Tribal Elders Blamed For IS Militant Advances

By Stuart Ramsay, Sky News Chief Correspondent

Sirens wailing, lights flashing, the truck carrying six armed paramilitaries and a roof gunner from the Kurdish state security branch, Asayish, guided us into a notorious Arab neighbourhood in downtown Kirkuk.

It's from these virtual ghettos that the sporadic car bomb attacks in Kurdistan are planned and built.

Our guards are themselves a target and throughout our visit were jumpy and unhappy. I was assigned one of their number, a huge man armed to the teeth, for the whole time. He never left my side.

The rest of the security detail were deployed on the streets and alleyways. We were, they said, both a kidnap and bomb risk.

It felt a bit like over kill to be frank; but I didn't actually have a choice.

A military convoy drives towards Kirkuk, to reinforce peshmerga troops

Outside a school building I could see a few children playing in the street and a sort of greeting party forming up.

We were meeting displaced people, Sunni Arabs who have left Iraq proper to find sanctuary in Kurdistan.

Our security didn't know them and feared fundamentalists amongst their ranks.

Armed men walking into the temporary homes of Arab families, their children and their wives and daughters and their space, violated by our arrival.

I could sense the tension and approached the most senior looking guy and extended my hand and made the traditional greetings in Arabic.

Kirkuk has been the scene of several bombings in recent months

Within minutes I was surrounded by a group of their leaders. A friendly, scared and ultimately grateful group of men.

They crossed here to escape the bombing and fighting in their towns; to avoid Islamic State for sure, but also to escape the wrath of blood thirsty Shia militia.

This microcosm of Iraq speaks volumes.

They do not want some looney form of IS Islam. They don't want fighting. They want a fair share of Iraq, a government that represents them, an army that protects them.

IS has survived because they have offered a protection from the Baghdad government and are offering a society where they will be allowed to be Sunni without fear of attack.

Displaced Sunni Arabs are sceptical more airstrikes will help the conflict

These people are the ones who will decide the future of IS. One of the men asked to speak to me away from the group.

"I am Sunni. I agree with my friends here. But IS is being allowed to do all this by our tribal elders. The elders are behind everything. Tell your governments you have to speak to them," he said.

As airstrikes gain momentum and Britain decides to join in, I asked the group what they thought of it all.

Quite sceptical would best sum up their response.

They fear who would replace IS and they doubt they can be driven out from the air.

"What do your countries want us to do?," one of them asked.

"Will you arm us to fight IS? Will you support us in the future? Our government is a joke we trust none of them.

"They may have changed the faces and made a new government, but they are the same people. Nothing is changing."

IS and peshmerga troops are metres away from each other near Kirkuk

The basic strategy of the West is to attack IS but to try and urge the new government to be inclusive of all the religious and ethnic groups that make up this country.

That will take a very long time of course and that is really the problem because as every day passes IS are getting more bedded in.

It has only been a few months but their command and control of areas is staggering.

The most striking part of this incredibly informative hour or so was their total "getting" of Kurdistan.

An ethnic group of majority Sunnis who see Nation above Religion; in much the same way as the UK does.

"This country protects its people and they are protecting us. They have no need to but they are. That is what we want. A country that looks after all of us," one of them said.

Not an unreasonable demand. But right now it's just a hope.

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UK Military Planners Call Iraq Mission 'Dynamic'

By Tom Parmenter, RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus

The send off for the RAF Tornado jets finished with a simple thumbs up from the ground crew waving them off.

The planning and preparation for British airstrikes is now at full pace at RAF Akrotiri and everyone on the base on Cyprus knows their mission has now escalated.

On Saturday morning the Tornado crews strode out across the tarmac, two teams of two, helmets on.

They knew the cameras were there to capture the moment that debate and politics gave way to military action. The deployment of British bombs in Iraq is now in their hands.

Now that this is a combat mission their identities are protected, all we know is that they are some of the RAF's most skilled and experienced individuals.

Their families will know that their loved ones are now going to war rather than simply flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

The intelligence gathering will continue apace on these sorties and there may be flights in the coming days and weeks where they don't need to deploy missiles.

Military planners call the mission "dynamic" - it means that the plans will change according to what's happening on the ground.

The professionalism of everyone who works to support these missions means they want to respond to the orders efficiently and carry out their job as precisely as possible.

Every time they leave this base the ground crews will wave them off, every time they return they'll be relieved to welcome them back.

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Iraq: Islamic State Threat Is World's Problem

Iraq's deputy prime minister has told Sky News that it is the "duty of the world" to stand up against Islamic State extremists.

Saleh al Mutlaq also said he welcomed the UK parliament's decision to back airstrikes against the militants in his country.

He said IS was "not just the problem of Iraq. It is the problem of all countries".

Iraq's deputy prime minister Saleh al Mutlaq speaks to Sky News

"Outsiders" from nations including Britain, Australia and the emirate countries were fighting for IS and the coalition aerial raids should target militias as well as the jihadist group, he said.

Mr al Mutlaq said: "It is an invitation for every country which can participate in this coalition to do what they can in order to get rid of IS forever.

"Iraq is now fighting on behalf of the world."

He added: "It's the duty of the world to stand against this danger which is coming, maybe now to Iraq, but it will separate everywhere if it is not going to be fixed in this country and ended."

And he said without also targeting militias who "facilitated the presence of IS" there would not be stability in Iraq.

The Sunni IS extremists have taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria in recent months and David Cameron said the group posed a direct threat to the UK.

RAF Tornado aircraft earlier left Cyprus for their first combat mission over Iraq.

