ISIS: Mystery Solved

[Lauren Johnson]

Magda, your examples also don't mention Libyan surplus war materiel delivered to "Syrian opposition groups" from Benghazi via Turkey to ???. Can it be true that none of this materiel made it into Daesh's hands?

The article is conveniently pointed at Turkey. The CIA does not appear in the article either. The HP is a slippery little bugger. Cute tho.

[Carsten Wiethoff]

Just as a reminder from the nobel peace prize laureate himself (April 2015)

https://youtu.be/lb0fkpnH8Rc

[Lauren Johnson]

Israel Colonel Caught With IS Pants Down by William F. Engdahl

​This was definitely not supposed to happen. It seems that an Israeli military man with the rank of colonel was "caught with IS pants down."
By that I mean he was captured amid a gaggle of so-called IS--or Islamic State or ISIS or DAESH depending on your preference--terrorists,
by soldiers of the Iraqi army. Under interrogation by the Iraqi intelligence he apparently said a lot regarding the role of Netanyahu's IDF in
supporting IS.

In late October an Iranian news agency, quoting a senior Iraqi intelligence officer, reported the capture of an Israeli
army colonel, named Yusi Oulen Shahak, reportedly related to the ISIS Golani Battalion operating in Iraq in the
Salahuddin front. In a statement to Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency a Commander of the Iraqi Army stated,
"The security and popular forces have held captive an Israeli colonel." He added that the IDF colonel "had
participated in the Takfiri ISIL group's terrorist operations." He said the colonel was arrested together with a
number of ISIL or IS terrorists, giving the details: "The Israeli colonel's name is Yusi Oulen Shahak and is ranked
colonel in Golani Brigade... with the security and military code of Re34356578765az231434."

Why Israel?

Ever since the beginning of Russia's very effective IS bombing of select targets in Syria on September 30, details of
the very dirty role of not only Washington, but also NATO member Turkey under President Erdogan, Qatar and other
states has come into the sunlight for the first time.

It's becoming increasingly clear that at least a faction in the Obama Administration has played a very dirty behind-
the-scenes role in supporting IS in order to advance the removal of Syrian President Bashar al Assad and pave the
way for what inevitably would be a Libya-style chaos and destruction which would make the present Syrian refugee
crisis in Europe a mere warmup by comparison.

The "pro-IS faction" in Washington includes the so-called neo-conservatives centered around disgraced former CIA
head and executioner of the Iraqi "surge" General David Petraeus. It also includes US General John R. Allen, who
since September 2014 had served as President Obama's Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to
Counter ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and, until she resigned in February 2013, it included Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton.

Significantly, General John Allen, an unceasing advocate of a US-led "No Fly Zone" inside Syria along the border to
Turkey, something President Obama refused, was relieved of his post on 23 October, 2015. That was shortly after
launch of the highly-effective Russian strikes on Syrian IS and Al Qaeda's Al Nusra Front terrorist sites changed the
entire situation in the geopolitical picture of Syria and the entire Middle East.

UN Reports cites Israel

That Netanyahu's Likud and the Israeli military work closely with Washington's neo-conservative war-hawks is well-
established, as is the vehement opposition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Obama's nuclear deal with Iran.
Israel regards the Iranian-backed Shi'a Islamist militant group, Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, as arch foe. Hezbollah
has been actively fighting alongside the Syrian Army against ISIS in Syria. General Allen's strategy of "bombings of
ISIS" since he was placed in charge of the operation in September 2014, as Russia's Putin and Foreign Minister
Lavrov have repeatedly pointed out, far from destroying ISIS in Syria, had vastly expanded their territorial control of
the country. Now it becomes clear that that was precisely the intent of Allen and the Washington war faction.

Since at least 2013 Israeli military have also openly bombed what they claim were Hezbollah targets inside Syria.
Investigation revealed that in fact Israel was hitting Syrian military and Hezbollah targets who are valiantly fighting
against ISIS and other terrorists. De facto thereby Israel was actually helping ISIS, like General John Allen's year-
long "anti-ISIS" bombings.

That a faction in the Pentagon has secretly worked behind-the-scenes to train, arm and finance what today is called
ISIS or IS in Syria is now a matter of open record. In August 2012, a Pentagon document classified "Secret," later
declassified under pressure of the US NGO Judicial Watch, detailed precisely the emergence of what became the
Islamic State or ISIS emerging from the Islamic State in Iraq, then an Al Qaeda affiliate.

The Pentagon document stated, "...there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist
Principality in eastern Syria (Hasaka and Der Zor), and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition
[to Assad-w.e.] want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime, which is considered the strategic depth of the Shia
expansion (Iraq and Iran)." The supporting powers to the opposition in 2012 then included Qatar, Turkey, Saudi
Arabia, the USA and behind-the-scenes, Netanyahu's Israel.

Precisely this creation of a "Salafist Principality in eastern Syria," today's territory of ISIL or IS, was the agenda of
Petraeus, General Allen and others in Washington to destroy Assad. It's what put the Obama Administration at
loggerhead with Russia, China and Iran over the bizarre US demand Assad must first go before ISIS can be
destroyed. Now the game is in the open for the world to see Washington's duplicity in backing what the Russian's
accurately call "moderate terrorists" against a duly-elected Assad. That Israel is also in the midst of this rats' nest of
opposition terrorist forces in Syria was confirmed in a recent UN report.

What the report did not mention was why Israeli IDF military would have such a passionate interest in Syria,
especially Syria's Golan Heights.

