So the US, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrian, UAE and Qatar are bombing IS *AND* the currently FSA-allied Jabhat al-Nusra. Assad allegedly approves so it is OK by international law however the US says it did not ask for permission (which should be given by the UN Security Council).
Not sure this is good. The Kurds in YPG had already stopped IS' advance in Kobani and cleared several villages which was taken earlier by them. Air bombardments did not break the morale of the British, the Germans, the Japanese nor the Vietnamese.
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Ross Hawkins, BBC political correspondent tweets: Islamic State fighters redeploying from areas hit in air strikes towards Kurdish territories, says Kurdish armed group acc to Reuters
15:17: "This is not America's fight alone," Mr Obama stresses, admitting that "the overall effort will take time".
15:15: Mr Obama said America was "joined by our friends", in a reference to Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
15:14: US President Barack Obama is now making a statement on the US-led air strikes in Syria. He says "terrorists can't find safe haven anywhere".Channel 4 News tweets: Raqqa resident tells #c4news:
"The strikes were not effective because IS has been evacuating their HQ for three days" http://www.channel4.com/news/raqqa-twitter-users-islamic-state-air-strikes-syria15:06:
Syrian President Assad supports any international effort against "terror", the country's state media report.
US mission to the EU tweets:
Most foreign fighters returning frm Syria are unlikely to launch attacks. Many are soured, disillusioned, traumatised- @NoonanFPRI #efd_useu
15:00: Syria's ambassador to the UN tells Reuters he was informed about imminent air strikes on Monday morning by the US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power.
14:59: Syria's state TV reports that an Iraqi envoy is now briefing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on next steps to combat terrorism, according to Reuters.
14:52: More on the US state department statement. Ms Psaki says: "The President (Obama) made clear in his speech to the nation on 10 September that the US would not hesitate to take direct action against ISIL (IS) and terrorists inside Syria who were threatening the US. Since that speech, we informed the Syrian regime directly of our intent to take action through our ambassador to the UN to the Syrian permanent representative to the UN."
Anna Holligan BBC News, The Hague says
Dutch newspapers are quoting a self-proclaimed jihadist fighter on Twitter, who says three Dutchmen were killed in US air strikes in Aleppo.
14:38: Ms Psaki adds: "We did not co-ordinate our actions with the Syrian government. We did not provide advance notification to the Syrians at a military level, or give any indication of our timing on specific targets. Secretary Kerry did not send a letter to the Syrian regime."
14:37:BREAKING NEWS Speaking about the US-led air strikes, US State Department Jen Psaki says in a statement: "We warned Syria not to engage US aircraft.
We did not request the regime's permission."
MSNBC, News Organisation tweets: As 5 Arab allies join the US, ISIS blames Saudi Arabia for last night's airstrikes in Syria
14:25: BBC Monitoring (Urgent): Bahrain says its air force took part in US-led air strikes in Syria. The official Bahrain News Agency said: "A group of fighter jets from the Royal Bahrain Air Force carried out earlier this morning... air strikes against a number of selected targets of terrorist groups and organisations, and destroyed them". It quoted an "authorised source" at the Bahrain defence force headquarters.
Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent tweets: .@HassanRouhani tells me U.S bombardment in Syria illegal because not authorized by UN or invited by Syria government unlike fight in Iraq
14:06: The US-led air strikes - brilliant or reckless, asks chief foreign correspondent Paul McGeough of the Sydney Morning Herald in this piece.
13:56: "Any further intervention in the Middle East must include plans to address the suffering of Syrian civilians," the With Syria coalition says in a statement. The international group is comprised of 40 human rights and humanitarian organisations.
13:52:
Syrian refugees in Turkey, 23 September
The UN refugee agency is making contingency plans in case all 400,000 inhabitants of the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobane flee into Turkey to escape the advance of IS. Some 138,000 have already done so, UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming was quoted as saying by Reuters in Geneva. "Anything could happen," she said.
Dr Natasha Underhill, expert on terrorism in the Middle East at Nottingham Trent University emails:
"The airstrikes have come much too late in the case of Syria, where the IS militants have had over a year to entrench themselves within the region, especially the province of Raqqa. IS is deeply entrenched in both Syria and Iraq and it may take a lot more than airstrikes to make a dent in their campaign of creating an even larger caliphate across the Middle East."13:46:
At least 70 IS fighters were killed by the air strikes in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is quoted as saying by Reuters. The group says the death toll is likely to be much higher.13:43:
Residents look at a destroyed car in Kfar Derian, near Aleppo. Photo: 23 September 2014
Residents gather around a destroyed car that - according to anti-government Syrian activists - was hit by the US-led air strikes in Kfar Derian, near Aleppo.
The town is a stronghold of the Nusra Front, which has links to al-Qaeda.13:34: UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has stressed the importance of an international response to the IS threat during a visit to the Gulf. "In taking action to degrade and destroy ISIL [IS] terrorists it is important that key regional partners continue to play a leading role," he said in Bahrain. He added that the government was still discussing Britain's own contribution.
Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent writes:
A Gulf Arab official has told me that four of the five Arab countries mentioned took an active part in the air strikes on IS positions in Syria
Saudi Arabia flew Tornadoes, and possibly Typhoons, from bases in northern Saudi Arabia and Jordan
The United Arab Emirates flew fighters
Bahrain flew three fighters
Qatar did not launch fighters but hosts a US CentCom forward base in the Gulf
Jordan flew fightersSyrian Observatory for Human Rights posts on Facebook: Aleppo province: medical sources reported to SOHR that no less than 50 fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra (most of them were Syrian fighters), were killed by air strikes by the warplanes of the international coalition which targeted IS, Jabhat al-Nusra, and other Islamic movements in the western countryside of Aleppo.
Emile Hokayem, Author of Syria's Uprising and the Fracturing of the Levant tweets:
Don't over-read statements from Damascus: Assad has every interest in making up coordination w/ US or playing up every small contact.13:01:
Tomahawk cruise missile launches during the night from the USS Philippine Sea in the Gulf.
12:58: If you are just joining us, a summary of the US-led military action inside Syria: IS training compounds, command and control facilities, vehicles and storage sites were reportedly either destroyed or damaged. Dozens of militants were reportedly killed in the city of Raqqa, where IS has its headquarters. Witnesses say many residents of the city are fleeing. President Obama is to make a statement shortly.
12:53: David Cameron's office releases a statement, saying the Prime Minister will hold talks over the next two days about what more the UK can do. "The PM supports the latest air strikes against ISIL [IS] terrorists which have been carried out by the US and five other countries from the Gulf and Middle East," the statement says. "The PM will be holding talks at the United Nations in New York over the next two days on what more the UK and others can do to contribute to international efforts to tackle the threat we all face from ISIL. The UK is already offering significant military support, including supplying arms to the Kurds as well as surveillance operations by a squadron of Tornadoes and other RAF aircraft."
12:52:
Bombers prepare to launch from the USS George HW Bush in the Gulf, 23 September
F/A-18E Super Hornet bombers preparing to launch from the USS George HW Bush in the Gulf during the night for strike missions against IS.
12:46: France joined the US on Friday in mounting air strikes on militants in Iraq. Since then, a Frenchman has been abducted by militants in Algeria who are demanding a halt to French military action. But French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says his country will not stop fighting IS. "It is the treachery of terrorism to resort to extortion, blackmail, death and menace, and if we give in, if we retreat one inch, that would hand them victory," he told a radio station.
George Jennings, York, UK emails: The British government must order the air strikes in order to remove IS and its partners. Speaking as a retired Army officer who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, I believe the IS must be dealt with in a quick and powerful way. We shouldn't send boots on the ground - this would be the responsibility of bordering countries.
12:41: Martin Dempsey on gaining support for the US action from five Arab nations: "Once we had one of them on board, the others followed quickly thereafter. We now have a kind of credible campaign against ISIL [IS] that includes a coalition of partners.'' The coalition came together during the past three days, he adds.
A French soldier near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, 23 September
A French soldier patrols near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Western states are on alert for reprisals by the militants or their allies.
12:37: The US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Martin Dempsey, who's the highest-ranking officer in the US military, tells reporters: "We wanted to make sure that ISIL [IS] knew they have no safe haven, and we certainly achieved that." He says he "can't overstate" the role of the five Arab nations who supported the US.
12:36: The UK's shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander, has called for the UN Security Council to pass a resolution on Syria. "[IS] represent a threat not just to regional security in the Middle East but to international security, so we understand and support the action that has been taken both by the United States and Arab allies in recent hours," he said.
12:20:
Burning Syrian plane over the Golan Heights, 23 September
The Syrian fighter jet downed by Israel over the Golan Heights had apparently strayed into Israeli-controlled airspace. Read the full story.
12:19: President Obama will give a statement on the Syrian air strikes within hours, AFP reports, quoting an unnamed official.
Raqqa_SL (Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently) says on its Facebook Page: "Summary of what happened due to the 18 air strikes by US war planes on Al-Raqqa: Seven air strikes targeted the Mayor building in downtown, the Equestrian building, checkpoint in west side of the city, Al- Tala'ea (Military) Camp in south of the city and the security building near the national hospital. Five air strikes on Al-Taqaba air base and the north surrounding of Al-Tabaqa city in west rural Al-Raqqa. Three air strikes on Tal-Abyad in north of Rural Raqqa. Three air strikes targeted the 93 Brigade and its surrounding in Ein-Issa (village) north Rural Raqqa. Until this moment no civilians were injured or targeted."
IslamicStateMaldives tweets: Breaking: JN (Syrian Jabhat Al-Nusrah) leader Abu Yusuf Al-Turki was martyred by the crusader strikes with over 10 mujahideen"
Hussam Al Marie, Free Syrian Army Spokesman for Northern Syria tweets: As I release this statement from northern #Syria our brave #FSA fighters are attacking #ISIS in north eastern #Aleppo
Kovan Direj tweets: Breaking #ISIS empty all basses inside al-Raqqa city even alhesba center #TwitterKurds #Syria #ISIS after us and allies shelled the city
12:05: People in the Syrian city of Raqqa are fleeing after US strikes, according to Reuters. "There is an exodus out of Raqqa as we speak. It started in the early hours of the day after the strikes," a witness says.