A RAF Tornado GR4

They are poised to launch airstrikes against jihadists after Parliament on Friday gave the green light for military action in Iraq.

MPs voted by 524 to 43 - a majority of 481 - to endorse attacks on the insurgents in support of the US-led coalition, with Labour backing the Government motion.

Mr Cameron said the motion had been limited to Iraq in order to secure cross-party consensus.

And also to avoid a repeat of last year's damaging Commons defeat when Labour combined with Tory and Liberal Democrat rebels to block airstrikes against President Bashar Assad's regime in Syria.

The strikes, under Operation Shader, are expected to be carried out by six Tornado GR4s which have been based at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus since last month where they have been deployed in a reconnaissance role.

Up to now, America and France have been conducting aerial strikes in Iraq in support of Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, while the US and Arab allies have attacked IS targets from the air in Syria.

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Iraq: British Jets On First Combat Mission

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

British jets armed with missiles are over northern Iraq on their maiden combat mission after taking off from a base in Cyprus.

Two Tornado GR4 fighter jets - armed with missiles for the first time - took off from RAF Akrotiri at 8.30am this morning.

They are being supported by a Voyager refuelling aircraft also based on the island.

The Tornados are carrying Brimstone and Paveway missiles on board and are authorised to fire them if they encounter Islamic State (IS) militants.

Precise details of the mission are still unknown, but they will be flying over Iraq according to the tasking given to them by US Central Command.

It is thought to be a dynamic close air support mission, hitting targets if and when they reveal themselves.

A member of the aircrew prepares to depart on the first mission. Pic: MOD

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We can confirm that following Parliamentary approval given yesterday, Royal Air Force Tornados continue to fly over Iraq and are now ready to be used in an attack role as and when appropriate targets are identified.

"For operational security reasons we will not be providing a running commentary on movements; we will provide an update on activity when it is appropriate to do so."

It comes after MPs overwhelmingly backed action in a vote in the House of Commons on Friday.

The Tornados are being supported by a Voyager refuelling aircraft

Parliament gave approval by 524 votes to 43 (a majority of 481) for Britain to join the US-led coalition in the Middle East.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said Britain is ready to play its part in dealing with IS.

He said: "We are one part of a large international coalition. But the crucial part of that coalition is that it is led by the Iraqi government, the legitimate government of Iraq, and its security forces.

"We are there to play our part and help deal with this appalling terrorist organisation."

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told Sky News Britain would select targets "in accordance with the American and international effort that's going on in Iraq.

"There's fighting around these towns - we have to fit in to the day-to-day fighting and see where we can help best," he said.

The planes have been at RAF Akrotiri for the past six weeks carrying out surveillance missions over the Middle East.

An RAF pilot at the base on Saturday morning

The US has been carrying out airstrikes in northern Iraq since August and France joined the mission last week.

Overnight, the US continued to hit suspected IS positions in Syria for a fifth consecutive day of attacks.

The Pentagon said the raids had disrupted lucrative oil-pumping operations that have helped fund IS militants, but that a final victory would need an on-the-ground campaign.

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FBI: Islamic State's Jihadi John Identified

FBI Director James Comey says the bureau has identified the Islamic State (IS) militant known as Jihadi John.

But Mr Comey told reporters at the agency's headquarters in Washington DC he would not reveal the man's name or nationality.

The FBI director would not name the militant known as Jihadi John

He reportedly said: "I believe that we have identified him, I'm not going to tell you who I believe it is."

Asked if he would prioritise capturing the killer, he said: "We will do, and expend the effort that I think the American people would want us to and expect us to."

The UK Home Office said it did not comment on security operations.

Jihadi John appears to be left-handed and of average height and build

The jihadist group shocked the world when it released videos of a man with a southern English accent apparently killing two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and a British aid worker, David Haines.

In the three clips, the suspect holds a long knife and appears to begin hacking at the captives' necks. He shows only his eyes in all three videos.

Mr Haines widow has backed targeted British airstrikes.

The British Ambassador to the US, Sir Peter Westmacott, said last month the UK was close to identifying the suspect.

(L-R) James Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Haines

Sophisticated technology, including voice-recognition software, was being used to track him down, he added.

From the footage, the militant appears to be left-handed and of average height and build.

He was said to lead a small group of British jihadis who became known by hostages as The Beatles.

The FBI director also said around a dozen Americans are believed to be currently fighting with extremist groups in Syria.

He said more than 100 Americans in total had either managed to reach Syria, had been arrested while trying to travel there, or had gone and returned.

In his briefing, Mr Comey said a shadowy al Qaeda cell in Syria known as the Khorasan Group may still be plotting attacks on the West.

He said there was no sign yet that US airstrikes this week, which American officials believe killed Khorasan's leader, had disrupted the group's plans.

It comes as the US continued to carry out airstrikes on targets in Syria - and after officials dismissed reports that IS was planning to attack US and French subway systems.

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Iraq Front Line 'Trenches' Like World War One

By Stuart Ramsay, Sky News Chief Correspondent

One can see the front line between the peshmerga and the Islamic State fighters from quite a distance on the outskirts of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

Their flags flutter in the wind. But they are so close now that from some angles you can't tell which is in front of the other.

This is the most dangerous and close front line in this conflict.

They are metres apart. Peshmerga soldiers gingerly peer over the earth wall that separates the two sides. There are snipers everywhere.

Absolutely nobody out here drops their guard for a second. On the wall, that single second lapse in concentration could cost you your life.

These battle lines are reminiscent of World War One. Two armies dug into these huge berms, trenches really, and a watery no man's land, a canal, dividing them.

