MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti)

Iraq needs Russian assistance in its military and defense sectors, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stressed on Monday.

Arab media reports have said that al-Maliki, currently visiting Moscow, will discuss a host of potential economic, political and military projects with Russia worth an estimated $5 billion.

“Some people describe this visit as solely about arms purchases. But that is not the case,” he said, responding to media reports previewing his trip.

“Of course, we need Russia's support in the military and defense areas. Iraq needs weapons to defend itself and fight terrorism,” the prime minister added, particularly highlighting the country's need for those used in combat in mountainous and desert terrains.

Asked how the Iraqi authorities will explain Russian arms purchases to the United States, al-Maliki replied by saying that his country did not consult anyone regarding arms purchases.

He added that the country is willing to work with everyone. “We have good relations both with the US and with Iran,” he added.

On Tuesday, al-Maliki is expected to discuss cooperation in military technology with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and on Wednesday he is due to meet with President Vladimir Putin.

7 octobre 2012 Par F.S. – israelvalley.com

Communiqué : HLS ISRAEL 2012 se tiendra à Tel Aviv du 11 au 14 novembre 2012, et à l’occasion duquel le bureau Ubifrance en Israël organisera des rencontres d’affaires pour les sociétés françaises.

Cette mission de 3 jours a pour but de présenter les entreprises françaises innovantes dans le domaine de la sécurité aux grands acteurs et prescripteurs israéliens du secteur du Home Land Security, à savoir les autorités gouvernementales, municipales et de police, les organes de sécurité des infrastructures essentielles, les fabricants, intégrateurset fournisseurs de solutions et services de sécurité, les fonds d’investissement et de capital-risque, etc.

Il s’agit en effet de permettre aux entreprises françaises de vendre leurs produits/technologies/applications et de se positionner sur les projets en cours et à venir dans la sécurité des systèmes d’information et la sécurité civile.

Cette année, la conférence Israel HLS 2012 traitera en particulier de la sécurité informatique, la cyber-sécurité, les services de sécurité des biens et des personnes, des technologies et solutions de sécurité urbaine, etc.

La mission est proposée au tarif de 1200 Euros HT et comprend entre autres, un programme de RDV individuels qualifiés pour chaque entreprise, l’accès aux conférences et au salon Israel HLS 2012, des visites de sites, la participation aux évènements de networking, la communication auprès de la presse locale et spécialisée high tech, notre « Guide des Affaires en Israël ».

Frédéric SZABO

Directeur

Bureau Ubifrance Israël

Tél : +972 3 96 89 271 – Fax : +972 3 534 30 72

frederic.szabo@ubifrance.fr

7, Havakuk – 63505 Tel Aviv, Israël

07/10/2012 L’Orient-Le Jour/Agences

Des officiers de l'armée américaine ont commencé ces derniers jours à débarquer en Israël en vue de coordonner les préparatifs de prochaines grandes manœuvres conjointes avec l'armée israélienne, a indiqué dimanche le quotidien Yédiot Aharonot.

Ces officiers doivent notamment superviser l'arrivée en Israël le 14 octobre de centaines de militaires américains pour des manœuvres qui doivent débuter la semaine suivante et se poursuivre durant trois semaines, précise le journal.

Il s'agira des exercices militaires les plus importants jamais menés conjointement par les Etats-Unis et Israël, affirme le Yédiot.

Les divers réseaux de défense anti-aériens d'Israël ainsi que ses batteries de missiles anti-missiles "Hetz" et son système d'interception de roquettes "Iron Dom" (Dôme de fer) seront testés à cette occasion, selon le Yédiot.

Interrogée par l'AFP, une porte-parole de l'armée israélienne s'est refusée à tout commentaire.

Ces manœuvres se dérouleront alors qu'Israël, les Etats-Unis et une grande partie de la communauté internationale accusent l'Iran de vouloir se doter de l'arme nucléaire sous couvert de programme civil, ce que Téhéran dément catégoriquement.

