ISIS Beheads American Journalist Steven Sotloff
The BBC reports that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has beheaded another American journalist – 31-year-old Steven Sotloff – in a video similar to that depicting the decapitation of another American hostage, James Foley, in August.
In the video, Sotloff’s killer, thought to be the same man who murdered Foley, says his actions are a retaliation for Obama’s airstrikes on ISIS targets near the Iraqi town of Amerli. The footage ends with a threat to next execute a British hostage.
“This second video from [ISIS] is significant, even though it was largely expected and dreaded. It shows that the recent US airstrikes which have halted IS’s lightning advance across northern Iraq are causing the organization real damage, upsetting its plans to extend by force its rule into Kurdistan,” says BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner.
“Unable to hit back militarily against America’s jets, Islamic State has responded with a form of information warfare that it knows will horrify most people in the West. Secondly, by threatening to murder a British hostage, IS shows it makes little or no distinction between the U.S. and Britain as its enemy. This is despite Britain so far restricting itself to dropping aid to refugees and flying in supplies to the Kurdish military, leaving air strikes to the Americans.”
Syrian Forces Escalate Assault on Rebel-Held Damascus District
Reuters reports that Syrian forces carried out their “fiercest assault” since the start of the conflict on the rebel stronghold of Jobar, in Damascus, conducting at least 27 airstrikes on Tuesday and killing a child.
“The government is trying to retake Jobar after the capture of several rebel-held areas around the center of the capital this summer, including the town of Mleiha just outside Damascus on August 14,” the wire writes. “Jobar was seized by armed rebels over a year ago, and the area has since endured ongoing ground shelling by government missile batteries located in Damascus city center.
“State-run television said the army had gained ground in Jobar, located on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, and aired footage of rubble and tunnels it said had been used by rebels. It also showed multiple explosions and smoke clouds coming from crumbling high-rise buildings. Although insurgents have been prevented from taking central Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad’s forces are worried they will reach it by digging tunnels from the sprawling suburbs and outlying towns under their control.”
Syria Refugees Trigger Child Labor Boom in Turkey
The Guardian reports on an increase in child laborers among Syrian refugees in Turkey. Official government figures cited by the paper estimate that almost 900,000 children are estimated to be working in Turkey, around 300,000 of them between the ages of six and 14 – in a country where the legal working age is 15.
“The oldest of three siblings, Hamza works six days a week, often up to 12 hours a day, to support his family. His mother begs on the street. ‘My father is hurt and cannot find work here,’ he says. ‘Life in Turkey is very expensive.’ His two child colleagues, brothers from Hama, are 12 and 13. Both have been working in the bakery ever since they came to Turkey more than six months ago. ‘I would rather go to school,’ said 12-year-old Nasir.
“According to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR), about half of the million Syrian refugees currently living in Turkey are children. Whereas more than 60% of children in refugee camps are enrolled in school, 73% of those outside the camps – the overwhelming majority of refugees – do not go to school. A recent Unicef report estimates that one in 10 Syrian refugee children is working – in agriculture, restaurants and shops, as mobile vendors or begging on the street.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team
WSJ: ‘Brave and Very Imaginative,’ Freelance Journalist Steven Sotloff Spoke of Syria’s Perils
Guardian: Syrian Rebels Issue Demands for Hostages’ Release
TIME: Senate Democrat Wants Bill Allowing Anti-ISIS Strikes in Syria
Guardian: Syrian Refugees Trigger Child Labour Boom in Turkey