Ramsay with peshmerga forces

The peshmerga are determined but lightly armed. The IS fighters are determined and heavily armed. But this is now a static front.

The pesh, as they are known, want to attack but know that across the canal IS aren't just well dug in but have the support, or at least tacit support, of the local population.

So this is about holding the line. The Kurds are hoping that will change.

In the clear blue skies above there is an occasional glint of light from the fuselage of jets patrolling and looking for IS targets.

We could hear the jet engines change tone as they began their descent into a bombing raid.

US jets have been involved in raids on IS in Iraq

From maybe a mile away we heard the explosion of a bomb drop and shortly afterwards the smoke rose into the air.

This has just started in this area but is happening across the north of Iraq. The coalition forces are attacking.

It has brought quiet to the front line. IS can't move when the jets are up. When it goes quiet they try to bring their vehicles forward.

The front lines are so close they hope the jets won't attack for fear of killing the Pesh.

In truth there have been a number of friendly fire incidents already and they are likely to continue if the US-led coalition ramps up the target selection and carries out a lot more bombing.

It's inevitable and the peshmerga understand that.

Islamic State fighters are heavily armed and determined

"We are fighting for the whole world, you have to understand that, we are fighting for everyone against these barbarians," Brigadier Bapir Sheik Wassany told me, looking across into IS territory.

"If you attack from the air and give us better weapons we will smash them. We don't want soldiers, we want weapons and airstrikes."

The pesh do have a tendency to get a bit carried away with the rhetoric.

But as a whole the Kurd military, made up of Special Forces and the Counter Terrorism Group, along with the peshmerga and a rather difficult alliance with Shia militia, can be pretty effective if they have the weapons and the all-important "Air" - the coalition's jets.

The reality is, though, that war cannot be won from the air.

In fact this war on IS probably can't be won without the actual support of the Sunni population where IS have made their home in Iraq and Syria.

Iraqi peshmerga troops load rockets into a launcher in northern Iraq

In a refugee camp in an Arab district of Kirkuk I chatted for an hour or so with Sunni refugees.

They have escaped their towns to avoid the bombing and to a degree IS, but mainly to escape the Shia militias; finding sanctuary in Kurdistan.

"We are protected by a military with one goal, to look after its people; answering to a government with one goal, to look after its people," their leader told me.

"If the airstrikes are 100% accurate on IS then we will go home. But if the Shia militia replace IS it will be worse," he said.

These people need a government that represents them and an army that they trust. If that happens then IS are finished here.

But it doesn't look likely for now and IS haven't gone anywhere.

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US-Led Airstrikes Target Oil Sites In Syria

Cameron: 'We Must Tackle Islamic State Together'

Updated: 12:41pm UK, Thursday 25 September 2014

Islamic State has "murderous plans" to expand and carry out terrorist atrocities across the world, David Cameron has warned.

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, the Prime Minister said the militant group's rapid advance could be tackled with help from Iran and an end to Bashar al Assad's regime in Syria.

Mr Cameron was speaking ahead of an emergency debate in Parliament on Friday where he is expected to win cross-party support for airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq.

MPs will vote on whether RAF planes should join the US, France and five Arab states in bombing IS positions, possibly by the weekend.

The Cabinet is also meeting in London to discuss action against IS.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats pledged their support after a formal request for assistance from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi put potential UK involvement on a legal footing.

The Prime Minister insisted Britain had learned from "past mistakes" in Afghanistan and Iraq, but they would not become an excuse for inaction.

"Isil (Islamic State) is not a problem restricted to just one region. It has murderous plans to expand its borders well beyond Iraq and Syria and to carry out terrorist atrocities right across the world," he said.

"It is recruiting new fighters from all over the world. Five hundred have gone there from Britain and one of them almost certainly brutally murdered two American journalists and a British aid worker.

"We should learn the lessons of the past. But we have to learn the right lessons. Yes to careful preparation; no to rushing to join a conflict without a clear plan.

"But we must not be so frozen with fear that we don't do anything at all."

The Prime Minister's proposals only include military action in Iraq and not Syria, however, the Government has indicated that could expand but would need to be put to another vote.

Speaking on his regular LBC radio programme the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "If we were to decide to take a fuller role on Iraq and Syria then we would go back to the vote."

However, he insisted there would not be boots on the ground.

When asked about the cost of the action Mr Clegg said: "There will be funds to contribute to this but we can't say how much at the moment." But he added: "It will not break the bank."

During an historic meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier, Mr Cameron extended an invitation to Iran to join the fight against IS.

"We have severe disagreements," he said. "Iran's support for terrorist organisations, its nuclear programme, its treatment of its people; all these need to change.

"But Iran's leaders could help in defeating the threat from Isil. They could help secure a more stable, inclusive Iraq; and a more stable, inclusive Syria."

The Prime Minister added that an end to Bashar al Assad's regime in Syria was key to defeating the militant group.

"The failure to meet people's aspirations can create a breeding ground where extremist and even terrorist insurgency can take root," he said.

"In Syria, it must mean a political transition and an end to Assad's brutality. I know there are some who think that we should do a deal with Assad in order to defeat ISIL.

"But this view is dangerously misguided. Our enemies' enemy is not our friend. It is another enemy. Doing a deal with Assad will not defeat ISIL."

The PM was speaking as the US and an Arab alliance launched a fresh wave of airstrikes against strategic IS targets in Syria.

The attacks resulted in the death of a 19-year-old British insurgent from Brighton who was reportedly fighting alongside Islamist group Jabhat al Nusra against the Syrian regime.

