Airlines To Scrutinise Smartphones Amid Threat

UK Airport Security Tightened Amid Bomb Fears

Updated: 3:33am UK, Friday 04 July 2014

Security is being tightened at UK airports, with extra checks on electrical items amid fears of new terrorist bombs.

Sky sources say passengers travelling to America may have battery-operated goods examined by officials after the main security gate.

And officials have told the Reuters news agency that airlines are being asked to single out iPhones and Samsung Galaxy smartphones for extra security checks.

The new precautions come in response to requests from US authorities, who fear attacks on planes flying to America.   

In particular, US officials have warned of a "specific threat" to Entebbe Airport in Uganda later today.

The US embassy in Kampala said Ugandan police had informed them that intelligence sources believe there could be an attack by an unknown terrorist group.

In a statement, the embassy said the threat was apparently aimed for "today, July 3rd, between the hours of 2100-2300".

It added: "Individuals planning travel through the airport this evening may want to review their plans in light of this information."

Although the embassy did not name any group, al Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents have claimed recent attacks in Kenya and Djibouti, and at home in Somalia.

Ugandan Army spokesman Paddy Ankunda said troops had been deployed at the airport and in the capital, around 20 miles (35km) from Entebbe.

"People must be vigilant in the face of this threat, report any suspicious individuals seen in their areas," he said, calling on people to "stay calm and alert."

US Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson said he had asked officials to "implement enhanced security measures in the coming days at certain overseas airports with direct flights to the United States".

A statement issued by the US Department for Homeland Security said: "We are sharing recent and relevant information with our foreign allies and consulting the aviation industry.

"These communications are an important part of our commitment to providing our security partners with situational awareness about the current environment and protecting the travelling public."

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the additional security was not expected to cause "significant" disruption to flights.

He told Sky News: "There will be extra security checks but they will be made in the course of events people already go through and I hope there will not be significant delays."

But British aviation security expert Philip Baum said heightened security will inevitably mean longer queues and increased waiting times to board flights at UK airports.

"It will mean (more) random searches, secondary searches and an increase in the number of passengers asked to remove shoes and possibly all passengers being asked to remove shoes if they're going on certain flights," he said.

US officials said their general security warning followed intelligence reports that Islamist groups in Yemen and Syria had joined forces to prepare an attack on the US.

Bomb-makers from al Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, and Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are believed by American authorities to be working together to develop the new devices.

According to ABC News, they are trying to build non-metallic bombs that could evade metal detectors.

As a result, security enhancements are likely to include greater scrutiny of US-bound passengers' electronics and footwear and installation of additional bomb-detection machines.

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World Cup: Flyover Collapses In Host City

An unfinished motorway flyover has collapsed in the Brazilian World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte, leaving at least two dead and many injured.

The bridge, which was supposed to be built in time for the tournament, collapsed onto a bus and other vehicles beneath.

Alexandra Pereira, a teacher who was in an apartment building just 20 yards from the overpass, said it sounded like an "earthquake or bomb".

The driver of the bus was killed in the collapse

"I looked out my window and panicked," she said.

"I couldn't see anything but a huge cloud of dust."

The accident happened in the north of the city, where teams have been based throughout their World Cup campaigns.

One person said it was like an "earthquake or bomb"

Belo Horizonte's nearby Mineirao Stadium has hosted four World Cup matches and is due to host a semi-final next Tuesday.

Fire services sent more than a dozen engines and a helicopter to the scene to aid those trapped in the wreckage.

A fire department spokesman told the AFP news agency that scaffolding was being taken down at the time of the collapse and the flyover was in the final stages of construction.

The car that was crushed in the collapse

Live TV images showed what appeared to be a school bus and other vehicles trapped under the rubble.

The female driver of the bus was killed, with 13 people rescued from the vehicle.

Two trucks belonging to the construction company and one car were crushed along with the bus.

It is not known at this stage why the flyover collapsed

City firefighters said on their official Twitter account that at least one person was dead but other sources said the death toll was two, with at least 22 injured.

Officials say they do not expect the casualty toll to rise too sharply, although they have not yet reached a small car that was flattened.

It is not known if anyone inside the car escaped or remained inside.

