First French Airstrikes On IS 'Kill Dozens'

The Day I Came Face To Face With Islamic State

Updated: 7:53am UK, Tuesday 16 September 2014

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

I was told to wait on the side of a road outside a mosque in the Syrian city of Aleppo. An Emir speaking in the mosque would see me after prayers.

As hundreds of worshippers streamed through the open doors, a young man with long, black hair emerged surrounded by the most thuggish bunch of gunmen I had ever come across in Syria, and that takes some doing.

They fired up matt black cars, jeeps and trucks with anti-aircraft guns welded to the floor. He stopped briefly and shook my hand while my trusted translator introduced me.

He never took his eyes off me as he was asked if we could film in his area. He nodded and told us to follow them.

His convoy screamed down the road past their headquarters and crossed two blocks into the territory of another gang. The trucks split into sections and they surrounded a building.

Then they started firing. Hundreds if not thousands of rounds smashing through doors and windows, brick work pulverised into dust, walls collapsing. If there was anyone inside they died. It was brutal. I had just met ISIS.

It was in the early months of 2013 and ISIS was growing stronger by the week. I would regularly come across them or other groups who would soon join them, over the next few months.

It soon became clear to me and my translators and guides that the usual dangers of travelling through Syria that I had been dealing with since the winter of 2011 had got a lot worse.

Stories of violent roaming checkpoints, abductions, killings and the imposition of strict Sharia law in previously relaxed secular areas began to grow.

We heard of local people, aid workers and journalists, some of them my friends, being taken. But we had good relations with the fledgling ISIS leadership and by keeping a very low profile and with a network of drivers who knew every road we managed to avoid the checkpoints and disappear into the teeming streets of Aleppo.

In a school room converted into a court another Emir, Abu Al Homam, ruled on local disputes. Handing out judgements with a ruthless uncompromising efficiency.

He told me they did not execute people although he insisted he could. At that stage he said cutting people's hands off was enough to instil order over Aleppo's growing problem of crime.

But as I asked about a beheading we had been told of, one of my team saw the Emir's adviser shaking his head indicating that he should not admit to ordering the death penalty. Later locals told me it was common.

Abu Al Homam was not strictly speaking ISIS at that point. But he talked of the creation of a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and warned Western governments not to interfere in the business of Muslims.

All sounds pretty familiar now, beheadings and caliphates and the like.

With remarkable speed ISIS grew. From Al Raqqha to the east of Aleppo, with access to oil fields and out of the reach of the Syrian government forces, they stabilised, launched their takeover of much of northern Iraq and changed their name to Islamic State.

While some of the myriad jihadist groups in Syria are fighting IS they have become the pre-eminent power. Their ruthlessness and total disregard for reasonable norms have surprised everyone.

A senior intelligence officer in Iraq explained the difference between IS and even al Qaeda's most extreme members.

"With AQ I could rationally argue that what they did in beheading a person was against the Koran. It might take days, but they would listen and often they would accept it and agree it was wrong," he told me.

"IS are totally different. They do not care. They are bloodthirsty and pure evil. They need to be destroyed as an organisation and then killed," he added.

For people like me who have worked so hard reporting the uprising in Syria against the regime of Bashar al Assad, this is all very depressing. Whatever anyone says, the uprising was real. It was not a jihadi-inspired takeover. But in many ways it is now.

Travelling was always dangerous, but with IS spies in areas they don't control and desperate people prepared to hand over foreigners to IS for cash it is probably too dangerous to go there right now.

Last year I set out for Al Raqqah. A long, dangerous trip with multiple car swaps. Finally we reached a house and were told to wait for people in the city to fetch us.

They never arrived, but after a day some other rebels did and offered to take us in. We thought long and hard. To go would break all my own safety rules, but I was tempted. Had they driven the road? Was it okay?

After hours of talk they admitted they had not been to the city in four days. I declined their invitation and they waved to us as they headed off.

An hour down the road they drove into a checkpoint. All four were killed on the side of the road. These are the days of IS.

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Kerry Says Iran Has A Role in Defeating IS

The Day I Came Face To Face With Islamic State

Updated: 7:53am UK, Tuesday 16 September 2014

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

I was told to wait on the side of a road outside a mosque in the Syrian city of Aleppo. An Emir speaking in the mosque would see me after prayers.

As hundreds of worshippers streamed through the open doors, a young man with long, black hair emerged surrounded by the most thuggish bunch of gunmen I had ever come across in Syria, and that takes some doing.

They fired up matt black cars, jeeps and trucks with anti-aircraft guns welded to the floor. He stopped briefly and shook my hand while my trusted translator introduced me.

He never took his eyes off me as he was asked if we could film in his area. He nodded and told us to follow them.

His convoy screamed down the road past their headquarters and crossed two blocks into the territory of another gang. The trucks split into sections and they surrounded a building.

Then they started firing. Hundreds if not thousands of rounds smashing through doors and windows, brick work pulverised into dust, walls collapsing. If there was anyone inside they died. It was brutal. I had just met ISIS.

