Kurdish fighters defending the Syrian city of Kobani against the ISIL say the Takfiri militants have used chemical weapons. ● Kurdish officials and doctors said on Wednesday that the terrorists released a sort of toxic gas in the eastern side of the Kurdish city late on Tuesday. Aysa Abdullah, a senior Kurdish official based in Kobani, said the victims had symptoms that included dizziness and watery eyes and that there was no equipment to precisely determine what kinds of chemicals had been used. Other reports said the victims were transferred to a hospital in neighboring Turkey. Many have joined the ISIL from Iraq’s former Ba’athist regime, highly skilled at using chemical weapons.

PressTV: Saudi king’s nephew admits to Riyadh support for ISIL

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu accused the United States on Thursday of working on military "scenarios" near Russia's borders that he said were a source of grave concern. ● Interfax news agency quoted Shoigu as expressing surprise at a speech on Wednesday in which U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said U.S. armed forces "must deal with a revisionist Russia - with its modern and capable Army - on NATO's doorstep". Russia's relations with the West have reached a post-Cold War low over the conflict in Ukraine, with Moscow denying accusations that it has supplied weapons and troops to back pro-Russian separatists in the east of the former Soviet republic. "Chuck Hagel's thesis on the necessity for the American army to 'deal' with 'modern and capable' Russian armed forces on NATO's doorstep is of grave concern," Shoigu said, according to Interfax. "This testifies to the fact that the Pentagon is working on scenarios for operations at the borders of our country." Shoigu did not say what he thought the U.S. military was planning. Washington has been open about its deployment of additional troops to Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland and the Baltic states, on manoeuvres intended to signal its commitment to nervous NATO allies. Since the collapse of Communism, NATO has expanded eastward to take in three former Soviet republics and a clutch of ex-communist states once dominated by Moscow, in what Russia views as a serious threat.

Moments ago CBS News reported, citing Law enforcement and U.S. Government sources, that the shooter in today's tragic Ottawa incident was Michael Abdul Zehaf Bibeau, born in Canada in 1982. One source says he sometime dropped the name Michael and went by Abdul Zehaf Bibeau. At other times he apparently dropped the Abdul. In a report from the Muslim Issue, Zehaf-Bibeau is said to be reportedly of Algerian descent. Zehaf-Bibeau is the alleged shooter who killed soldier at the national War Memorial before entering the Centre Block and firing off more shots. Epoch Times reporter Matthew Little says that the shooter got as far as the library before Sergeant-At-Arms shot him dead. Earlier, a Canadian parliament official described the gunman to BBC as looking “Arabian” with “long hair and a small beard.”

Itar-Tass: Canada’s Ottawa on high security alert after series of deadly shootings

Keith Jones ■ Ottawa terror attack triggers massive police-military mobilization || The locked-down area quickly came to encompass much of downtown Ottawa, confining thousands of government workers, shoppers, tourists and Ottawa University students. Schools throughout the city were either in lockdown or semi-lockdown. The latter was described as students being confined to their classrooms with no one allowed to enter or leave. The lockdown remained in effect throughout the afternoon and early evening, ending only at 8:30 PM. According to one news report, police were stopping vehicles leaving Ottawa in the direction of Montreal and questioning their occupants. The emergency measures extended well beyond Ottawa. In Toronto, additional police were deployed at the Ontario legislature, City Hall, government and military facilities and on the subway. In Montreal, City Hall was closed to visitors and at the Quebec National Assembly in Quebec City, security was doubled and a helicopter circled the building. All Canadian Armed Forces bases have been placed on high alert and NORAD, the joint US-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command, has increased its “alert posture,” placing an increased number of fighter jets on high alert. The US has also heightened security along the Canada-US border.

Henry Makow ■ Everything was calculated to exaggerate the threat. Here's why. The fact that Bibeau was able to enter the Parliament Buildings with a rifle is highly suspicious. The press entrance he used is protected by airport-like security and guards. Didn't they know a shooting had just taken place a few blocks away? I see this incident in the context of what Albert Pike predicted in his famous letter to Mazzini. The Third World War would be between Zionists and Islam. There is a need for all Westerners to feel like Israelis, under the constant threat of terror. This goes a long way toward meeting that demand. In order to have a confrontation between Zionists and Islam, you need to build up an Islamic enemy. ISIS fills that role. If Bibeau was working for ISIS, and ISIS is Western-backed, then this indeed was a false flag.