In France, President Francois Hollande is holding an emergency meeting of his defence council following the "cowardly" beheading of French hostage Herve Gourdel in Algeria by IS-linked extremists.

French flags were set to be flown at half-mast after Mr Gourdel's murder and fighter jets carried out more airstrikes in Iraq on Thursday.

The Dutch Defence Ministry also said it was advising military personnel not to wear their uniforms on public transport over fears they could be targeted.

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Kim Jong-Un: 'Missing' Leader May Have Gout

Kim Jong-Un has not been seen in public for three weeks and now a North Korea expert has offered a possible explanation: the leader has gout.

Since being filmed in July with a distinctive limp, speculation has been rife that the 31-year-old is in ill health.

Even North Korea's state media, which has tried to avoid the issue since Mr Kim's last public appearance on 3 September, has conceded that the leader has been suffering from "discomfort".

A voiceover for a pre-recorded documentary, aired on Thursday, said: "The wealth and prosperity of our socialism is thanks to the painstaking efforts of our marshal, who keeps lighting the path for the people, like the flicker of a flame, despite suffering discomfort."

According to Michael Madden, an expert on leadership in the secretive state, Mr Kim's extreme weight gain and family history reveals a lot about his condition.

"Based on his gait, it appears he has gout - something due to diet and genetic predisposition that has affected other members of the Kim family," he added.

Kim Jong-Un's father, Kim Jong-Il, died in 2011 after a heart attack.

Much of the speculation over Mr Kim's health had come from the South Korean government, who had monitored his recent absence from public life "with interest".

On Thursday, Mr Kim failed to attend a rare meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, his first absence since coming to power.

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US Coalition Pounds IS Targets For A Third Night

US and Arab coalition aircraft have bombarded Islamic State targets in Syria for a third night as Barack Obama promised to "dismantle this network of death".

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined the operation to destroy oil refineries in eastern Syria which are capable of producing millions of dollars' worth of revenue for the group.

A mix of manned and remotely-piloted aircraft were used to target oil production facilities near Al Mayadin, Al Hasakah and Abu Kamal.

US Navy F-18E Super Hornets leave after receiving fuel over northern Iraq

A statement released by US Central Command said early indications suggested the strikes had been successful.

"These small-scale refineries provided fuel to Isil (Islamic State) operations, money to finance their continued attacks throughout Iraq and Syria, and an economic asset to support their future operations.

"The US conducted these strikes as part of the President's comprehensive strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy Isil.

Syrian Kurds fleeing the Islamic State cross into Turkey

"The US and partner nations will continue to conduct airstrikes against Isil in Syria and Iraq and support Iraqi forces as they go on the offensive against this terrorist group."

But Syrian Kurds who fled towns and cities overrun by Islamic State said the group had responded to the airstrikes by focusing its assault near Syria's border with Turkey.

Despite the coalition's military superiority, an intensifying advance by IS militants on the northern town of Kobani underscored the difficulty Washington faces using airpower alone.

Obama warned IS militants to "leave the battlefield while they can"

"Those airstrikes are not important. We need soldiers on the ground," said Hamed, a refugee who fled into Turkey from Islamic State.

A teacher from Kobani who made it across the Turkish border said two of his brothers had been captured by the group.

Mazlum Bergaden said: "The situation is very bad. After they kill people, they are burning the villages. When they capture any village, they behead one person to make everyone else afraid.

"They are trying to eradicate our culture, purge our nation."

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 militants and five civilians were killed in the airstrikes.

Some 140,000 Syrian Kurds have crossed into Turkey in the last four days alone, and authorities are preparing for many more.

US President Barack Obama has called on the world to join together to destroy Islamic State, which he branded a "network of death".

Addressing the United Nations, he vowed to keep up the pressure on the militants, warning them to "leave the battlefield while they can".

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IS-Linked Group Beheads Hostage In Video

A French hostage has been beheaded in a video released by an Algerian group linked to Islamic State.

Herve Gourdel, a 55-year-old hiker from Nice in southern France, was kidnapped on Sunday by Jund al Khilifa.

The group had given France a 24-hour deadline to stop its airstrikes against IS in Iraq.

French president Francois Hollande confirmed the video was genuine and denounced the killing as "cruel and cowardly".

He added that he will be chairing a special security meeting at the Elysee Palace on Thursday.

In the clip issued by Algerian militants, the tourist was seen kneeling with his arms bound behind his back, as four masked men read a message in Arabic condemning France.

Mr Gourdel was then pushed on to his side and held down.

Shortly after the group - known as the Caliphate Soldiers in English - released the video, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius insisted the abduction would not deter his nation's participation in a US-led offensive against IS.

The video was entitled A Message With Blood To The French Government, and began to circulate on jihadist websites on Wednesday.

It began with an excerpt of Mr Hollande making a speech, before showing Mr Gourdel in his final moments of life.

Prior to the mountain guide's beheading, Mr Hollande had insisted: "As grave as this situation is, we will not give in to any blackmail, any pressure, any ultimatum, no matter how odious, how despicable."

In a statement before news of the killing emerged, Mr Gourdel's family said they had learned of the kidnapping "with great pain", and described him as a "father, partner, son, brother and very dear friend".

Intelligence sources believe there could be 10 Western hostages still being held by Islamic State.

One Briton, David Haines, and Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff, have been killed by the group in the past few weeks.

Islamic State has threatened to kill Alan Henning, a British aid convoy volunteer.

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North Korea Prison Life: Digging And Isolation

An American man recently sentenced by North Korea to six years of hard labour has said he is digging in fields eight hours a day and being kept in isolation.

