A member of the ISIL terrorist group arrested by the Iraqi troops has confessed that the Turkish territory is still used by militants as the main route into Syria.

The 18-year-old Hamad al-Tamimi says he was recruited online by ISIL when he was a religious studies student in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Tamimi, who was arrested by Iraqi troops during a military operation in Iraq's western province of al-Anbar, said that he left Saudi Arabia for Kuwait in July and from there he moved to Turkey before joining the ISIL Takfiri militants operating in Syria.

Tamimi is known by his nom de guerre as Abu Walid.

"There are many nationalities," CNN quoted him as saying. "From Norway, from America, Canada, Somalia, Korea, China, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Lebanon and other European countries such as Germany and France," Tamimi stated.

The mother of James Foley, the American journalist beheaded by ISIS, spoke tonight of her deep disappointment felt towards the Obama administration for their handling of his time as a prisoner of the terror group, saying, 'I really feel our country let Jim down.'

On the 13th anniversary of 9/11 and the day after President Obama addressed the nation and finally offered a strategy to defeat ISIS, Diane Foley told CNN that 'as an American', she was 'embarrassed and appalled' at the efforts to rescue her son from captivity.

Articulate and thoughtful throughout her interview, Mrs. Foley made the startling claim that US officials threatened her family with prosecution if they tried to raise a ransom for Foley, 40, and said 'Jim was sacrificed because of a lack of communication and prioritization.'

Press TV has conducted an interview with Gordon Duff, a senior editor of Veteran's Today, in Ohio about the CIA announcing that there are 20,000 to 31,500 militants in Iraq and where this number comes from.
The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.


Press TV:Can you tell us what you think about the new revelations of the ISIL militants, their advancements and what the US plans on doing about the ISIL insurgency?

Duff: The idea that people are taking anything the CIA seriously is questionable. They've never told the truth before, why would they want to do it now?

There are self-serving reasons for making up a number like this.

From a military standpoint where there are 30,000 troops within this region, a region that could easily be cut off; a region that could receive no supplies; no reinforcements, that's a virtual prison camp...

The family of US journalist James Foley - who was kidnapped and killed by the Islamic State - had been "threatened" by the US government with charges of aiding terrorists if they tried to raise funds to pay ransom for him, Foley's mother told the media.

Obama administration officials repeatedly warned the family of murdered journalist James Foley that they might face criminal charges for supporting terrorism if they paid a ransom to the Islamic State jihadists who were holding and, ultimately, beheaded their son, his mother and brother said this week.

"We were told that several times and we took it as a threat and it was appalling," Foley's mother Diane said in an interview with ABC News.

"I think our efforts to get Jim freed were an annoyance," she elaborated in another interview with CNN."It didn't seem to be in [US] strategic interest, if you will."

The U.S. backed, Syrian Revolutionary Front (SRF), have signed a ceasefire agreement with members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) in the Rif Dimashq Governate. According to the ceasefire agreement, the two militant groups will not engage in violence with one another in the densely populated city of Hajar Al-Aswad, just south of Damascus. The agreement outlines the purpose of the ceasefire, alluding to their mutual interest in usurping the "Nusayri Government" (Nusayri is a derogatory word used to insult Alawi Muslims) in Damascus.


Other rebel groups involved in the ceasefire with ISIS are Liwaa' 'Ahrar Turkman Al-Golan, Liwaa' Hittin, and Liwaa' Al-'Ummah Al-Waheeda; these groups operate primarily in the Rif Dimashq, Al-Quneitra, and Dara'a Governates. Recently, ISIS militants have been identified in the Yarmouk Camp District and the village of Babeela in south Damascus. While, rebel group Jaysh Al-Islam has combatted ISIS militants in the East Ghouta, most rebel groups in Rif Dimashq have avoided confrontation with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham.

All 200 trucks in Russia's 2nd convoy carrying long-awaited humanitarian aid for devastated areas of eastern Ukraine have crossed the border after weeks of delays that occurred despite an agreement on relief corridors in the Minsk ceasefire deal.

"At 08:00 Moscow time (04:00 GMT) the customs procedures for all trucks and goods in them were completed," local customs service spokesman Rayan Farukshin told RIA Novosti news agency.

The trucks started passing through Russia's 'Donetsk' checkpoint into the buffer zone shortly before midnight on Friday. Trucks had to wait for several hours to get clearance for further movement from Russian customs officers supervised by their Ukrainian colleagues.

