IS Has Iraqi Towns In Lockdown As Battles Rage

Kurdish forces are struggling to defend themselves against Islamic State (IS) militants in northeast Iraq and are appealing for more international help.

There has been fighting around towns including Jalula and Sa'dya, which have been controlled by the well-armed Sunni extremists for several weeks.

The IS insurgents have seized large swathes of the country since a June offensive but have been hit by US airstrikes in some areas including around Mosul Dam.

However, Sky's Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, reporting from outside Jalula, north of Baghdad, said the Kurdish peshmerga fighters want more weaponry from the outside world and are "getting little or no air support".

Thousands of peshmerga and counter-terrorism soldiers have been deployed, including many around the town.

Sky's Stuart Ramsay outside the town of Jalula

He said the Kurds have some heavy weapons but the equipment is old, while the jihadists "have modern equipment and lots of money".

Ramsay said the two sides are fighting to control territory not the towns themselves as IS have them "under total lockdown".

The Kurds are trying to cut their supply lines and one fighter told Sky News: "We need weapons to make the battle equal."

Ramsay said: "Peshmerga front-line positions are regularly hit from far away. There are scorch marks and burning patches everywhere."

Roadside bombs laid by the extremists are also "causing more casualties than ever before," he added.

Meanwhile, eight people have been killed after a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle packed with explosives at the interior ministry's intelligence headquarters in Baghdad.

PM designate Haider al Abadi is trying to form a more inclusive government

It comes a day after a sectarian attack at a mosque killed at least 68 Sunni Muslims, plunging efforts to form a united front against the jihadists into crisis.

Officials say a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Imam Wais mosque north of Baghdad, with Shia militiamen picking off fleeing worshippers with machine guns.

Diyala has seen heavy fighting between Iraqi troops and IS. File pic

Attacks on mosques are acutely sensitive and have in the past unleashed a deadly series of revenge killings and counter attacks in Iraq.

The attack, in Diyala province, is seen as a blow to government efforts to secure backing from Sunni groups in its battle against the extremists.

The US says the killing of James Foley was a "terrorist attack" on America

Prime Minister designate Haider al Abadi, a moderate Shia, is attempting to form a more inclusive government following the resignation of outgoing PM Nouri al Maliki.

But two influential Sunni politicians - Parliamentary Speaker Salim al Jabouri and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al Mutlak - have now pulled out of talks with the main Shia political alliance after the massacre.

The US, which is carrying out airstrikes against militants, has ramped up its rhetoric over the beheading of journalist James Foley.

In Washington, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said the murder "represents a terrorist attack against our country".

He said the US would not be restricted by the Iraq-Syria border when it considers further action against IS militants.

Having poured in from Syria across a desert border that it does not recognise, the Islamist movement has declared its own caliphate.

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US 'Ready To Take Action Against IS In Syria'

The US has said it will not be restricted by the Iraq-Syria border as it considers further action against Islamic State militants.

White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes the US stood ready to take action to protect American citizens as the group was more dangerous now than it was six months ago.

The US has already carried out airstrikes on the group - formerly known as ISIS or ISIL - in Iraq as it has sought to support government forces and Kurdish Peshmerga in their attempts to push back the jihadists.

However, it has so far steered clear of Syria, except for a brief special forces raid which attempted to rescue journalist James Foley and other American hostages.

Red shows areas controlled by IS, while yellow is areas of fighting

Mr Foley was beheaded by a member of the group - believed to be British - in a video released earlier this week. The black-clad militant said the journalist was killed in retaliation for US airstrikes.

"When you see somebody killed in such a horrific way, that represents a terrorist attack- that represents a terrorist attack against our country and against an American citizen," Mr Rhodes told reporters at the White House

He added that the US had done everything it could to rescue American hostages but would keep trying to get back those still held by the group.

The announcement that the US would consider acting in Syria came after the former head of the British Army said the West should consider negotiating with Syrian president Bashar al Assad to tackle IS.

Lord Dannatt told Sky News: "You have to at least consider the otherwise unpalatable thought that maybe we've got to have some kind of dialogue, whether it's under the counter or over the counter, with President Assad of Syria.

Journalist James Foley was beheaded on video by an IS militant

"The old dictum that my enemy's enemy is my friend just might have some credence in this less than satisfactory and pretty extraordinary set of times that we are in."

However, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond ruled out working with Mr Assad - who is accused of carrying out war crimes, including chemical attacks, during his country's three-year civil war.

He said Britain would help Kurdish and Iraqi forces with weapons and training once there was a credible government in place in Baghdad.

However, efforts to form a new government around Prime Minister-designate Haider al Abadi were dealt a major blow when Sunni politicians pulled out of talks following an attack on a mosque that killed at least 64 people and injured 60 others.

The mass killing at Friday prayers was initially blamed on Shia militia allied with the government but there have also been suggestions that IS fighters, who have been trying to recruit Sunni tribes in the area, could have staged the attack.

Kurdish Peshmerga are leading the fightback against IS in Iraq

Elsewhere, Kurdish forces have launched a major assault to try to retake the northeast Iraqi towns of Jalula and Sadiyah.

Sky's Alex Crawford, reporting from the outskirts of Jalula, said the operation was being carried out by the Kurdish military's elite counter-terrorism unit, backed up by peshmerga forces.

She said the towns, near the Iranian border and semi-autonomous Kurdish region, had been under IS control for more than two months.

"What is significant about this assault is that they (the Kurds) are doing this pretty much entirely on their own," she said.

"They've had very little air support. There is no evidence of any outside weaponry, military hardware to back them up."

Although US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has warned that IS is the most dangerous threat faced by America for years, the FBI on Friday said there were no specific or credible threats that the group was planning an attack on US soil.

An intelligence bulletin, issued to state and local law enforcement, said officials were concerned though that IS supporters could attack overseas targets with little warning.

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Ukraine: Can Merkel Broker A Breakthrough?

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has two key objectives for her visit to Ukraine.

First the meeting with Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko must send a united message to the Russians.

Her visit comes just days before Mr Poroshenko will hold crucial talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Mr Putin will seize on any signs of disunity between the EU and Ukraine.

Ukraine has been pushed and pulled between East and West but closer trading ties with the EU have been one of the big ambitions of Mr Poroshenko's presidency.

Second - the German Chancellor has a much more difficult objective: to work towards a ceasefire between the government in Kiev and separatist rebels who've declared a people's republic in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Poroshenko has said he will "talk peace" with Mr Putin but he wants Russia to stop supporting the rebels.

In June, the German Chancellor met the Russian and Ukraninan presidents

There's been talk of a deal Ms Merkel has been trying to hatch which had to be put on the back burner following the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Rebels are accused of firing at the plane believing it was a Ukrainian military aircraft.

If anyone can broker a breakthrough it is Mrs Merkel.

She is one of the few Western - and indeed world - leaders who Mr Putin appears to have time for and both know a further decline in Russian-EU relations will hit each other's economies even more.

Some of Germany's biggest companies have big operations in Russia, which is still the EU's third biggest trading partner.

Under Ms Merkel, the Russo-German axis has strengthened and until the plane attack the Germans had been against punitive sanctions and their impact commercially and diplomatically.

There has been heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine

Ms Merkel has already spoken by phone to Mr Putin in the wake of his decision to send a convoy of humanitarian aid into eastern Ukraine without agreement from Kiev.

So in Kiev the conversation, whilst tricky, focuses on a way to stop the fighting.

She is priming Mr Poroshenko ahead of his talks with Mr Putin in Minsk - and potentially paving the way for a deal.

It is complex but there's speculation any kind of ceasefire would likely focus on giving autonomy to the east of Ukraine and possibly allow for recognition of Russian control of Crimea.

Other key factors include Ukraine's desire to join Nato and its economic ties with the West.

With Europe and particularly Germany wanting Russia's gas, no one needs reminding winter is on its way.

The people of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine are suffering real humanitarian hardship - with no power and water for days.

As temperatures start to fall Ms Merkel's diplomatic efforts could be a real opportunity to thaw frozen relations with the Russians.

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Russia Aid Trucks 'Took Ukraine Military Goods'

A Ukrainian army spokesman has accused Russia of using aid trucks to take production equipment from two military plants.

A convoy of about 200 vehicles entered the country on Friday without the permission of the Ukraine government - and left on Saturday after dropping its cargo.

However, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the trucks had taken equipment from a factory in Luhansk that makes firearm magazines and a Topaz plant that produces radars.