Why Israel Wants Assad Out

In December, 2014 the Jerusalem Post in Israel reported the findings of a largely ignored, and politically explosive
report detailing UN sightings of Israeli military together with ISIS terrorist combatants. The UN peacekeeping force,
UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), stationed since 1974 along the Golan Heights border between Syria
and Israel, revealed that Israel had been working closely with Syrian opposition terrorists, including Al Qaeda's Al
Nusra Front and IS in the Golan Heights, and "kept close contact over the past 18 months." The report was
submitted to the UN Security Council. Mainstream media in the US and West buried the explosive findings.

The UN documents showed that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were maintaining regular contact with members of
the so-called Islamic State since May of 2013. The IDF stated that this was only for medical care for civilians, but the
deception was broken when the UNDOF observers identified direct contact between IDF forces and ISIS soldiers,
including giving medical care to ISIS fighters. Observations even included the transfer of two crates from the IDF to
ISIS forces, the contents of which have not been confirmed. Further the UN report identified what the Syrians label
a "crossing point of forces between Israel and ISIS," a point of concern UNDOF brought before the UN Security
Council.

The UNDOF was created by a May, 1974 UN Security Council Resolution No. 350 in the wake of tensions from the
October 1973 Yom Kippur War between Syria and Israel. It established a buffer zone between Israel and Syria's
Golan Heights according to the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, to be governed and policed by the Syrian
authorities. No military forces other than UNDOF are permitted within it. Today it has 1,200 observers.

Since 2013 and the escalation of Israeli attacks on Syria along the Golan Heights, claiming pursuit of "Hezbollah
terrorists," the UNDOF itself has been subject to massive attacks by ISIS or Al Qaeda's Al Nusra Front terrorists in
the Golan Heights for the first time since 1974, of kidnappings, of killings, of theft of UN weapons and ammunition,
vehicles and other assets, and the looting and destruction of facilities. Someone obviously does not want UNDOF to
remain policing the Golan Heights.

Israel and Golan Heights Oil

In his November 9 White House meeting with US President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu asked
Washington to reconsider the fact that since the 1967 Six-Days' War between Israel and the Arab countries, Israel
has illegally occupied a significant part of the Golan Heights. In their meeting, Netanyahu, apparently without
success, called on Obama to back formal Israeli annexation of the illegally-occupied Golan Heights, claiming that the
absence of a functioning Syrian government "allows for different thinking" concerning the future status of the
strategically important area.

Of course Netanyahu did not address in any honest way how Israeli IDF and other forces had been responsible for
the absence of a functioning Syrian government by their support for ISIS and Al Nusra Front of Al Qaeda.

In 2013, when UNDOF began to document increasing contact between Israeli military and IS and Al Qaeda along the
Golan Heights, a little-known Newark, New Jersey oil company, Genie Energy, with an Israeli daughter company,
Afek Oil & Gas, began also moving into Golan Heights with permission of the Netanyahu government to explore for
oil. That same year Israeli military engineers overhauled the forty-five mile border fence with Syria, replacing it with
a steel barricade that included barbed wire, touch sensors, motion detectors, infrared cameras, and ground radar,
putting it on par with the Wall Israel has constructed in the West Bank.

Interestingly enough, on October 8, Yuval Bartov, chief geologist from Genie Energy's Israeli subsidiary, Afek Oil &
Gas, told Israel's Channel 2 TV that his company had found a major oil reservoir on the Golan Heights: "We've found
an oil stratum 350 meters thick in the southern Golan Heights. On average worldwide, strata are 20 to 30 meters
thick, and this is 10 times as large as that, so we are talking about significant quantities." As I noted in an earlier
article, the International Advisory Board of Genie Energy includes such notorious names as Dick Cheney, former CIA
head and infamous neo-con James Woolsey, Jacob Lord Rothschild and others.

Of course no reasonable person in their right mind would suggest there might be a link between Israeli military
dealings with the ISIS and other anti-Assad terrorists in Syria, especially in the Golan Heights, and the oil find of
Genie Energy in the same place, and with Netanyahu's latest Golan Heights "rethink" appeal to Obama. That would
smell too much like "conspiracy theory" and all reasonable people know conspiracies don't exist, only coincidences.
Or? In fact, to paraphrase the immortal words of Brad Pitt in the role of West Virginia First Lieutenant Aldo Raine in
the final scene of Tarantino's brilliant film, Inglorious Basterds, it seems that Ol Netanyahu and his pecker-suckin
pals in the IDF and Mossad just got caught with their hands in a very dirty cookie jar in Syria.

[Magda Hassan]

Omar Sharif lives on as an oil broker. I wonder if this is to take the heat off Turkey as they come out looking quite clean when they clearly are not. Including Erdogan's son.

Raqqa's Rockefellers: How Islamic State oil flows to Israel

By: Al-Araby al-Jadeed staff Date of publication: 26 November, 2015

Tags

oil, exclusive, Islamic State group, IS, caliphate, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Dr Farid, Kurdistan, mafia, Raqqa,
Oil produced by the Islamic State group finances its bloodlust. But how is it extracted, transported and sold? Who is buying it, and how does it reach Israel?
Oil produced from fields under the control of the Islamic State group is at the heart of a new investigation by al-Araby al-Jadeed. The black gold is extracted, transported and sold, providing the armed group with a vital financial lifeline.

But who buys it? Who finances the murderous brutality that has taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria? How does it get from the ground to the petrol tank, and who profits along the way?

The Islamic State group uses millions of dollars in oil revenues to expand and manage vast areas under its control, home to around five million civilians.

IS sells Iraqi and Syrian oil for a very low price to Kurdish and Turkish smuggling networks and mafias, who label it and sell it on as barrels from the Kurdistan Regional Government.