It was in the early months of 2013 and ISIS was growing stronger by the week. I would regularly come across them or other groups who would soon join them, over the next few months.

It soon became clear to me and my translators and guides that the usual dangers of travelling through Syria that I had been dealing with since the winter of 2011 had got a lot worse.

Stories of violent roaming checkpoints, abductions, killings and the imposition of strict Sharia law in previously relaxed secular areas began to grow.

We heard of local people, aid workers and journalists, some of them my friends, being taken. But we had good relations with the fledgling ISIS leadership and by keeping a very low profile and with a network of drivers who knew every road we managed to avoid the checkpoints and disappear into the teeming streets of Aleppo.

In a school room converted into a court another Emir, Abu Al Homam, ruled on local disputes. Handing out judgements with a ruthless uncompromising efficiency.

He told me they did not execute people although he insisted he could. At that stage he said cutting people's hands off was enough to instil order over Aleppo's growing problem of crime.

But as I asked about a beheading we had been told of, one of my team saw the Emir's adviser shaking his head indicating that he should not admit to ordering the death penalty. Later locals told me it was common.

Abu Al Homam was not strictly speaking ISIS at that point. But he talked of the creation of a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and warned Western governments not to interfere in the business of Muslims.

All sounds pretty familiar now, beheadings and caliphates and the like.

With remarkable speed ISIS grew. From Al Raqqha to the east of Aleppo, with access to oil fields and out of the reach of the Syrian government forces, they stabilised, launched their takeover of much of northern Iraq and changed their name to Islamic State.

While some of the myriad jihadist groups in Syria are fighting IS they have become the pre-eminent power. Their ruthlessness and total disregard for reasonable norms have surprised everyone.

A senior intelligence officer in Iraq explained the difference between IS and even al Qaeda's most extreme members.

"With AQ I could rationally argue that what they did in beheading a person was against the Koran. It might take days, but they would listen and often they would accept it and agree it was wrong," he told me.

"IS are totally different. They do not care. They are bloodthirsty and pure evil. They need to be destroyed as an organisation and then killed," he added.

For people like me who have worked so hard reporting the uprising in Syria against the regime of Bashar al Assad, this is all very depressing. Whatever anyone says, the uprising was real. It was not a jihadi-inspired takeover. But in many ways it is now.

Travelling was always dangerous, but with IS spies in areas they don't control and desperate people prepared to hand over foreigners to IS for cash it is probably too dangerous to go there right now.

Last year I set out for Al Raqqah. A long, dangerous trip with multiple car swaps. Finally we reached a house and were told to wait for people in the city to fetch us.

They never arrived, but after a day some other rebels did and offered to take us in. We thought long and hard. To go would break all my own safety rules, but I was tempted. Had they driven the road? Was it okay?

After hours of talk they admitted they had not been to the city in four days. I declined their invitation and they waved to us as they headed off.

An hour down the road they drove into a checkpoint. All four were killed on the side of the road. These are the days of IS.

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New IS Video Shows Another British Hostage

British Muslims Plea For 'Mercy' For UK Hostage

Updated: 8:39am UK, Thursday 18 September 2014

British Muslim leaders have united to call for the Islamic State extremist group to release the UK hostage Alan Henning.

They have urged the militants to show mercy to the 47-year-old from Salford, and to let him go unharmed.

The father of two travelled to Syria with charity workers in December, but was kidnapped and now faces beheading at the hands of the terrorist dubbed Jihadi John.

The intervention came as a friend of Mr Henning, who was on the same aid convoy, made a direct appeal to IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, to show "compassion and mercy".

In the video the man describes travelling "several times" to Syria with Mr Henning.

"On all occasions, we - your Muslim brothers - brought him with us under our care and protection," he says.

"Alan was so moved by the suffering of the Syrian people, in particular the children, that he devoted all his free time in raising money and awareness about their suffering.

"He washed cars to raise money, he collected aid, he talked to everybody he met about crimes committed against the Muslims in Syria."

More than 100 Muslim leaders have signed a statement to IS pleading for Mr Henning's release, and branding them "monsters" for the brutal murder of fellow hostage David Haines.

In a letter published in the Independent newspaper, they said: "We, the undersigned British Muslim Imams, organisations and individuals, wish to express our horror and revulsion at the senseless murder of David Haines and the threat to the life of our fellow British citizen, Alan Henning."

They said those holding Mr Henning hostage must accept that what they are doing is against the Koran and "constitutes the worst condemnable sin".

The Muslim Council of Britain was among the signatories.

Dr Shuja Shafi, the council's Secretary General, said: "Such a man should be celebrated, not incarcerated. Taking such people hostage, and murdering them, are against the principles laid out in the Qur'an and our Prophetic traditions."

It comes as new footage shows Mr Henning en route to Syria, saying it is "all worthwhile" to make sure aid gets to where it is needed.

Mr Henning, a taxi driver, was kidnapped within 30 minutes of crossing from Turkey into Syria.

He had volunteered to drive an ambulance full of medical aid as part of a community-funded charity trip organised by volunteers from Bolton and the UK Arab Society.

