£30m star rules out Manchester United move; aims to eclipse Liverpool Legend

This is some bad news for Manchester United fans. According to reports from English Media Outlet METRO, Borussia Dortmund star Mats Hummels has ruled out a move to Manchester United in the near future. The £30mdefender was United’s prime target in the by gone summer transfer window but Dortmund refused to let go their star at any price.

Hummels has now confirmed his desire to stay with the German giants and the 25 year old has now come out saying that he was never tempted with the prospect of playing in England. The defender though said that he was flattered to see big clubs are interested in him and believes its not just the cash on offer that he plays for. The World Cup winner also mentioned that there would be a significant number of clubs who can pay more than Borussia Dortmund but his progress at the Westfallenstadion outfit has been nothing short of success.

“There will always be someone who can pay more than BVB but Dortmund have made a lot of progress during my time here. In any case I believe it’s enough for me.

‘If one day I start thinking about playing abroad, money won’t be the reason. I don’t even think about that at the moment. We still have so much further to go here.”

The report also claims that Hummels sees himself playing at Dortmund for the rest of his career and the player went on to expreess his desire to emulate the careers of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and Paolo Maldini for the remainder of his playing days.

“There are some who stay at one club for their whole careers, and they are all really great players. Maldini of Milan, for example, or Gerrard. I would have been so happy for him if he had won the championship with Liverpool.”

Hummels also claimed, ” Lionel Messi always plays for Barcelona. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Müller, too, will perhaps play in Munich for ever.”

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Syria Backs Global Fight Against Islamic State, Minister Tells UN

Syria stands with a worldwide effort to combat Islamic State, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday, in a statement to the United Nations that appeared to give tacit approval of U.S. and Arab air strikes in Syria targeting the militants.

Moualem told the United Nations General Assembly that military action to tackle Islamic State, al Qaeda's Syrian wing Nusra Front, and other extremist groups should coincide with cutting off their flow of funds, weapons, fighters and training.

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"It is due time to pool all our efforts against this terrorism, since imminent danger is surrounding everyone and no country is immune to it," Moualem told the annual gathering of world leaders, though he cautioned that any military action must abide by international law and respect a country's sovereignty.

The United States forewarned Syria's U.N. ambassador of its plan to begin air strikes against Islamic State targets last week, but did not seek the approval of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Moualem did not specifically condemn the air strikes, but warned that taking military action while some countries continue to support the militants could create a situation in which "the international community will not exit in decades."

"Let us simultaneously exert pressure on the countries that joined the coalition led by the United States to stop their support of armed terrorist groups," Moualem said. "Only then combating terrorism militarily becomes viable."

Damascus has repeatedly accused Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey of supporting Islamist militant groups during its civil war, which has killed more than 190,000 people and was sparked by a government crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey deny the claims, but Western officials say those states have in the past aided such groups.

Islamic State has seized large swaths of Syria and Iraq and is accused of massacres and beheadings of civilians and soldiers. So far, air strikes by the United States and allies have failed to halt the militants' expansion into new territory.

President Barack Obama has acknowledged that U.S. intelligence underestimated the rise of Islamic State, often referred to as ISIL or ISIS.

ISLAMIC STATE 'A CONSEQUENCE, NOT CAUSE'

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the U.N. Security Council, obtained by Reuters on Monday, that civilians in Syria have been subjected to a "worrying increase" in violence and brutality, fueled by Islamic State and other groups and the "continued actions of the Syrian government."

"It is worth remembering that ISIL is a consequence, not a cause, of the conflict in Syria. The Syrian conflict has deep political roots and needs to be resolved through negotiations," Ban wrote in his seventh monthly report to the council on the implementation of resolutions that aimed to boost aid access.

He said all parties to the conflict "have neglected, ignored and abused their international legal obligations" and despite the valiant efforts of humanitarian aid workers, Syria remains "the world's largest and most pressing humanitarian crisis."

Some 10.8 million people in Syria - half the country's population - need assistance, with 6.4 million internally displaced, while another 3 million have fled the country, according to the United Nations.

"I would like to assure Syria's readiness to exert all efforts to deliver aid from international organizations to all Syrian citizens without any discrimination wherever they are, and within the framework of respecting the national sovereignty," said Moualem, who blamed militant attacks and U.S. and European sanctions for making the situation worse.

