Saint Denis Police Raid in Paris- Live Footage

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Saint Denis Police Raid in Paris- Live Footage.

Two dead, seven arrested in raid targeting Paris attack mastermind

Saint-Denis, France: Amid gunfire and explosions, police raided a suburban Paris apartment where the suspected mastermind of last week's attacks was believed to be holed up Wednesday. The siege ended with two deaths and seven arrests but no clear information on his fate.

The dead were a woman who blew herself up with an explosive vest and a man hit by projectiles and grenades at the end of the raid, which began before dawn and continued for more than seven hours at the apartment building in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the raid was launched after information from tapped telephone conversations, surveillance and witness accounts indicated that the suspected attacks planner, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, might be in a safe house in the district.

Authorities could not immediately confirm whether Abaaoud, a Belgian Islamic State militant, was killed or arrested Wednesday morning.

Abaaoud was believed to be in Syria after a January police raid in Belgium, but bragged in Islamic State propaganda of his ability to move back and forth between Europe and Syria undetected.

Speaking at the scene of Wednesday's raid, Molins said the operation began with a pre-dawn shootout and resulted in the capture of three people inside the apartment, the death of a woman who set off an explosive charge, and the death of "another terrorist who was found at the end of the operation who was hit by projectiles and grenades."

Soldiers operate in St. Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. APSoldiers operate in St. Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. AP

He said two other people were detained while trying to hide in the rubble, and two others were arrested, including the man who had provided the apartment and one of his acquaintances. Police at the scene were seen escorting away one man naked from the waist down and another wrapped in a gold emergency blanked.

"As things stand, it is impossible to give you the identities of the people detained, which are being verified," he said.

Molins and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve did not specify whether any suspects might still be at large.

A police official not authorized to be publicly named because of police rules said four police officers were injured.

French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting with senior ministers at the Elysee Palace to monitor the raid.

Residents said an explosion shook the neighborhood shortly after 4 a.m.

"We guessed it was linked to Friday night," said Yves Steux, barman at L'Escargot restaurant 250 meters (yards) from the assault."My wife panicked and was scared and told me not to leave, but I ignored her. Life goes on."

Baptiste Marie, a 26-year-old independent journalist who lives in the neighborhood, said a second large explosion was followed by "two more explosions. There was an hour of gunfire."

Russia in Syria- Tupolev Tu-95 Strategic Bombers Striking Cruise Missile...

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Russia in Syria- Tupolev Tu-95 Strategic Bombers Striking Cruise Missiles on ISIS.



High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c24747c-8d53-11e5-8be4-3506bf20cc2b.html#ixzz3rqzBO8PM



Bear bombers lead Russia’s robust response in Syria

Sam Jones, Defence and Security Editor



 Share

 Author alerts

 Print

Clip

 Comments

A Russian Tupolev Tu-95 turboprop-powered strategic bomber flies above the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 7, 2015, during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade. A strategic bomber with seven people on board crashed in far eastern Russia on July 14 but its crew apparently managed to parachute out and a search for them was underway, the defence ministry said. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER NEMENOVALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images©AFP

If a single image could capture Vladimir Putin’s vision of a new world order it was the one provided by the Kremlin on Tuesday evening: a blurred shot of a massive Tu-95 “Bear” bomber, a cold war relic, launching a cutting-edge Russian cruise missile high above the Middle East.

As western powers moved to boost their own military responses to Isis’s bloody massacre in the heart of Paris on Friday, Russia mounted its most muscular display of military force in Syria to date, striking over 140 targets.

More

ON THIS TOPIC

Sporting View Fiddling in sport is not a new game

Putin seeks to head off Russian doping ban

Russia cracks down on human rights group

Global Insight Russia fears start of jihadi blowback

IN EUROPE

What we know about the Paris attackers

Police in Paris terror shootout

‘I had to come. This is more than a game’

Second man sought as hunt goes Europe-wide

Sign up now



firstFT

FirstFT is our new essential daily email briefing of the best stories from across the web

The operations were the first use of the country’s long-range strategic bomber force in combat since the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan, and the first ever use of the Tu-95 — whose distinctive wingspan made it a symbol of the cold war nuclear stand-off — in conflict.