It is then most frequently transported from Turkey to Israel, via knowing or unknowing middlemen, according to al-Araby's investigation.

The Islamic State group has told al-Araby that it did not intentionally sell oil to Israel, blaming agents along the route to international markets.

Oil fields

All around IS-controlled oil fields in northern Iraq and eastern Syria, there are signs that read: "Photography is strictly forbidden - violators risk their safety." They have been signed in the name of the IS group. [TABLE="width: 350"]
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[TD="bgcolor: #eeeeee, align: center"]Black gold: IS and the Middle East's oil trade[/TD]
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[TD="bgcolor: #eeeeee, align: left"]- US airstrikes focus on destroying IS oil infrastructure
- [URL="http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2015/11/9/debating-hard-power-against-is"]Comment: Debating hard power against IS
[/URL]- Analysis: Never mind the Russians, IS is destroying itself
- Comment: Who's afraid of low oil prices?
- Video: Iraqi forces retake Baiji oil refinery from IS
- Analysis: Another Iranian oil shipment to Assad
- Russian company begins oil exploration off Syrian coast

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These oil fields are in production between seven and nine hours a day, from sunset to sunrise, while production is mostly supervised by the Iraqi workers and engineers who had previously been running operations, kept on in their jobs by IS after it captured the territory.

IS is heavily dependent on its oil revenues. Its other income, such as from donations and kidnap ransoms has slowly dwindled. Workers in IS oil fields and their families are well looked after, because they are very important to the group's financial survival.

IS oil extraction capacity developed further in 2015 when it obtained hydraulic machines and electric pumps after taking control of the Allas and Ajeel oil fields near the Iraqi city of Tikrit.

The group also seized the equipment of a small Asian oil company that was developing an oil field close to the Iraqi city of Mosul before IS overran the area last June.

IS oil production in Syria is focused on the Conoco and al-Taim oil fields, west and northwest of Deir Ezzor, while in Iraq the group uses al-Najma and al-Qayara fields near Mosul. A number of smaller fields in both Iraq and Syria are used by the group for local energy needs.

According to estimates based on the number of oil tankers that leave Iraq, in addition to al-Araby's sources in the Turkish town of Sirnak on the border with Iraq, through which smuggled oil transits, IS is producing an average of 30,000 barrels a day from the Iraqi and Syrian oil fields it controls.

The export trek

Al-Araby has obtained information about how IS smuggles oil from a colonel in the Iraqi Intelligence Services who we are keeping anonymous for his security.

The information was verified by Kurdish security officials, employees at the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan, and an official at one of three oil companies that deal in IS-smuggled oil.

The Iraqi colonel, who along with US investigators is working on a way to stop terrorist finance streams, told al-Araby about the stages that the smuggled oil goes through from the points of extraction in Iraqi oil fields to its destination - notably including the port of Ashdod, Israel.

"After the oil is extracted and loaded, the oil tankers leave Nineveh province and head north to the city of Zakho, 88km north of Mosul," the colonel said. Zakho is a Kurdish city in Iraqi Kurdistan, right on the border with Turkey.

"After IS oil lorries arrive in Zakho - normally 70 to 100 of them at a time - they are met by oil smuggling mafias, a mix of Syrian and Iraqi Kurds, in addition to some Turks and Iranians," the colonel continued.

"The person in charge of the oil shipment sells the oil to the highest bidder," the colonel added. Competition between organised gangs has reached fever pitch, and the assassination of mafia leaders has become commonplace.

The highest bidder pays between 10 and 25 percent of the oil's value in cash - US dollars - and the remainder is paid later, according to the colonel.

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The drivers hand over their vehicles to other drivers who carry permits and papers to cross the border into Turkey with the shipment, the Iraqi intelligence officer said. The original drivers are given empty lorries to drive back to IS-controlled areas.

According to the colonel, these transactions usually take place in a variety of locations on the outskirts of Zakho. The locations are agreed by phone.

Before crossing any borders, the mafias transfer the crude oil to privately owned rudimentary refineries, where the oil is heated and again loaded onto lorries to transfer them across the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing into Turkey.

The rudimentary refining, according to the colonel, is performed because Turkish authorities do not allow crude oil to cross the border if it is not licensed by the Iraqi government.

The initial refining stage is conducted to obtain documents that would pass the oil off as oil by-products, which are allowed through the border.

According to the intelligence officer, border officials receive large bribes from local Iraqi smuggling gangs and privately owned refineries.

Once in Turkey, the lorries continue to the town of Silopi, where the oil is delivered to a person who goes by the aliases of Dr Farid, Hajji Farid and Uncle Farid.

Uncle Farid is an Israeli-Greek dual national in his fifties. He is usually accompanied by two strong-built men in a black Jeep Cherokee. Because of the risk involved in taking a photo of Uncle Farid, a representative drawing was made of him.

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[TD="align: center"]An artists' impression of Dr Farid (Uncle Farid), the Israeli-Greek oil broker[/TD]
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Once inside Turkey, IS oil is indistinguishable from oil sold by the Kurdistan Regional Government, as both are sold as "illegal", "source unknown" or "unlicensed" oil.

The companies that buy the KRG oil also buy IS-smuggled oil, according to the colonel.

The route to Israel

After paying drivers, middlemen and bribes, IS' profit is $15 to $18 a barrel. The group currently makes $19 million on average each month, according to the intelligence officer.

Uncle Farid owns a licensed import-export business that he uses to broker deals between the smuggling mafias that buy IS oil and the three oil companies that export the oil to Israel.

Al-Araby has the names of these companies and details of their illegal trades. One of these companies is also supported by a very high-profile Western official.