Moualem said Assad's government is "striving for a political solution in Syria and in dialogue with all honorable national opposition members opposing terrorism in Syria, and among Syrians themselves and on Syrian territory."

The Syrian foreign minister, who is also deputy prime minister, made clear his government does not consider the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition and Free Syrian Army to be a credible opposition.

Moualem said his government was open to a political solution with "an opposition that has an impact on the Syrian territory, and has deep roots inside Syria, not in hotels and Western capitals, a national opposition that upholds fighting terrorism as its priority."

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Isis 'just one mile from Baghdad' as al-Qaeda fighters join forces against Syria air strikes

According to the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, Isis was approaching the Iraqi capital on Monday morning.

"The Islamic State are now less than 2km away from entering Baghdad," a spokesperson said.

"They said it could never happen and now it almost has. Obama says he overestimated what the Iraqi Army could do. Well you only need to be here a very short while to know they can do very very little."

Isis fighters were also battling Government forces in a key town 25 miles west of Baghdad - Amiriyat al-Fallujah.

According to a BBC correspondent, fighting had calmed by Monday afternoon but a standoff continued along the main road to nearby Fallujah, which is under Isis control.

The extremists had been advancing towards the capital but were held off by bombing and Iraqi ground forces.

Peshmerga fighters hold their position in the strategic Jalawla area, in Diyala province, which is a gateway to BaghdadUS air strikes overnight targeted other Isis positions in Anbar province, the Pentagon said, and in Syria four more oil fields controlled by militants near Raqqa were hit on Sunday.

American officials called the attacks “successful” but the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed mostly civilians were hit and a grain silo was destroyed.

The news comes amid reports of an emerging alliance between Isis forces in Syria and Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the Nusra Front.

The group is the Syrian offshoot of al-Qaeda and has been fighting against the Assad regime in the civil war.

Despite months of clashes between its forces and Isis (also known as Islamic State) militants, the two groups appear to be forming a loose coalition in parts of the country to fight increasing attacks by the US and its allies.

al-Nusra has called US airstrikes against Isis "a war against Islam"

Al-Nusra’s official spokesperson, Abu Firas al-Suri, threatened the coalition nations with retaliation on Saturday.

“These states have committed a horrible act that is going to put them on the list of jihadist targets throughout the world,” he said.

“This is not a war against al-Nusra, but a war against Islam.”

Al-Nusra and Isis leaders are now holding war planning meetings together, a source told the Guardian, although no formal alliance has been confirmed.

The reports follow growing defections from other Islamist groups to Isis, which is seen as better organised and equipped to create an “Islamic State” straddling Iraq and Syria.

A loyalty pledge was reportedly made by al-Nusra in June in the town of Al-Bukamal near the Iraqi border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, and the two groups have fought together against Government forces.

A Tornado GR4 alongside a Voyager refuelling aircraft during the RAF’s first combat mission against Isis in northern Iraq

The report appeared to be confirmed on Twitter by a photograph showing an Egyptian al-Nusra Front commander shaking hands with an Isis leader of Chechen origin.

Although both Isis and al-Nusra are rooted in al-Qaeda, the two have been rivals since Isis started its involvement in Syria’s civil war in spring last year and have engaged in bloody battles killing more than 3,000 militants from both sides.

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A merger had been declared by Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2013, when Isis was known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), but the alliance was rejected by al-Nusra and overruled by al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri.

But the international response to Isis’ bloody rampage through Iraq and Syria, and the beheadings of British and American hostages, is pushing the groups towards an alliance.

An al-Nusra source told Reuters: “There are hardline voices inside Nusra who are pushing for reconciliation with Islamic State.”

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MOL Says Ukraine Crisis Won't Disrupt Its Crude Oil Supplies From Russia

• Sep. 30 2014 08:47
• Last edited 08:44

Mol GroupHungarian oil group MOL still gets most of its crude oil from Russia via Ukraine, despite the ongoing crisis in that country.

Hungarian oil group MOL is reasonably confident that its crude supplies from Russia will not be disrupted by the Ukraine conflict because its Russian partners are reputable companies, the head of its downstream business said.

