatened."

Parliament held a non-binding vote, approving the move. Some opposition lawmakers objected, however, warning that the weapons could end up in the wrong hands.

Click to expand...

bd popeye said:

Follow the link for the full story

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Al-Shabab's top leader was in one of two vehicles hit Monday night by a U.S. military strike, a member of the Somali Islamic extremist group said Tuesday.

The rebel commander would not say whether Ahmed Abdi Godane, the group's leader, was among the six militants killed.

The two vehicles were heading toward the coastal town of Barawe, al-Shabab's main base, when they were hit, Abu Mohammed told The Associated Press.

U.S. military forces attacked the extremist al-Shabab network in Somalia Monday, the Pentagon confirmed.

A witness in Somalia described ground-shaking explosions caused by the strike. Somali government and African Union forces heading to a town in the district heard what sounded like an "earthquake" as the al-Shabab bases were hit, the governor of Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, Abdiqadir Mohamed Nor, told The Associated Press.

"There was an airstrike near Sablale. We saw something," Nor said.

Al-Shabab gained international notoriety a year ago this month when it attacked the upscale Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 67 people. The U.S. strike targeted Godane and other planners of the bloody assault on the mall, officials said.

The U.S. drone strike hit Godane after he left a meeting of the group's top leaders, said a senior Somali intelligence official. Intelligence indicated Godane "might have been killed along with other militants," said the Somali official, speaking on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the press.

The attack took place 105 miles (170 kilometers) south of Mogadishu, where al-Shabab trains its fighters, he said.

Godane, also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, is al-Shabab's spiritual leader under whose direction the Somali militants forged an alliance with al-Qaida. In 2012 the U.S. offered a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to his arrest.

Godane, 37, was publicly named as leader of al-Shabab in Dec. 2007 and has since exercised command responsibility for the group's operations across Somalia, according to the National Counterterrorism Center.

Last year he was said to be in a feud with foreign militants, including an American jihadi from Alabama, Omar Hammami, who accused al-Shabab leaders of living extravagant lifestyles with the taxes collected from Somali residents. Hammami was killed last September following months on the run after falling out with Godane.

U.S. commanders said they are waiting to determine the outcome of Monday's attack.

"U.S. military forces conducted an operation in Somalia today against the al-Shabab network. We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate," said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby.

After the U.S. strike in a forest near Sablale district south of Mogadishu, masked Islamic militants in the area arrested dozens of residents they suspected of spying for the U.S. and searched nearby homes, a resident said.

"Mass arrests just started, everyone is being detained," said Mohamed Ali, who lives in Sablale district. "They even searched nearby jungles and stopped the nomads transporting milk and grass to the towns for questioning."

Click to expand...

Islamic State extremists released a video posted Tuesday showing the beheading of a second American journalist, Steven Sotloff, and warning President Barack Obama that as long as U.S. airstrikes against the militant group continue, "our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people."

The footage — depicting what the U.S. called a sickening act of brutality — was posted two weeks after the release of video showing the killing of James Foley and days after Sotloff's mother pleaded for his life.

Barak Barfi, a spokesman for the Sotloff family, confirmed the death.

"The family knows of this horrific tragedy and is grieving privately. There will be no public comment from the family during this difficult time," Barfi said.

Sotloff, 31, who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines, vanished in Syria in August 2013 and was not seen again until he appeared in a video released online last month that showed Foley's beheading. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit against the backdrop of an arid Syrian landscape, Sotloff was threatened in that video with death unless the U.S. stopped airstrikes on the group in Iraq.

In the video distributed Tuesday and titled "A Second Message to America," Sotloff appears in a similar jumpsuit before he is beheaded by a fighter with the Islamic State, the extremist group that has claimed wide swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq and declared itself a caliphate.

The SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S. terrorism watchdog, first reported about the video's existence. Unlike Foley's beheading, which was widely shared on Twitter accounts affiliated with the Islamic State group, the video purporting to show Sotloff's killing was not immediately posted online, though several jihadi websites told users to expect it Tuesday.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said U.S. intelligence analysis will "work as quickly as possible" to determine if the video of the beheading is authentic.

"If the video is genuine, we are sickened by this brutal act, taking the life of another innocent American citizen," Psaki said. "Our hearts go out to the Sotloff family and we will provide more information as it becomes available."

Psaki said it's believed that "a few" Americans are believed to still be held by the Islamic State but would not give any specifics.

"I'm back, Obama, and I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State ... despite our serious warnings," the fighter said. "So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people."

At the end of the video, he threatened to kill a third captive, a Briton, David Cawthorne Haines. It was not immediately clear who Haines was. Officials with the British Foreign Office declined to immediately comment.

Sotloff's mother had pleaded for his release last week in a video directed at the Islamic State group.

Addressing the leader of the Islamic State group by name, Shirley Sotloff said in a video her son was "an innocent journalist" who shouldn't pay for U.S. government actions in the Middle East over which he has no control.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said he wasn't immediately aware of the purported Sotloff video and wasn't in a position to confirm its authenticity.

"This is something that the administration has obviously been watching very carefully," Earnest said. "Our thoughts and prayers first and foremost are with Mr. Sotloff and Mr. Sotloff's family and those who worked with him."

A man who answered a phone listed in the name of Sotloff's sister hung up when called by the AP.

The Islamic State group has terrorized rivals and civilians alike with widely publicized brutality as it seeks to expand a proto-state it has carved out on both sides of the border.

In its rise to prominence over the past year, the extremist group has frequently published graphic photos and gruesome videos of everything from bombings and beheadings to mass killings.

Click to expand...

Equation said:

If this is true, than my condolences goes out to Steven Sotloff family.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

Equation said:

If this is true, than my condolences goes out to Steven Sotloff family.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

SteelBird said:

Well, this is a very difficult decision; if the US back off means that they are afraid of and surrender to ISIS but if they continue, more of their innocent citizens will die. In wars, people die; militants or civilians. I think the best choice is to arm ISIS opponents like the Kurds and let them fight against ISIS.

Click to expand...

Miragedriver said:

So how desperate for love is this vale of beauties?

After the women of a remote Brazilian village appealed for eligible men, Harry Wallop tries his luck (and a proposal) in Noiva do Cordeiro

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Next vacation spot for Equation....

I will now get back to bottling my Malbec

Click to expand...