War on ISIL heating up in Syria, Iraq

Iraq has started bombing Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets with help from a new intelligence center that has staff from Russia, Iran and Syria, the head of parliament's defense and security committee said Oct. 13 as Russia intensifies attacks on the jihadist group in neighboring Syria. 

The center, which includes six staff from each country, has been operational for approximately one week, Hakim al-Zamili, a leading Shiite politician, told Reuters. 

Iraq's air force bombed a convoy this week that was thought to be carrying ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, based on information from the center, said al-Zamili. Security officials later said al-Baghdadi had not been in the convoy. 

"We can get a lot of use from Russian intelligence, even if they don't do air strikes," al-Zamili said. 

Two Russian one-star generals are stationed at the intelligence center in Baghdad, according to an Iraqi official who asked not to be named. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed Oct. 13 Washington for refusing to share intelligence with Russia on Syria, accusing it of muddled thinking.

"I believe some of our partners simply have mush for brains," Putin said, expressing some of his strongest criticism yet of Washington's handling of the Syrian crisis.

"Now, we often hear that our pilots are striking the wrong targets, not ISIL," Putin said at an investment forum in Moscow explaining that Russia had asked Washington to provide a list of targets.

Russia's air force hit 86 "terrorist" targets in Syria in 24 hours, the Defense Ministry said Oct. 13, in the highest one-day tally since it launched its bombing campaign on Sept. 30.

"In the last 24 hours, Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25SM planes carried...