The convoy's departure comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Kiev for talks with Ukraine's pro-Western leaders on the conflict, which has claimed more than 2,200 lives.

Russian aid trucks pictured upon their return to the border crossing

Ms Merkel called for a bilateral ceasefire ahead of talks between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko in three days' time.

"There must be two sides to be successful. You cannot achieve peace on your own. I hope the talks with Russia will lead to success," said Ms Merkel.

"The plans are on the table - now actions must follow."

Ms Merkel, who did not rule out more sanctions against Russia, is due to hold discussions with Mr Poroshenko.

The Ukrainian President has maintained that pro-Kremlin fighters must leave before the conflict can end.

"The Ukrainian side and our European partners will do everything possible to bring about peace - but not at the price of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the independence of Ukraine," he said.

Ukraine continues to pound rebel strongholds such as Luhansk and Donetsk, where water has been cut off and supplies are dwindling.

Ms Merkel will hold talks with Mr Poroshenko

At least two civilians were killed by shelling on Saturday.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lisa Holland said: "If anyone can broker a breakthrough it is Ms Merkel.

"She is one of the few Western - and indeed world - leaders who Mr Putin appears to have time for and both know a further decline in Russian-EU relations will hit each other's economies even more."

Russia rolled in its convoy on Friday, saying any delay in providing humanitarian aid was "unacceptable".

It had been agreed the lorries - which had waited on the Russian side of the border for a week - would only be allowed into eastern Ukraine if they were escorted by the International Red Cross.

However, the charity pulled out after not receiving enough security guarantees as fighting continues to rage.

Kiev's foreign ministry informally allowed the convoy to pass to avoid "provocations".

Russia previously let journalists look inside a handful of the lorries, which it said were carrying 1,800 tonnes of aid including food, water, medicine and electrical generators.

A Ukrainian rebel controls an area after a shelling in Donetsk

This was questioned by Nato's top military commander, Philip Breedlove, who claimed the trucks looked like a disguised attempt to reinforce separatist forces. Russia denies backing the rebels.

The UN Security Council discussed the convoy on Friday and no country came to Russia's defence, according to British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant.

Members called it an "illegal and unilateral" action.

Following a phone call, US President Barack Obama and Ms Merkel condemned the act.

They also expressed concern that the large numbers of Russian troops on the Ukraine border and fighting in eastern parts of the country represented a "dangerous escalation".

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Iceland Raises Volcano Aviation Warning To Red

A surge in seismic activity has caused Iceland to raise the aviation alert for its Bardarbunga volcano from orange to red.

"There is an ongoing eruption beneath the glacial surface, probably a small eruption which has not been able to melt the ice cap," Met Office official Theodor Hervasson said.

Code red indicates that eruptions are imminent or underway that could disperse clouds of ash and dust into the flight paths of jet aircraft, threatening safe air travel.

An eruption in 2010 of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano produced an ash cloud that caused international aviation chaos, with more than 100,000 flights cancelled.

2010: Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts disrupting 100,000 flights

Aviation regulators since have reformed policies about flying through ash, so a new eruption would be unlikely to cause that much disruption.

Thousands of mini earthquakes rattled the volcano deep beneath the Vatnajokull glacier over the past week, causing authorities to evacuate several hundred people from an area north of the glacier.

Met Office vulcanologist Melissa Pfeffer said scientists planned to fly over the glacier today to look for any changes to its surface. 

Bjorn Malmquist from the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service said: "It's too early to say if flights will be disrupted. 

"A small eruption started 40 minutes ago but we have yet to see how powerful it is. It will take a couple of hours for the eruption to work its way through 500m of glacial ice above. Until then there's not much we can say about the air traffic.

"As long as there is water and magma interaction there will be a lot of ash and explosions in the eruption itself, but its probably not going to be of the same kind in 2010. This will probably be more a fissure eruption, a sub-glacial eruption."

A spokeswoman for NATS, the UK's air traffic control organisation, said: "We are monitoring the situation and working in close collaboration with the Met Office, Department for Transport and our safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority."