Le magazine américain Time rapportait le 1er septembre que Washington a réduit de façon significative les manœuvres prévues avec Israël, probablement en raison de désaccords sur la manière de réagir face aux ambitions nucléaires de l'Iran.

Citant "des sources bien placées dans les deux pays", Time a précisé que Washington diminuait de plus de deux tiers le nombre de militaires américains allant en Israël et réduisait le nombre et la puissance des systèmes d'interception de missiles qui doivent être utilisés lors des manœuvres baptisées Austere Challenge 12.

Au lieu des quelque 5.000 militaires américains, le Pentagone enverra seulement 1.200 à 1.500 hommes. Les missiles antimissile Patriot seront expédiés en Israël comme prévu, mais pas les servants américains des batteries, selon Time. Il a ajouté qu'au lieu de deux bâtiments Aegis munis de défense antimissiles, les Américains n'en enverront qu'un, précisant que l'envoi de l'unique navire n'est même pas certain.

9 octobre 2012 Guysen International news

Il faut encore entre deux et quatre mois à l'Iran pour produire suffisamment d'uranium enrichi en vue de fabriquer une arme nucléaire, et plus de temps encore pour se doter ensuite d'une telle arme, selon un rapport du groupe d'experts américains Institute for Science and International Security (Isis).

8 octobre 2012 liberation.fr

L'armée syrienne a lancé une offensive généralisée pour tenter d'anihiler d'ici la fin de la semaine les poches de résistance à Homs, surnommée par les rebelles "capitale de la révolution", et s'emparer de la localité voisine de Qousseir, assiégée depuis près d'un an.

Dans le même temps, à la frontière nord, la Turquie a une nouvelle fois riposté lundi à la chute d'un obus syrien, en tirant sur des positions de l'armée fidèle au président syrien Bachar al-Assad, tandis que l'ONU a dit redouter une escalade entre les deux pays.

"L'armée tente de nettoyer les derniers quartiers rebelles de Homs", a affirmé à l'AFP une source au sein des services de sécurité syriens. Poumon industriel de la Syrie, Homs fut à l'avant-garde de la contestation contre le régime de Bachar al-Assad.

"L'armée a également nettoyé des villages autour de Qousseir et essaie maintenant de s'emparer de la ville", a ajouté cette source.

Les deux localités sont distantes d'une trentaine de km.

Une autre source de sécurité syrienne a affirmé que l'armée comptait prendre ces deux bastions d'ici la fin de la semaine. "Ensuite, nous nous concentrerons sur le nord de la Syrie", a-t-elle dit.

La province de Homs est la plus grande et la plus stratégique du pays. Frontalière du Liban et de l'Irak, elle relie le nord et le sud de la Syrie.

Des militants à Homs ont estimé qu'il s'agissait d'un "assaut sans précédent". "Les destructions sont énormes", a déclaré un dissident se présentant sous le nom d'Abou Bilal. "Si l'armée rentre, ce sera un massacre".

Encerclée depuis fin 2011, Qousseir, où résidaient avant la révolution 30.000 habitants, est quasiment désert.

"L'armée tente de prendre Qousseir à partir des trois entrées de la ville", a déclaré Hadi al-Abdallah, un membre local de la Commission générale de la révolution syrienne.

A Alep, les habitants ne savent plus où aller

Dans le nord du pays, les troupes syriennes ont à nouveau bombardé Alep, deuxième ville de Syrie et enjeu d'une bataille cruciale depuis mi-juillet, a indiqué l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'Homme (OSDH).

L'armée a visé en fin de soirée les quartiers de Tariq al-Bab, Boustane al-Qasr et Kalassé (sud).

"Les gens ont peur et ne savent plus où aller", a déclaré à l'AFP Khaled, un père de cinq enfants, qui a fui pendant l'été le quartier de Salaheddine, devenu un champ de bataille.

"Maintenant que vient l'hiver, nous sommes encore plus tendus. La situation économique est un désastre. A part pour les fonctionnaires, il n'y a plus de gagne-pain", a expliqué cet homme de 47 ans, réfugié dans les dortoirs de l'université de la ville.