Ostensibly it was a huge, retaliatory increase in firepower; a response to the attacks in Paris and the downing of Metrojet 9268. For the first time on Tuesday, the Kremlin admitted that the aeroplane, with its hundreds of Russian passengers, was brought down by a bomb planted by jihadis.

But many western diplomats are more cynical about Mr Putin’s motives.

In the wake of the Paris attacks, with hawkish politicians in Europe and Washington calling for greater use of military force in Syria, diplomats feel that Moscow is pressing its advantage as a would-be international leader in the war zone.

And it is still far from clear that Russia is refocusing its operations against Isis. Its air campaign in Syria until now has almost exclusively targeted anti-government rebels in an operation primarily aimed at shoring up the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Less than a fifth of strikes have been against Isis.

In depth



Paris attacks



A state of emergency has been declared in France after a series of co-ordinated terrorist attacks in the capital. The government has responded with a series of police raids and stepped up air strikes against Isis in Syria



Further reading

Most reports of the targets hit by Russia on Tuesday indicated that the brunt of the Kremlin’s firepower had been directed at an area around Aleppo, where pro-Assad forces are battling moderate groups supported by Washington.

Speaking in Moscow on Tuesday, chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov hailed a “new plan of the air campaign”, promising a much greater tempo of bombing.

In total, 25 heavy bombers were used on Tuesday, launching dozens of Russian-made cruise missiles alongside long-range munitions launched from Russian ships in the Caspian Sea and bombs dropped by Russia’s existing deployment of jets at its newly-built base in Latakia.

The Russian Navy, US Admiral John Richardson told the FT in a recent interview, is now operating at its highest tempo in two decades. He said Russia had maintained investment in military equipment and forces despite the nation’s struggling economy.

Russia in Syria- Tupolev Tu-160 Planes Firing high precision Cruise Miss...

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Russia in Syria- Tupolev Tu-160 Planes Firing high precision Cruise Missiles.



Interesting footage of Putin’s heavy bombers at work.

Early in the morning on Nov. 17, the Russian Air Force launched 25 heavy bombers against ISIS ground targets in Syria.



The aircraft, 5 x Tu-160 Blackjack, 6 x Tu-95MS Bear and 14 x Tu-22M3 Backfire bombers flew round trip missions from airbases in Russia to drop a variety of weapons: both air-launched cruise missiles, like the KH-555 whose remains were recovered in Syria, and free fall bombs, like those dropped by the Backfires, in the somehow old-fashioned carpet bombing (while being escorted by some Su-27s).



Actually, the show of force of the Russian Air Force was also an opportunity to test some new “hardware” as the new KH-101 low-observable cruise missile.





Here’s what seems to be the wreckage of a KH-101.





Actually, the video released by Moscow also contains old footage, as the bomb bay clip of a Tu-160 launching a KH-555 that we already published some days ago.

Russia in Syria- Long range Tupolev Tu-22M Bombers Dropping OFAB 250-270...

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Russia in Syria- Long range Tupolev Tu-22M Bombers Dropping OFAB 250-270 Bombs.

Interesting footage of Putin’s heavy bombers at work.

Early in the morning on Nov. 17, the Russian Air Force launched 25 heavy bombers against ISIS ground targets in Syria.



The aircraft, 5 x Tu-160 Blackjack, 6 x Tu-95MS Bear and 14 x Tu-22M3 Backfire bombers flew round trip missions from airbases in Russia to drop a variety of weapons: both air-launched cruise missiles, like the KH-555 whose remains were recovered in Syria, and free fall bombs, like those dropped by the Backfires, in the somehow old-fashioned carpet bombing (while being escorted by some Su-27s).



Actually, the show of force of the Russian Air Force was also an opportunity to test some new “hardware” as the new KH-101 low-observable cruise missile.



#Russia MoD imply Kh-101 low-observable cruise missile debut in #Syria -launched from Tu-160 https://t.co/XV6hSPVFoO pic.twitter.com/wawYTVSOM4



— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) 17 November 2015



Here’s what seems to be the wreckage of a KH-101.



Unverified #Syria imagery assessed to show #Russia Kh-101 low-observable cruise missile wreckage pic.twitter.com/vHc5Gcgjhr — Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) 17 November 2015



Actually, the video released by Moscow also contains old footage, as the bomb bay clip of a Tu-160 launching a KH-555 that we already published some days ago.

