Exclusive: US Recruits Iraq Security 'Advisers'

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, and Pete Norman, Sky News Online

Barack Obama may have ruled out sending "boots on the ground" back to Iraq but in the face of a growing threat from the Islamic State (IS), the Pentagon appears to have hit upon a way to get them back in by the back door.

The US Army's Contracting Command has issued a tender notice for companies capable of deploying security assistance mentors and advisers in Iraq.

These individuals would be required for a 12-month contract, potentially extendable to a total of 36 months.

They are needed as consultants to the US "Office of Security Assistance in Iraq" and must be "cognisant of the goals of ... reducing tensions between Arabs and Kurds, and Sunnis and Shias".

Some 40,000 private security contractors formed a disparate mercenary army of mostly westerners during the American-led occupation of Iraq.

Private security guards may be set to return to Iraq. Pic: Pete Norman

Many had secret contracts to work with the Central Intelligence Agency and alongside US and British special forces to provide intelligence and guard forces.

Now it appears that former special forces operators and other highly skilled intelligence specialists are being recruited to return to Iraq.

Intelligence sources have told Sky News the only viable option to fight back against the spread of the IS is to restart the so-called Awakening programme which, by late 2008, had successfully mobilised Sunni tribesmen against al Qaeda.

The rump of al Qaeda fled to Syria where it became the core of what is now IS.

The new consultants would be required to conduct "force development", "training", "planning and operations" and "intelligence".

An MP5 sub-machinegun used by a security detail in Iraq. Pic: Pete Norman

They would liaise with the Iraqi Ministry of Defence, its Counter Terrorism Service and other branches of government.

The "sources sought" document was published on August 11 by the US Army on a federal website with the intent to canvas private organisations to establish whether they were capable of supplying the services.

Once this is established, the scale and fee would then be set.

The success of the Awakening campaign involved training and fighting militant tribesmen to take on al Qaeda.

Many of their leaders have indicated they would be prepared to do the same again - but would turn against IS only once Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, a Shia, steps down.

He has now indicated he is prepared to stand aside in favour of Haider al Abadi, a fellow Shia with a reputation for reaching out across the sectarian divide.

Private contractors would, inevitably, be drawn from the ranks of retired special operations troops and spies who were so integral to the Awakening campaign.

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British Kurds Ready To Join Fight Against IS

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

Kurdish people living in Britain have told Sky News they are willing to travel to Iraq and join the fight against Islamic State forces.

Bawan Ahmed has lived in Britian for much of his life and goes to school in Liverpool.

The 16-year-old says images of IS militants' brutality have made him so angry that he wants to travel back to his homeland when he turns 18.

"I would fight if it means I die and and save my country, I would go and fight," he said.

"It just angers me to think 'why would they just march into our country and think we would we bow down to their black flag?' But we won't."

He meets other members of the Kurdish community in a cafe in Liverpool. At the same table, 24-year-old Nasr Abdullah shows a photograph of his older brother and describes how he was killed by IS fighters two months ago.

"I'm ready to go now to fight against them," he said.

Tariq Hassan, 47, knows what it is like on the front line. He returned from Iraq last week. He had been visiting family, but the former soldier decided to join the peshmerga forces.

He describes seeing the IS fighters advancing.

"We just try to defend ourselves against the terrorist group.

"They are fighting against humanity and killing men, women and children."

Most of the men and women in the cafe say they would welcome more British involvement.

Fazil Mustafa, who organised a recent rally in Manchester, said the Kurdish people understand the reluctance of Western Governments to send troops into Iraq again.

"As Kurds, we are extremely grateful for the soldiers who fought against the previous regime.

"I know many people lost their lives. We are really grateful for the Americans, for the British, for other coalition groups who went to Iraq against the regime and brought freedom and democracy, especially for the Kurds.

"But the job, the business, is unfinished. A lot more has to be done now."

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IS Beheads US Journalist James Foley In Video

Islamic State militants have released a video that purportedly shows the beheading of a US journalist who went missing two years ago.

The footage appears to show a masked man - speaking in English with an English accent - killing James Foley, who was seized by armed men in Syria in November 2012.

In the five-minute propaganda video, posted on social media sites by Islamic State sources, the man says Mr Foley was being killed because Barack Obama had ordered airstrikes against IS positions in northern Iraq.

The journalist, dressed in an orange jumpsuit like those worn by Guantanamo inmates, is seen kneeling in the desert before he blames the US for his death, in a statement presumably prepared by his abductors.

He then says: "I wish I had more time, I wish I could have the hope of freedom and seeing my family once again, but that ship has sailed." 