It is believed he was abducted by IS in Al Dana, a town 38km (24 miles) from Aleppo.

Reports suggest he was separated from Muslim counterparts by masked men.

Friends who travelled with him said they made desperate attempt to get him freed before returning to the UK.

The man in the video appeal describes Mr Henning's commitment to raise as much money as he could for refugees of Syria's civil war.

The YouTube appeal was partly co-ordinated by Cage - a group campaigning against the so-called "war on terror".

Emotionally overwhelmed at the end of the video, the man urges IS leader al Baghdadi to "please, please, please, release Alan."

"He has no affiliation with any political agenda," he says.

"Show him compassion and mercy as he showed compassion and mercy to Muslims of Syria."

Mr Henning appeared at the end of the video released on Saturday in which Mr Haines was beheaded by IS - with a threat that he would be next.

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Obama's Syria Plan Clears Sceptical Senate

President Obama's plan to train and equip "moderate" Syrian rebels has passed Congress, despite misgivings among lawmakers.

Syrian refugees crowd a Turkish border fence on Thursday

The Senate backed the measure by 73 votes to 22, a day after it was approved by the House of Representatives.

Leaders of both parties are backing Mr Obama's strategy to help Syrian insurgents take on the Islamic State extremists, but the rank and file in each chamber expressed grave reservations.

"Intervention that destabilises the Middle East is a mistake," said Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, a potential 2016 presidential candidate.

"And yet here we are again wading into a civil war."

A jihadist gunman looks at bottles of perfume at a shop in Raqqa, Syria

Democratic Alaska Senator Mark Begich said he also disagreed with Mr Obama's strategy, adding: "It is time for the Arab countries to...get over their regional differences."

The administration dispatched its top officials to Capitol Hill for a second day to assure lawmakers there would be no US troops fighting in the Middle East.

The Pentagon chief is the latest official to rule out ground forces

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told a House panel that Mr Obama "is not going to order American combat ground forces into that area".

Secretary of State John Kerry told another committee the administration appreciated the danger of a "slippery slope". 

Focusing lawmakers' minds, the Islamic State paraded their latest hostage on Thursday.

They released a video showing a British journalist, who they said he was their prisoner.

The extremists have already beheaded three Westerners after capturing a third of Syria and Iraq.

A protester is removed as the Defence Secretary testifies before the House

The group also took over 21 villages in northern Syria this week, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The House approved the Obama proposal by 273-156 on Wednesday.

Republicans, usually stalwart antagonists of the president, backed the measure by more than double the margin of his war-weary Democratic allies.

The Islamists took 21 Syrian villages this week, sparking a refugee exodus

The plan, which is an amendment to a short-term spending bill, does not include the $500m (£300m) the White House says it needs to arm and train the rebels.

The idea is that US troops will train Syrian rebels at camps in Saudi Arabia, a process that could take a year, say military officials.

Defence officials have said they expect to recruit and train about 5,000 non-extremist rebel fighters.

But lawmakers have expressed doubt this will be enough to take on the Islamic State, who the CIA estimates can muster up to 31,000 fighters.

Mr Obama's strategy is to use American warplanes to help Kurdish peshmerga fighters and national forces in Iraq and the rebels in Syria do the fighting on the ground.

Fears of mission creep were raised two days ago when the nation's top military leader, General Martin Dempsey, raised the possibility of US ground troops eventually fighting in Iraq.

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US General: Half Of Iraqi Army Not Capable

Around half of Iraq's army is incapable of working with the US to recapture territory from Islamic State (IS) in western and northern Iraq, according to the top US military officer.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that military teams that spent much of the summer in Iraq assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the security forces found that only 26 of 50 army brigades were capable partners for the US.

Gen Dempsey, a former wartime commander of US training programmes in the country, described them as well led and well equipped, adding: "They appear to have a national instinct, instead of a sectarian instinct."

These would still need to be partially rebuilt with US training and more equipment, he added.

The other 24 brigades were found to be too dominated by Shias to be part of a credible national force.

Shiite fighters, who have joined the battle against IS, train in Najaf

Gen Dempsey was speaking with reporters travelling with him to Paris, where he met with his French counterpart for talks on the conflicts in Syria and Iraq and other issues.

The trip followed on from Gen Dempsey's appearance in front of a Senate panel, when he said US ground forces could be deployed again in Iraq.

His remarks were soon contradicted by the White House's spokesman however, who said President Barack Obama "will not deploy ground troops in a combat role into Iraq or Syria".

Iraq's new prime minister, Haider al Abadi, has also said foreign ground troops are neither wanted nor needed in the country's fight against IS.

Meanwhile, the group has released a video warning the US that fighters await it in Iraq if troops are sent there.

Kurdish peshmerga troops participate in a security deployment against IS

The 52-second clip, entitled "Flames of War", shows fighters destroying tanks, wounded US soldiers and others about to be killed.

It includes a clip of Mr Obama saying combat troops will not return to Iraq, ending with a text overlay that reads "fighting has just begun".