Islamophobia Growing With Alarming Pace in UK

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Islamophobia Growing With Alarming Pace in UK.



uslims face 'worsening environment of hate' in UK

Report reveals that abuse, discrimination and the threat of violent assault have become a 'normal experience'.

Simon Hooper | 18 Nov 2015 07:28 GMT | Politics, Human Rights, Europe, United Kingdom



Share via Facebook  Share via Twitter Share via RedditAll Social

Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker

EmailPrintSend Feedback



According to a new report, Islamophobic attacks against the Muslim community in the UK are on the rise [Peter Dench/Getty Images]

London, United Kingdom - British government policies are fuelling a worsening "environment of hate" in which abuse, discrimination, and even the threat of violent assault have become the "normal experience and expectation" for Muslims living in the UK, according to the conclusions of a new report.



The study into the day-to-day experiences of British Muslims, carried out by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), found a sharp rise in the number of people reporting verbal abuse and an increase in the number of physical attacks since the survey was last undertaken in 2010.



Two-thirds of the 1,800 people polled said they had been subjected to verbal abuse, up from 40 percent in 2010, while 82 percent said they had witnessed Islamophobia being directed at someone else, up from 50 percent. Reported cases of physical assault rose from 14 percent in 2010, to nearly 18 percent.





 Security increased at UK mosques due to threats

"Muslims in the UK feel targeted by media and political institutions, which in their understanding contribute heavily towards a deteriorating climate of fear, a rise in far-right groups and a rise of anti-Muslim racism... Most Muslims now feel they are hated," the report says.



It cites examples of individual cases of discrimination, such as a Kuwaiti tourist who was detained and questioned under terrorism legislation for taking a 'selfie' of himself outside a shopping centre, and a woman working with children with autism who was told she could not wear a hijab because parents would not feel safe leaving their children with her.



'A police state in all but name'



But the report also highlights widespread opposition to government policies such as the controversial Prevent counter-extremism strategy and the new Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, which the authors say have "created a police state in all but name", as well as growing sensitivity to anti-Muslim rhetoric used by politicians and in the media.



While just 34 percent believed in 2010 that government policies were having a negative impact on Muslim communities, that figure has now risen to 60 percent. Ninety-four percent also said they had encountered negative stereotypes of Muslims in the media, and 85 percent said they had heard politicians using Islamophobic language.



"It feels as if we have really gone over a tipping point and that is what is so worrying," Arzu Merali, one of the authors of the report, told Al Jazeera.



"We are seeing that the escalation of Prevent has been instrumental in this, and people feel in general that the security agenda is fuelling that. In the past people blamed the media, but now we're seeing a shift towards people saying it is about the government and its institutions as well."



The Prevent strategy, which was set up in the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings with the aim of tackling Islamic extremism, has long been a source of resentment among many British Muslims, with critics complaining that it sows mistrust of Muslims and subjects them to discriminatory levels of surveillance and harassment.



But under the current government, Prevent has been rolled out into schools, hospitals and other public sector institutions, with teachers, doctors and even childcare providers now required by law to monitor and report children, patients and colleagues who they suspect of holding extremist views, and to promote so-called "British values".



RELATED: Fish and chips, Freddie Mercury, and UK childcare



The 'backbone' of Islamophobia



The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, which became law earlier this year, has also bolstered the powers of the police and security services to curtail the freedoms of those deemed to be extremists.



In a series of high-profile speeches, David Cameron, the British prime minister, has repeatedly called on Muslim communities to do more to tackle extremism, even suggesting earlier this year that obeying the law was now no longer enough.



"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'As long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone,'" Cameron said  in May. "This government will conclusively turn the page on this failed approach."



But, speaking at an event to launch the IHRC's report on Tuesday,

Paris Attack- Toronto Man Arrested For Muslim Hate Speech

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Paris Attack- Toronto Man Arrested For Muslim Hate Speech.



Muslims face 'worsening environment of hate' in UK

Report reveals that abuse, discrimination and the threat of violent assault have become a 'normal experience'.