He is then beheaded.

Mr Foley in Syria before he was captured. Pic: Nicole Tung

The group also claimed to be holding another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, who appears at the end of the video, and said his life depended on the US President's next move.

A statement issued by Mr Foley's mother, Diane Foley, said: "We have never been prouder of our son, Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.

"We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.

"We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim."

On Tuesday, two unnamed US officials said they believe the man in the video - which Sky News has chosen not to show - was Mr Foley.

John and Diane Foley, Mr Foley's parents, helped a public campaign

White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said if the video is verified by the intelligence community, the US would be "appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist".

Mr Foley, 40, was an experienced correspondent who had covered the war in Libya before heading to Syria to follow the revolt against Bashar al Assad for the GlobalPost, AFP and other outlets.

Philip Balboni, GlobalPost chief executive and co-founder, said the firm had been informed that the FBI is evaluating the video to determine whether it was authentic.

"We ask for your prayers for Jim and his family," he said.

According to witnesses, Mr Foley was seized in the northern Syrian province of Idlib on November 22, 2012.

The car he was travelling in was stopped by four militants in a contested battle zone that both Sunni rebel fighters and government forces were trying to control.

His family has not heard from him since, despite a public campaign for information.

Several senior US officials with direct knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that IS very recently threatened to kill Mr Foley to avenge the American airstrikes over the last two weeks.

The strikes targeted militants advancing on Mount Sinjar, the Mosul Dam and Kurdish capital Irbil.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the video, voiced by an IS fighter with a British accent, appeared to be genuine and was "an appalling example of the brutality of this organisation".

Mr Hammond told Sky News: "This is an evil organisation with an evil ideology."

"I reject any suggestion British foreign policy is providing any excuse for what ISIL is doing," he added.

Mr Hammond said the IS extremists posed a major threat, not only to stability in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East, but also to the UK's domestic security.

The Foreign Secretary also said he did not believe the US would be "cowed" by IS threats to kill US journalist Steven Sotloff, who they claim to be holding.

The release of the video comes a day after IS militants threatened to attack US targets in another video where they warned "we will drown all of you in blood".

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Sky News Gets Exclusive Access To 'IS Militants'

Sky News has gained exclusive access to three suspected Islamic State militants in Iraq.

The trio were captured by Kurdish peshmerga fighters as they battled to take back territory won by the Sunni extremist group.

The three men are being held at a secret location. Each of them claims they do not know each other and they also all deny meeting any IS commanders.

They say they were rebelling against Iraq's former prime minister, Nouri al Maliki.

The three men are being held at a secret location

And the three insist they have not shot or killed anyone and that they were tortured by Iraqi security forces into making confessions.

 AssAsAssisted by US airstrikes, the peshmerga fighters have been managed to wrestle back control of the strategic Mosul Dam from IS fighters.

It comes as the militants posted a video message to Americans, warning: "We will drown all of you in blood".

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Scores Held Amid 'Heavy Gunfire' In Missouri

Police have said they came under "heavy gunfire" and arrested 31 protesters in the latest flare-up of violence in Ferguson, Missouri.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades as peaceful protests descended once again into chaos after nightfall.

The St Louis town has been beset by unrest since the August 9 shooting death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black teenager who was killed by a white policeman.

"Not a single bullet was fired by officers despite coming under heavy attack," State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson told a news conference.

He said bottles and Molotov cocktails were thrown from the crowd and two guns were confiscated from protesters. At least two people were shot.

Michael Brown was shot dead nine days ago

The death of Mr Brown, who was unarmed, has sparked daily protests and nightly clashes with police.

Monday night's protests were the first since Missouri Governor Jay Nixon called in the National Guard to try and restore order to Ferguson, a town of about 21,000 people that is overwhelmingly African-American.

But the National Guard appeared to keep their distance and remained at a police command centre.

Instead, most streets were patrolled by officers in riot gear, supported by an armoured SWAT vehicle and a helicopter.

The protests descended into chaos after nightfall

They repeatedly ordered the crowd to disperse.

Demonstrators no longer faced a midnight-to-5am curfew, but police told protesters that they could not assemble in a single spot and had to keep moving. 

Three journalists - a photographer for the Getty photo agency and two German reporters - were briefly detained and later released.

A crowd that gathered near where Mr Brown was shot dead by a local policeman was smaller than the one that clashed with officers on Sunday.

Rapper Nelly added his voice to the protests

Mr Brown was shot in broad daylight on a residential street by Darren Wilson, a 28-year-old white police officer.