Matthew Miller was convicted on September 14 of entering the country illegally to commit espionage.

"Prison life is eight hours of work per day, mostly it's been agriculture, like in the dirt, digging around," said Mr Miller, who was wearing a prison-style grey uniform and cap.

Mr Miller has sent letters to several US dignitaries

"Other than that, it's isolation, no contact with anyone."

The comments, under close guard, were given to an Associated Press journalist at a Pyongyang hotel where he had been brought to make a phone call to his family.

"But I have been in good health, and no sickness or no hurts," he added.

Mr Miller, a 24-year-old California native, said that he had written letters pleading for help to influential Americans, from Michelle Obama to Secretary of State John Kerry and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

He enclosed them in a letter sent to his family by post from the North Korean capital.

Two other American citizens are also still being held in North Korea. Kenneth Bae has been in North Korean custody since 2012, and was sentenced in 2013 to 15 years of hard labour.

Jeffrey Fowle was detained in May this year but North Korea has not yet brought him to trial.

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Hannah Graham: Missing Student Suspect Held

The main suspect in the disappearance of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham has been arrested on a beach in Texas.

Police believe Jesse Matthew was the last person seen with the UK-born Ms Graham, who went missing on September 13 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Authorities obtained a felony warrant for his arrest late Tuesday. He has been charged with abduction with intent to defile.

Matthew, 32, was captured at a beach in the community of Gilchrist after police received a call reporting a suspicious person, the Galveston County Daily News reported.

Hannah Graham is a sophomore at University of Virginia

Matthews reportedly had pitched a tent on the beach with his car parked nearby.

Authorities told the newspaper that a check of the car's plates revealed it was the vehicle sought in connection with the case.

Charlottesville Police chief Tim Longo said the suspect was in custody in Galveston, Texas, and would be extradited to Virginia.

Mr Longo said that police were still searching for Graham.

"This case is nowhere near over," he said. "We have a person in custody but there's a long road ahead of us."

Students at the high school where Ms Graham graduated held a vigil

The disappearance of the teenager has shaken the college town, about 100 miles southwest of Washington, with hundreds of residents turning out to help look for her.

Authorities said Matthew, who has worked as a nursing assistant at the University of Virginia's medical centre since 2012, appeared at a police station on Saturday.

But he left after a brief discussion and took off at high speed, losing officers who tried to tail him.

Charlottesville Police chief Tim Longo says the search continues

On Wednesday, students and staff at West Potomac High School high school, where Ms Graham graduated, held a vigil, sharing their memories and eating starburst candy, which is her favourite.

When news of the arrest was give, the students clapped for a brief moment.

The suspect's father, Jesse Matthew Sr, said in an interview with CBS 6 that his son is innocent and was probably trying to help out Ms Graham.

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Rebel Leader Hails 'Revolution' In Yemen

Large parts of Yemen's capital Sanaa have been taken over by Shia rebels in what their leader described as a "successful revolution".

Around 200 people were killed in fighting last week between the Houthi insurgents and government forces.

Yemen's president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has signed a power-sharing agreement with the rebels, who had called for the "corrupt" government to quit.

Rebel leader Abdel Malik al Houthi said the deal had been a victory for "all the people".

And he said it could lead to price cuts and economic reforms to ease pressure on Yemen's poorest amid fuel price rises.

In a dramatic power shift, the rebels had pushed deep into the capital and control the central bank and several military bases.

Mr al Houthi said in a televised speech: "These great efforts created this great success - victory - for all the people, forcing an answer to popular demands.

"If it is implemented, this agreement will also change the government, which the people called to fall, to fail, because it stood on an unjust, non-consensual basis."

The rebels have taken over key buildings in the capital

He said the rebels had also removed "the most dangerous obstacles facing the state".

This was a reference to the Houthis' main opponents - Sunni tribal fighters and a powerful general, Ali Mohsen al Ahmar, who is backed by Sunni Islamists but was defeated by the rebels.

Mr al Houthi also vowed to go after al Qaeda in the country, calling the terror group the "remaining obstacle".

He said the way to battle them was through building a strong army and security forces with support of the "popular committees", a phrase used to refer to his rebel forces.

The president has defended himself, insisting he had not surrendered the capital to the rebels and saying a foreign "conspiracy" was at work.

Yemen's president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi

That appears to be a veiled reference to Iran, which he has accused of arming and supporting the Houthis. Iran denies doing so.

Yemen has struggled to recover after veteran autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted amid Arab Spring protests in 2011.

The military split between forces loyal to Mr Saleh and those backing General al Ahmar, who had backed the uprising and went on to become a military adviser to Mr Hadi.

The divisions contributed to the rise of al Qaeda militants and the advance of the Houthis.

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Freed Abu Qatada 'Will Not Be Returning To UK'

Timeline: Qatada Legal Battle

Updated: 10:35am UK, Wednesday 24 September 2014

Abu Qatada challenged and ultimately thwarted every attempt by the Government to detain and deport him for many years.

Here is a timeline of the legal battle.

1993: Abu Qatada claims asylum when he arrives in Britain on a forged passport.

1994: Allowed to stay in Britain.

1995: Issues a "fatwa" justifying the killing of converts from Islam, their wives and children in Algeria.

1998: Applies for indefinite leave to remain in Britain.

1999: April - Convicted in his absence on terror charges in Jordan and sentenced to life imprisonment.

October - Speaks in London advocating the killing of Jews and praising attacks on Americans.

