Syria Chemical Weapons Leave Italy in US Ship
The BBC reports that a US ship carrying materials from Syria’s chemical weapons program has left Italy in the “final phases” of the cache’s destruction.
“The naval vessel is taking the cargo, including mustard gas and components of the nerve agents VX and sarin, to international waters to be destroyed,” it says. “The materials were transferred from a Danish vessel to the US ship earlier on Wednesday, at the port of Gioia Tauro. Syria agreed to the destruction of its chemical weapons stockpile last year.
“The deal – backed by the UN and brokered by the US and Russia – was struck amid the threat of US air strikes, triggered by a sarin gas attack on a rebel-held suburb of Damascus. The shipment marks the closing phases in the operation to destroy Syria’s toxic arsenal. The Danish vessel, Ark Futara, docked on Wednesday morning, carrying the materials and accompanied by Italian coast guard ships and a military helicopter.”
Experts Say Water Supply Key to Outcome of Conflicts in Iraq and Syria
The Guardian reports that the fate of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq could be determined by who controls the area’s “dwindling” water supplies. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is now in control of “most of the key upper reaches of the Tigris and the Euphrates, on which all Iraq and much of Syria depends for food, water and industry.”
“Rivers, canals, dams, sewage and desalination plants are now all military targets in the semi-arid region that regularly experiences extreme water shortages,” Michael Stephens, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute think tank in Qatar, tells the paper.
“Control of water supplies gives strategic control over both cities and countryside. We are seeing a battle for control of water. Water is now the major strategic objective of all groups in Iraq. It’s life or death. If you control water in Iraq you have a grip on Baghdad, and you can cause major problems. Water is essential in this conflict,” he said.
Chechen in Syria a Rising Star in Extremist Group
The AP reports that a young, red-bearded Chechen has quickly become one of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) most prominent commanders.
“Omar al-Shishani, one of hundreds of Chechens who have been among the toughest jihadi fighters in Syria, has emerged as the face of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, appearing frequently in its online videos — in contrast to the group’s Iraqi leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who remains deep in hiding and has hardly ever been photographed,” the wire writes.
“In a video released by the group over the weekend, al-Shishani is shown standing next to the group’s spokesman among a group of fighters as they declare the elimination of the border between Iraq and Syria. The video was released just hours before the extremist group announced the creation of a caliphate — or Islamic state — in the areas it controls.”
In it, the 28-year-old Shishani says “Our aim is clear and everyone knows why we are fighting. Our path is toward the caliphate. We will bring back the caliphate, and if God does not make it our fate to restore the caliphate, then we ask him to grant us martyrdom.”
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