The companies compete to buy the smuggled oil and then transfer it to Israel through the Turkish ports of Mersin, Dortyol and Ceyhan, according to the colonel.

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Al-Araby has discovered several brokers who work in the same business as Uncle Farid - but he remains the most influential and effective broker when it comes to marketing smuggled oil.

A paper written by marine engineers George Kioukstsolou and Dr Alec D Coutroubis at the University of Greenwich tracked the oil trade through Ceyhan port, and found some correlation between IS military successes and spikes in the oil output at the port.

In August, the Financial Times reported that Israel obtained up to 75 percent of its oil supplies from Iraqi Kurdistan. More than a third of such exports go through the port of Ceyhan.

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Kioukstsolou told al-Araby al-Jadeed that this suggests corruption by middlemen and those at the lower end of the trade hierarchy - rather than institutional abuse by multinational businesses or governments.

According to a European official at an international oil company who met with al-Araby in a Gulf capital, Israel refines the oil only "once or twice" because it does not have advanced refineries. It exports the oil to Mediterranean countries - where the oil "gains a semi-legitimate status" - for $30 to $35 a barrel.

"The oil is sold within a day or two to a number of private companies, while the majority goes to an Italian refinery owned by one of the largest shareholders in an Italian football club [name removed] where the oil is refined and used locally," added the European oil official.

"Israel has in one way or another become the main marketer of IS oil. Without them, most IS-produced oil would have remained going between Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Even the three companies would not receive the oil if they did not have a buyer in Israel," said the industry official.

According to him, most countries avoid dealing in this type of smuggled oil, despite its alluring price, due to legal implications and the war against the Islamic State group.

Delivery and payment

Al-Araby has discovered that IS uses a variety of ways to receive payments for its smuggled oil - in a manner similar to other international criminal networks.

First, IS receives a cash payment worth 10 to 25 percent of the oil's value upon sale to the criminal gangs operating around the Turkish border.

Second, payments from oil trading companies are deposited in a private Turkish bank account belonging to an anonymous Iraqi person, through someone such as Uncle Farid, and then transferred to Mosul and Raqqa, laundered through a number of currency exchange companies.

Third, oil payments are used to buy cars that are exported to Iraq, where they are sold by IS operatives in Baghdad and southern cities, and the funds transferred internally to the IS treasury.

IS responds

Hours before this investigation report was concluded, al-Araby was able to talk via Skype to someone close to IS in the self-acclaimed capital of the "caliphate," Raqqa, in Syria.

"To be fair, the [IS] organisation sells oil from caliphate territories but does not aim to sell it to Israel or any other country," he said. "It produces and sells it via mediators, then companies, who decide whom to sell it to."

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Editor's note: An earlier published version of this article included an incorrect reference to Financial Times reporters describing the port of Ceyhan as a "potential gateway for IS-smuggled crude". Al-Araby al-Jadeed recognises this was reported in error and apologises for any confusion.

[Magda Hassan]

Would be one reason why Israel is not attacked by ISIS/Daesh

Israel buys most oil smuggled from ISIS territory - report

30/11/2015, 17:21
Globes correspondent

Israel has become the main buyer for oil from ISIS controlled territory, reports "al-Araby al-Jadeed."

Kurdish and Turkish smugglers are transporting oil from ISIS controlled territory in Syria and Iraq and selling it to Israel, according to several reports in the Arab and Russian media. An estimated 20,000-40,000 barrels of oil are produced daily in ISIS controlled territory generating $1-1.5 million daily profit for the terrorist organization.
The oil is extracted from Dir A-Zur in Syria and two fields in Iraq and transported to the Kurdish city of Zakhu in a triangle of land near the borders of Syria, Iraq and Turkey. Israeli and Turkish mediators come to the city and when prices are agreed, the oil is smuggled to the Turkish city of Silop marked as originating from Kurdish regions of Iraq and sold for $15-18 per barrel (WTI and Brent Crude currently sell for $41 and $45 per barrel) to the Israeli mediator, a man in his 50s with dual Greek-Israeli citizenship known as Dr. Farid. He transports the oil via several Turkish ports and then onto other ports, with Israel among the main destinations.
In August, the "Financial Times" reported that Israel obtained 75% of its oil supplies from Iraqi Kurdistan. More than a third of such exports go through the port of Ceyhan, which the FT describe as a "potential gateway for ISIS-smuggled crude."

RELATED ARTICLES

ISIS cell uncovered in northern Israel

"Israel has in one way or another become the main marketer of ISIS oil. Without them, most ISIS-produced oil would have remained going between Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Even the three companies would not receive the oil if they did not have a buyer in Israel," an industry official told the newspaper "al-Araby al-Jadeed."
"Israel has in one way or another become the main marketer of IS oil. Without them, most ISIS-produced oil would have remained going between Iraq, Syria and Turkey," the industry official added.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 30, 2015

[Magda Hassan]

Videos Here

Saving their sworn enemy: Heartstopping footage shows Israeli commandos rescuing wounded men from Syrian warzone - but WHY are they risking their lives for Islamic militants?