Pathologists hired by Mr Brown's family revealed he had been shot at least six times, including twice in the head.

Different versions of the shooting have emerged, with police sources saying there was a scuffle during which Mr Brown tried to seize the policeman's weapon. Police say the officer was injured.

Witnesses have said the teenager had his hands up and was not resisting when he was shot.

The Washington Post said traces of marijuana were found in his system.

Police shot tear gas to disperse the protesters

A total of three autopsies have been requested - by local authorities, the family and the Justice Department.

Officials have said a grand jury could hear evidence in the case as early as Wednesday.

In Washington, President Barack Obama said the vast majority of protesters in Ferguson were peaceful, but warned that a small minority was undermining justice.

He has said there was no excuse for police to use "excessive force" and urged a "limited" use of the National Guard.

The president has also deployed Attorney General Eric Holder, who is expected in the area on Wednesday for talks with FBI and other officials carrying out an independent federal investigation into Mr Brown's death.

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Iraqi Militants Threaten Revenge Attacks On US

Iraqi militants have threatened to respond to US airstrikes by attacking American targets, posting a video in which they warn: "We will drown all of you in blood".

The message, which was accompanied by photographs of beheadings, came as Barack Obama announced Kurdish peshmerga troops, supported by US jets, had recaptured the strategically important Mosul Dam.

The US president said Islamic State (IS) fighters remained "a threat to Iraq and the entire region" and said Iraqis "must reject them and unite by pushing them out of lands they have occupied".

"They claim to represent Sunni grievances but they slaughter Sunni men, women and children," he said, adding limited military missions would continue.

Mr Obama has authorised limited missions in Iraq

Unlike al Qaeda, IS has, to date, focused on seizing land in Iraq and Syria for its self-proclaimed caliphate, rather than attacking Western targets.

Earlier, the group denied losing control of Mosul Dam, which supplies water and electricity to much of the country.

It had been feared they would cut pipes and cables or blow up the structure, branded the "most dangerous in the world" by the US Army in 2007, causing huge loss of life and extensive damage along the Tigris valley.

Army spokesman Lt Gen Qassim al Moussawi said at least 170 bombs had been dismantled around the site but warned many more remain.

Meanwhile, Sky News has gained exclusive access to suspected IS militants who were captured by Kurdish fighters. The trio are being held in a secret location, claiming they were tortured into making confessions.

And IS militants killed dozens of Kurdish peshmerga fighters and captured 170 of them, a Twitter account that supports the group said.

Both sides had been locked in fierce fighting around Mosul Dam

Iraq's outgoing foreign minister Hoshiyar Zebari also said Kurdish officials would take part in negotiations on forming a new government, paving the way for improved ties between Kurds and the central administration.

It came after David Cameron insisted Britain would not be dragged into another war in Iraq to fight what he called "monstrous" jihadists.

He spoke out after it emerged the UK had briefly sent a number of ground troops to Irbil to prepare for a rescue mission to help displaced Yazidi people.

A strongly worded statement followed confusion over Britain's involvement in Iraq after a series of media interviews by senior ministers.

"I want to be absolutely clear to you and to families watching at home. Britain is not going to get involved in another war in Iraq," the Prime Minister said in a televised address.

"We are not going to be putting boots on the ground. We are not going to be sending in the British Army."

Mr Cameron's pledge followed comments by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who said the UK's latest involvement in Iraq would likely last "weeks and months".

Mr Fallon had been addressing British troops in Cyprus, as it was revealed UK soldiers had been back on the ground in Iraq for the first time since 2009.

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Teen Shooting Unrest: National Guard Called In

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has ordered the National Guard to Ferguson amid rising tensions following the shooting death by police of an unarmed black teenager.

Mr Nixon said the National Guard would "help restore peace and order" to the St Louis suburb after days of protests over the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. 

In the latest violence on Sunday night, police fired tear gas at demonstrators as gunfire was heard.

The announcement by Mr Nixon came as a preliminary private autopsy found that Mr Brown was shot at least six times - twice in the head - according to the New York Times.

The post-mortem examination was carried out by Dr Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner, at the request of Mr Brown's family.

Protesters say Michael Brown was trying to surrender when shot

Mr Baden said one of the bullets entered the top of Mr Brown's skull, suggesting that his head was bent forward when he suffered a fatal injury.

Mr Brown was shot four times in the right arm and all the bullets were fired into his front, he told the New York Times.

Attorney General Eric Holder has ordered a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy.

As night fell in Ferguson, a peaceful protest quickly deteriorated into further violence - more than a week after Mr Brown's killing on August 9.