Renewed US efforts to train Iraqi troops could revive the issue of gaining legal immunity from Iraqi prosecution for US troops who are training them, Gen Dempsey said on his way to France.

The last Iraqi government refused to give immunity to US troops who might have stayed behind as trainers after the US military mission ended in December 2011.

Gen Dempsey also warned that US firepower alone would not be enough to stop IS.

Islamic State fighters have seized large parts of Iraq and Syria

The solution, he said, hinged on the formation of an Iraqi government that is able to convince Kurds and Sunnis that they will be equal partners with the Shiites.

The US launched airstrikes on IS last month, and Gen Dempsey said fighters from the extremist group will have reacted to the strikes by making themselves less visible.

He predicted they would "literally litter the road networks" with improvised explosive devices in the days ahead.

That would then mean more counter-IED training and equipment for Iraq's army, Gen Dempsey said.

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Fear Of IS 'Demonstration Killing' Led To Raids

Fears of extremists carrying out "demonstration killings" led to the country's largest ever anti-terror raids by police, Australia's Prime Minister has said.

More than 800 officers took part in the operation which saw at least 15 people detained and one charged with a serious "terrorism-related" offence.

Police said intelligence indicated a random, violent attack was being planned.

More than 800 police officers were involved in the raids

The early morning raids of homes and businesses in Sydney and Brisbane came just days after Australia raised its national terror threat level to "high" for the first time, citing the likelihood of terrorist attacks by Australians radicalised in Iraq or Syria.

Tony Abbott told reporters the operation had been prompted by information that an Australian, who is senior in the Islamic State militant group, had been calling on supporters in Australia to "conduct demonstration killings".

He said: "Quite direct exhortations were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country.

"This is not just suspicion, this is intent and that's why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have."

He did not name the Australian.

A suspect is detained by armed police during the operation

Police have issued an arrest warrant for a former Sydney nightclub bouncer Mohammad Ali Baryalei, 33, who is suspected to be Australia's most senior member of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

Australian Federal Police Acting Commissioner Andrew Colvin said: "In all 25 search warrants were conducted across the suburbs of Sydney that included in excess of 800 officers.

"Those 800 officers comprised a range of different police skills and capabilities, obviously investigators, forensics experts, specialist tactical officers, surveillance officers and the like and as you've seen reported and as has been said already it is the largest of its type undertaken in Australia's history."

He added: "Police believe that this group that we have executed this operation on today had the intention and had started to carry out planning to commit violent acts here in Australia.

A police forensic expert gathers evidence at a property in Sydney

"Those violent acts particularly related to random acts against members of the public.

"So what we saw today and the operation that continues was very much about police disrupting the potential for violence against the Australian community at the earliest possible opportunity."

Sydney is home to around half of Australia's 500,000 Muslims live in Sydney, with the majority living in the western suburbs where the raids were carried out.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the operation showed the reality of the threat facing Australia.

He said: "You know it is of serious concern that right at the heart of our communities we have people that are planning to conduct random attacks.

"Today we work together to make sure that didn't happen. We have disrupted that particular attack."

Police chiefs said the operation highlighted the reality of the threat

Australia, which is due to host the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane in mid-November, is concerned over the number of its citizens believed to be fighting overseas with Islamist militant groups.

Mr Scipione said: "Our police will continue to work tirelessly to prevent any such attacks but certainly can I stress that right now, is a time for calm.

"We don't need to whip this up.

"We need to let people know that they are safe and certainly from our perspective we know that the work this morning will ensure that all of those plans that may have been on foot have been thwarted."

Up to 160 Australians have either been involved in the fighting in the Middle East or actively supporting it, officials said.

At least 20 are believed to have returned to Australia and pose a national security risk, the head of the country's spy agency said when raising the threat level last week.

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Syrian Politician Warns US Over IS Action

The Day I Came Face To Face With Islamic State

Updated: 7:53am UK, Tuesday 16 September 2014

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

I was told to wait on the side of a road outside a mosque in the Syrian city of Aleppo. An Emir speaking in the mosque would see me after prayers.

As hundreds of worshippers streamed through the open doors, a young man with long, black hair emerged surrounded by the most thuggish bunch of gunmen I had ever come across in Syria, and that takes some doing.

They fired up matt black cars, jeeps and trucks with anti-aircraft guns welded to the floor. He stopped briefly and shook my hand while my trusted translator introduced me.

He never took his eyes off me as he was asked if we could film in his area. He nodded and told us to follow them.

His convoy screamed down the road past their headquarters and crossed two blocks into the territory of another gang. The trucks split into sections and they surrounded a building.

Then they started firing. Hundreds if not thousands of rounds smashing through doors and windows, brick work pulverised into dust, walls collapsing. If there was anyone inside they died. It was brutal. I had just met ISIS.

It was in the early months of 2013 and ISIS was growing stronger by the week. I would regularly come across them or other groups who would soon join them, over the next few months.

It soon became clear to me and my translators and guides that the usual dangers of travelling through Syria that I had been dealing with since the winter of 2011 had got a lot worse.