Ferenc Horvath, MOL's Executive Vice President for Downstream, told the Reuters Eastern Europe Investment Summit that MOL had also started purchasing crude for its Hungarian refinery via an Adriatic pipeline, from Kurdistan and elsewhere, a year ago, although it still gets most of its crude from Russia via Ukraine.

"From a Russian point of view I don't see an execution risk. Of course, there is always a risk due to [the] Russia-Ukraine political situation for some disruption of crude deliveries," Horvath said Monday.

He said MOL was buying one cargo, or 80,000 tonnes, of crude via the Adriatic each month.

"We are ready and our system is able to supply via the Adriatic pipeline enough crude for our Hungarian refinery, and also the majority of the Slovak refinery can be served."

MOL was adjusting to the excess refinery capacity in Europe and had already transformed its Italian refinery into a logistics hub, Horvath said.

He also urged Croatian oil and gas company INA, in which MOL holds close to 50 percent, to consolidate its refining capacity at one site instead of keeping two refineries running, which is generating losses.

The Croatian economy minister, who has heading Croatia's team during negotiations with MOL, has not been willing to discuss plans to rationalize INA's refining business so far. The Croatian government is the other big shareholder in INA.

Horvath said INA refineries are probably the smallest and least competitive in Europe. INA's Rijeka refinery had a much better chance of being competitive in the market than its Sisak facility, he said.

"As I could see from the earlier calculations and materials and discussions with colleagues from INA, there is no economic rationale and no economic environment where Sisak can competitively continue its refining operation," he said.

As for MOL's outlook, Horvath said the refining and petrochemical environment had improved a lot in the third quarter, with margins increasing, and consumption rising this year in Central Europe, MOL's core markets.

This slow recovery in fuel consumption should continue in the third quarter, he said.

"And regarding the Russia-Ukraine crisis, I believe that the impact on fuel consumption in this region will not be so direct or so quick," Horvath said.

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Ukraine opens criminal proceedings against Russian investigative officials

© RIA Novosti, Alexey Kudenko

Tags: Criminal justice, Investigative Committee, Ukraine, Russia

11:07 30/09/2014

MOSCOW, September 30 (RAPSI) – The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings against Russian Investigative Committee officials in response to Moscow’s investigation of crimes committed in Donbas and other Ukrainian regions, the office writes on its website on Tuesday.

Kiev has described Russian investigators’ activity as interference in the sphere of its competence.

Ukrainian prosecutors also said the opening of the Russian criminal proceedings on Ukraine was designed to help the Donetsk and Luhansk republics, which Kiev describes as terrorist organizations, and that it is hindering the execution of authority by Ukrainian government officials and the public.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office did not name the Russian individuals against whom it has opened the case.

The Russian Investigative Committee announced on Monday that it has launched an investigation into the genocide of Russian speakers in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics. According to Russian investigators, “unidentified senior political and military officials in Ukraine, the Ukrainian armed forces, the National Guard and the Right Sector issued orders aimed at the extermination of precisely Russian-speaking residents in the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.”

The Ukrainian prosecutors recalled that a special department was established at the Russian Investigative Committee this summer to investigate crimes against civilians in Ukraine. Russia also opened a case against Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who is blamed for the death of Russian journalists, and a case on the use of prohibited methods and means of warfare in Donbas, where Kiev is conducting a special operation against the local self-defense forces.

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IS, Iraq battle over key town

Iraqi ground forces, backed by air strikes, appear to have halted advancing Islamic State (IS) militants in a town west of Baghdad.

The BBC’s Lyse Doucet in the Iraqi capital says the air strikes followed clashes with IS militants, who have been making gains towards the capital.

Amariya al-Falluja, 40km (25 miles) from Baghdad, is a key strategic town.

It comes as a US-led coalition continues to carry out air strikes on IS targets in Syria and Iraq.

The area around Amariya al-Falluja is now said to be calm, but there is a standoff along the main road to Falluja to the north, which is controlled by IS, our correspondent says.

US aircraft also attacked other IS positions in Anbar province overnight, the Pentagon said.

Meanwhile, Turkish tanks have taken up positions on a hill along the border near the Syrian town of Kobane after several shells hit Turkish territory during clashes between IS militants and Kurdish fighters.

