Al-Qaeda in Syria calls for revenge attacks on Russia

BAGHDAD — The head of al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Syria has called on followers to carry out retaliatory attacks in Russia, raising the specter of blowback on Russian soil over Moscow’s military intervention to aid Syria’s embattled government.

Just hours after the call from Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, two mortar shells landed in the perimeter of the Russian Embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus. No casualties were reported.

Russia has used cruise missiles and fighter jets to strike targets in Syria held by Islamic State militants and other factions battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the al-Nusra Front.

President Vladimir Putin has argued that containing the extremists is a national security concern for Russia, with its restive North Caucasus region serving as a breeding ground for militants. But Russia also has strategic interests in supporting longtime ally Assad, including gaining footholds in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region.

[Gallery: On the ground after Russia’s airstrikes ]

“The new Russian invasion is the last arrow in the quiver of the enemies of the Muslims,” Jolani said in an audio recording released late Monday. He urged those in the Caucasus to “distract” Moscow from the conflict in Syria, calling for attacks on both civilian and military targets in Russia.

“If the Russian soldier kills from the masses of [Syria], kill from their masses,” he said. “And if they kill from our soldiers, kill from theirs. One for one.”

In the 21-minute speech, Jolani also set bounties for the killing of Assad and Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is backing the Syrian government on the battlefield.

Jolani said a bounty of 3 million euros ($3.4 million) would be paid for Assad’s death.

“Should this ruler not be killed?” he said. “The poison is in the head of the snake.”

For Nasrallah, he set the bounty at 2 million euros ($2.3 million).

The United States and Russia have publicly traded barbs about the effectiveness of each other’s air campaign since Moscow stepped up military action. A U.S.-led coalition has been striking the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for months.

[Russia’s move into Syria upends U.S. plans and creates new complications]

Russia has said that its air campaign is directed toward the Islamic State, but U.S. officials have contended that Moscow has largely targeted other groups, including U.S.-backed rebel forces.

Putin hit back on Tuesday.

“They say that we are shooting the wrong target,” he said in Moscow. “On Sunday, U.S. aircraft bombed an electricity station and a transformer in Aleppo. Why did they do it, what for?” Aleppo is Syria’s largest city.

Putin said Moscow had asked the United States to provide examples of targets that it considers legitimate but had received no response. Washington also did not respond to a request to provide information on sites that it did not wish to be targeted, he said.

“It seems to me that some of our partners are just messed up in the head,” Putin said.

The Syrian army, backed by Russian airstrikes and supported by Hezbollah and Iranian fighters, have made advances against rebel groups in recent days. But Islamic State militants also have appeared to benefit from Russian strikes against those groups, advancing on the outskirts of Aleppo.

[Syrian forces begin ground offensive backed by Russian air and sea power]

Despite their gains, pro-government forces also have suffered losses, with two Hezbollah figures and a top Iranian commander killed on the battlefield in recent days. The resistance put up by U.S.-backed rebels can be partly attributed to U.S.-supplied antitank weaponry.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that U.S.-supplied arms would make their way to extremists.

“We do not have even any special doubts that a considerable part of these weapons will fall exactly into the hands of terrorists,” Lavrov told Russia’s NTV television.

The United Nations’ special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, was in Moscow on Tuesday to urge Russia to help bring about a political resolution in Syria, saying Russian intervention has changed the dynamic in the country.

Lavrov said that Russia’s military campaign was not hampering the political process and that a “swift launch” of steps toward a political resolution is consistent with Russia’s goal of uniting “all healthy forces” to save Syria.

The shells that landed near the Russian Embassy in Damascus on Tuesday came as supporters of Moscow’s airstrikes held a rally to demonstrate solidarity with the intervention.

The embassy said no one was injured in the attack, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Lavrov described the attack as an “obvious act of terror.” One shell landed on a residential building and another on a sports ground, he said.

Abbakumova reported from Moscow.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/al-qaeda-in-syria-calls-for-revenge-attacks-on-russia/2015/10/13/b7f7dfdf-a0a4-451d-bd2e-180f2f4882f5_story.html






イスラム国の指導者の生死不明の後はアルカイダか・・・

このニュースバグダッドから出ているんですよ・・・？

何でワシントンポスト？




イラクの人は・・やる気あるのかもしれないけど、

日本はこの間戦争に負けて武力ゼロなので・・何回メッセージ送っても無駄。



日本に誰か来てくれるのかと思ったら、占領者はフェンスの向こう側に住むんだそうです。

フェンスの向こう側に住む人が最近多いことが判明した。

でも、日本は武力ゼロなので自衛隊と戦う戦力がない。



イラクの人も原爆落とされる前になんかやめたほうがいいような気がする。

そうじゃないなら日本を占領すればいいんです。



イランの核合意って何？不安・・・・


あ～それで、ワシントンポストのニュースがバグダッドから出ているんですか・・・！



Followers intervention were reported.

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Forces aircraft  in Aleppo  Why did they do it, what for?

Washington provide information advances in recent day is Islamic State militants forces with figures on the battlefield  have even any special doubts.

Weapons will fall  into the  United Nations.

Intervention with the intervention was injured.

In the Interfax One landed on a sports ground.