Two construction trucks were also crushed

It is not yet known why the flyover collapsed. Cowan, the construction company responsible for building it, said investigators are on site.

Groups of people gathered near the scene of the accident, with some of them shouting.

Bank worker Leandro Brito said: "Because of the World Cup they sped everything up to finish faster.

More than a dozen fire engines were called to the scene

"That's why this tragedy has happened. They are not making things properly. Everyone is very angry."

Ms Pereira said that, along with her neighbours, she complained to the mayor that they feared for their safety from the construction and asked authorities for compensation so they could move.

A man holds a banner that reads 'Cup dirty with blood' close to the scene

She said the request was rejected and the mayor's office assured them the project was safe.

Fire department spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Estevo da Silva said officials had inspected the apartment buildings and did not find any sign they were at risk because of the overpass collapse.

Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte

The World Cup has been dogged by delays to stadiums and infrastructure, and there were several accidents during construction of the stadiums.

Just three days before the tournament began on June 12, an accident in Sao Paulo killed one worker and injured two others when an unfinished monorail collapsed.

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Africa Battles To Stop Deadly Spread Of Ebola

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, In Liberia

The worst Ebola outbreak ever is spreading and will almost certainly extend across West Africa unless there is cross-country co-operation and urgent international assistance.

The porous borders between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has meant the disease is not being contained and now risks spreading even further.

Health workers at the epicentre, where the borders of the three countries meet, have made an urgent appeal through Sky News for immediate international help to try to control the virus.

Philip Azumah, the Foya district health officer, said: "Or the virus will spread and kill more people. We need help now."

The latest outbreak has spread to three countries

It is difficult to determine exactly how many people have already died from the disease given the cross-border contamination and lack of accounting.

But it is already clear there are many more deaths than any previous outbreak.

Aid organisation Doctors Without Borders has already said it is the largest outbreak on record, with the highest number of deaths.

Across the three countries, more than 400 have been killed in this latest outbreak, with no sign of the disease being halted.

And for the first time the disease has spread to highly populated areas including cities such as Guinea's capital, Conakry.

At one of the high-risk infection centres set up in Foya in Liberia, the medics insisted we, like them, took extreme precautions.

This included wearing two layers of protective head-to-toe clothing featuring one waterproof all-in-one outfit, face and head masks, double gloves, thick plastic aprons, sturdy goggles and rubber boots.

Among the victims was a nurse who contracted Ebola after caring for a person who later died from the virus.

Elizabeth Smith was too weak to raise her head

Nurse Elizabeth Smith was lying on a bed next to another nurse who had contracted Ebola from the same patient they had both treated.

But Ms Smith was significantly weaker than her co-worker. She did not raise her head as we entered and her bed was soaked in blood.

Neither woman had realised they were treating a patient with Ebola, so had taken none of the precautions their colleagues were now taking.

Two of them sprayed Ms Smith with disinfectant, down her legs, her feet, her hands and arms as they stood arms-length away in their head-to-toe protective clothing and visors. Gingerly they took her arms and helped her to her feet, before escorting her down the tent corridor to the high-risk area.

The nurse contracted Ebola treating another victim

Here, every patient is a confirmed Ebola case and the odds are that 90% of them will die.

The frightening deadliness of Ebola, plus the ignorance around it and the lack of a cure, has thrown the medical staff in this area into a panic.

Francis Forndia, administrator for Foya-Borma Hospital, where medical staff have died after treating victims, told us his workers simply fled after nurses began dying.

"It is hard to get them to return, but we have managed to persuade some to come back by explaining to them how needed they are," he said.

Mr Azumah is co-ordinating the health battle against Ebola in this area. He tells me the first recent outbreak in Liberia was in March, when an infected woman travelled to Foya from Guinea.

She died two days after being admitted to the sole and tiny hospital in Foya. By the time of her death, she had infected eleven people in hospital alone.

Officials say cultural traditions have helped spread the virus

Two of them were nurses who went on to die. The remaining nine somehow managed to survive.

Then Liberia went a solid three weeks without an incident and believed they were clear - until the end of May.

This time, a woman from Sierra Leone, probably out of fear, gave misleading information about where she had come from.

She told investigators she was local, which was true, but did not mention she had in fact spent some time in an infected area of Sierra Leone.