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Mourinho: I'll stay for as long as Chelsea want

Jose Mourinho says he will stay at Chelsea for as long as the club and owner Roman Abramovich want him to.

Mourinho's side have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season but the Portuguese knows his job will come under threat should he not deliver silveraware again this season.

"I will only leave when Mr Abramovich calls me to tell me it is over," Mourinho told Portuguese newspaper Record. "Only on that day will I look for other solutions.

For the first time in four full seasons as a Chelsea manager, Mourinho finished without a trophy last season. The 51-year-old knows a second successive campaign without something to show for it would bring pressure."Last time [at Chelsea] it was different because even though I was heart and soul in the project I was leading, I always asked myself 'which will be the next one?' Now it's the first time I don't think about it."

That is ultimately what led to his shock Chelsea exit in September 2007; having relinquished the title to Manchester United the season before, the hierarchy deemed an FA Cup and League Cup double not good enough. Mourinho then left following the club's indifferent start to the 2007/08 campaign.

Should it happen again, however, Mourinho indicated he would be open to take over at another Premier League club.

He said: "If it had to be, yes, but my priority will always be Chelsea and never think about the interest of others.

"I know football and know I won't be here five, eight, ten years if I don't manage to win. Of course not. When I have to think about the matter then we'll see.

"The difference is that last time I didn't have the aim of staying many, many years. Now I'll stay as long as they want me to. I really am the happy one."

Mourinho's side travel to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday night. It is a former stomping ground for Mourinho, who was part of Sir Bobby Robson's backroom staff at the club before Robson was sacked in 1993.

"I have the best memories of Sporting. I only had one bad one, which was the day we learned Sporting was going to dispense with the services of manager Bobby Robson," Mourinho said.

"It was a project in which people had their heart and soul and the manager felt they could become champions. I was the do-it-all boy, willing to help.

"He had a nice group who believed it was possible to win the league. It wasn't. But that's part of football."

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Ashley Cole looking forward to Frank Lampard reunion during Manchester City v AS Roma in Champions League

Ashley Cole is looking forward to facing his former Chelsea and England teammate Frank Lampard when AS Roma take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League on Tuesday.

When Ashley Cole left the Premier League for Serie A in the summer, he probably did not expect to be back in England so soon.

But the former England international is back in his native country, as he prepares to help his new club ASRoma progress to the last 16 of the Champions League.

The 33-year-old left-back will be in action for the Italian club on Tuesday when they take on English champions Manchester City in a Group E clash at the Etihad Stadium.

On Tuesday, Cole will face his former Chelsea teammate Frank Lampard, who was also released by the London club at the end of last season. The 36-year-old is actually on the books of New York City FC, but is on loan at City until January.

Cole is looking forward to playing against him as well as his ex-England international teammate Joe Hart on Tuesday.

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Van Persie offers insight into Van Gaal’s methods at Man United

Robin van Persie has revealed some detailed insight into Louis van Gaal’s methods and why he is so confident they will be a big success at Manchester United.

Alongside Daley Blind, Van Persie is the only other Dutchman in United’s first-team and their time spent with Van Gaal at the World Cup has given them the perfect head start with Van Gaal which is helping them be part of his philosophy right now.

“If I look at what I have seen in training and on the pitch in games I can see that it is getting much better. Now we have to extend that and make at least the top four. That is a realistic target but it’s still early in the season. We are winners. We are not here just to set low standards. We want them to be as high as possible, winning games and winning trophies.” Robin van Persie

Speaking to The Telegraph, Van Persie emphasised Van Gaal’s collective methods of making sure all the squad got involved in every aspect and how it helps build the philosophy at the club.

“Everybody gets involved in the project and everyone has their own say which is maybe new for some players but not for me, as I know how he works,” he said.

“I think it’s very interesting and very good because we are all pulling on the same rope, as the Dutch say. It is very demanding in a good way as you have to be focused every single day of the sessions or the meetings.

“He wants players to get involved in the meeting, too. You have to give your own input which is what the staff likes, but that’s a bit of the Dutch thing. Only me and Daley Blind knew how he worked before, so that takes some time, but I’m convinced we will do what he wants us to do and go where he wants us to go.