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Iraq: Kurdish Forces Fight To Retake Mosul Dam

'Corpses Everywhere' After Jihadist 'Massacre'

Updated: 12:54pm UK, Saturday 16 August 2014

Dead bodies were found "everywhere" when Yazidi fighters arrived at a village where jihadists have been accused of carrying out a massacre, witnesses have said.

Officials believe Islamic State (IS) fighters killed around 80 people, mostly Yazidis, after arriving in the northern Iraq village of Kocho and demanding they abandon their beliefs and convert to Islam.

The militants also kidnapped women from the village in Nineveh province and took them to prisons they control, according to a senior Kurdish official.

Yazidi fighter Mohsen Tawwal told AFP by telephone that he saw a large number of bodies in the village.

"We made it into a part of Kocho village, where residents were under siege, but we were too late," he said.

"There were corpses everywhere. We only managed to get two people out alive. The rest had all been killed."

A man from a neighbouring village, who had been told what happened, added: "The Islamic State had spent five days trying to persuade villagers to convert to Islam and ... a long lecture was delivered about the subject today."

"The men were gathered and shot dead.

"The women and girls were probably taken to Tal Afar because that is where the foreign fighters are."

Senior Iraqi official Hoshyar Zebari said: "We have information from multiple sources, in the region and through intelligence, that (on Friday) afternoon, a convoy of (IS) armed men entered this village. 

"They took their revenge on its inhabitants, who happened to be mostly Yazidis who did not flee their homes.

"They committed a massacre against the people. Around 80 of them have been killed."

Thousands of Yazidis - people from a minority sect with an ancient religion - have been forced to flee their homes by the IS advance.

The extremist group, previously called ISIS, has swept across a large part of northern and central Iraq, taking Mosul and threatening Baghdad and Kurdish capital Irbil.

On Saturday, airstrikes targeted the group around Mosul Dam. It was not immediately clear if they were carried out by the Iraqi air force of the US. 

The IS seized Iraq's largest dam on August 7.

Iraq's human rights minister has said that Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of the Yazidi community during their offensive in the north.

Some of the victims, including women and children, were buried alive, Mohammed Shia al Sudani said.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday blacklisted six Islamist militants and threatened sanctions against anyone who helped arm or supply them.

Five members of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which operates in Syria, and Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani were included on the British-drafted resolution, which also condemned all aspects of IS's activities and beliefs.

Earlier, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels agreed to arm Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.

The meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 EU nations was called by EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton and came after several European countries, including France and Germany, said they were prepared to supply weapons to the Peshmerga forces.

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Britons Aboard Sunken Indonesian Tourist Boat

Two Britons are in hospital and 15 other people are missing after a tourist boat sank while travelling between islands in Indonesia.

The tourists were on a boat travelling from Lombok island to the Komodo Islands and are believed to have hit stormy weather, reports said.

Ten people have been rescued - including the two Britons - but the fate of 15 people, including Indonesians and foreign tourists, is not known. 

The journey between Lombok and Komodo can take three days by boat

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office confirmed two Britons had been hospitalised following the accident on Saturday night. 

"We are in contact with the local authorities about the incident and stand ready to offer consular assistance to any other British nationals who may be involved," the spokeswoman said.

An Indonesian search and rescue official said the boat was carrying 20 foreigners and five locals in total.

The boat sank at 7pm on Saturday, but the alarm was only raised with rescue teams at 8am on Sunday due to "poor communication",  the official said.

Local fishermen rescued a number of people near the island of Sumbawa before the rescue team arrived, he said.

The official said that of the 10 rescued people, the nationalities were known for five - two each from New Zealand and Spain, and one from Britain.

Tajudin Sam, who runs the tour company operating the boat, said it likely encountered stormy weather.

A boat ride from Lombok to Komodo can take three days.

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Russian Missile Launchers 'Cross Into Ukraine'

A convoy of Russian military equipment, including at least three missile launchers, has crossed into Ukraine, according to officials in Kiev, as a fighter jet was shot down by pro-Moscow rebels.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said at least three Grad missile systems were among the weapons being sent to the separatists in the east of the country, who are battling a Ukrainian government offensive.

"We have information that rebels used their routes, which are not under control by Ukrainian army, and got some ammunition and troops that crossed from the Russian Federation," Andriy Lysenko said.

"We can't the say exact number of them, we're checking this information."