Lors d'une offensive lancée par l'armée loyaliste dans la région de Deraa (sud), vingt personnes ont été tuées dans la ville de Karak al-Charqi, assiégée depuis trois jours par l'armée, a indiqué l'OSDH, basée en Grande-Bretagne.

A Damas, les forces loyales détruisaient des maisons dans les quartiers de Qaboun et Barzé, déclenchant un mouvement d'exode de la population, selon l'OSDH qui se base sur un large réseau de militants et de médecins sur le terrain.

A la frontière syro-turque, la Turquie a riposté lundi pour le sixième jour consécutif à un obus syrien tombé en territoire turc, dans la province de Hatay (sud-est), a déclaré un responsable turc sous couvert de l'anonymat.

Depuis un bombardement mercredi dernier d'un village frontalier qui a causé la mort de cinq civils turcs, Ankara répond coup pour coup aux tirs syriens, dont l'armée régulière syrienne est tenue pour responsable.

Besoin d'aide à l'approche de l'hiver

Le secrétaire général de l'ONU Ban Ki-moon a mis en garde contre cette escalade, et appelé les donateurs à plus de générosité envers la Syrie, plongée dans une guerre civile sans issue depuis près de 19 mois.

"L'escalade du conflit à la frontière Syrie-Turquie et l'impact de la crise sur le Liban sont extrêmement dangereux", a-t-il averti à Strasbourg.

"A l'approche de l'hiver, nous avons besoin que les donateurs répondent de manière plus généreuse aux besoins des populations en Syrie et de plus de 300.000 réfugiés dans les pays voisins", a ajouté le chef de l'ONU.

Les violences en Syrie ont fait au moins 132 morts lundi, dont 48 civils, 53 soldats et 31 rebelles, selon un bilan provisoire de l'OSDH.

Sur le plan diplomatique, Damas a rejeté une proposition faite par Ankara samedi, consistant en une période de transition dirigée par l'actuel vice-président syrien Farouk al-Chareh, qui remplacerait le président Assad.

Cette proposition "reflète un embarras et une gêne politique et diplomatique flagrants", a estimé le ministre de l'Information Omrane al-Zohbi.

Par ailleurs, le Premier ministre irakien Nouri al-Maliki s'est envolé vers Moscou pour des entretiens centrés entre autres sur la Syrie.

Moscou, un allié du régime syrien, et Bagdad plaident régulièrement pour une solution politique au conflit.

En revanche, le candidat républicain à la Maison Blanche Mitt Romney a lancé un nouvel appel à armer l'opposition syrienne.

Oct 06, 2012 Spacewar.com (AFP)

Aden  - The Yemeni army foiled on Saturday a car bomb attack on the Anad air base used by US soldiers in the southern province of Lahj to train Yemeni forces in combating terrorism, officials said.

"We foiled an attack by a car packed with explosives that managed to breach several security checkpoints leading into the air base," said a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said "Americans on the base were the target of the attack."

According to the official, some "15 American soldiers have been on the base for two months training Yemeni forces in combating terrorism."

The car was "disarmed" and an investigation launched, he said, without reporting any arrests, though the army "suspects Al-Qaeda" was likely to be responsible.

The defence ministry confirmed the incident and accused the militant group for planning an assault on the base.

"The military police defeated an afternoon attack on the Al-Anad base," the ministry website quoted Lahj governor Ahmed Abdallah al-Majidi as saying.

"The vehicle belongs to Al-Qaeda," Majidi said, adding that its seizure led to "large quantity of explosives, gas cylinders and anti-tank rockets and clothes for female drivers."

The car was discovered Saturday in a wooded area of the air base though it appears it had been "smuggled in several days ago," the military official added.

He said that according to their information, "the attack was to be implemented today (Saturday)."

He did not explain why the attackers failed to detonate the explosives immediately after the car was smuggled into the base.

Taking advantage of the weakening of central government control by an Arab Spring-inspired uprising last year, Al-Qaeda overran most of southern Yemen's Abyan province, seizing its capital Zinjibar and several other towns.

On May 12, under orders from President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, the army launched a massive offensive to recapture territory lost to the militants.