“I had two years with Van Gaal as the national coach and that’s a different situation from working with him on a daily basis. I had a bit of insight in to how he works and it gave me a head start, but his way of working is very good, very direct and very clear for everyone. There is a lot of communication and he is doing great, but he’s trying to get his philosophy in to a lot of new players.”

At face value, the morale in United’s campaign is very good right now. The loss to Leicester City didn’t knock the wind out of United’s sails and they immediately bounced back with a 2-1 victory over West Ham.

Van Gaal’s methodologies don’t promote immediate success but so long as he has the time to bring it all together, United could soon be playing the best football in the league which is certainly something to be excited about.

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Man United plan high profile midweek friendlies to compensate for no European football [Independent]

Are Manchester United set to play some of the biggest teams in Europe after all this season?

The Independent has an interesting report in their Tuesday paper, in which the notion is tabled that Man United may be about the play a series of high profile midweek friendlies to compensate for no European football.

Unfortunately the report fails to specify which teams could be courted to play the Red Devils, and it’s unclear whether those opponents would be European based or, alternatively, from further afield.

Moreover, the Independent also detail how United could walk into big problems with UEFA over their plan to play these friendlies.

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United may happen in two years [Guillem Balague]

Sky Sports’ Spanish insider Guillem Balague gave an interesting update on the likelihood of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid to rejoin Manchester United on Monday night.

Balague was on Sky’s Revista de La Liga show, when the topic of Ronaldo’s mooted return to Old Trafford came up.

Rather than dismiss the story out of hand, Balague voiced his understanding that the Portuguese star does want to go back to Manchester, however the issue is timing.

Balague said:

It is quite clear that Manchester United are letting all this continue because they are interested in Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo dreams and would like to go back to Manchester United. It’s just the timing which I think people are getting wrong.

People want this to happen in January, if possible. It’s not going to happen. In the summer? I don’t think it’s going to happen. Real Madrid have got no intention whatsoever of selling Cristiano Ronaldo next summer.

In two years’ time I would say yes, that is possibly the time when he will be 31 going on 32, for Real Madrid to say: ‘OK, if we can cash in on him, brilliant. He has done a lot for us, but that’s it, time to move on.

I don’t think it’s going to happen this summer. People will have to be a little bit more patient.

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Possible Liverpool Lineup To Travel To Switzerland: Suso Set To Start, Manquillo & Sterling Remain In The Lineup

Liverpool travel to Switzerland to face FC Basel on Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League 2014 after having been pegged back by a Phil Jagielka strike in the Merseyside Derby last weekend.

Here is a look at how the Reds may line-up against the Swiss giants:

Simon Mignolet

An unfortunate afternoon for the Belgian in goal against Everton as a solid performance between the sticks was ruined with an absolute screamer of a goal in the dying minutes of the game. Still dividing opinion at amongst the faithful at Anfield because of his indecisive command over crosses and set-pieces, Mignolet is Liverpool’s number 1 goal-keeper.

Javier Manquillo

Defensively solid, Manquillo dealt with everything thrown at him by the likes of Baines, Mirallas and McGeady with ease in the derby. The young Spaniard has a lot more that he can offer in attack especially with the crossing ability he possesses.

Martin Skrtel

The Slovakian was faultless all afternoon against Everton. Reminding the fans why his still one of the best defenders in the league, Skrtel’s return to the line-up adds athleticism and steel to the defence. Strong in the air and uncompromising in a tackle, Liverpool fans will hope their Slovakian can repeat his Derby performance against Basel.

Dejan Lovren

The Croatian centre-half had a solid game at the heart of the Liverpool defence against Everton. There was nothing much anyone could do to stop Phil Jagielka’s strike late on. Lovren will be expected to repeat his performance if not better it against Basel in the Champions League.

Alberto Moreno

After having his hands full with the physically imposing Romelu Lukaku all derby, Moreno would want nothing more than to take the pitch mid-week and show the Reds fans what he is all about. Occasionally fragile in defence, Moreno’s work-rate down the left is a key component to the Liverpool side.

Steven Gerrard

If the Merseyside Derby was Steven Gerrard’s fixture, the Champions League is his competition. It would take a very brave man to put it past the Liverpool skipper to better his derby performance.