Russian vehicles with containers for BUK-M1 missiles in Rostov on Saturday

He also told journalists that Russian drones had violated Ukrainian air space on 10 occasions.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin denied Sunday claims that the separatists had received weapons or armoured vehicles.

"We have repeatedly said that no equipment is being sent there," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Govorit Moskva radio.

The fighter jet MiG-29 plane was shot down in the Luhansk area, where Ukrainian forces recaptured a police station on Sunday after more than three months under the control of the separatists.

The plane was shot down in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine

The pilot ejected from the MiG-29 plane and has been found after a search, spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky said.

Mr Dmytrashkivsky said the plane was shot after launching an attack on rebels.

The shooting down of the plane came after Kiev and Moscow reached agreement on the passage of a Russian aid convoy into the east.

There are reports that 16 of the aid trucks left the parking lot in western Russia where the convoy has been waiting and headed for the Ukrainian border, however they were not expected to cross on Sunday.

Several lorries from a Russian aid convoy are moving to the border

Ukraine had been concerned the convoy of 280 white trucks could be a 'Trojan horse', allowing Russia to set up a permanent presence in rebel-held territory.

But Russia "guaranteed" the US that no military personnel were in the vehicles, which have been stuck near the border for the past few days.

Moscow says the trucks are carrying water, food and medicine for people displaced by fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Red Cross officials have been examining the contents of the lorries.

They say they need security guarantees from both sides before the convoy can start moving across the border.

Fighting in Ukraine has escalated since the insurgency arose in April, with government troops steadily taking back rebel-held territory in the east.

Luhansk is reportedly suffering from severe electrical outages and shortages of food and medicine.

Donetsk, the largest rebel-held city, is also suffering through frequent shelling.

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Ebola Spread Feared As Sufferers Flee Mob

At least 17 ebola patients have fled a quarantine centre in Liberia after it was attacked by armed men.

The sufferers fled after looters broke into the clinic in a Monrovia slum, stealing blood-stained matresses and sheets, and claiming ebola was a hoax. 

"They broke down the doors and looted the place. The patients all fled," Rebecca Wesseh, who witnessed the attack, told AFP news agency.

A mob surrounds the isolation unit in West Point, Monrovia

George Williams, head of the Health Workers Association of Liberia, said the unit housed 29 patients receiving preliminary treatment before being taken to hospital.

It is understood at least 17 of the 29 are at large.

Health officials say they fear the looting attack at the unit in West Point will spread ebola infections in Monrovia.

The West Point neighbourhood is home to an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 poor Liberians.

A family inside the isolation unit are encouraged to leave the building

Ms Wesseh said she heard the raiders shouting that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf "is broke", adding: "She wants money. There's no ebola" in Liberia.

Residents were also angry that patients were brought from other parts of the capital to the holding centre, witnesses said.

Most of the raiders were young men and were armed with clubs. They broke into the isolation unit set up in a high school, Ms Wesseh said. Nurses also fled the attack.

The looting of the centre came as Kenya closed its borders to travellers from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone because of fears about the spread of ebola.

Residents from the slum take a peek inside the isolation clinic

National carrier Kenya Airways said it was suspending its flights to Monrovia and Freetown from Wednesday.

At least 1,145 people have died across West Africa this year because of the world's worst-ever outbreak of the virus. 

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, on Friday warned ebola was spreading faster than authorities could handle.

The charity said it could take six months to bring under control.

Ebola is spread by contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, such as sweat and blood, and no cure or vaccine is currently available.

The last days of a victim's life can be grim, with agonising muscular pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and catastrophic haemorrhaging as vital organs break down.

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Ebola Alert In Spain After Man Taken Ill

An ebola alert has been activated in Alicante, Spain, after a young Nigerian man was admitted to hospital with fever and vomiting.

Spanish health authorities activated alert protocols after the man was admitted to a hospital with "several symptoms" of the disease.

The alert comes a week after a Spanish priest who contracted ebola while working in Liberia died in hospital in Madrid.

Father Miguel Pajares was the first European infected by a strain of the virus that has killed more than 1,000 people in West Africa.

He was airlifted from Liberia to Spain on August 7 after becoming infected while working for a non-governmental organisation there.

The 75-year-old was flown to Europe for treatment with his co-worker Juliana Bohi, a nun who has since tested negative for the disease.

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