• Elite Israeli troops rescue wounded Syrians from the world's worst war almost every night
  
• They have saved more than 2,000 people since 2013, at a cost of 50 million shekels (£8.7million)
  
• Many are enemies of Israel and some may even be fighters for groups affiliated to Al Qaeda
  
• MailOnline embedded with Israeli commandos stationed on the border between Israel and Syria
  
• Dramatic video filmed by MailOnline and the Israeli army shows these operations taking place
  
• Israel says that the operation is purely humanitarian but analysts believe Israel also has strategic reasons
  
• For more of the latest news updates on the Syrian war visit www.dailymail.co.uk/syria
  

By Jake Wallis Simons On The Israel-syria Border For Mailonline
Published: 18:55 EST, 8 December 2015 | Updated: 11:50 EST, 9 December 2015
[URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315347/Watch-heart-pounding-moment-Israeli-commandos-save-Islamic-militants-Syrian-warzone-risking-lives-sworn-enemies.html#comments"] 104
View comments
[/URL]
Under cover of darkness, an Israeli armoured car advances down the potholed road that leads to Syria.
As it crests a small hill, the driver picks up the radio handset and tells his commanding officer that the border is in sight.
He kills the engine. Ten heavily-armed commandos jump out and take cover, watching for signs of ambush. Then five of them move up to the 12ft chainlink fence that marks the limit of Israeli-held territory.
On the other side, on the very edge of Syria, lies an unconscious man wrapped like a doll in a blood-drenched duvet. The commandos unlock the fence, open a section of it and drag him onto Israeli soil.
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Unconscious: A wounded Syrian Islamic militant receives urgent medical treatment from Israeli troops at the Syrian border. The commandos are seen administering 'tracheal intubation' by forcing a tube down the man's throat to prevent asphyxiation











The casualty who doesn't look older than 20 is losing blood fast. He has been shot in the intestines and the liver, and has a deep laceration in his left ankle.
After putting him on an emergency drip, the commandos stretcher him back to the armoured car and head back to Israel.
But this wounded man is not an Israeli soldier, or even an Israeli citizen. He is an Islamic militant. And his rescue forms part of an extraordinary humanitarian mission that is fraught with danger and has provoked deep controversy on all sides.



Almost every night, Israeli troops run secret missions to save the lives of Syrian fighters, all of whom are sworn enemies of the Jewish state.
MailOnline has gained unprecedented access to this secretive and hazardous operation, embedding with the commandos to obtain exclusive footage, and interviewing the medics who are obliged to treat Syrian militants, some of whom openly admit that they intend to kill Israelis.
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Danger: Israeli commandos are carrying out similar rescues every night - but their government's motive for authorising the extraordinary missions is unclear

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Emergency: The militant is very close to death and requires expert medical attention from the team, including a complex blood transfusion

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Chaos: Alongside the border with Israel numerous groups battle in Syria, including Hezbollah, Government troops, rebels and ISIS

Israel insists that these treacherous nightly rescues are purely humanitarian, and that it can only hope to 'win hearts and minds' in Syria. But analysts suggest the Jewish state has in fact struck a deadly 'deal with the devil' offering support to the Sunni militants who fight the Syrian ruler Assad in the hope of containing its arch enemies Hezbollah and Iran.
In giving medical support to these fighters, Israel has done a deal with the devil

Kamal Alam, research analyst, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)

There is no doubt about the danger involved. Many of the casualties rescued by Israel belong to Salafist groups who harbour a deep-seated hatred of the Jewish State. It has also been reported that some may be members of Jabhat al-Nusra, a Syrian group affiliated to Al Qaeda that has kidnapped scores of UN peacekeeping troops in this area, and has massacred Christians deeper in Syria.
It is unclear how the two enemies arrange the rescue. All that has been disclosed is that word reaches Israeli forces that casualties have been dumped at the border, intelligence establishes that it is not a trap, and the commandos are sent in.
In the three years that Israel has been running these operations, it has saved the lives of more than 2,000 Syrians at least 80 per cent of whom are male and of fighting age at a cost of 50 million shekels (£8.7 million).
Almost nothing is known about the Syrian as he is wheeled into emergency surgery 40 minutes after the rescue. He may be a member of a relatively moderate Islamist group, or he may be a jihadi. For its part, Israel says it either does not gather, or does not disclose, this information.









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Wounded: The commandos must stabilise the casualty as soon as possible and rush him to hospital so that his wounds can be treated

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Safe: The stabilised casualty is stretchered out of the vehicle outside the hospital, where he will be handed over to the surgical team

'My dream is that one day, the Red Cross will say, thanks guys, we'll take it from here, you go back to your unit and take care of injured Israelis,' said Lieutenant Colonel Itzik Malka, commander of the medical branch of the Golan Brigade.
'I am proud of what we are doing here, but it is a great burden. For every Syrian in hospital, there is one less bed for an Israeli. One day we will have to make a choice between an Israeli life and a Syrian one. When that happens it will be hard, but I have to say my first duty will be to Israelis.'
One day we will have to make a choice between an Israeli life and a Syrian one. When that happens, my first duty will be to Israelis
Lieutenant Colonel Itzik Malka, commander of the medical branch of the Golan Brigade


