Iraq forces break jihadist siege of main oil refinery | ||
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Kirkuk (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi forces broke a months-long siege by jihadist fighters of the country's largest oil refinery Saturday as the top US officer flew in to discuss the expanded war against the Islamic State group. Ousting IS fighters from around the refinery would mark another significant achievement for Baghdad, a day after pro-government forces retook the nearby town of Baiji. "Iraqi forces... reached the gate of the refinery," the governor of Salaheddin province, Raad al-Juburi, told AFP. Three officers confirmed that Iraqi forces had reached the refinery, 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Baghdad, where security forces have been encircled and under repeated attack since June. The new success for Iraqi forces came a day after they recaptured nearby Baiji, the largest town they have taken back since IS-led militants swept across Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland in June. Fully clearing the Baiji area of jihadist fighters would further boost Baghdad's momentum and cap a week which also saw pro-government forces retake a major dam. A joint operation by the army and Shiite militia earlier this week wrested back the Adhaim Dam in the eastern province of Diyala. A breakthrough preliminary deal reached on Thursday between the federal government and the autonomous Kurdish region on long-standing budget and oil disputes also raised the prospect of increased coordination in the fight against IS. The group on Thursday released an audio recording purportedly of its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, after rumours that air strikes may have killed or wounded him. - Next phase -
The IS group has had most of the initiative, both on the ground and in the propaganda war, in recent months. But the man said to be Baghdadi seemed at pains to reassure his followers and the lack of video failed to dispel speculation he might still have been wounded. America's top military officer, General Martin Dempsey, arrived in Iraq for talks on the the further expansion of military operations against the jihadists. A US-led coalition is carrying out air strikes against IS jihadists in both Iraq and Syria, while Washington has announced plans to increase the number of its military personnel in the country to up to 3,100. Dempsey was to hold talks with "Iraqi political and security officials on (the) next phase of the campaign to defeat (IS)," Brett McGurk, the number two US envoy for the coalition battling the jihadist group, said on Twitter. The US and other governments have pledged trainers and advisers to aid Iraqi security forces in their battle against IS. American personnel are assessing possible deployment sites in Iraq, including Al-Asad Air Base in Anbar province, a key area that stretches from the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the western approach to Baghdad. The operation to retake Baiji began more than four weeks ago when security forces and pro-government fighters began advancing towards the town from the south, slowed by bombs militants had planted on the way, and finally entered the town on October 31. The huge refinery once produced 300,000 barrels a day, accounting for half of the nation's needs in refined oil products. It is also on the road linking the two largest cities under jihadist control, Mosul and Tikrit. Washington has repeatedly stated that it will not deploy "combat troops" to Iraq, but Dempsey said on Thursday that sending out advisers alongside Iraqi forces was something that "we're certainly considering." As federal forces, Kurdish peshmerga, Sunni tribesmen and Shiite militia battle IS on several fronts, car bomb blasts in Baghdad continue to take a near-daily toll. At least 17 people were killed in two explosions in northwestern neighbourhoods of the capital. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Stars record new charity Band Aid single to fight Ebola | ||
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London (AFP) - Bob Geldof, One Direction, Bono and some 30 other stars gathered in a studio in London on Saturday to record a 30th anniversary version of the Band Aid charity single to raise money to fight Ebola. Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, Coldplay's Chris Martin and Sinead O'Connor were also among the rockers brought together by Geldof to sing the fourth version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Musicians began arriving in the early morning and were expected to record all day and into the night before the single is aired for the first time on Sunday and then officially released on Monday. "All pop singers can do is sing, write songs, give up whatever they're doing," Geldof told reporters and fans outside the Sarm Studios in Notting Hill. He said owning the single would be "a badge of honour" to support efforts against the virus and urged people to buy it "whether you like it or not". As he arrived, DJ Nick Grimshaw said: "It's pretty amazing that he managed to get pop stars out of their beds at eight o'clock on a Saturday morning!" One Direction's Niall Horan said it was a "privilege" to take part. "Hopefully we'll get to number one and raise a lot of money for a really good cause," he said. In a video from inside the studios that was put up on specially created app called "Bandapp", One Direction's 20-year-old frontman Harry Styles said: "Everyone's come together for the same thing." "There's one kind of focus and one goal," he said. The song became one of the world's biggest-selling singles ever after its release in 1984 to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. "I had to change the lyrics," Geldof said. The rocker-turned-activist said he had been spurred into action not out of nostalgia but by a call from the United Nations, concerned about not having the necessary funds to combat the epidemic. The Ebola outbreak in west Africa has claimed more than 5,000 lives, according to the World Health Organization -- almost all in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone -- while the number of infected cases registered worldwide has soared to more than 13,000. - 'Lovers can't hold each other' - "It's not just about what's happening in west Africa, it could happen here tomorrow," Geldof said. "We can stop this thing, we can allow mothers no matter where they are to be able to touch their dying children. "I hate that aspect of it that lovers can't hold each other in their last moments, that husbands can't comfort their wives, that parents can't comfort their children," Geldof said. The second and third verses of the song contain new lyrics referring to the risks of cross-infection from comforting Ebola victims. The track will cost 99 pence ($1.60, 1.30 euros) to download or £4 to buy as a physical record. Geldof said he had spoken to British finance minister George Osborne on Saturday who agreed not to levy sales tax from the single to ensure that 100 percent of the proceeds go to charity. "He said: 'I've been expecting this call. It's a bit early for pop stars isn't it?" Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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