This time the consequences were much more widespread. She had infected a stream of people, six of whom died.

They are still trying to trace all those she may have been in contact with.

There have since been other outbreaks in Voinjamma and the Liberian capital, Monrovia, while Guinea and Sierra Leone continue to register deaths too.

Mr Azumah said: "In our culture, it is the habit to wash the dead body, look after it for a week in the home, kiss and touch it, even eat meals with the dead body - and we believe this has led to the virus spreading.

"Also people are keeping the illnesses and deaths secret if they suspect Ebola."

By alerting the authorities to possible Ebola, people risk being ostracised by their communities.

There is even a fear among these poverty stricken communities that the visiting health workers are spreading the virus.

But what seems significant is that, in Liberia at least, one of the poorest countries in the world, they are largely coping with this virulent disease on their own - with very little outside help evident.

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Israel Warns Killers Of Teenage Boys 'Will Pay'

Israel's Prime Minister has said he will continue to hunt those he believes are responsible for the deaths of three teenagers whose bodies were found on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Whoever was involved in the kidnapping and the murder will bear the consequences. We will neither rest nor slow down until we reach the last of them and it does not matter where they will try to hide."

Gilad Shaar, 16, Eyal Yifrach, 19, and Naftali Frenkel, 16, went missing while hitchhiking home from the Jewish seminaries where they studied near Hebron.

Jewish youths mourn next to the graves of the three boys

Their bodies were found beneath a pile of rocks in an isolated spot close to the West Bank city some three weeks after they went missing.

Israel has accused Hamas of abducting the boys, and Mr Netanyahu has warned the militant group "will pay".

Mr Netanyahu also warned Israel's response would include stepping up military activity in Hamas-controlled Gaza if rocket fire out of the territory continues.

"The Israeli Defence Force has been active in recent days against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip and here as well we are still active," he said.

"If need be, we will expand the operation as much as is needed."

His promise came as audio was released of a phone call one of the boys made to police in which he claimed to have been "kidnapped".

The Israeli army has launched its largest ground operation for 10 years.

In the recording, Gilad Shaar is heard whispering: "They've kidnapped me."

Voices are also heard speaking Hebrew, with one person saying: "Keep your head down, keep your head down!"

The call, which was reportedly made shortly after the abduction, was initially dismissed by operators as a hoax.

Emergency hotline workers have been disciplined for the mishap, which delayed rescue efforts for several hours.

The deaths of the three teenagers have prompted angry calls for retribution from Israel. In Jerusalem, several hundred Israeli youths took part in a march and screamed for revenge.

The Israeli army also launched its largest ground operation in the West Bank for 10 years and arrested nearly 400 Hamas operatives.

Overnight the Israeli air force carried out airstrikes on 34 targets, including a Hamas compound, the military said.

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Nearly 2,000 Killed As US Bolsters Iraq Forces

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 10:07am UK, Monday 30 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

Mr Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

June 17: Britain announces it is reopening its Iranian embassy, with Foreign Secretary William Hague saying the "circumstances are right" as the West looks to improve relations to help tackle the crisis in Iraq.

Iraq's Shia leaders accuse Saudi Arabia of promoting "genocide" by backing Sunni militants.

June 18: Iraq's foreign minister asks the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

David Cameron warns that if Britain does not intervene in the Middle East crisis then terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Insurgents are seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they have taken over three-quarters of Iraq's biggest oil refinery.

ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report, it emerges.

June 19: Iraqi authorities say government forces have retaken the Baiji oil refinery after fierce fighting.

Mr Obama says US troops will not return to combat in Iraq, but he would be prepared to take "targeted action".

The president also announces additional equipment and up to 300 additional military advisers could be provided to help fight the ISIS insurgency.

June 20: Iraq's senior Shia religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani calls for a new government for the country as it struggles to stop Sunni militants.

Mr Obama piles further pressure on Iraq's PM, saying he needs to take urgent steps to heal the sectarian rift in the country, but stopping short of demanding he quit.

A video of British jihadists urging Western Muslims to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria emerges on social media.

June 21: The family of Naseer Muthana, 20, who appears in the ISIS recruitment video and younger brother Aseel, 17, who followed him to fight in the region say they are "devastated". 