Stories of violent roaming checkpoints, abductions, killings and the imposition of strict Sharia law in previously relaxed secular areas began to grow.

We heard of local people, aid workers and journalists, some of them my friends, being taken. But we had good relations with the fledgling ISIS leadership and by keeping a very low profile and with a network of drivers who knew every road we managed to avoid the checkpoints and disappear into the teeming streets of Aleppo.

In a school room converted into a court another Emir, Abu Al Homam, ruled on local disputes. Handing out judgements with a ruthless uncompromising efficiency.

He told me they did not execute people although he insisted he could. At that stage he said cutting people's hands off was enough to instil order over Aleppo's growing problem of crime.

But as I asked about a beheading we had been told of, one of my team saw the Emir's adviser shaking his head indicating that he should not admit to ordering the death penalty. Later locals told me it was common.

Abu Al Homam was not strictly speaking ISIS at that point. But he talked of the creation of a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and warned Western governments not to interfere in the business of Muslims.

All sounds pretty familiar now, beheadings and caliphates and the like.

With remarkable speed ISIS grew. From Al Raqqha to the east of Aleppo, with access to oil fields and out of the reach of the Syrian government forces, they stabilised, launched their takeover of much of northern Iraq and changed their name to Islamic State.

While some of the myriad jihadist groups in Syria are fighting IS they have become the pre-eminent power. Their ruthlessness and total disregard for reasonable norms have surprised everyone.

A senior intelligence officer in Iraq explained the difference between IS and even al Qaeda's most extreme members.

"With AQ I could rationally argue that what they did in beheading a person was against the Koran. It might take days, but they would listen and often they would accept it and agree it was wrong," he told me.

"IS are totally different. They do not care. They are bloodthirsty and pure evil. They need to be destroyed as an organisation and then killed," he added.

For people like me who have worked so hard reporting the uprising in Syria against the regime of Bashar al Assad, this is all very depressing. Whatever anyone says, the uprising was real. It was not a jihadi-inspired takeover. But in many ways it is now.

Travelling was always dangerous, but with IS spies in areas they don't control and desperate people prepared to hand over foreigners to IS for cash it is probably too dangerous to go there right now.

Last year I set out for Al Raqqah. A long, dangerous trip with multiple car swaps. Finally we reached a house and were told to wait for people in the city to fetch us.

They never arrived, but after a day some other rebels did and offered to take us in. We thought long and hard. To go would break all my own safety rules, but I was tempted. Had they driven the road? Was it okay?

After hours of talk they admitted they had not been to the city in four days. I declined their invitation and they waved to us as they headed off.

An hour down the road they drove into a checkpoint. All four were killed on the side of the road. These are the days of IS.

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General: US Ground Troops Possible In Iraq

America's top military leader has said US ground forces could be deployed again in Iraq, three years after they left the country.

Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate panel that he would make the recommendation if the US strategy of airstrikes fails to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants. 

"To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the president," said Gen Dempsey, using another name for the terrorist group.

Tuesday's Senate hearing was disrupted by anti-war protesters

Asked to expand, he said he "would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of ground forces".

The four-star general said they could be sent to provide close combat advice or accompany Iraqi troops on any future mission to recapture the Iraqi city Mosul from the militants.

His remarks were soon contradicted by the White House's spokesman, who said commander-in-chief President Barack Obama "will not deploy ground troops in a combat role into Iraq or Syria".

Aid worker Alan Henning (centre right) has been threatened with death by IS

The president has already sent more than 1,000 US personnel, but they are said to be serving purely in an advisory role to help Iraqi troops tackle the IS forces.

On Tuesday, US warplanes stepped up their offensive against the IS in Iraq. 

Two airstrikes were launched against sites northwest of Irbil and three southwest of Baghdad.

British hostage David Haines was beheaded by his captors

American jets also pounded targets southwest of Baghdad in two raids on Sunday and Monday.

French warplanes flying from the United Arab Emirates have meanwhile begun reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

Gen Dempsey also told senators the US was ready to strike the extremists in Syria.

"This will not look like 'shock and awe' because that is not how ISIL is organised," he said, "but it will be persistent and sustainable."

He appeared alongside Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, who warned the war would not be easy or brief.

An Islamic State gunman in Raqqa, Syria

"Victory is when we complete the mission of degrading, destroying and defeating ISIL," the Pentagon chief testified.

The Senate hearing was repeatedly disrupted by anti-war protesters. 

House of Representatives lawmakers are considering the Obama administration's request for $500m (£300m) to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels.

However, Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed doubts about whether it is possible to identify moderates in a war zone riven by rival factions.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, meanwhile, has said the UK Government was doing all it could to save British hostage Alan Henning, and warned it would not be deterred from its goal of "crushing" the Islamic State fighters behind his abduction.

Mr Henning, an aid convoy volunteer, appeared at the end of an IS video released on Saturday in which fellow UK hostage David Haines was killed, with a threat that he would be next.