Western diplomats at the time said US experts were assisting the army in their battle to destroy Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the network's local branch, considered by Washington to be the deadliest and most active.

The United States also continues to target militants using unmanned drones against AQAP.

On Thursday, a drone strike blasted two cars carrying suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen in the southern Yemeni province of Shabwa, killing five of them, a tribal chief and witnesses said.

The United States is the only country that has drones in the region, but Washington has never formally acknowledged the presence of troops in Yemen to assist in the offensive against Al-Qaeda.

Although weakened, Al-Qaeda continues to launch hit-and-run attacks on government and civilian targets across Yemen.

On October 2, Yemeni forces killed three suspected Al-Qaeda militants in a raid on their hideout in Aden, foiling a major plot to blow up targets in the restive southern port city.

Security officials said two vehicles packed with explosives and three suicide belts were discovered at the hideout, described by one official as an "Al-Qaeda explosives workshop" and a "base for planning and organising attacks."

In recent months, Al-Qaeda has carried out a spate of deadly attacks against Yemeni army and intelligence officials. These included a suicide attack earlier this year that killed General Salem Ali Qoton, the man charged with leading the offensive against Al-Qaeda.

October 08, 2012 Jorge Benitez - .acus.org

From Selcan Hacaoglu, Bloomsberg:  Turkey deployed additional tanks and missile defense systems to the Syrian border following five days of artillery exchanges with President Bashar al-Assad’s armed forces.

The Turkish army sent reinforcements to an area near the border town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on Oct. 6, while a convoy of military vehicles towing howitzers headed toward the border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province today, the state-run Anatolia news agency said in two separate reports. Last week, parliament gave the government a one-year mandate to send forces into Syria if necessary. . . .

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told state-run television on Oct. 6 that the deaths in the town of Akcakale were caused by a D30 type, 122mm artillery shell used only by the Syrian army.

The subsequent Turkish threat to enter Syria was a “necessary warning to the Syrian administration to prevent a war,” Davutoglu said during an interview with TRT television.

Tim Ash, head of emerging market research at Standard Bank Group Ltd. in London, downplayed “prospects of an all out Syrian-Turkish military conflict,” in e-mailed comments today.

“Ankara is responding to cross-border shelling more as a deterrent,” Ash said. He said the motion passed by parliament gives Turkey the option to defend itself and “is no way a precursor to Turkish full-scale intervention” without sanctions and support from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations.

Oct. 7, 2012 - By BARBARA OPALL-ROME Defense News

TEL AVIV — A pair of Israel Air Force F-16Is used locally-produced Python missiles to shoot an apparently Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) out of the sky following a nearly 20-minute incursion into Israeli air space on Oct. 6.

Operational details of the Oct. 6 aerial intrusion are still under investigation. Preliminary findings indicate that the air vehicle was unarmed, but equipped with a photographic payload. It approached Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea north of the Gaza Strip and was flying eastward before the order was given to shoot it down in the hills south of Hebron.

Brig. Gen. Yoav “Poli” Mordechai, Israel’s military spokesman, said the UAV was detected well before it penetrated Israeli airspace and could have been targeted at any given time during its flight path. Commanders opted to wait until it reached an unpopulated area before issuing the order to shoot, he said.

“The air vehicle was under surveillance by air and ground sensors during its entire flight path ... This was an operational success,” Mordechai said.

Mordechai said investigators have not yet concluded which specific type of UAV was destroyed, from where, precisely, it was launched, and who was responsible. Nevertheless, military sources here suspected the UAV was part of the increasingly sophisticated weaponry provided by Iran to militant proxy groups north and south of Israel’s borders.

The Oct. 6 incident was the third time the Israel Air Force (IAF) used air-to-air missiles initially developed for dogfights with enemy fighter planes to address small, asymmetrical UAV threats.

After two embarrassing infiltrations by Iranian Ababil UAVs operated by Hizbollah in the 20 months prior to Israel’s 2006 Lebanon War, the IAF successfully shot down two Ababils during the course of that 34-day war. Remnants of the downed UAVs showed that at least one was equipped with nearly 10-kilograms of explosives.