The men's father Ahmed Muthana tells Sky News he believes his son Nasser was radicalised in a mosque in the United Kingdom.

In Iraq, dozens of Iraqi troops are killed as ISIS militants seize the crucial Qaim crossing into Syria.

A Shia preacher loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al Sadr warns that the 300 US military advisers en route to Iraq will be attacked.

June 22: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes out in opposition of US intervention in neighbouring Iraq.

Mr Obama warns ISIS could grow in power, destabilise the region and pose a threat to the US.

The mother of one of two Britons filmed in a militants' video calling for Western Muslims to fight in Syria and Iraq, Reyaad Khan, pleads for him to come home in an emotional Sky News interview.

A former head of counter-terrorism at MI6 tells Sky's Murnaghan programme up to 300 Islamist fighters from Iraq and Syria may have returned to the UK and it would be "impossible" to keep track of all of them.

June 23: Mr Obama warns ISIS could pose a threat to the US, hours after the Islamist militants make dramatic gains by capturing four towns in western Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Baghdad for talks with Mr Maliki.

June 24: Mr Kerry arrives in Irbil for talks with Kurdistan's regional government President Massoud Barzani.

The leaders at a mosque in Cardiff say they believe the jihadists who appeared in an ISIS recruitment video were radicalised online.

June 25: In an exclusive interview with Sky News, the former head of the Armed Forces, Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, warns the fighting in Iraq should serve as a "wake-up call" to the West.

June 26: The first team of American military advisers arrives in Iraq.

Mr Sadr expresses opposition to the US advisers and warns his supporters will "shake the ground" fighting the ISIS insurgency.

Iraqis are urged to put aside sectarian differences by Mr Hague, who calls for an inclusive government to be formed.

June 27: Satellite images appear to back up claims that ISIS militants massacred between 160 and 190 men in Tikrit earlier this month.

June 28: It is revealed that the US is flying armed drones over Iraq, but the Pentagon says this is to protect American military advisers.

June 29: The Iraqi army launches a major offensive to try to retake Tikrit, as ISIS declares an Islamic state in the areas of Iraq and Syria they control.

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Ukraine Leader Ends Ceasefire: 'We Will Attack'

Ukraine's ceasefire with pro-Russian separatists has been halted with the President saying his forces will go on the offensive against the rebels.

Petro Poroshenko said in a statement on his website that "we will attack and we will free our country".

The ceasefire - which was designed to give rebels the chance to disarm and start a broader peace process - expired on Monday night.

"The unique chance to put the peace plan into practice was not realised," Mr Poroshenko said in a speech prepared for delivery to the nation.

"This happened because of the criminal actions of the fighters.

"After discussion of the situation, I, as commander in chief, took the decision not to continue the unilateral ceasefire.

"Ending the ceasefire, this is our answer to terrorists, armed insurgents and looters, to all who mock the peaceful population, who are paralysing the economy of the region ... who are depriving people of a normal, peaceful life."

European leaders and the US have urged Russia to use its influence with the rebels to ease the bloodshed and have threatened to impose another round of economic sanctions against Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin has expressed support for the ceasefire, but the West has accused Russia of allowing weapons and fighters to flow across the border into Ukraine.

Russia says any Russians there have gone as private citizens.

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Israeli PM Wants Syria-Type Deal Over Iran

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter

Israel's Prime Minister has called on world powers to base a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme on the agreement that saw Syria's chemical weapons removed.

Benjamin Netanyahu told Sky News preventing Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb has taken on greater importance due to the turmoil in Iraq.

His comments precede the resumption of so-called P5+1 talks with Iran in Vienna later this week.

Negotiators from Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the US are seeking a deal to reduce the scope of the country's nuclear programme, in return for sanctions relief, by July 20.

Israel's leader said he believed the recent removal of the Syrian regime's chemical weapons stockpile was the minimum model negotiators should accept.

"A good deal is the one that was done in Syria", he said.

Shi'ite militia group in Najaf, Iraq

"The chemicals and the means to make the weapons were dismantled and removed. What Iran is seeking is to keep the materials and the means to make nuclear weapons, and just allow inspections.

"Keep and inspect, rather than dismantle and remove - that's the bad deal."