Some protesters have defied the curfew

Some protesters carried signs protesting against police brutality. Some had their hands up in the air, while others threw Molotov cocktails at police officers.

Authorities said they were responding to reports of gunfire, looting and vandalism.

The Missouri Highway Patrol also said it used tear gas to disperse "aggressors" who were trying to infiltrate a law enforcement command post, and that armoured vehicles were deployed to ensure public safety.

A man was shot and critically wounded in the area, but not by police, and someone also shot at a police car, authorities said.

The demonstrations have been going on for a week, with most being peaceful

Seven people were arrested for failing to disperse.

Officials announced another five-hour curfew for the second night running which started at midnight local time (6am UK time). But much of the violence started before the curfew.

Authorities said they plan to decide on a day-by-day basis whether to extend the curfew, first imposed on Saturday night by Mr Nixon in an effort to quell the demonstrations.

Calls to demilitarise police have mounted

Mr Nixon meanwhile sharply criticised the town's police for releasing CCTV video which they say shows Mr Brown stealing cigars from a store and shoving an employee.

"I think it had an incendiary effect," he told CBS' Face The Nation on Sunday morning.

He said police "clearly are attempting to besmirch a victim of a shooting".

Minutes after the robbery, Mr Brown had a fatal encounter with an officer who police say stopped the teenager for jaywalking.

Mr Brown was unarmed and it has been claimed he was trying to surrender before he was shot dead by white police officer Darren Wilson, 28.

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Cameron: 'We Are Not Going To War In Iraq'

David Cameron has insisted that Britain will not be getting involved in another war in Iraq.

He spoke out after reports Britain had sent some ground troops to Irbil, to prepare the way for "more than humanitarian aid".

The comments came amid reports on Iraq state TV that Kurdish troops have retaken the strategic Mosul dam from Islamic militants.

The UK is considering arming peshmerga troops fighting IS extremists

Peshmerga fighters have been battling Islamic State fighters, with the aid of US airstrikes, after the dam was seized by the militants 10 days ago.

The development came as Mr Cameron chose to appear on television to assure families that British soldiers would not become involved in another Iraq war.

He said: "I want to be absolutely clear to you and to families watching at home, Britain is not going to get involved in another war in Iraq.

A US airstrike against an IS position near Mosul Dam

"We are not going to be putting boots on the ground. We are not going to be sending in the British Army."

He continued: "Yes, we should use all the assets that we have, our diplomacy, our political relationships, our aid, the military prowess, the expertise that we have to help others - we should use these things as part of a strategy to put pressure on Islamic State and make sure this terrorist organisation is properly addressed and it cannot cause mayhem on our own streets."

David Cameron previously conceded that Britain's role will go beyond humanitarian aid and involve "limited action" to prevent violence spreading to British streets.

Michael Fallon says Britain's involvement could last 'weeks and months'

But he said: "So we are helping the Kurds, we are working with the Iraqi government to make sure it is more representative of the whole country and, of course, we are working with neighbours and allies to put the maximum amount of pressure on IS and make sure it is properly dealt with.

"We have said that if the Kurds, the peshmerga, want to have arms from us, that is something we would consider favourably.

"Up to now they have not been making that request. Really the sort of weapons they have been using have been more eastern bloc variety, and so they have been supplied by others."

Mr Cameron's comments came after his defence secretary Michael Fallon said the UK's Iraq mission would likely last "weeks and months".

It also emerged that British troops have been back on the ground in Iraq for the first time since 2009.

Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire regiment were sent to Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, to prepare the way for a rescue mission to help stranded Yazidi people.

It is understood the rescue operation would involve Chinook helicopters.

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Iraq: Kurdish Forces Fight To Retake Mosul Dam

'Corpses Everywhere' After Jihadist 'Massacre'

Updated: 12:54pm UK, Saturday 16 August 2014

Dead bodies were found "everywhere" when Yazidi fighters arrived at a village where jihadists have been accused of carrying out a massacre, witnesses have said.

Officials believe Islamic State (IS) fighters killed around 80 people, mostly Yazidis, after arriving in the northern Iraq village of Kocho and demanding they abandon their beliefs and convert to Islam.

The militants also kidnapped women from the village in Nineveh province and took them to prisons they control, according to a senior Kurdish official.

Yazidi fighter Mohsen Tawwal told AFP by telephone that he saw a large number of bodies in the village.

"We made it into a part of Kocho village, where residents were under siege, but we were too late," he said.

"There were corpses everywhere. We only managed to get two people out alive. The rest had all been killed."