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The Day I Came Face To Face With Islamic State

I was told to wait on the side of a road outside a mosque in the Syrian city of Aleppo. An Emir speaking in the mosque would see me after prayers.

As hundreds of worshippers streamed through the open doors, a young man with long, black hair emerged surrounded by the most thuggish bunch of gunmen I had ever come across in Syria, and that takes some doing.

They fired up matt black cars, jeeps and trucks with anti-aircraft guns welded to the floor. He stopped briefly and shook my hand while my trusted translator introduced me.

He never took his eyes off me as he was asked if we could film in his area. He nodded and told us to follow them.

The group has made rapid territorial advances across Iraq and Syria

His convoy screamed down the road past their headquarters and crossed two blocks into the territory of another gang. The trucks split into sections and they surrounded a building.

Then they started firing. Hundreds if not thousands of rounds smashing through doors and windows, brick work pulverised into dust, walls collapsing. If there was anyone inside they died. It was brutal. I had just met ISIS.

It was in the early months of 2013 and ISIS was growing stronger by the week. I would regularly come across them or other groups who would soon join them, over the next few months.

It soon became clear to me and my translators and guides that the usual dangers of travelling through Syria that I had been dealing with since the winter of 2011 had got a lot worse.

Stories of violent roaming checkpoints, abductions, killings and the imposition of strict Sharia law in previously relaxed secular areas began to grow.

British aid worker David Haines was taken hostage and killed by the group

We heard of local people, aid workers and journalists, some of them my friends, being taken. But we had good relations with the fledgling ISIS leadership and by keeping a very low profile and with a network of drivers who knew every road we managed to avoid the checkpoints and disappear into the teeming streets of Aleppo.

In a school room converted into a court another Emir, Abu Al Homam, ruled on local disputes. Handing out judgements with a ruthless uncompromising efficiency.

He told me they did not execute people although he insisted he could. At that stage he said cutting people's hands off was enough to instal order over Aleppo's growing problem of crime.

But as I asked about a beheading we had been told of, one of my team saw the Emir's adviser shaking his head indicating that he should not admit to ordering the death penalty. Later locals told me it was common.

Abu Al Homam was not strictly speaking ISIS at that point. But he talked of the creation of a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and warned western governments not to interfere in the business of Muslims.

All sounds pretty familiar now, beheadings and caliphates and the like.

The group has also taken taxi driver Alan Henning hostage

With remarkable speed ISIS grew. From Al Raqqha to the east of Aleppo, with access to oil fields and out of the reach of the Syrian government forces, they stabilised, launched their take over of much of northern Iraq, and changed their name to Islamic State.

While some of the myriad jihadist groups in Syria are fighting IS they have become the pre-eminent power. Their ruthlessness and total disregard for reasonable norms have surprised everyone.

A senior intelligence officer in Iraq explained the difference between IS and even al Qaeda's most extreme members.

"With AQ I could rationally argue that what they did in beheading a person was against the Koran. It might take days but they would listen and often they would accept it and agree it was wrong," he told me.

"IS are totally different. They do not care. They are blood thirsty and pure evil. They need to be destroyed as an organisation and then killed," he added.

Militants have released videos depicting mass executions

For people like me who have worked so hard reporting the uprising in Syria against the regime of Bashar al Assad, this is all very depressing. Whatever anyone says, the uprising was real. It was not a jihadi inspired takeover. But in many ways it is now.

Travelling was always dangerous but with IS spies in areas they don't control and desperate people prepared to hand over foreigners to IS for cash it is probably too dangerous to go there right now.

Last year I set out for Al Raqqah. A long, dangerous trip with multiple car swaps. Finally we reached a house and were told to wait for people in the city to fetch us.

They never arrived but after a day some other rebels did and offered to take us in. We thought long and hard. To go would break all my own safety rules but I was tempted. Had they driven the road? Was it okay?

After hours of talk they admitted they had not been to the city in four days. I declined their invitation and they waved to us as they headed off.

An hour down the road they drove into a checkpoint. All four were killed on the side of the road. These are the days of IS.

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US Takes Fight To Islamic State Militants

American warplanes have struck an Islamic State target southwest of Baghdad as the US stepped up the offensive against the terror group.

The US military said it carried out two airstrikes on Sunday and Monday in support of Iraqi forces being attacked by militant fighters.

The action reflects the expanded mission authorised by President Barack Obama to go on the offensive against the extremists.

Previous strikes had been of a defensive nature, while these were in direct support of Iraqi troops battling the militants.

Aid volunteer Alan Henning (centre right) pictured before he left for Syria

The development comes as British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the UK Government is doing all it can to save British hostage Alan Henning, and warned it will not be deterred from its goal of "crushing" the Islamic State fighters behind his abduction.

Mr Henning, an aid convoy volunteer, appeared at the end of an IS video released on Saturday in which fellow UK hostage David Haines was killed, with a threat that he would be next.

Speaking to Sky News Mr Hammond said he understood Mr Henning's family was "going through hell", and that the Government was doing everything possible to protect him.

But he said the SAS had not been sent in to rescue Mr Henning because it was not clear exactly where he was being held.