2001: February - Arrested by anti-terror police over involvement in a plot to bomb Strasbourg Christmas market. Officers find him with £170,000 in cash, including £805 in an envelope marked "For the mujahedin in Chechnya".

December - Becomes one of Britain's most wanted men after going on the run from his home in west London.

2002: Arrested by police in a council house in south London and detained in Belmarsh high-security jail.

2005: Freed on conditional bail and placed on a control order but arrested again in August under immigration rules as the Government seeks to deport him to Jordan.

2008: April: Court of Appeal rules deportation would breach his human rights because evidence used against him in Jordan might have been obtained through torture.

May - Granted bail by the immigration tribunal but told he must stay inside for 22 hours a day.

June - Released from Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire and moves into a four-bedroom house in west London.

November - He is rearrested after the Home Office tells an immigration hearing of fears he plans to abscond.

December - Qatada's bail is revoked by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) after hearing secret evidence that the risk of him absconding has increased.

2009: Five Law Lords unanimously back the Government's policy of removing terror suspects from Britain on the basis of assurances from foreign governments and it is ruled he can be deported to Jordan to face a retrial on the terror charges.

He is awarded 2,800 euro (£2,500) compensation by the European Court of Human Rights after the judges rule that his detention without trial in the UK under anti-terrorism powers breached his human rights.

2012: January - European judges rule he can be sent to Jordan with diplomatic assurances but not while "there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him".

February - He is released on strict bail conditions.

April - Rearrested as the Government prepares to deport him after Jordan gives assurances it will "bend over backwards" to ensure he receives a fair trial.

March - Qatada's legal team loses its bid to have the case heard by the Europe's human rights judges, clearing the way for deportation proceedings to continue.

May and August - Siac rejects Qatada's applications for bail.

October - Siac holds appeal hearing.

November - His appeal is granted and he is granted bail.

December - Qatada is moved to a larger residence in the greater London area.

2013: March 9 - It emerges Qatada has been arrested for allegedly breaching his bail conditions. He is ordered to stay in custody and sent to Belmarsh.

March 21 - Police reveal the cleric is being investigated over extremist material.

March 27 - Home Secretary Theresa May loses her appeal over Siac's decision to allow Qatada to stay in the UK. The Home Office vows to appeal.

April 17 - The Home Office formally announces that it is seeking leave from the Court of Appeal to take the case to the Supreme Court.

April 22 - The Court of Appeal refuses permission to go to the Supreme Court, forcing the Home Office to appeal directly to the highest court in the land.

April 23 - Theresa May tells MPs she has signed a new treaty with Jordan that should pave the way to deportation, but warns it might take "many months".

May 10 - Qatada's barrister says he will go back to Jordan voluntarily if the treaty on the use of evidence obtained by torture, guaranteeing he will not be tortured, is ratified by the Jordanian parliament.

May 20 - Qatada is refused bail by the Special Immigrations Appeals Commission after "jihadist material" is found on a computer memory stick.

July 2 - The new treaty between Jordan and Britain is fully ratified, sparking claims Qatada could be on a plane within days.

July 3 - A Jordanian government official tells AFP the cleric is due back on Sunday.

July 7 - Flown from RAF Northolt to Jordan

December 10: Pleads not guilty to terrorism charges at a state security court in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

2014: June 26 - Acquitted of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism over 1998 bomb plots allegations.

September 24 - Acquitted over plot to target Western tourists over the New Year in Jordan in 2000.

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New Phil Spector Prison Mugshots Released

Two new photos of the former record producer and songwriter Phil Spector show the toll prison life has taken on him.

Spector is without his wigs these days

The most recent image, from October 2013, shows a bald, sombre-looking Spector staring straight into the camera.

The 73-year-old is serving 19 years to life after shooting the actress Lana Clarkson at his California mansion in 2003.

An earlier photo of a smiling Spector is dated July 24, 2013.

Before his conviction, Spector was known for the array of wigs he would wear in public and during his two trials in 2007 and 2008.

California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said the October photo was taken when Spector was moved to the prison system's huge California Heath Care Facility in Stockton.

The facility provides medical and mental health care to the state's sickest inmates, including those with chronic conditions.

Ms Thornton said she could not reveal details of Spector's health because of state medical privacy regulations.

Lana Clarkson and Spector during his 2009 trial

Spector always maintained his innocence and claimed Clarkson died from accidental suicide.

A 2013 HBO film called Phil Spector, written and directed by David Mamet and starring Al Pacino as Spector and Dame Helen Mirren as a defence lawyer, depicted a fictionalised account of the murder and trials.        

Spector in court in 2005

Spector became known for his Wall of Sound production method. He worked with a number of huge stars in the 1960s, co-writing the Righteous Brothers hit You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling.

He produced The Beatles' album Let It Be in 1970.

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Families Living In Fear In IS-Controlled Raqqa

By Jason Farrell, Sky Correspondent

Children in Syria are being taken from their families to be trained as Islamic State fighters and used as informants, according to a civilian who fled the city of Raqqa.

Former student Abu Abrahim Raqqawi gave Sky News a chilling account of life inside the IS-controlled city where he claimed children are being indoctrinated to become jihadists.

Abu, whose name has been changed, is able to talk because he was smuggled out of Raqqa two weeks ago but remains in regular contact with more than a dozen other underground activists in the city.

"They (IS) say to the young people, those between 16 and 18, 'Okay, we will give you money if you say who are talking about us or are saying something bad about us'.

"There is a camp for under-16 children. They took a lot of children without their families knowing, and it's very bad. It's just a special camp for young people. They make them like a bomb; a time bomb."