Jordan Henderson

Though unnoticed in the derby game, Henderson is probably the first name on Rodgers’ team-sheet. Adding vision and passing range to his lung-busting athleticism, Henderson popped a few shots at goal from outside the box showing that he has more facets to his game that Mario Balotelli’s hairstyles.

Adam Lallana

If there is one thing Liverpool fans adore more than goals is a player playing his heart out. If the Middlesbrough performance was sign for things to come, Lallana has definitely taken it a step further with the derby performance. His link-up play with Henderson and Sterling was particularly delightful.

Raheem Sterling

The teenager shoulders the responsibility of the Liverpool attack as long as Daniel Sturridge makes his recovery. With Mario Balotelli somehow not finding the net despite all the effort, its down to young Sterling to secure the result of all of Liverpool’s attacking play in the absence of Sturridge.

Suso

While Lazar Markovic visibly requires time to adjust to English Football, Suso is one who has grown up playing here. Its high time Rodgers provides the youngster with first start of the season and with Borini and Markovic still off pace, its time Rodgers’ gives Suso a go in the first team.

Mario Balotelli

The Italian worked tirelessly all derby but somehow managed to miss the golden chance of his Liverpool career. Hopefully, Mario wears his scoring boots when he takes the field against Basel.

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Simon Mignolet Unconcerned By Victor Valdes Rumours

September 30, 2014 · by News Desk · News

Playing it cool

Liverpool ‘keeper Simon Mignolet, along with club captain Steven Gerrard, has been the subject of the vast majority of the criticism for the Reds slow start to the Premier League season. While not all of it is completely unwarranted, the Belgian shot stopper isn’t concerning himself with any of it.

“Well, the only pressure is what you put yourself under. What is pressure? Pressure is what is happening in Iraq at the moment when there is a war. That is pressure,” explained the 26-year old. “We are all football players and we are here to do our best. You want to work hard in training and we will see what happens at a weekend. I can only do my best, work hard, be positive and confident and I believe in myself. That is the only thing I can do.”

Liverpool have been heavily linked with a move for ex-Barcelona ‘keeper Victor Valdes as Reds boss Brendan Rodgers looks to stop the rot at the back. While it’s assumed that the veteran shot-stopper will be brought in to provide both cover and competition for the Belgian, there are whispers that he could very well take over the number one spot — something else that Mignolet isn’t about to concern himself with.

“If I have to look into all the people and players who are linked with Liverpool, then there will be another team on the pitch. Every week there would be a different 11 playing” he said when asked about theValdes rumours. “So it is just the fact that you play for a big club and you have to accept that is the way it is but I don’t read anything into that. I am here to play my game and to do my best every week, I can only work hard in training, be positive and make sure I play well at the weekend.”

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PM 'prepared to take action and explain afterwards' on Syria

Two RAF jets have flown a third mission over Iraq today but did not carry out air strikes against Islamic State targets.

The aircraft gathered valuable intelligence before returning to the RAF base in Cyprus where the jets are being deployed.

Earlier David Cameron said he was "prepared to take action and explain afterwards" when it comes to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Syria.

He told The Andrew Marr Show: "If something happened in Syria, anywhere in the world, that there was need for urgent action to prevent a humanitarian crisis or to protect a unique British interest I would be prepared to take action and explain afterwards."

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US Airstrikes Hitting Syrian Civilians Hard

First Publish: 9/29/2014, 12:00 PM

US F15-E jets in northern Iraq (file)

Reuters

After slamming Israel for bombing Hamas, US strikes make Syrian fuel prices skyrocket; group says strike on civilians may be 'war crime.'