Mr Netanyahu also claimed the role played by Shi'ite militias backed by Iran in the growing unrest in Iraq and the conflict in Syria meant preventing the nuclear programme was more important than ever.

"I think we have to be clear that it would cross of line of history that would transcend anything else that we're seeing in the Middle East," he said.

David Cameron says UK is engaging with Iran with 'very clear eye'

"If one of these warring tribes … in this case the militant Shi'ites backed by Iran, get their hands on nuclear weapons, the world will be forever changed."

Last week, David Cameron said the UK was engaging with Iran "with a very clear eye and a very hard heart".

However, diplomatic sources have told Sky News that their Israeli counterparts regularly make clear they believe the West is being "duped" by Iran.

Mr Netanyahu warned negotiators not to be deceived by what appears to be a more responsive and more cooperative approach being taken by the country's new president, Hassan Rouhani, who claims reaching a deal with the P5+1 by July 20 is possible.

"Iran is run by an unforgiving sect - it puts forward front men and smiling people like Rouhani, but it's governed with an iron hand and an iron heart by this man (Ayatollah) Ali Khameini", he added.

Iran's new president Hassan Rouhani

Ahead of the interview, Mr Netanyahu's office said he would not discuss tensions in the West Bank and Gaza following the apparent kidnapping of three young Israelis, which he blames on Hamas.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested and five killed in the West Bank during the search operation, prompting the UK and others to urge Israel show "restraint" and avoid further escalation.

But asked whether recent airstrikes in Gaza were the start of increased military action against Hamas, Mr Netanyahu said Israel was "trying to contain our efforts to the search" - but warned he was prepared  to "increase efforts accordingly" if further rockets were fired at Israel.

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ISIS Insurgents Declare New Islamic State

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has declared the establishment of an Islamic state in the areas it controls and demanded allegiance from other Muslim groups worldwide.

The Sunni militant group proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, as "caliph" - the head of the state, and said the "caliphate" stretched from Aleppo in Syria to Diyala in Iraq.

ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani said in an audio recording, on the first day of Ramadan: "He is the imam and khalifah (caliph) for the Muslims everywhere.

ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani announced the 'caliphate'

"His [al Baghdadi's] authority has expanded over wide areas in Iraq and Sham [Levant]. The land now under his leadership spreads from Aleppo to Diyala."

He added: "The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organisations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph's authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas.

"Listen to your caliph and obey him. Support your state, which grows every day."

ISIS fighters overran the Iraqi city of Mosul last month in lightning action and have been advancing towards Baghdad. 

ISIS has demanded allegiance from Muslims worldwide

In Syria, they have captured territory in the north and east, along the frontier with Iraq.

In Iraq, they overran the Iraqi city of Mosul last month in swift action and have advanced towards Baghdad.

ISIS' declaration comes as the Iraqi government is battling to wrest back some of the territory it has lost to the jihadist group in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Iraqi helicopter gunships struck suspected insurgent positions for a second consecutive day in the northern city of Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein around 80 miles north of Baghdad.

Iraqi troops have been involved in a fierce counteroffensive in Tikrit

The Iraqi military launched a multi-pronged attack spearheaded by ground troops backed by tanks, warplanes and helicopters.

The insurgents appeared to have repelled the military's initial push for Tikrit, and remained in control of the city on Sunday, but clashes were reportedly taking place in the northern neighbourhood of Qadissiyah.

Iraqi army spokesman Qassim al Moussawi told reporters that government troops were in full control of the university and had raised the Iraqi flag over the campus.

"The battle has several stages. The security forces have cleared most of the areas of the first stage and we have achieved results," he said.

"It is a matter of time before we declare the total clearing of Tikrit."

Iraqi volunteers joining the fight against ISIS

Jawad al Bolani, a security official in the provincial operation command, said the US was sharing intelligence with Iraq and has played an "essential" role in the Tikrit offensive.

"The Americans are with us and they are an important part in the success we are achieving in and around Tikrit," he said.

Washington has sent 180 of 300 American troops President Barack Obama has promised to help Iraqi forces.

The US is also flying manned and unmanned aircraft on reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

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Russia Accuses US Over Ukraine Confrontation

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the US of encouraging Ukraine into a confrontation with Moscow.