British hostage David Haines was beheaded by his captors

Mr Hammond was speaking after a summit in Paris where world leaders agreed to provide military aid to fight the extremist network.

The meeting of 30 countries agreed to "support the Iraqi government by any means necessary - including military assistance".

Prime Minister David Cameron has said Britain would seek United Nations support for any such plans.

He said the backing would be an important part of the blueprint for dealing with the extremists, who have seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

It is still unclear whether Britain will join in US airstrikes against IS in Syria, with ministers refusing to rule it out but insisting that no decision had been made.

The PM wants UN backing for plans to fight Islamic State

The Government is currently arming Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting IS in Iraq and providing other support in the country.

Mr Cameron has vowed to "hunt down" the "monsters" who killed Mr Haines, and said his murder would "strengthen our resolve" to smash the extremist network.

US secretary of state John Kerry has been urging allies - especially Middle East and Gulf states - to show a united front and an American official said several Arab countries had offered to join airstrikes.

But Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei revealed he had received a request from the US to join the fight against IS but said he had rejected it because of Washington's "unclean intentions".

Ahead of the talks in Paris, Australia said it would send aircraft and personnel and France announced it would begin reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

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Australian Special Forces Join Fight Against IS

Australia will send 600 troops - including special forces - and 10 military aircraft to the Middle East to bolster international efforts to fight the "death cult" of Islamic State.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the commitment comes after a formal request from US President Barack Obama for partners in the global coalition against IS.

Mr Abbott said Australia's contribution would include 400 air force personnel and a further 200 military troops.

A contingent of special forces operatives is among those being prepared to assist Iraq's security forces, a statement from Mr Abbott's office confirmed.

Mr Kerry speaks at a press conference in Cairo on Saturday

The contingent could be deployed to the United Arab Emirates as early as this week.

"For some time now the Australian government has been considering how best to respond to the ISIL (Islamic State) movement at home and abroad," Mr Abbott told reporters in Darwin.

"I can advise that we have, within about the last 24 hours, received a specific request from the United States government to contribute forces to possible military action in Iraq.

"The government has decided to prepare and to deploy to the United Arab Emirates a military force, a military force that could, subject to further decisions, contribute to military operations inside Iraq."

It comes as the international community condemned the murder of British aid worker David Haines, who was beheaded by IS militants.

British aid worker David Haines has been murdered by IS extremists

The United States has been seeking to establish a global coalition to fight IS extremists in Iraq and Syria.

On Monday, an international conference will be held in Paris to address the ongoing crisis in Iraq and the threat from the Islamist group.

US Secretary of State John Kerry met Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al Sisi on Saturday as he continued to press the case for striking IS.

The Egyptian president told Mr Kerry that any global coalition should not just battle IS, but also other take on other terror groups.

On Friday Mr Kerry also held a two-hour meeting with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr Kerry met Arab foreign ministers in Jeddah last week

Speaking in Ankara, Mr Kerry spoke of a "broad-based coalition with Arab nations, European nations, the United States and others".

Key Arab allies last week promised to "do their share" to fight IS, including stopping the flow of fighters and funding to the militants.

Some 40 countries have so far agreed to contribute to what Mr Kerry says will be a worldwide effort to defeat the militants.

The US has already carried out more than 150 airstrikes in Iraq since early August, including a strike on Friday near the country's largest dam.

The CIA estimates Islamic State has as many as 31,500 fighters in Syria and Iraq.

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PM: We Will 'Hunt Down' David Haines' Killers

David Cameron has vowed that Britain will "hunt down" those responsible for the murder of British aid worker David Haines and bring them to justice.

Speaking from Downing Street after chairing a meeting of Cobra, Mr Cameron described Islamic State extremists as "monsters" who are part of a "fanatical organisation".

"We will hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice, no matter how long it takes," Mr Cameron said.

"David Haines was an aid worker. He went into harm's way, not to harm people but to help his fellow human beings in the hour of their direst need, from the Balkans to the Middle East.

"David Haines was a British hero. The fact that an aid worker was taken, held and brutally murdered at the hand of Islamic State sums up what this organisation stands for.

A man wearing black addresses David Cameron in the video

"They boast of their brutality. They claim to do this in the name of Islam. That is nonsense - Islam is a religion of peace."

Earlier in the day Mr Cameron held emergency talks with senior representatives of the military, the security services, the Foreign Office and the Home Office.

He returned to Downing Street shortly after midnight when IS released a video which showed Mr Haines' death.

Government sources say the death will not change Britain's policy and Parliament will not be recalled.

But Mr Cameron said Britain's security depends upon taking action against the extremists.

Mr Haines has been described as a 'British hero' (Pic: Lance Baldwin)

"It must strengthen our resolve. We must recognise that it will take time to eradicate a threat like this. It will require, as I have described, action at home and abroad," he said.

"This is not something we can do on our own. We have to work with the rest of the world.

"Ultimately, our security as a nation, the way we go about our everyday lives in this free and tolerant society that is Britain, has always depended on our readiness to act against those who stand for hatred and who stand for destruction."