06.10.2012 Le Monde.fr avec AFP

Un avion sans pilote d'origine inconnue, qui a survolé l'espace aérien israélien, a été abattu, samedi 6 octobre, par l'aviation israélienne dans le sud du pays, a annoncé l'armée israélienne.

"Un avion sans pilote a été identifié alors qu'il pénétrait dans l'espace aérien israélien ce matin. Il a été intercepté par l'armée de l'air israélienne à environ 10 heures locales (8 heures GMT)", a précisé l'armée dans un communiqué. "Des soldats effectuent actuellement des recherches dans le secteur où le drone a été abattu dans le nord du Negev pour le localiser et l'identifier", a ajouté l'armée.

Ce drone, qui est arrivé en provenance de la Méditerranée, ne transportait pas d'explosif, selon la radio militaire. Un porte-parole de l'armée cité par la radio a indiqué que les soldats chargés de la surveillance du territoire israélien "avaient agi comme il le fallait en repérant le drone dès son intrusion dans l'espace aérien israélien".

En juillet 2006, l'armée israélienne avait abattu au-dessus des eaux territoriales israéliennes un drone du mouvement chiite libanais Hezbollah qui n'était pas armé ni chargé d'explosifs. Le 12 avril 2005, un autre avion sans pilote du Hezbollah avait réussi à survoler une partie du territoire du nord d'Israël sans être abattu.

source IAF

October 6th, 2012 defencetalk.com  (AFP)

The Israeli air force shot down an unarmed and unidentified drone on Saturday after it entered the country’s airspace from the Mediterranean Sea, an army spokesman reported.

“An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was identified penetrating Israeli airspace this morning, and was intercepted by the IAF at approximately 10:00 am (0800 GMT),” a military spokesman said.

Soldiers are currently searching the area where the drone was downed, in open areas in the northern Negev, to locate and identify it, the spokesman added.

Army radio said that the aircraft was not carrying explosives.

It quoted a military spokesman as saying troops responsible for monitoring “acted as they should have done after spotting the drone following its intrusion into Israeli airspace.”

Military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich later told reporters: “This drone was spotted over the Mediterranean in a sector near the Gaza Strip before entering Israeli airspace, where the air force followed it.”

”It was followed from the beginning until the time it was decided to intercept it and shoot it down for operational reasons over the Yatir Forest in the northern Negev, an uninhabited region.” Leibovich called the operation a “success,” but she did not say how the drone was shot down.

“Israeli soldiers are at the scene and retrieving pieces of debris,” she added.

The army dispelled the notion that the drone might have been launched from the Gaza Strip, and is looking into the possibility that Lebanese Hezbollah militants may have dispatched it, a military official told Israeli public radio.

In July 2006, the Israeli military shot down an unarmed drone operated by Lebanon’s Shia Hezbollah movement over the Jewish state’s territorial waters.

And on April 12, 2005, another pilotless Hezbollah aircraft succeeded in overflying part of northern Israel without being downed.

MOSCOU, 6 octobre - RIA Novosti

L'armée de l'air israélienne a abattu samedi un aéronef commandé à distance qui a fait intrusion dans l'espace aérien de l'Etat hébreu au sud, rapportent des médias internationaux en référence au commandement de Tsahal.

A l'heure actuelle, les militaires essaient de trouver des fragments du drone détruit. On n'apprend rien sur l'appartenance de l'appareil.

A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle during its 'attack'

on the mine countermeasures force – Picture MOD 2012

5 Oct 12 UK MoD -  A Training and Adventure news article

Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond tested her mettle against two of the fastest jet fighters in the world when she played cat and mouse with US Air Force F-15 Strike Eagles.

HMS Diamond came under mock attack from the American jets during a mine warfare exercise in the Gulf, when Diamond was called upon to escort a force of four minehunters and their mother ship.

The F-15 assault was just one test for the £1bn Portsmouth-based warship as she escorted minehunters during training in the Middle East.