Officially, Israel says that this operation is part of its programme of humanitarianism, which has provided aid to a long list of countries from Haiti to Nepal. Palestinian civilians are also regular patients at Israeli hospitals such as the Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa.
A spokesman pointed out that about 20 per cent of the Syrians treated by Israel are civilians. MailOnline witnessed Israeli army medics treating a sick two-month-old baby and a middle-aged man who had suffered a heart attack, both of whom were evacuated across the Syrian border by the commandos.
The rescue of the baby girl was particularly poignant. Her older brother had died of a rare bone disease, and her mother feared that she was showing symptoms of the same disorder. Distraught, the woman decided to brave the dangers of the border and appeal to the enemy for help.
The baby was treated under cover of darkness in the back of an armoured car, by Israeli military medics with rifles slung over their shoulders. They were able to ascertain that she was suffering from a high fever and gave the mother some much-needed medication.
Then mother and infant were escorted by heavily-armed combat troops back to the Syrian warzone. Diagnosing the bone disorder would have to wait.
'I wouldn't say that Israel is doing this for nothing,' said Chris Doyle, Director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding. 'If so, it wouldn't be publicising it.
'There is an element of wanting to improve the country's brand and image abroad, when all the opinion polls show that Israel doesn't have the greatest reputation. £8.7million is a large price to pay for PR, but Israel's powers-that-be have realised that it has to invest in its image.'
An Israeli Government spokesman rejected these claims as 'absurd'.
'Israel is a world leader in providing humanitarian assistance, both in the Middle East and around the world,' he said. He also pointed out that this is not the first time the Jewish State has given medical care to those bent on its destruction and their families.
In October, a Tel Aviv hospital treated Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' brother-in-law, and last year it treated the daughter of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. But analysts maintain that in the 'tough neighbourhood' of the Middle East, it is rare to give something for nothing.
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Humanitarian: A Syrian woman (centre) is brought into Israel by commandos so that her ill baby can be treated by military medics

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Support: An Israeli Army medic gives the Syrian baby a medical examination. The child's older brother died of the same condition

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Desperate: After being treated in the back of a jeep, mother and infant are escorted back to the dangerous Syrian warzone

MailOnline was given access to interview Syrian militants at the Ziv Medical Centre in Safed, northern Israel, one of a number of hospitals at which they are treated, on condition that their identities are not revealed. If other Syrians discovered they had received medical care in the hated Israel, they would be in danger of execution.
The casualties lavished praise on Israel. 'I will not fight against Israel in the future. Israel looks after wounded people better than the Arabs. The Arabs are dogs,' said a wiry rebel fighter who gave his name as Ahmed, 23, who was recovering from a gunshot wound to the groin.
'Before I came here, I wouldn't have said this. But there are many people who got injured and came to Israel for treatment, and they told me about it. I feel safe here in Israel. But when I am well again, I will go back and fight.'
Another rebel, 20-year-old Mohammed, whose leg had been all but destroyed by fire from a Russian-made 'Dushka' heavy machine gun, agreed. 'Thanks to Israel for letting me in,' he said, eyeing the surgical frame supporting his shattered leg.
'The butcher Assad is my enemy. Israel is not my enemy. The one who treats you is not your enemy.' As soon as he was well enough, he added, he too intended to go back to Syria to take up arms again.
The Israeli doctor in charge of their treatment, Russian-born Professor Alexander Lerner a leading expert in treating war injuries did not disguise his delight at these responses.
'We are trying to build peace with our neighbours and win their hearts and minds,' he said. 'There are now 2,000 Syrians who have had their lives saved by Israel. We hope that this will change their life position. In the future, they will be more friendly to Israel and they won't want to fight us.'
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Recovering: Mohammed, 20, a Syrian militant, receives medical care in Israel after his leg was almost destroyed by heavy machine gun fire

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Converted: Ahmed, 23, a Syrian militant, says Israel is no longer his enemy, but many suspect he is just saying what Israelis want to hear

Other medical staff, however, believe that the militants were lying. Issa Peres, 36, a Christian Israeli Arab social worker, said that many hospital staff resented having to treat them.
I don't trust any one of them. You can't change their minds by taking care of them for two weeks
Issa Peres, social worker, Ziv Medical Centre


'I work with the Syrians all the time, I see and hear bad things,' he said. 'Many of them said bad words to me, that they are going to kill me, they are going to fight with the Christian community, when they are safe they will fight against Israel.
'They have destroyed churches and Christian communities in Syria. I have to care for them, it is my job. But if I'm sitting with myself, I say no, it is not right for Israel to treat them.'
Asked about the fighters' promises not to fight against Israel in the future, he said: 'I don't trust any one of them. They grew up believing Israel is their enemy, Israel is the devil. You can't change their minds by taking care of them for two weeks.'
Other Israelis are more bitter. In June, two wounded Syrian jihadis were attacked by a lynch-mob while they were being transported to hospital by ambulance. One was beaten to death, while the other suffered serious injuries.
Six weeks later, two members of the Israeli Druze community an Arabic-speaking people found in Israel and across the Levant were charged with murder. It emerged that the militants were suspected members of Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al Qaeda affiliate who had attacked Druze villages in Syria.
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Nervous: A treated Syrian militant is wheeled out of a civilian ambulance a mile from the Syrian border in order to be taken back to Syria

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Returning: The militant is due to be returned back to war in an operation that is risky for the Israeli troops who will take him to the border

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Farewell: The Syrian militant takes a final look at the medical team that saved his life before heading back to continue fighting in the war

According to one senior Israeli army officer, Israel's humanitarian mission may also be part of a security strategy, aiming to 'keep the northern border quiet and our soldiers safe' by using medical treatment as an 'insurance policy'.
It is humanitarian, but it's also a case of "my enemy's enemy is my friend"
Kamal Alam, research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)


'The Syrians will not strike us because they know we'd stop helping them,' Lieutenant Colonel Malka told MailOnline.
'They are desperate for our medical help. They have no doctors, not even a vet. Once we treated a man who had been stitched up by a friend with a needle and thread.
'If they want our help to continue, they know they must stop anybody from attacking our soldiers and civilians.'
Some experts argue that the status quo makes sense for both sides. The militants are stretched almost to breaking-point in a bitter struggle against Assad, and Israel, which is coping with stabbings throughout the country and sporadic rocket fire from Gaza, wants to avoid a flare-up of terror in the north.
Others, however, believe that Israel is also pursuing more hard-headed geopolitical goals. 'Above all, Israel wants to prevent Hezbollah from gaining control on the other side of the border,' said Michael Stephens, Research Fellow for Middle East Studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
'The Sunni militants are fighting Hezbollah, so for now they share the same objectives as Israel. That's why we're seeing this odd cooperation between people who would be enemies under any other circumstances.
'It is also possible that Israel is looking at what capacity these Syrians can add to its intelligence gathering in Syria, which is already formidable.'
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Leaving: The rebel fighter is wheeled out of an ambulance and transferred to a stretcher, which will be placed in an armoured vehicle