The 200 white Kamaz trucks were waiting for their turn to undergo customs proceedings, as the first group moved into Ukrainian territory early on Saturday morning.

One part of the forensic investigation into the MH17 plane crash in the Ukraine focuses on 25 metal fragments that were found on bodies of passengers and baggage.

The investigation is examining where these particles came from. From the aircraft itself, from luggage or from a source external to the aircraft such as the missile, says Patricia Zorko of the national police Friday during a press conference. Zorko is leading the criminal investigation done by the police and justice after the disaster. According to Zorko currently about 500 physical traces have been secured, including 25 metal fragments.

Chief prosecutor Fred Westerbeke of the national prosecutor says that the Public Prosecutor is very willing to prosecute the parties responsible for the MH17 plane crash in the Netherlands. The Public Prosecutor in the Netherlands is leading the international crime investigation into those responsible for the disaster.

On September 11 officers of Ukraine's Security Service searched the editorial office, confiscated the equipment, working materials and personal belongings of the Vesti staff.

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic called on the Ukrainian authorities with a demand to treat mass media with respect in her statement on Friday that followed a recent raid by law enforcers on the editorial office of the Vesti newspaper in Kiev.

"I call on the Ukrainian authorities to refrain from any measures which could intimidate members of the media and impede the work of media outlets," Mijatovic said. "National security concerns related to the current challenges in Ukraine should not justify disproportionate restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of the media."

Did last night's primetime presidential speech announcing expanding authorization for airstrikes in Iraq and Syria feel kind of familiar? Like you've heard it before?

That's probably because you have. You've been hearing for more than two decades, from presidents on both sides of political aisle. At this point, bombing Iraq is practically a American presidential tradition.

And, via the magic of YouTube and The Huffington Post's Sam Stein, you can watch every president back to the first George Bush announce a new plan to launch military strikes in Iraq.

Here's George H.W. Bush in January 1991 announcing that "air attacks are already underway against military targets in Iraq."

Read the letter from 34 reserve soldiers who have served in Unit 8200 explaining why they refuse to serve in Palestinian territories

Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu

Chief of General Staff, Benny Gantz

Military Intelligence Director, Major General Aviv Kochavi

Commander of Unit 8200

We, veterans of Unit 8200, reserve soldiers both past and present, declare that we refuse to take part in actions against Palestinians and refuse to continue serving as tools in deepening the military control over the Occupied Territories.

It is commonly thought that the service in military intelligence is free of moral dilemmas and solely contributes to the reduction of violence and harm to innocent people. However, our military service has taught us that intelligence is an integral part of Israel's military occupation over the territories. The Palestinian population under military rule is completely exposed to espionage and surveillance by Israeli intelligence. While there are severe limitations on the surveillance of Israeli citizens, the Palestinians are not afforded this protection. There's no distinction between Palestinians who are, and are not, involved in violence. Information that is collected and stored harms innocent people. It is used for political persecution and to create divisions within Palestinian society by recruiting collaborators and driving parts of Palestinian society against itself. In many cases, intelligence prevents defendants from receiving a fair trial in military courts, as the evidence against them is not revealed. Intelligence allows for the continued control over millions of people through thorough and intrusive supervision and invasion of most areas of life. This does not allow for people to lead normal lives, and fuels more violence further distancing us from the end of the conflict.

Millions of Palestinians have been living under Israeli military rule for over 47 years. This regime denies the basic rights and expropriates extensive tracts of land for Jewish settlements subject to separate and different legal systems, jurisdiction and law enforcement. This reality is not an inevitable result of the state's efforts to protect itself but rather the result of choice. Settlement expansion has nothing to do with national security. The same goes for restrictions on construction and development, economic exploitation of the West Bank, collective punishment of inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, and the actual route of the separation barrier.

In light of all this, we have concluded that as individuals who served in Unit 8200, we must take responsibility for our part in this situation and it is our moral duty to act. We cannot continue to serve this system in good conscience, denying the rights of millions of people. Therefore, those among us who are reservists, refuse to take part in the state's actions against Palestinians. We call for all soldiers serving in the Intelligence Corps, present and future, along with all the citizens of Israel, to speak out against these injustices and to take action to bring them to an end. We believe that Israel's future depends on it.