Assault on ISIS begins: U.S. and partner nations send fighters jets, bombers and Tomahawk missiles into rebel-held Syria

[ScottL]

Targets: Islamic State fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles in the vicinity of Raqqa, Dayr az Zawr, Al-Hasakah and Abu Kamal.

Add one more, the Khorasan Group.

In addition to hitting targets around Raqqa in Syria with help from five Arab allies, the U.S. undertook a solo mission to strike an al Qaeda offshoot called the Khorasan Group.

The Pentagon said the organization was actively plotting "imminent" attacks, including on the U.S. homeland.

The announcement of the second mission was contained at the bottom of the CENTCOM statement about Monday's military action:

"Separately, the United States has also taken action to disrupt the imminent attack plotting against the United States and Western interests conducted by a network of seasoned al-Qa'ida veterans - sometimes referred to as the Khorasan Group - who have established a safe haven in Syria to develop external attacks, construct and test improvised explosive devices and recruit Westerners to conduct operations. These strikes were undertaken only by U.S. assets. In total, U.S. Central Command conducted eight strikes against Khorasan Group targets west of Aleppo to include training camps, an explosives and munitions production facility, a communication building and command and control facilities."

​

The Pentagon said that the mission against Khorasan was not assisted by the other Sunni Arab nations.

Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said the military believes it hit its intended targets, but the assessment is still being conducted.

Kirby said it's believed the Khorasan group was in the "end stages" of plotting attacks against the West.

 

[Ttratter]

All political nothing more.

 

[superbeets]

[h=1]U.S. strikes to avert another 9/11: America deploys its awesome arsenal - including its new F-22 Raptor stealth fighter over fears Jihadis were about to launch attacks on passenger planes[/h]

• Target of missile strikes was Al Qaeda-linked group apparently nearing 'execution phase' of plot against the West
  
• Khorasan group has specialised in making sophisticated bombs for attacks against airports and passenger planes
• Terrorists planned to attack using bombs without metal parts, toothpaste tubes and clothes dipped in explosives
  
• Up to 120 ISIS fighters said to have been killed after cruise missiles were launched against hideouts and camps
• The attack on group was separate from airstrikes on 14 Islamic State targets carried out by US and five Arab nations
• Air campaign involved fighter jets from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Jordan - Qatar also named as an ally
• Fighter jets included America's £87m F-22 stealth Raptor - it is the first time the US has used the F-22 in combat
  
• Jets hit targets in and around IS stronghold of Raqqa, where the Western hostages were thought to have been held

.



Fears of an imminent terror atrocity to rival 9/11 prompted a wave of missile strikes in Syria yesterday.
The target was an Al Qaeda-linked group apparently nearing ‘the execution phase’ of a plot against airports and passenger planes in the West.
The American attack on the little-known Khorasan group was separate from airstrikes on 14 Islamic State targets in Syria carried out by the US and five Arab nations.
In the early hours of yesterday Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched against hideouts, training camps and a bomb-making factory used by Khorasan and Islamic State.


.

 

[superbeets]

+40

 

[superbeets]

+40

+40

+40




Pinpoint: An ISIS vehicle storage area near Abu Kamel in Syria is destroyed by satellite guided munitions in the this video released by the Pentagon

+40


Reduced to rubble: The remains of the vehicle storage area are scene in this image after the smoke has cleared


.

 

[superbeets]

+40


Levelled: A storage facility near Abu Kamel in Syria was also destroyed in the first round of U.S. strikes


.

 

[superbeets]

Cluster bombs: An in-flight camera shows satellite guided cluster bombs destroying an ISIS vehicle staging post near Abu Kamel

.

 

[superbeets]

+40



Joint strikes: Aircraft from the Saudi Arabian air force were among those in the coalition supporting the airstrikes. A burning ISIS storage facility is seen near the town of Abu Kamel


.

 

[superbeets]

+40



Damaged: This Pentagon image (before air strike left, and after on the right) shows the damage inflicted on a ISIS Finance center in Raqqa, Syria after it was hit by a tomahawk missile

.

 

[superbeets]

+40



Destroyed: This Pentagon image shows an ISIS barracks near the city of Raqqa in Syria. The image on the right shows it after it was hit by F22 Raptors in the first combat role for the aircraft


.

 

[superbeets]

+40


Rubble: Syrians check a damaged house, reportedly hit by US-led coalition air strikes, in the village of Kfar Derian in the western Aleppo province

+40


Residents inspect damaged buildings in what activists say was a U.S. strike, in Kfredrian, Idlib province



.

 

[superbeets]

+40


Coalition: President Obama today met officials from the Arab countries that joined the coalition for the strikes. Included in the meeting are representatives from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Iraq

.

 

[T0mmyJ0hnZipper]

They can't stop ISIS unless they chop all of their heads off, door to door, 1 by 1. This includes The UK, USA, and the rest of the world. Good Luck.

Much easier to secure the borders and not let any muslims in. Period.

 

[superbeets]

Up to 120 IS fighters were said to have been killed in the attacks, which prompted fears for the safety of Western hostages taken by the Islamist extremists, including British taxi driver Alan Henning and photographer John Cantlie.
The Pentagon said the Khorasan cell of Al Qaeda veterans were nearing ‘the execution phase’ of an attack in Europe or the US.
The group of seasoned terrorists planned to 'imminently' attack a US airliner or other target using a bomb without any metal parts, toothpaste tubes and clothes dipped in explosives, an unnamed US official told CNN.

President Barack Obama ordered the strikes after intelligence reports discovered the plot this week, officials claimed.