And he claimed the chances of resolving the Cold War-style crisis would be better if only Russia and Europe were involved.

Mr Lavrov suggested the US was an obstacle to settling the Ukraine conflict

Speaking on television, Mr Lavrov said: "Our American colleagues still prefer to push the Ukrainian leadership toward a confrontational path."

It came after EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Friday decided against immediately imposing new sanctions on Russia for destabilising eastern Ukraine, but gave Moscow and pro-Russian separatists until Monday to take steps to improve the situation.

Ukraine has also extended a ceasefire by its forces for 72 hours.

EU leaders also signed agreements with Ukraine and two other former Soviet states, Moldova and Georgia, to establish closer political and economic links with Europe.

Kiev celebrated the historic agreement between Ukraine and the EU

It was the decision of the former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to ditch a deal with Europe in favour of a pact with Russia which triggered protests culminating in his overthrow earlier this year.

Moscow responded by annexing the mainly Russian-speaking Crimea in March, that led to pro-Moscow separatists rise up in eastern Ukraine.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "The UK is firmly committed to the prosperity of these sovereign and independent countries, which are signalling their determination to forge closer political and economic links with Europe.

"I look forward to ever closer relationships that will better the lives of their people and contribute to prosperity across the region."

The Foreign Office predicted that the completion of the agreements could result in GDP growth in Georgia of €292m (£234m) a year and €1.2bn (£960m) in Ukraine, while boosting Moldova's national income by 5.4% annually.

Ukraine is seeking to increase its gas production after Russia cut exports

Meanwhile, Ukraine is seeking to increase its own gas production after Russia's state-controlled gas company, Gazprom, cut exports to the country, after talks to settle a debt and agree a lower price broke down.

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Iraqi Troops Strike Back To Retake Tikrit

Cleric To 'Shake The Ground' Under Insurgents

Updated: 2:21pm UK, Thursday 26 June 2014

Iraq's Shia cleric Moqtada al Sadr has warned his supporters will "shake the ground" fighting the Sunni insurgency sweeping through the country.

In a televised address, al Sadr also expressed opposition to US military advisors who are providing Iraqi commanders with tactical assistance to repel the Sunni militants that have overrun swathes of the country and reportedly killed more than 1,000 people.

Hundreds of Iraqi villagers have been fleeing insurgent incursions orchestrated by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and have crowded at a checkpoint on the edge of the country's relatively safe Kurdish-controlled territory.

Three Iraqi military helicopters have reportedly landed at rebel-controlled Tikrit University and clashed with Islamist militants, according to a security source at the scene.

Iraq's beleaguered military were initially overcome by the ferocity of the insurgency that captured several strategic cities in Iraq, including Qaim, Rawa, Haditha and Ramadi.

Government forces have since recovered ground and repelled further assaults on other towns and infrastructure, although there are reports the offensive has been bolstered by Islamist rebels from Syria joining their counterparts in Iraq.

Al Sadr also called for "new faces" in a national unity government after elections in April saw Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki win with the most seats, although he failed to secure a majority.

But al Maliki warned he would not be sidelined by rivals seeking to use the insurgency and fragile state of the country to try to oust him. 

Such a move was "an attempt by those who are against the constitution to eliminate the young democratic process and steal the votes of the voters," he said.

US officials claimed Syria launched airstrikes on militant positions close to the Iraq-Syrian border near Qaim on Tuesday in an attempt to disrupt the militants who are fighting both the Syrian and Iraqi governments.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has been locked in a bloody civil war with opposition groups since 2011.

Maliki reportedly confirmed the airstrikes, adding that Iraq did not request the raid but that it was "welcomed".

Some reports suggested the attacks were directed at militant positions in Iraq, while others claimed they hit sites in Syria.

The US has made concerted efforts to unite Iraq's fractious political leaders in the face of the offensive, although they have shown little sign of coming together.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has also arrived in Baghdad to meet political and community leaders to stress the importance of political unity. 

"The Iraqi state is facing an existential threat, with huge ramifications for the future stability and freedom of this country," he said.

"The single most important factor that will determine whether or not Iraq overcomes this challenge is political unity."

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