A man from a neighbouring village, who had been told what happened, added: "The Islamic State had spent five days trying to persuade villagers to convert to Islam and ... a long lecture was delivered about the subject today."

"The men were gathered and shot dead.

"The women and girls were probably taken to Tal Afar because that is where the foreign fighters are."

Senior Iraqi official Hoshyar Zebari said: "We have information from multiple sources, in the region and through intelligence, that (on Friday) afternoon, a convoy of (IS) armed men entered this village. 

"They took their revenge on its inhabitants, who happened to be mostly Yazidis who did not flee their homes.

"They committed a massacre against the people. Around 80 of them have been killed."

Thousands of Yazidis - people from a minority sect with an ancient religion - have been forced to flee their homes by the IS advance.

The extremist group, previously called ISIS, has swept across a large part of northern and central Iraq, taking Mosul and threatening Baghdad and Kurdish capital Irbil.

On Saturday, airstrikes targeted the group around Mosul Dam. It was not immediately clear if they were carried out by the Iraqi air force of the US. 

The IS seized Iraq's largest dam on August 7.

Iraq's human rights minister has said that Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of the Yazidi community during their offensive in the north.

Some of the victims, including women and children, were buried alive, Mohammed Shia al Sudani said.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday blacklisted six Islamist militants and threatened sanctions against anyone who helped arm or supply them.

Five members of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which operates in Syria, and Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani were included on the British-drafted resolution, which also condemned all aspects of IS's activities and beliefs.

Earlier, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels agreed to arm Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.

The meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 EU nations was called by EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton and came after several European countries, including France and Germany, said they were prepared to supply weapons to the Peshmerga forces.

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Islamists 'Massacre' 80 Yazidis In Northern Iraq

Al Maliki's Successor Faces Old Problems

Updated: 6:29pm UK, Friday 15 August 2014

By Andrew Wilson, Sky News Presenter, in Irbil, Iraq

The disaster in the Sinjar mountains turns out to be less of a public relations nightmare for Western leaders than first feared.

A few thousand destitute Yazidi people don't carry anything like the clout of tens of thousands.

The UNHCR operators on the ground had figured this out days ago. Their job is numbers and they know that in a brutal world, the problem isn't Sinjar anymore, it's the displacement of those that were there and are now here looking for long-term shelter from the Kurdish Regional Government and maybe even homes in Europe and America.

So what about the spread of this Islamic caliphate across Northern Iraq and Syria?

Well, as far as its leaders-in-waiting are concerned, it's going pretty well.

It's ominous dark shade on the Middle Eastern map is now one colour from Aleppo to Diyala on Iraq's eastern border. 

And, to date, that progress has been largely unchallenged.

Reports of executions and crucifixions have played a part; even the Taliban back in 2001 could not generate the kind of terror that precedes Islamic State (IS) fighters wherever they go.

But IS are picking their enemies strategically as well.

Few tears were shed in Washington when the extremists turned on President Assad, and as for Baghdad, it took so long for the West to declare mission accomplished and pull out that going back in now would be unthinkably embarrassing.

Better to find another old friend to blame, this time the stubbornly sectarian Nouri al Maliki.

It is all his fault that disgruntled Sunnis allowed the IS to swoop down in their armed pickups and help themselves to all the American weapons lying abandoned in the sand.

If only he had built a more unified Iraq with loyal officers and disciplined troops, says the West, failing to mention 2003 when a cadre of professional Iraqi generals stood ready to deploy their well-trained forces for the post-Saddam rebuild only to be shunned by the American occupiers who knew better. 

So now the successor is embraced. Haider al Abadi seems a decent man, more of a consensus builder than a bully.

He is still a Shia, of course, same party as Mr Maliki, in fact, and you wouldn't want his job for all the gold in Saddam's palace.

He will need three phones; for Washington, Tehran and Brussels, and they will all be on his case to fix - in no particular order - the Islamic Caliphate; Sunni minority rights; an army that's just given all its weapons to the other side; Shia aspirations for a greater Iraq joined by holy sites to Iran and, of course, tens of thousands of displaced Yazidis.

It's difficult, if not suicidal, to be a consensus politician in the Middle East.

Think Sadat, Rabin, or even Mahmoud Abbas sitting quietly in Ramallah with "Israeli traitor" daubed on the walls near his house.

Sadly, in this part of the world, where the borders were drawn by foreigners a long time ago, the time-honoured formula, still espoused by Assad, Sisi, the Royal families of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, is more simple: build a power base and crush your enemies.

Nouri al Maliki was on the way, but didn't make it.

And this time, no more boots on the ground.

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