Mr Haines was taken hostage in Syria last year

The footage of Mr Haines' death shows a knife-wielding militant who speaks with a British accent.

The clip also includes a threat to kill a second hostage, later named as Alan Henning, who was a volunteer on an aid convoy.

In the video, Mr Haines looks into the camera and makes a statement, holding Mr Cameron responsible for his own "execution".

In the statement, which appears to have been made under duress, he said: "You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend against our British prime ministers who can't find the courage to say 'no' to the Americans.

"Unfortunately it is we the British public that in the end will pay the price for our Parliament's selfish decisions."

Mr Cameron returned to Downing Street for crisis talks

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "All the signs are that the video is genuine. We have no reason to believe it is not."

The aid agency that Mr Haines was working for when he was taken hostage in 2013 said it was "appalled and horrified" by the killing.

"ACTED strongly condemns with the utmost of force these crimes. In this tragic moment, our thoughts are with his family, friends and loved ones," the agency said.

The killing comes just weeks after American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were beheaded by Islamic State (IS). Those deaths were also filmed, and the videos were released on the internet.

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PM Condemns 'Murder' Of British Aid Worker

British Prime David Cameron has condemned the beheading of British aid worker David Haines by Islamic State, describing it as an "act of pure evil".

A video put out by the militant organisation shows 44-year-old father of two Mr Haines being murdered.

In a statement put out by Downing Street tonight, Mr Cameron says: "This is a despicable and appalling murder of an innocent aid worker. It is an act of pure evil.

"My heart goes out to the family of David Haines who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude throughout this ordeal.

"We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."

Mr Haines brother Mike said his sibling was "just another bloke" who "helped whoever needed help" until he was murdered "in cold blood".

David Cameron returned to Downing Street with his head bowed

Mr Haines was thought have been held captive by militant group Islamic State after being kidnapped from a Syrian refugee camp close to the border with Turkey last year.

Mr Cameron has returned to Downing Street and will chair a Cobra meeting today, officials confirmed.

The release of the video came hours after Mr Haines family urged his captors to contact them.

In the video, the victim looks into the camera makes a statement, holding Mr Cameron responsible for his own "execution"

In the statement, which may have been made under duress, he said: "You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend against our British prime ministers who can't find the courage to say 'no' to the Americans.

"Unfortunately it is we the British public that in the end will pay the price for our Parliament's selfish decisions."

The killing comes just weeks after two American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were also seen being beheaded by Islamic State (IS), in similarly filmed videos.

Behind Mr Haines, stood a man in black, who appeared to speak with an English accent.

David Haines worked as an aid worker

After Mr Haines finished, the man said : "This British man has to the pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the peshmerga against the Islamic State.

"Your evil alliance with America which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam will only accelerate your destruction."

"If you, Cameron, persist in fighting the Islamic State then you like your master Obama will have the blood of your people on your hands."

Another man who Sky News is not naming, said to be British, then appears at the end of the video and is threatened with being killed.

The Foreign Office said Mr Haines' family wished to be left alone.

US President Barack Obama has put out a statement saying: "Our hearts go out to the family of Mr. Haines and to the people of the United Kingdom.

"The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve."

The murders have prompted a number of commentators to call for swift and firm action. Former head of the Army Lord Dannatt said the UK should respond by playing its role in the assault against IS promised by US president Barack Obama.

"What we absolutely need to do is not be cowed in any way by yet another foul murder of a hostage," he said.

More follows...

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IS: Beheading Is Revenge For UK Helping Kurds

The beheading of British hostage David Haines was in retaliation for David Cameron promising to arm Kurdish fighters in Iraq, says Islamic State.

Aid worker Mr Haines was killed by the insurgent group in a video where he is pictured kneeling in front of an IS extremist who is holding a knife.

The jihadist, who appears to have a British accent, said: "This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the peshmerga against the Islamic State."

He criticised the UK's "evil alliance with America", calling the Prime Minister an "obedient lapdog".

He also said the US "continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam (which) will only accelerate your destruction".

"And playing the role of the obedient lapdog Cameron will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war".

The militant added: "If you, Cameron, persist in fighting the Islamic State then you like your master Obama will have the blood of your people on your hands."

David Cameron returns to Downing Street for crisis talks

Mr Haines, speaking under duress, also talked to the camera, saying he held the Prime Minister "entirely responsible for my execution".

He added: "You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend against our British prime ministers who can't find the courage to say no to the Americans.

"Unfortunately it is we the British public that in the end will pay the price for our Parliament's selfish decisions."

The video began with an interview clip of the Prime Minister and then featured Mr Haines, dressed in orange overalls, making his remarks.

IS militants previously beheaded two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, posting the evidence online in videos featuring a masked jihadist with a British accent.

Mr Cameron described Mr Haines' beheading as "an act of pure evil".

He added: "My heart goes out to the family of David Haines who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude throughout this ordeal.

"We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."

The Foreign Office said it was offering the Haines family "every support possible".

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