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The final stage: These are the last moments that this Syrian militant is likely to spend in Israel before he goes back to fight in the war

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Transfer: The militant is taken on a stretcher to the waiting armoured vehicle for the short journey back to Syria, where he will be collected

Analysts agree that the powerful Shia alliance of Iran, Hezbollah and Assad's troops is an existential threat to Israel, far outweighing any danger from the Sunni Islamist rebels (who are backed by Saudi Arabia, understood to have a form of working relationship in some areas with Israel).
Significantly, an Israeli spokesman confirmed that no medical support has been provided to any militants from the Shia alliance.
'From an Israeli viewpoint, it's a case of my enemy's enemy is my friend,' said Kamal Alam, research analyst at RUSI and an expert in Syrian affairs.
'There is no one they can trust in the Syrian quagmire, but if you get rid of Hezbollah, that's the end of Iran in the region. Israel's main aim has to be to eliminate Hezbollah and whoever takes on Hezbollah is an uneasy but necessary ally.
'In giving medical support to these fighters, Israel has done a deal with the devil.'
For Israel to actually arm and equip the Sunni militants, he pointed out, would be to risk a fierce backlash, both from the Arab world and in Israel. It would also run the risk that the weapons could one day be turned against the Jewish State.
Humanitarian medical assistance, on the other hand, which is also offered to civilians, raises fewer objections on both sides, while fulfilling mutual strategic objectives.
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Mission accomplished: The armoured car, filled with heavily armed commandos and the patched-up militant, leaves for the Syrian border

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Watching him go: A team of commandos look on as their comrades take the militant on the dangerous journey back to war in Syria

This is where the commandos come in. For these young soldiers, the night is yet young; taking Syrian casualties to hospital was just the first half of their duties. As the night wears on, an ambulance draws up carrying a patched-up militant ready to be taken back to war.
He has received treatment at the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel's leading medical facility for treating the most severely wounded patients. A civilian ambulance with an armed guard has taken him on the 90-minute journey to the border, to avoid attracting the attention of lynch-mobs along the way.
MailOnline is allowed to film on condition that the militant is not asked his allegiances. When he is wheeled out of the ambulance, it is clear that despite intensive medical treatment, he is still very unwell. One of his legs is in plaster and the other is scarred with shrapnel pockmarks, and his right eye is covered with a bandage. He looks disoriented and afraid as he is transferred into an armoured vehicle and driven off into the darkness.
From Israel's point of view, this is the conclusion of another successful humanitarian mission, which now take place nightly as the conflict in Syria burns on. At the same time, however, many believe that this man's treatment and the care given to thousands of Syrians like him is an important, if unlikely, investment in Israel's security.
[B]WHO IS FIGHTING WHOM IN SYRIA AND WHERE DOES ISRAEL FIT IN?[/B]