While IS has focused on seizing territory in Iraq and Syria for an Islamic ‘caliphate’, the little-known Khorasan cell has specialised in making sophisticated bombs for attacks on the West.
Its latest plot focused on international airports and passenger planes. Intelligence suggested extremists were already in place in Europe and America, heightening fears they were ready to strike.
The US launched eight attacks against Khorasan targets west of Aleppo, along with the 14 strikes on IS helped by its five Arab allies.
The air campaign – described as ‘shock without the awe’ by one US official – involved fighter jets from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Jordan. Qatar was also named among the allies as it hosts a US Central Command forward base.


.

 

[superbeets]

+40


Syrian President Bashar Assad pictured meeting with Faleh al-Fayyad - the Iraqi National Security Advisor and envoy of the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi yesterday


.

 

[superbeets]

[h=1]We must deal with these psychopathic murderers says Cameron as RAF prepares for bombing raids using Storm Shadow 'bunker busters', Brimstone missiles and Paveway IV bombs[/h]

• MPs have been recalled to Parliament tomorrow to sanction strikes on IS positions in Syria and Iraq
• All three party leaders indicated support for air campaign, and the attacks could begin as early as tomorrow night
• But the Prime Minister warned the fight against Islamic terrorism could last for years

David Cameron last night urged Britain to shake off the spectre of the Iraq war and back potentially years of RAF strikes against the ‘psychopathic murderers’ of Islamic State.
MPs have been scrambled for an emergency recall of Parliament tomorrow to sanction bombing raids on terrorist positions in northern Iraq.
All three party leaders indicated support for air strikes, and the attacks are expected to begin as early as tomorrow night.
But the Prime Minister said the fight against Islamic terrorism could last for years.
Mr Cameron, who last night held talks with Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi to finalise military plans, stressed that British troops would not be sent back to Iraq.

 

[superbeets]

 

[superbeets]

And he said that any bombing raids on IS forces in Syria would have to be subject to a separate vote in Parliament.
In a speech to the United Nations general assembly in New York, Mr Cameron acknowledged the long shadow cast by the disastrous legacy of the 2003 Iraq war.



But he said Britain should not be ‘frozen with fear’ at the idea of joining the US, France and others in intervening in Iraq again to help smash IS forces.
Ahead of his speech he told reporters: ‘This is completely different to 2003. Everyone can see that Isil (IS) is a direct threat to the UK. They have taken hostages, they have conducted plots to kill and maim British citizens. They are a clear and present danger to the United Kingdom. They are also clearly a massive danger to the region.

+15


RAF Tornado GR4 fighter bombers fly in formation as two refuel from a VC-10 in 2009. Six of the fighters are currently based in Cyprus

+15


David Cameron last night urged Britain to shake off the spectre of the Iraq war and back RAF strikes against the ‘psychopathic murderers’ of Islamic State

 

[superbeets]

‘So this organisation is a direct threat. We need to be part of a comprehensive strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy it. It’s right that Britain plays our part in that. ‘This is going to take time, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s right to be part of this action. The Iraqi government has requested it and we have capabilities that are needed for it and so it’s the right thing to do.’
IS has murdered three Western hostages in recent weeks and is now threatening to kill kidnapped British taxi driver Alan Henning.
Some relatives of Mr Henning have warned this week that air strikes could reduce the hopes of ever seeing him alive again.
Mr Cameron acknowledged their plight, but insisted Britain now had to take the fight to IS.

+15


An IS militant fires a rocket propelled grenade launcher during fighting near the Syrian Kurdish town of Ain al-Arab, known as Kobane by the Kurds

+15


Barrage: An IS militant fires a heavy machine gun during the fighting. Some 140,000 mainly Kurdish refugees have now crossed the border into Turkey after the militants moved on the town of Ain al-Arab

+15


An IS militant firing a cannon mounted on a truck during fighting near the Syrian Kurdish town of Ain al-Arab,

He said: ‘It’s a desperate situation but let’s be clear about two things.
‘One is that we are dealing with psychopathic murderous brutal people who will stop at nothing to carry out dreadful acts on these hostages.
‘And secondly, it’s very important that we do the right thing as a country and we stick to the path that we set out about having a comprehensive strategy including all the elements at our disposal – humanitarian aid, diplomacy and also where appropriate military action.’
The Prime Minister said Britain would never give up the hunt for Jihadi John, the British extremist thought to have beheaded three hostages. Asked if he wanted him to face justice in a British court, a visibly angry Mr Cameron said: ‘I’m not sure I can describe in words what I’d like to happen to him, but I’m not going to say any more about it. He should see justice one way or another.’
He backed US and Arab air strikes against IS in Syria but said Britain would not be joining in at this stage.

 

[superbeets]

Last night it appeared Mr Cameron had sufficient support in Parliament to win a vote on military strikes tomorrow – meaning Britain will be at war by the weekend.
Labour leader Ed Miliband held an emergency meeting of his shadow cabinet at the party’s annual conference in Manchester, and spoke by telephone to the Prime Minister.
He indicated that his party, which inflicted a humiliating defeat on Mr Cameron last year when it pulled its support for military strikes in Syria, is ready to back action in Iraq.
But to the anger of some Conservative MPs, he said joining the US in hitting Syria, where IS is thought to be holding Mr Henning, would need to be approved by a UN Security Council resolution – something that is politically impossible given the opposition of Russia and China. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said his party backed the air strikes because they were requested by the Iraqis.
Mr Cameron also held talks with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani – the first face-to-face talks between the leaders of the two countries since the Iranian revolution in 1979.