Simon Hooper | 18 Nov 2015 07:28 GMT | Politics, Human Rights, Europe, United Kingdom



Share via Facebook  Share via Twitter Share via RedditAll Social

Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker

EmailPrintSend Feedback



According to a new report, Islamophobic attacks against the Muslim community in the UK are on the rise [Peter Dench/Getty Images]

London, United Kingdom - British government policies are fuelling a worsening "environment of hate" in which abuse, discrimination, and even the threat of violent assault have become the "normal experience and expectation" for Muslims living in the UK, according to the conclusions of a new report.



The study into the day-to-day experiences of British Muslims, carried out by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), found a sharp rise in the number of people reporting verbal abuse and an increase in the number of physical attacks since the survey was last undertaken in 2010.



Two-thirds of the 1,800 people polled said they had been subjected to verbal abuse, up from 40 percent in 2010, while 82 percent said they had witnessed Islamophobia being directed at someone else, up from 50 percent. Reported cases of physical assault rose from 14 percent in 2010, to nearly 18 percent.





 Security increased at UK mosques due to threats

"Muslims in the UK feel targeted by media and political institutions, which in their understanding contribute heavily towards a deteriorating climate of fear, a rise in far-right groups and a rise of anti-Muslim racism... Most Muslims now feel they are hated," the report says.



It cites examples of individual cases of discrimination, such as a Kuwaiti tourist who was detained and questioned under terrorism legislation for taking a 'selfie' of himself outside a shopping centre, and a woman working with children with autism who was told she could not wear a hijab because parents would not feel safe leaving their children with her.



'A police state in all but name'



But the report also highlights widespread opposition to government policies such as the controversial Prevent counter-extremism strategy and the new Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, which the authors say have "created a police state in all but name", as well as growing sensitivity to anti-Muslim rhetoric used by politicians and in the media.



While just 34 percent believed in 2010 that government policies were having a negative impact on Muslim communities, that figure has now risen to 60 percent. Ninety-four percent also said they had encountered negative stereotypes of Muslims in the media, and 85 percent said they had heard politicians using Islamophobic language.



"It feels as if we have really gone over a tipping point and that is what is so worrying," Arzu Merali, one of the authors of the report, told Al Jazeera.



"We are seeing that the escalation of Prevent has been instrumental in this, and people feel in general that the security agenda is fuelling that. In the past people blamed the media, but now we're seeing a shift towards people saying it is about the government and its institutions as well."



The Prevent strategy, which was set up in the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings with the aim of tackling Islamic extremism, has long been a source of resentment among many British Muslims, with critics complaining that it sows mistrust of Muslims and subjects them to discriminatory levels of surveillance and harassment.



But under the current government, Prevent has been rolled out into schools, hospitals and other public sector institutions, with teachers, doctors and even childcare providers now required by law to monitor and report children, patients and colleagues who they suspect of holding extremist views, and to promote so-called "British values".



RELATED: Fish and chips, Freddie Mercury, and UK childcare



The 'backbone' of Islamophobia



The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, which became law earlier this year, has also bolstered the powers of the police and security services to curtail the freedoms of those deemed to be extremists.



In a series of high-profile speeches, David Cameron, the British prime minister, has repeatedly called on Muslim communities to do more to tackle extremism, even suggesting earlier this year that obeying the law was now no longer enough.



"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'As long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone,'" Cameron said  in May. "This government will conclusively turn the page on this failed approach."



But, speaking at an event to launch the IHRC's report on Tuesday.

Shooting in Saint- Denis, North Paris During Police Anti-Terror Raid

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Shooting in Saint- Denis, North Paris During Police Anti-Terror Raid.

Shooting broke out in North Paris During Police raid on suspects revealed Sources



Shooting broke out in a northern suburb of Saint-Denis in Paris during an anti-terrorist police raid, sources said Wednesday, five days after the worst attacks in French history killed 129 people in the capital. tFrench Police are conducting series of raids to break the links and to arrest the supects of deadly Paris Terror Attack that occured last week.



There was an exchange of gunfire during the operation in Saint-Denis, according to a source close to the investigation, who could not confirm who was targeted in the operation. Another source said a special armed response unit took part in the raid.



Firemen said one person was lightly injured.