Although IMCMEX12 - International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2012 - focused on the ability of some 30 nations' navies to deal with the threat of mines blocking key sea lanes, dealing with underwater ordnance wasn't the only test the various ships faced.

The Type 45 was called upon to shepherd five ships - Britain's HMS Shoreham and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Cardigan Bay, the latter acting as a mother ship, and the USA's trio of mine warfare vessels Devastator, Dextrous and Sentry.

As one of the world's most potent air defence ships, HMS Diamond used her sophisticated radar suite to find, track and finally target the incoming F-15s, simulating launching her Sea Viper missiles to intercept the inbound jets before they could harm the mine countermeasures force.

At high altitude, the F-15 can reach speeds of around Mach 2.5 (3,000km/h). Even at low altitude, where the air is denser and creates more resistance, it can barrel along faster than the speed of sound.

A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle in the skies over HMS Diamond – Picture MOD 2012

Thanks to her long-range and Sampson radars (the latter is the distinctive 'spinning egg' atop the main mast) and her state-of-the-art command system, Diamond can track scores of contacts up to 250 miles (400km) away - which gives the ship's company under ten minutes to deal with an F-15 at top speed.

Were it for real, such an attack should be relatively straightforward; according to the specifications of Sea Viper, it should be able to knock a target the size of a tennis ball out of the sky, even if it's moving at three times the speed of sound.

As proven on test firings off the Scottish west coast, Sea Viper races towards its target at speeds in excess of Mach Four - nearly 5,000km/h - using a series of tiny jets to manoeuvre, carrying out sharp turns at G forces no human could endure.

Thankfully for the four US aircrew, the missiles remained safely in their silo on Diamond's expansive forecastle.

Watching the awesome sight of the F-15s at full pelt simulating an attack on the Type 45 destroyer were visitors from the Royal Navy of Oman, who joined Diamond for two days to observe the exercise.

Commander Ian Clarke, Commanding Officer of HMS Diamond, and Commander Ali Bin Musa Bin Suleman Al Baluchi of the Royal Navy of Oman watch the F-15 'attack' from the Type 45's bridge wing – Picture MOD 2012

The Omani officers had all previously received naval training at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth; two of the Sub-Lieutenants had only passed out from the college in April 2012. All are currently serving aboard Royal Omani Naval warships and were eager to see for themselves the equipment and practices of their Royal Naval counterparts on board one of the latest Type 45 destroyers:

    "It's an honour to sail with HMS Diamond and learn from one of the most professional navies in the world.

    "The hospitality and warm welcome we received from the Commanding Officer, Commander Ian Clarke, and his ship's company is highly appreciated," said Commander Ali Bin Musa Bin Suleman Al Baluchi on leaving the British destroyer.

    "I wish you all fair winds and following seas."

Diamond is now into the second half of her maiden deployment which, like her older sister HMS Daring, is focused on protecting merchant traffic and promoting the UK's interests in the Gulf region.

10:02pm UK, Friday 05 October 2012 news.sky.com

Turkish troops are reported to have fired into Syria for a second day, responding to another shell strike from the Syrians.

Turkey has reportedly returned fire after a shell fired from Syria landed on its territory close to their common border.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said the shell from Syria came down near the Turkish village of Asagipulluyaz in Hatay province.

It quoted the province's governor as saying that Turkish troops "responded with fire" after the mortar landed in a rural area. No one was reported hurt.

Turkish artillery has fired at targets in Syria for two days after a mortar from Syria killed five civilians in a Turkish border town.

Turkey's parliament also voted on Thursday to allow cross-border military operations in Syria. Turkey, a member of Nato, preserves its right to hit back if shelling continues, Turkish officials have warned.

The US has expressed support for Turkey's response.

"The United States condemns the violence and the aggressive actions of the Syrians," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

"The Turks have taken some actions that are designed to ensure that their sovereignty is no longer violated by Syrian aggression and we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them as they take those actions. They are certainly appropriate."

The uprising against Syrian President Bashar al Assad began in March 2011 and has gradually developed into a bloody civil war - estimated to have killed more than 30,000 people.