Israel was browbeaten internationally over its recent counter-terror operation against Hamas targets embedded in the Gaza population. Now, the world seems to be largely unperturbed by a similar American campaign against terrorists in Syria and Iraq, despite the heavy cost to civilians.
America has been conducting airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and since last week in Syria as well, aided by a coalition of world states. On Sunday night, those strikes included the bombing of Kuniko gas plant which was seized by ISIS outside Deir al-Zor city in northernSyria, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The plant was targeted so as to harm ISIS financially, but it feeds a power station in Homs providing numerous provinces with electricity, reports Reuters.
According to the rights group's Rami Abdelrahman, the US airstrikes destroying make-shift refineries has nearly tripled the price of diesel in Syria's northern Aleppo province.
"The price went up from 9,000 Syrian pounds ($56) to 21,000 ($131) in Aleppo. Hitting these refineries has affected ordinary people, now they have to pay higher prices," Abdelrahman said.
Paying more, dying more
In addition to harming civilians by raising the price of gas, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday accused America of killing seven civilians in Syria's northern Idlib province last Tuesday.
According to HRW, the strike "should be investigated for possible violations of the laws of war."
The human rights group spoke to three local residents, who said at least two men, two women and five children were killed in the Kafr Deryan village in Idlib. They noted that a series of missiles hit Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front targets outside the town before other missiles hit two homes in the town itself, according to two of the residents.
The group notes that video footage from the homes shows that the strikes consisted of Tomahawk cruise missiles, indicating a US airstrike.
While one resident said the two men killed in the strike were members of Al Nusra Front, the other two said all the victims were civilians.
It is worth noting that when it came to Israel's defensive operation on the Hamas terrorist organization, the US was quick to criticize Israel for strikes on Hamas targets that led to civilian deaths.
The criticism of such strikes even reached the point where US President Barack Obama canceled a routine shipment of Hellfire missiles during the operation, and ordered closer scrutiny of future transfers.

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Obama says US underestimated rise of ISIL

The ISIL has killed thousands of people and beheaded at least three Westerners [Al Jazeera]

US intelligence agencies have underestimated the activity of armed groups inside Syria, which has become "ground zero" for them worldwide, US President Barack Obama has said in an interview aired by American CBS television. Conversely, the US overestimated the ability of the Iraqi army to fight the groups, Obama said in the interview taped on Friday and aired on Sunday, days after the US president globally made his case for action in a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. Citing earlier comments by James Clapper, director of national intelligence, Obama acknowledged that US intelligence underestimated what had been taking place in Syria. Washington last week expanded the US-led air strikes on the ISIL fighters to Syria, in addition to Iraq [Reuters] Fighters went underground when US Marines quashed al-Qaeda in Iraq with help from Iraq's tribes, he said. "But over the past couple of years, during the chaos of the Syrian civil war, where essentially you have huge swaths of the country that are completely ungoverned, they were able to reconstitute themselves and take advantage of that chaos," Obama said. "And so this became ground zero for jihadists around the world." US and its allies, including Gulf and Western countries, has been conducting air strikes on the self-declared jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, which controls large parts of land and oil fields in Iraq and Syria. The strikes aim at supporting the Kurdish and central Iraqi forces fighting against the ISIL on the ground. Obama last week expanded US-led air strikes on the ISIL fighters, which began in Iraq in August, to Syria and he has been seeking to build a wider coalition effort to weaken the group. The ISIL has killed thousands of people and beheaded at least three Westerners. Clapper told a Washington Post columnist earlier in the month that US intelligence had underestimated the ISIL and overestimated Iraq's army. "I did not see the collapse of the Iraqi security force in the north coming," Clapper was quoted as saying. "I did not see that. It boils down to predicting the will to fight, which is an imponderable." 'Political solution necessary' In the interview, Obama outlined the military goal against the ISIL: "We just have to push them back, and shrink their space, and go after their command and control, and their capacity, and their weapons, and their fuelling, and cut off their financing, and work to eliminate the flow of foreign fighters." However, Obama said a political solution was necessary in both Iraq and Syria for peace in the long term. "I think there is going to be a generational challenge. I do not think that this is something that is going to happen overnight," Obama said, citing an environment in which young men "are more concerned whether they are Shia or Sunni, rather than whether they are getting a good education" or a good job. Saying a solution involved "how these countries teach their youth," Obama continued: "What our military operations can do is to just check and roll back these [fighter] networks as they appear and make sure that the time and space is provided for a new way of doing things to begin to take root." Obama added that he recognised the contradiction in opposing the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while battling ISIL fighters who have been fighting Assad's government. "For Syria to remain unified, it is not possible that Assad presides over that entire process," Obama said. "On the other hand, in terms of immediate threats to the United States, ISIL, Khorasan Group, those folks could kill Americans."

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