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In this file photo, anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters hold the al-Nusra flag. AP/Press Association Images

Al-Nusra terror group warns of attacks on nations involved in Syrian air strikes

The group, linked to Al-Qaeda, has declared the air strikes “a war against Islam”.

THE AL-NUSRA FRONT, Al-Qaeda’s Syrian franchise, has threatened reprisals against nations participating in air strikes against the Islamic State group, denouncing them as “a war against Islam.”

Group spokesman Abu Firas al-Suri said in a video posted online Saturday the states involved had “committed a horrible act that is going to put them on the list of jihadist targets throughout the world.”

The warning came as the US-led coalition widened its air strikes against the IS group in Syria, as British warplanes flew their first anti-jihadist combat missions over neighbouring Iraq.

Four refineries controlled by the Islamic State group in Syria were hit by airstikes, the Pentagon said today.

Washington has been supported in its Syria campaign by Arab allies Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Iraq conflict An RAF Tornado aircraft Chris Radburn / PA Wire/Press Association Images Chris Radburn / PA Wire/Press Association Images / PA Wire/Press Association Images

Seven targets were hit in Syria, the Pentagon said, including at the border crossing into Turkey of the besieged Kurdish town of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobane.

Muhsin al-Fadhli, a long-standing Qaeda operative and alleged leader of Khorasan, was killed in the strikes, according to a jihadist who fought with the group.

The SITE monitoring group said a series of tweets from the jihadist, identified as a member of Al-Qaeda, expressed condolences for the deaths of Fadhli and another Khorasan leader, Abu Yusuf al-Turki.

The US-based monitoring service said the jihadist in Twitter postings dated September 27, 2014, also lamented the situation on the ground in Syria as coalition forces bombard IS forces.

Coalition partners

The United States and its coalition partners aim to destroy the Islamic State group, which controls a swathe of territory in Iraq and Syria, has murdered two US journalists and a British aid worker and is locked in a brutal war with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities.

The IS campaign there has already driven 160,000 refugees into Turkey.

Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 jets took off from Britain’s RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus for Iraq but returned to base without dropping their laser-guided bombs.

“On this occasion no targets were identified as requiring immediate air attack by our aircraft,” said a defence ministry spokesman in London.

Belgium and Denmark have also approved plans to join France and the Netherlands in targeting IS in Iraq, allowing Washington to focus on the more complex operation against its Syria base.

Washington warned that the jihadists could not be defeated in Syria by air power alone, saying that up to 15,000 “moderate” rebels would need to be trained.

© – AFP 2014

Poll: Would you support the use of Irish airports for attacks on Islamic State militants? >

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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    May 15th 2014, 2:19 PM

    Ireland should have some formal way of rewarding and honouring its citizens. The president could present them each year for achievement, charity work etc. in various fields

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    Mute Rawoc
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    May 15th 2014, 2:27 PM

    This is long overdue and would be a worthy scheme to acknowledge the contribution of people in our society who make special contributions but we would need special measures to ensure independence and freedom from overt political influence!

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    Mute Jeremy Usborne
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    May 15th 2014, 3:24 PM

    Isn’t there a ‘Presidents medal’ of some kind?

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    Mute Dylan
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    May 15th 2014, 3:56 PM

    You receive something similar from the president for completing the gold Gaisce award, thats the only similar thing I can think of though what you can do to achieve a Gaisce award is a lot more restricted than an OBE or other awards.

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    Mute Alan Kennedy
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    May 15th 2014, 4:35 PM

    I don’t agree. It would just be abused by politicians for back slaps and laughs.

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    Mute Dylan Drein
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    May 15th 2014, 4:46 PM

    Jesus Christ is that the song that’s going to be played every time some new positive development is suggested, “no we can’t because politicians”? For an island of over 4,500,000 people I think we can do some things without mentioning one of the 166 people sitting in the Dáil. An award recognising the talents and achievements of our own is long overdue at this stage. Would she have been recognised at all in her field if she had stayed and done her research here in Ireland? Probably not, which is a bit embarrassing for us if you ask me.

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    Mute cosmological
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    May 15th 2014, 2:17 PM

    Wonderful – science is paramount.

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    Mute RiobairdOMaingain
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    May 15th 2014, 4:53 PM

    How can awards like that exist when there is no empire? Just seems a bit odd getting an Order of the British Empire when there isn’t one to start with.

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    Mute Niall Keaveney
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    May 15th 2014, 6:21 PM

    I’d love to be awarded an OBE. So I could tell them where to shove it.

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    Mute John Curry
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    May 15th 2014, 2:28 PM

    anyone know what the restrictions are?

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    Mute J. Dunn
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    May 15th 2014, 3:37 PM

    2 for 1 drinks at Parliament bar on Mondays 4:00-5:30.

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    Mute James O'Shea
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    May 15th 2014, 10:39 PM

    Re introduce The Order of Saint Patrick???

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