Islamic State killed 270 in Syrian gas field battle - monitor

BEIRUT Sat Jul 19, 2014

(Reuters) - Militant group Islamic State killed 270 soldiers, guards and staff when they captured a Syrian gas field on Thursday in the bloodiest clash yet between the al Qaeda offshoot and President Bashar al-Assad's forces, a monitoring group said on Saturday.

The anti-Assad Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Thursday that 90 people had been killed and that many were missing after the attack against the Sha'ar gas field east of Homs in central Syria.

But on Saturday, the Observatory, which monitors violence in Syria through a network of sources in the country on both sides, quoted "trusted sources" as saying that the Islamic State had "killed and executed" 270 people during the assault. It said at least 40 Islamic State fighters were killed in the offensive.

Islamic State has made rapid gains in Syria, mostly by seizing territory from rival rebel groups, using weaponry brought in from Iraq where last month it managed to take large areas from government forces.

It was not immediately possible to verify the Observatory's report. Syrian state media made no mention of the attack.

About 30 people had managed to escape to the nearby Hajjar field, the Observatory report added.

Activists say the Syrian air force has in recent weeks stepped up attacks on positions held by Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

Islamic State fighers have previously taken control of oilfields in Iraq as well as in Syria's eastern Deir al-Zor province. The group was once the Iraqi affiliate of al Qaeda, but al Qaeda disowned it in February after tensions mounted over its expansion into Syria.

Islamic State has declared a "caliphate" in the areas where it operates in Iraq and Syria. There the group has imposed Islamic law, carrying out harsh penalties including several executions.

In Raqqa in eastern Syria, two women were stoned to death for adultery, the Observatory said. One was killed on Friday and one on Saturday, according to the report, which could not immediately be corroborated.

More than 170,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, which started as a peaceful protest movement in 2011 but descended into a multifaceted civil war after a government crackdown.

(Reporting by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

A Pox on All Their Houses

Neither Israel nor Hamas can win in Gaza, but the biggest loser is the Palestinian Authority.

BY HUSSEIN IBISH-JULY 18, 2014

With  Israel having launched a significant ground operation in Gaza following Hamas's refusal of an Egyptian cease-fire proposal, the latest wave of Israeli-Palestinian hostilities is intensifying yet again. To what end and from what beginning, however, is unclear. While both Israel and Hamas have publicly stated and implicit objectives, neither side seems poised to achieve any significant strategic gains.

A Pox on All Their Houses by Maria Anderson

MH17: Kiev and rebels hold talks to set up security zone around crash site

Agreement comes as experts from UK and Malaysia arrive in Kiev to assist a Ukrainian-led investigation into how flight was brought down

Ukraine accuses separatists of taking bodies from crash site

Malaysian Airlines crash aftermanth - live updates

A Ukrainian miner helps search for debris from the plane. Photograph: Brendan Hoffman/Getty ImagesAgencies and Tania Branigan in Beijing-Saturday 19 July 2014

Agencies and Tania Branigan in Beijing-Saturday 19 July 2014 

Ukraine and pro-Russia rebels are holding talks on setting up a security zone around the crash site of a Malaysian jet that was apparently shot down in the separatist east.

MH17 Kiev and Rebels Hold Talks to Set Up Security Zone Around Crash Site by Maria Anderson

Malaysian plane shot down

Updated July 18, 2014, 8:42 p.m.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was carrying 298 people through Ukrainian airspace Thursday when it was shot down near the border with Russia, according to U.S. intelligence officials. The plane's flight path was from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Read the latest updates.

The flight route

The path Flight 17 took on Thursday was similar to its previous routes.

Where it happened

Flight 17 crashed in a separatist-controlled area where fighting has recently been heavy.

Passenger and crew nationalities

Among the 298 people aboard Flight 17 were several delegates to an international AIDS conference in Melbourne and three infants. The one U.S. citizen known to be aboard the flight, Dutch dual-national Quinn Lucas Schansman, 19, was travelling to Kuala Lumpur to meet his family for a vacation.

DUTCH

192

MALAYSIAN

44

15 flight crew members

AUSTRALIAN

28

INDONESIAN

12

BRITISH

10

GERMAN

BELGIAN

FILIPINO

VIETNAMESE

AMERICAN

1 dual citizen with the Netherlands

CANADIAN

HONG KONG

NEW ZEALAND

Note: Some passengers have dual citizenship. These passengers appear in all countries of their citizenship — therefore the total exceeds 298 passengers.

Aircraft

Flight 17, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, lost contact with air traffic controllers while flying at an altitude of 33,000 ft.

Wingspan: 200 feet

Length: 209 feet

The Buk surface-to-air missile

The plane likely was shot down by a Russian-made Buk SA-11 missile fired from a separatist-held are of eastern Ukraine, according to a preliminary assessment by U.S. intelligence.

The original Buk SA-11 Gadfly (1979) or the newer Buk SA-17 Grizzly (2007) surface-to-air missile system can track up to six targets simultaneously at various altitudes and directions and can fire as many as three missiles at a single target. Success probability with a single radar-guided missile is 90 to 95 percent.

Missiles

Fuel	solid fuel
Maximum ceiling	82,000 ft
Weight	1,550 lbs
Speed	Mach 2.5

Launch vehicle

Crew	4
Carries	4 missiles
Readiness time	5 min.
Reloads	12 min.

Turmoil on the ground

Since late June, Ukrainian forces appear to have made three main thrusts into eastern Ukraine’s pro-Russian strongholds, resulting in heavy fighting.

1. One column has seized the city of Slovyansk and apparently taken a strategic intersection that cuts the main road running between the industrial population centers of Luhansk and Donetsk.
2. Another column from the vicinity of Mariupol seems to have fought its way along the border to secure the crossings with Russia, then launched an assault on the industrial hub of Luhansk.
3. A third column appears to have attacked Luhansk from the north.