For four bitter years, the Syrian civil war has been raging less than a mile from Israeli-held territory (Jake Wallis Simons writes). But aside from the occasional exchange of fire, the Jewish State has so far avoided being dragged into the conflict.
Nonetheless, Israel has significant interests at stake in the hostilities. Most obviously, it does not want to see Iranian influence creeping close to its borders, as this could have serious security repercussions.
A senior intelligence officer told MailOnline that Israel also concerned about Hezbollah's role in the Syrian conflict, as the Lebanese militia is gaining valuable combat experience that may strengthen its future operations against Israel.
Below is a summary of the main military actors in Syria, and what each one means for Israel.
Assad's troops: The Syrian ruler's forces are now only operational in his stronghold in western Syria, but they are now beginning to regain territory with the help of Russian air support. Israel has fought three bitter wars with Syria, and sees it as a longstanding enemy.
Iran: Officially, the theocracy denies that it has combat personnel engaged in Syria. But analyses of military burials suggests that at least 100 members of the Revolutionary Guards and the elite Quds Force have been killed in action in the country since January 2013, and its financial and logistical support of Assad is significant. Iran is by far Israel's most powerful foe, having repeatedly threatened to destroy the Jewish State. Given the large sums of money that will flow into Iran following the lifting of Western sanctions, its deep involvement in Syria is of grave concern to Israel.
Hezbollah: The Shia Lebanese guerrilla organisation has formidable capabilities, and works hand-in-glove with Iran in Syria. It is one of Israel's most deadly enemies, having kidnapped a number of Israeli soldiers and fought several debilitating conflicts with the Jewish State.
Russia: Officially on friendly terms with Israel, Vladimir Putin nonetheless threw his hat into the ring on the side of Assad in September. The US says Russia has been mostly targeting the 'moderate' opposition, but this may have changed since ISIS downed the Russian Airbus A321 in Egypt on 31 October, killing all 224 people on board. Nonetheless, Russia's main priority is to prop up Assad.
ISIS: The brutal jihadi group, which has become the number one enemy of the West since it mounted attacks in Paris in November, controls areas of Iraq and Syria which is home to five million people and is thought to earn more than $2billion a year. In October, the group released a video in Hebrew in which it promised that 'not one Jew will be left in Jerusalem'. But it currently does not occupy territory in immediate reach of the Israeli border.
Saudi Arabia: The Gulf monarchy is the principal financial backer of the Sunni militia who are fighting Assad , including the Army of Conquest, a group of Islamist rebels linked to Al Qaeda. It is engaged in a long-term struggle for supremacy with Iran, and is also fighting Iranian-backed Shia forces in Yemen. It is understood that Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states have a working relationship with Israel, which is hated on the Arab street. Israel has recently opened its first ever diplomatic mission in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Shia militia: Iran has mobilised a multinational network of Shia militias in Syria, which analysts believe serves as Iran's 'Foreign Legion', fighting the Sunni networks of ISIS and al-Qaeda. This includes Shia fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan. All of these militiamen are informed by Iran's loathing of Israel, even if they do not necessarily share it to the same extent.
Al Qaeda: Various AQ affiliate groups are fighting Assad in Syria, including the feared al-Nusra Front, also known as the Syrian Al Qaeda. This group attacked Druze villages in southern Syria, angering Israeli Druze on the other side of the border. As a result, two alleged al-Nusra fighters who were being treated in Israel were lynched by Israeli Druze in June 2015.
The Kurds: This proud people has been fighting for an independent Kurdistan for decades, and is currently engaged in a bloody war with ISIS. Kurdish forces are comprised of a number of disparate militia such as the YPG (supported by Syrian Turkmen Brigades) and the PKK, which is locked in an armed struggle with Turkey. The Kurds have long been on friendly terms with Israel, which supports their desire for independence.
Turkey: The country is preoccupied with combating the Turkish Kurds in northern Syria, and has conducted airstrikes against them, as well as against ISIS. It has also provided arms and logistical support to the Free Syrian Army, and wishes to see Assad deposed. Relations between Turkey and Israel were derailed in 2010, when eight Turkish nationals and an American-Turkish activist were killed by Israeli commandos in international waters when they attempted to run the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The relationship has been repaired to a large extent since.
Moderate Syrian rebels: A range of militias opposed to Assad are referred to generally as the Free Syrian Army. David Cameron has placed their numbers at about 70,000, but doubts remain about how unified they are, given the fact that they do not share a central command structure and operate in different parts of the country. They have no immediate desire to fight Israel, but share the general hatred of the Jewish state that dominates in Syria.
United States: The Obama administration failed to attack Assad when he crossed the 'red line' of using chemical weapons in 2014. However, it has conducted significant air operations against ISIS, the al Nusra Front and other jihadi groups. The US is a staunch ally of Israel, though relations have been strained in recent years due to differences between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu over the settlement policy on the West Bank.
France: Following the Paris terror attacks, France has played a leading role in rallying support for Western strikes on ISIS, and has significantly stepped up its own air operations. Large numbers of French Jews have emigrated to Israel in the wake of terror attacks against Jewish targets in France. The French Government was one of the first to recognise the Jewish State in 1948, but also strongly supports the Palestinian right to self-determination.
United Kingdom: The RAF has been bombing ISIS in Iraq since September 2014. After Parliament rejected military strikes against Assad in 2013, British involvement in Syria was limited to logistical support. The vote to approve airstrikes in Syria in December changed that, and the UK is now carrying out fierce air assaults on ISIS in Syria as well as Iraq. Britain is a longstanding friend of Israel, though Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition, has a reputation for hostility towards the Jewish State.

[David Guyatt]

Israel, obviously, is internationally recognised for it's "humanitarian" concerns with Islamic fighters....

[Magda Hassan]

Israel, obviously, is internationally recognised for it's "humanitarian" concerns with Islamic fighters....

Just goes to show they don't have a problem with Muslims. Just Palestinians. Especially those who want their human and legal rights. I always think it a mistake to adopt the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' position. Not always so at all.

[Tracy Riddle]

It's called "protecting your investment."

[Magda Hassan]

Hackers trace ISIS Twitter accounts to the Department of Work and Pensions

HACKERS have tracked Islamic State (ISIS) Twitter accounts to the BRITISH GOVERNMENT.

By Laura Mowat
PUBLISHED: 12:09, Tue, Dec 15, 2015 | UPDATED: 12:22, Tue, Dec 15, 2015


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Hackers discovered IP addresses linked back to British Government A group of teenager computer experts, known as VandaSec, have discovered evidence linking three accounts supporting ISIS, also known as Daesh, to the Department of Work and Pensions' London offices.
Hackers found the internet addresses were owned by the DWP raising serious concerns of how extremists had gained control of the IP addresses.
This revelation has caused speculation someone inside the government department is running ISIS-supporting accounts, or they were created by intelligence services to trap wannabe jihadis.
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A computer hacker

We think carefully about which companies we sell addresses to, but how their customers use this internet connection is beyond our control
Cabinet office spokesman

An internet expert has suggested the reason for the trace to the Government is because the cabinet office sold IP addresses to two Saudi Arabian firms.
The IP addresses obtained by VandaSec was traced to unpublicised transactions between Britain and Saudi Arabia.
The accounts were then used to carry out online recruitment and propaganda campaigns.
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Fighters in Northern Ramandi liberating them from ISIS control Following the sale, the IP addresses were used by extremists to spread their message of hate.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "The Government owns millions of unused IP addresses which we are selling to get a good return for hardworking taxpayers.
"We have sold a number of these addresses to telecoms companies both in the UK and internationally to allow their customers to connect to the internet.
"We think carefully about which companies we sell addresses to, but how their customers use this internet connection is beyond our control."
The Government did not reveal how much money was made from selling the IP addresses to the pair of Saudi firms, because it is commercially sensitive information.
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Saudi Arabia, where the IP addresses have been linked to
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/626928/...d-Pensions