Russia in Syria Launched Biggest Bomber Raid in Decades Against ISIS

http://www.newsbharati.com/ Russia in Syria Launched Biggest Bomber Raid in Decades Against ISIS.

Tupolev TU-160 strategic bomber performs during the first day of the MAKS-2005 international air show in Zhukovsky outside Moscow August 16, 2005. Russian President Vladimir Putin flew in Russia's most potent bomber on Tuesday and took part in the launch of cruise missiles in the Arctic, dusting off the military image he cultivated when he first came to power. Picture taken August 16, 2005. REUTERS/Viktor Korotayev - RTRKR9Z



Russia Pounds ISIS With Biggest Bomber Raid in Decades

Putin’s air force just uses its nuclear bombers to lay waste to the captial of the “Islamic State.”

The Russian air force just pulled off one of the biggest and most complex heavy bomber missions in modern history—sending no fewer than 25 Backfire, Bear, and Blackjack bombers on a coordinated, long-range air raid against alleged ISIS forces in Syria.



The Tuesday mission, which launched under the cover of darkness from a base in Ossetia in southern Russia, signaled a significant escalation of Moscow’s air war in Syria—and heralded the rebirth of Russian heavy bomber squadrons that once had withered from a lack of funding.



Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s general staff, announced the raid on Tuesday, calling it part of “a new plan [for] the air campaign.”





“During a massive airstrike today, 14 important ISIL targets were destroyed by 34 air-launched cruise missiles,” Gerasimov said, using an alternative acronym for the terror army. “The targets destroyed include command posts that were used to coordinate ISIL activities in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, munition and supply depots in the northwestern part of Syria.”



Idlib and Aleppo are not ISIS strongholds. Indeed, U.S.-backed rebels hold much of both provinces. Russia has maintained all along that its roughly six-week-old intervention in Syria is aimed at defeating ISIS, but in fact many Russian air and missile strikes have hit rebel groups that oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ISIS.

Russian officials notified U.S. planners at a coalition headquarters in Qatar before the strike, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. It was the first time the Russians and Americans have put into action an October agreement to coordinate their countries' respective operations in Syria.

The raid came of the same day that Kremlin officials publicly announced that a “terrorist act” brought down Russian Metrojet 9268 last month over the Sinai Peninsula. ISIS has since taken credit for the attack.



The Russian defense ministry released a video depicting three types of bombers arming, taking off, dropping munitions and then returning to base, escorted along their flight paths by Su-27 fighters.



The swing-wing, jet-propelled Tu-22M Backfires apparently carried unguided “dumb” bombs. The videos depicts airmen loading clusters of cruise missiles in the bomb bays of the propeller-driven Tu-95 Bears and the huge, swing-wing Tu-160 Blackjack jets, which at 177 feet long are the biggest combat planes ever built.



All three models of bomber can fly thousands of miles while hauling no less than 20 tons of weaponry. Only China and the United States possess similar heavy warplanes.



Launching 25 bombers on one mission is an impressive undertaking. Russia possesses just 70 Backfires, 58 Bears and 13 Blackjacks. The 14 Backfires, six Bears, and five Blackjacks that reportedly struck Syria represent a significant proportion of the overall fleet. The massive raid is evidence of improving readiness on the part of the Russian air force, which in the 1990s and early 2000s grounded most of its aircraft because it couldn’t afford to fuel them or pay their pilots.



By comparison, on any given day 57 of the U.S. Air Force's 77 B-52s, 35 of its 60 B-1s and nine of its 20 B-2 stealth bombers are even flyable, according to statistics from 2013.



The Tuesday mission signaled a significant escalation of Moscow’s air war in Syria—and heralded the rebirth of Russian heavy bomber squadrons that once had withered from a lack of funding.

And when they do fly, America’s bombers often sortie alone or in pairs, only rarely coming together in large numbers. Seven B-52s flew together to launch cruise missiles at Iraq in the early hours of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and a group of eight of the giant warplanes repeated the feat on the first day of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.



In other words: This Russian attack was “shock and awe”—on steroids.



Russia’s bomber raid was certainly impressive, and has propaganda value in addition to bolstering Moscow’s operations in Syria. When 25 of the planet’s most powerful warplanes attack at the same time, it’s more than a mere air raid. It’s a statement to the whole world.