The US launched airstrikes against IS targets in Syria on Tuesday and Abu Abrahim said IS members in the city were killed after rockets struck their communications hub and a hospital used exclusively by the militants.

But there are mixed feelings about the Western military intervention.

Abu Abrahim said: "There is anger because the city is being destroyed but some accept they have to do a deal with the devil to get rid of IS.

The US has launched airstrikes against IS targets in Syria

"But others feel if the US cared about the people here, Obama would have acted when President Assad crossed the red line."

Here he is referring to the Syrian leader's alleged use of chemical weapons last year.

"There are a lot of executions, secret executions and public executions, especially after the Friday sermons - crucifying, beheading and things like that," he said.

He provided images to back this up; some showed children watching the gruesome events.

Several Syrian cities and IS strongholds were targetted in the attacks

"There are no hospitals inside the city of Raqqa now. When there is an airstrike (previously from President Assad's forces) wounded people are taken to small hospitals in houses without any equipment," he said.

"They're dying in the street. ISIS have their own hospitals that do not allow citizens to go in."

Abu Abrahim says there is no education in the city and some families are struggling to find food.

He claims IS fighters have also seized people's homes to house foreign fighters, but the biggest problem is access to medicine and hospital treatment.

The group have made rapid advances across swathes of Iraq and Syria

His friends have been filming and taking photographs - posting images on a Facebook page called "Raqqa Is Being Silently Slaughtered".

One of the group was killed by IS when his activities were discovered. Despite being tortured, he didn't release the names of the others.

IS has ousted the Free Syrian Army from Raqqa - the original resistance movement to the Syrian leader Bashar al Assad is much diminished by the terrorist group across Syria.

Abu Abrahim says there is no education for children in Raqqa

Abu Abrahim said: "I think if the West wants to do something to kick ISIS out from Syria, they must bomb the Assad regime. If the Assad regime gets bombed and down, then easily the ISIS regime will get out of Syria because the FSA and all the fighters will just fight ISIS and not both ISIS and Assad."

IS fighters proclaim Raqqa is a paradise, but Abu says normal civilians are struggling for survival - that life in a terrorist-controlled city is one of fear, and lives are being risked to tell the real story of the city.

:: Do you have a question about life in Raqqa for people who are there now? Tweet @SkyNews with the hashtag #SkyAskRaqqa and we will put a selection of them to friends of Abu who still live in the city.

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Cameron Ready To Work With Iran To Defeat IS

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

David Cameron is to become the first British Prime Minister to meet an Iranian President since 1979 in a historic encounter in New York.

Downing Street says the meeting with Hassan Rouhani is part of efforts to mobilise support against the Islamic State and drop Iran's support for the Assad regime in Syria.

The Prime Minister will be attending the United Nations general assembly and is hoping to secure UN approval for a comprehensive strategy to deal with the brutal militant group.

The PM will dicuss the threat posed by Islamic State with Iran's president

It marks Mr Cameron's determination to enlist the active support of regional powers in the Middle East in taking on IS, which has seized control of swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

The group has also carried out a string of atrocities against local people and foreigners as it seeks to impose its own brand of extremist Sunni Islam.

Mr Cameron will also join US President Barack Obama and other members of the UN Security Council to discuss the threat posed by foreign fighters - thought to include hundreds of Britons - engaged in the conflict.

Officials say he will set out in his speech that the threat from extremism is faced by everyone and international action is required to defeat it.

World leaders meet annually for the event in New York which is often criticised for being long on talk and short on action.

Ahead of the encounter, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei issued damning criticism of the UK and the US calling them warmongers for their planned actions in Iraq.

Also on the agenda with be Iran's nuclear-enrichment programme

Britain has yet to commit support for air strikes and there has been US speculation it may step up its military intervention now the Scottish independence referendum is out of the way.

Britain and the US also hope to see a new UN Security Council resolution preventing the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria.

Tehran will also call for flexibility on its uranium-enrichment programme which has led to sanctions due to Western concerns any nuclear capability could be used militarily.

Downing Street said Mr Cameron had "no illusion" about the threat posed by Iran's nuclear operations, but was ready to work with Tehran if it was willing to join the effort to defeat IS.

There is a sense of urgency this year given the threat posed by IS, but also the catastrophic dangers posed by global warming. 

Ahead of the meeting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned time is running out to unite against the global threat of climate change. 

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Blair: Radical Islam Is A 'Global Problem'

Tony Blair has told Sky News that radical Islam is a "global problem" that will take a generation to defeat.

Speaking to Sky's Adam Boulton from New York, the former prime minister said defeating the forces of radical Islam will need a "global response".

"I think President Obama is doing absolutely the right thing in assembling the broadest alliance against Isis," Mr Blair said, referring to Islamic State militants.

"(But) even if we deal with this Isis group, you've got a plethora of these types of groups, not just in the Middle East but in North Africa and elsewhere in the world.

"Looking at this broader issue of radical Islam ... this is a global problem.

"It requires a global response and it's going to take a generation - not one president or one prime minister - to defeat it."

France and the US have launched airstrikes on IS positions

Mr Blair's comments come after he said Britain should not rule out sending ground forces into Syria and Iraq to counter the threat posed by Islamic State.

In a 6,500-word essay, he said that while no desire existed for ground engagement in the region, airpower alone would not be enough to defeat the group.

"We have to fight groups like ISIS," he said. "There can be an abundance of diplomacy, all necessary relief of humanitarian suffering, every conceivable statement of condemnation which we can muster.