11:59:
Al-Jazeera pan-Arab TV takes a somewhat different line on the US operation by highlighting US strikes on the rival jihadist Nusra Front group, BBC Monitoring reports. Al-Jazeera's correspondent in Idlib province, north-western Syria, says
the US targeted the Nusra Front there with Tomahawk missiles and "destroyed residential neighbourhoods full of civilians". It has shown footage of people removing bodies from rubble.
11:53: The Syrian foreign ministry releases a statement on state TV: "Yesterday (Monday) the Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem, received a letter from his American counterpart John Kerry via the Iraqi foreign minister, in which he informed him that the United States would target the terrorist group ISIS in Syria."
Jon Williams, ABC's foreign editor tweets: Pentagon: overnight raids "very, very successful". Targeted #ISIS command & control & supply depots. "Strikes continue for some time" #Syria
11:38: Here's video footage of Tomahawk missiles being launched from the USS Arleigh Burke in the Red Sea
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9034BawdX4&sns=twRobert Burns, AP tweets: US military official:
Khorasan group in Syria was hit because it was "nearing the execution phase" of a planned attack on US or Europe.
11:18: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the number of people killed by US airstrikes on al-Qaeda militants in northern Syria has risen to 50 (see 9:50 entry), according to Reuters. The Observatory says most of those killed were non-Syrians.
11:02: Islamic State releases a second video of kidnapped British journalist John Cantlie. He says the West has underestimated the strength of the militants. IS has killed three Western hostages and has threatened to kill British aid convoy volunteer Alan Henning next.
10:47: In a BBC interview, British security analyst Eric Grove asks: "Who is going to act as a ground force in Syria? The Free Syrian Army is squeezed between jihadists and troops of Syrian President Assad."
10:38: Syrian state TV has been flashing a number of statements from its foreign ministry, BBC Monitoring notes. One says: "Syria supports any international effort that aims at fighting terrorism, whatever the terrorist group - IS, al-Nusra Front or any other one." Another says: "Syria will also continue fighting IS in Raqqa and other districts and will not stop fighting the group in cooperation with states which are directly harmed, principally Iraq."
10:29: British Conservative MP John Baron warns against airstrikes in Syria. He says on his website: "IS has to be driven out of Iraq, given our responsibility to the Iraqi people following our misguided intervention in 2003. But air strikes into Syria are a higher risk strategy, with no certain outcome."
Saeed Ahmed, CNN editor tweets: Twitter breaks news ... again: Raqqa resident the 1st to tweet about airstrikes against #Isis in #Syria
http://goo.gl/yaQT1I10:19: If you're just joining us, welcome to the BBC's live coverage of the US-led air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria. A quick recap: The US says "partner nations" - Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates - were involved in the operation. The US had previously launched about 190 air strikes on IS targets in Iraq.
10:09: The US and its allies cannot rely on air power alone to defeat Islamic State, as the example of Iraq has shown, the BBC's Jonathan Marcus argues.
A US warplane launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush in the Gulf. File photo
Ross Hawkins Political correspondent, BBC News reports: "Several (British) Conservative MPs who opposed air strikes in Syria last summer have told the BBC they would now support military action."
10:03: A Nato official says the military alliance was not involved in the air strikes in Syria, according to Reuters.
Radio Free Iraq tweets: Sources in #Raqqa, #Syria: #ISIL members were evacuating offices overnight in anticipation of #US air strikes (#IS #ISIS #Iraq)
09:50: The air strikes killed 30 al-Qaeda militants in Syria's western Aleppo province on Tuesday, says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
09:47: Reacting to the US-led air strikes, the Russian foreign ministry says
"attempts to solve one's own geopolitical objectives, violating the sovereignty of states in the region, only raise tensions and further destabilise the situation."09:42: Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says on its Facebook page: "Al-Hasakah province: the international coalition warplanes carried out three air raids on ISIS HQs in both of al-Houl town in the southern eastern countryside of al-Hasakah, and al-Shadadi in the southern countryside, which is considered as a bastion for ISIS in al-Hasakah, reports of human losses in the IS."
Nick Robinson BBC Political editor tweets: Polling by @yougov shows majority (52%) would approve RAF air strikes against IS in Syria cf 27% opposing (was 37%/37% last month)
09:38: The Syrian foreign ministry will make an "important statement", state TV is quoted as saying by Reuters. No further details were given.
09:25: Marc Weller, Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge, looks at what forcible action can be lawfully undertaken against Islamic State.
09:20: IS militants pray at the spot where the group said a US drone crashed into a communications tower in the city of Raqqa.
Topic: 'Islamic State' a.k.a. ISIL