The three sisters and nine children who are believed to be in Syria looking to join ISIL feature in all of the papers today alongside stories about Thomas Evans, killed while fighting for al-Shabaab in Kenya, and Talha Asmal, UK’s youngest suicide bomber.
ISIL
According to BBC News, Syrian Kurdish fighters say they have taken control of the Islamic State-held town of Tal Abyad, cutting off a major supply route for the jihadist group. It is reported that Kurdish reinforcements are being sent to help secure the main road south to ISIL's headquarters at Raqqa. According to the article, the advance has been supported by Syrian rebel groups and air strikes by the US-led coalition against ISIL. BBC reports that many have accused Kurdish forces of committing human rights abuses, and Western governments of doing too little to end the civil war in Syria.
The UK continues to play a leading role in international coalition efforts to tackle the threat posed by ISIL. You can read more about our contribution here and for regular updates on our air strike activity head here.
Yemen
It is widely reported that Al-Qaeda has confirmed the leader of its offshoot in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasser al-Wuhayshi, has been killed in a US drone strike in Yemen. According to reports, his death was announced by the AQAP group in an online video. His successor was named as military chief Qasim al-Raymi.
US Marines
The Times suggests that hundreds of US Marines are to be deployed on British and other European warships in the Mediterranean if Russia threatens NATO countries in Eastern Europe. The article reports that HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy’s flagship helicopter carrier, has been selected as one of the vessels to host US forces as the US Marine Corps does not have the capacity to permanently station an amphibious response force in Europe. It also reports that Britain hopes the US will send MV22 Osprey aircraft to operate from the first of its two aircraft carriers due to start sea trials next year. The Royal Navy’s position is as follows.
The Royal Navy, US Navy and US Marine Corps have a long history of close cooperation to develop war fighting capability. The integration of MV22 Osprey aircraft and US Marines into HMS Ocean later this year is another opportunity to allow our forces to work together more effectively and helps to strengthen the UK-US defence partnership, which is the most advanced in the world.
Public perception of Armed Forces
A story in The Daily Telegraph reports on a study by King’s College London and polling firm Ipsos Mori, which suggests the British public has an exaggerated view of UK Service personnel as “victims” who are prone to mental illness and suicide. The research findings claim that just over half of the public wrongly think service personnel are more likely to commit suicide or be imprisoned than civilians, and that fears of suffering PTSD might put people off a career in the Armed Forces. The article emphasises that statistics show these perceptions to be ill-founded. In fact, service personnel are no more likely to suffer mental health problems than the general population and also experience the same types of mental health disorders, and veterans are less likely to enter the criminal justice system than their civilian counterparts.
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