"But unless they're accompanied by physical combat, we will mitigate the problem but not overcome it.

"Airpower is a major component of this to be sure, especially with the new weapons available to us. But - and this is the hard truth - airpower alone will not suffice."

The militant Islamist group has made rapid territorial gains across the region and released graphic videos depicting the beheading of two US journalists and British aid worker David Haines.

The US and France have already launched airstrikes against IS targets, and the UK has not ruled out joining the bombing campaign.

Former taxi driver Alan Henning is being held by the group

But despite having already bombed targets in Iraq, France has ruled out extending its strikes into Syria. 

Mr Blair said the lessons learned from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq had improved Western forces' "capacity and capability" to respond to the threat of IS and similar groups.

"To those who say that after the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq we have no stomach for such a commitment, I would reply the difficulties we encountered there are in part intrinsic to the nature of the battle being waged," he said.

"And our capacity and capability to wage the battle effectively are second to none in part because of our experience there."

Former taxi driver Alan Henning, from Manchester, is currently being held hostage by IS after he was kidnapped in the Syrian town of al Dana while volunteering with a humanitarian aid convoy.

The group has threatened to kill Mr Henning and warned Britain and America not to get involved in another Middle East war.

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Israeli Missile Shoots Down Syrian Fighter Jet

Israel says it has shot down a Syrian fighter jet over its airspace - the first such incident in more than 30 years.

The aircraft was hit by a Patriot missile while trying to "infiltrate" the Quneitra area of the Golan Heights, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said.

An Israeli defence source identified the jet as a Russian-built Sukhoi Su-24 fighter plane. Previously it was reported to have been a MiG-21 aircraft.

The aircraft was hit by a Patriot missile

It flew 800 metres into Israeli airspace and tried to return to Syria after the Patriot missile was fired, he said.

The crew managed to abandon the plane in time and landed in Syrian territory, he added.

The Golan area, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war, has seen clashes between the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and Syrian President Bashar al Assad's forces in recent weeks.

Syrian state TV confirmed Israel had shot down one of its planes, and described it as an act of aggression.

A file picture of the type of jet that was shot down

It quoted a military source saying the attack came "in the framework of (Israel's) support for the terrorist (Islamic State) and the Nusra Front".

Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said the aircraft had crossed into Israel in a "threatening way" and vowed to retaliate to any similar incidents in the future.

"We will not allow (any) element, whether it is a terror group or a state, to threaten our security and breach our sovereignty," he said.

"We are committed first and foremost to ensure the security of the Israel's citizens and we will use all means at our disposal to do so."

It came hours after the US and five Arab countries began airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time.

The raids were carried out using fighter jets, bombers, drones, and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from US ships in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar were involved in the raids, a US official said, although their exact roles were unclear.

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US And Arab Allies Attack IS Targets In Syria

The US and five Arab countries have been carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time.

Fighter jets, bombers and drones as well as 47 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from two US ships in the northern Persian Gulf and the Red Sea were deployed in the aerial raids.

At least 70 IS fighters are said to have been killed in the attacks, which also targeted al Qaeda veterans.

A Tomahawk missile is launched from USS Arleigh Burke

The strikes form part of the expanded military campaign against IS insurgents that was authorised two weeks ago by President Barack Obama. He is due to meet foreign leaders at the UN General Assembly later.

US Central Command said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar had either taken part in or supported the Syria raids although their exact roles were unclear.

The strikes did not involve the UK but Prime Minister David Cameron supported them and will discuss at the UN what contribution Britain can make, according to Downing Street.

Fighter jets prepare to take off from USS George H W Bush

Damascus said Washington informed Syria's UN envoy before launching the bombings against the Sunni insurgent group which have grabbed swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.

The US also carried out eight aerial raids on its own west of Aleppo against al Qaeda veterans - known as the Khorasan group - who were thought to be planning an "imminent attack" against US and Western interests.

The US military said it had destroyed or damaged multiple IS targets around the militant stronghold of Raqqa as well as Deir al Zor, Hasakah and the border town of Albu Kamal.

The apparent aftermath of a US airstrike in Idlib

It said targets included IS fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance centre, supply trucks and armed vehicles.

Residents in Raqqa said last week that IS was moving underground after Mr Obama signalled on September 11 that air attacks on its forces could be expanded from Iraq to Syria.

Where the airstrikes took place in Syria

The group had evacuated buildings it was using as offices, redeployed its heavy weaponry, and moved fighters' families out of the city, the residents said.

The strikes follow a summit of world leaders in Paris where agreement was reached to form a broad coalition to counter the advance of IS in Syria and to provide military aid to Iraq to fight the extremist network.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar were involved in the raids

Military leaders have said about two thirds of the estimated 31,000 IS militants are in Syria.

International efforts to combat the group have taken on an added urgency after the beheading of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines, and the threat to kill UK hostage Alan Henning.

Islamic State have made rapid gains in Iraq and Syria

Meanwhile, a second propaganda video of another British hostage John Cantlie has been released by IS.

Speaking to the camera and seemingly under duress, he addresses the coalition of states targeting the group, though it is not clear when the video was filmed.

A second video of UK hostage John Cantlie has been released by IS

"Everyone now is getting involved," he said. "Denmark and France have sent air power, Britain is arming the Kurds, Iran is sending troops and contractors are being sought in Iraq.

"Even Bashar al Assad, until earlier this year the most hated and villainised tyrant in the Arab world, is being approached for permission to go into Syria.

The group is still holding British hostage Alan Henning

"It's all quite a circus. Not since Vietnam have we witnessed such a potential mess in the making."

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