Live Blog: War against Islamic State

• The US and its Arab partners carried out air strikes against oil refineries controlled by the Islamic State. US, Saudi and Emirati warplanes targeted oil installations in the eastern part of the country that have helped fund the group’s dramatic rise from a rebel faction to an alleged global threat.

• David Cameron told the United Nations general assembly the UK was ready to play its part in confronting Islamic State militants in Iraq. The British prime minister warned that Britain must not be so "frozen with fear" of repeating the mistakes of the Iraq war that it failed to challenge the "psychopathic, murderous, brutal" jihadis.

• An Islamic State-linked group in Algeria which had demanded France halt its participation in air strikes against IS posted video footage of the execution of an abducted Frenchman.

• Adam Choudary, an extremist preacher who said he had no sympathy for Alan Henning, the British hostage held by Islamic State radicals, has been arrested in London along with nine people as part of an investigation into Islamist terrorism.

Matthew Levitt, writing in PoliticoMagazine, has highlighted the potential threat from the mysterious Khorasan group:

"It seems the United States might have gotten its man. Earlier today a U.S. official told a news outlet that Mohsen al-Fadhli, a longtime al Qaeda operative and head of its shadowy Khorasan Group, was killed in this week’s airstrikes in Syria. Fadhli’s death is already being heralded as a tremendous counterterrorism success: 'We’ve killed the world’s most wanted terrorist,' an anonymous official boasted to the press. But what was it about Fadhli that made him so dangerous? And how did this previously unknown group suddenly appear on the world scene and become, as the director of national intelligence recently testified, at least as much of threat to the U.S. homeland as ISIL—the terrorist group that President Obama called a “network of death” in his speech before the United Nations on Wednesday."

Lebanese troops raided a Syrian refugee camp in a restive border town on Thursday, with the army saying unknown assailants torched several tents but residents accusing soldiers of setting them ablaze.

In a statement, the army said its forces were carrying out raids in one refugee camp in Arsal, in eastern Lebanon, when unknown attackers tried to set fire to tents in another neighbouring camp.

"Three attackers on a motorbike attempted to set fire to the other camp, so army forces opened fire on them, killing one and wounding the others," the army said in a statement.

A female pilot - thought to be the UAE's first - has led United Arab Emirates air strikes that targeted the Islamic State in Syria.

Major Mariam al-Mansouri, 35, "led the squadron" of UAE fighter jets that participated in raids Tuesday against IS, an Emirati source familiar with the matter said.

The Islamic State are reportedly releasing prisoners in Raqqa - as many as 150 - including members of the Al-Nusra Front.

Nine people have been arrested on terror charges in London, including infamous Islamist activist Anjem Choudary.

Choudary, one referred to by Fox news anchor Sean Hannity as "one sick miserable evil SOB", was previously a soliciter before he helped found the Al-Qaeda inspired Al-Muhajiroun organisation who first hit headlines after organising a conference called "The Magnificent 19" praising the 9/11 bombers.

Choudary and his followers have openly supported the Islamic State, though it is not clear if this was a factor in theri arrest.

Imran Khan, roving correspondant for Al Jazeera, has written on the controversy surrounding the state of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Khorasan group, claiming the name is most likely cooked-up:

"My guess, and this comes from talking to people across the spectrum, is that Khorasan is a term that may well have been coined by intelligence analysts that has been picked up by politicians and then an unquestioning US Media that has turned it into a group that should be feared. It's classic self-fulfilling prophecy theory. Call something a problem and eventually it will become a problem. 

"What it clearly isn't is a name that Jihadists know or use. To that end, why would the US government put the name out there? Clearly, it's a short-hand that they see as being media friendly, and it pushes the idea that there are groups out there that operate in a shadowy manner and use ancient names to hark back to an ancient time."

McClatchyDC has reported on the demise of the Syrian Support Group, a Washington-based nonprofit organisation that was supposed to aid the US in building the 'moderate' opposition in Syria.

The shutdown was due to in-fighting, a lack of resources and a lack of support from the US administration who are now distancing themselves from the group, though they previously sought to make it the only licensed group to collect money for the Syrian rebels.

“If you’re going to make an investment in developing a relationship, you’ve got to go all the way. You can’t just hope; there has to be a real commitment and follow-through,” Mazen Asbahi, a Chicago-based attorney who served as the president of the Syrian Support Group, said of the U.S. approach to Syria. “There was always this dithering: Are we going to do it or not?”

• UN security council adopts binding resolution to stop the flow of foreign fighters to Syria
• US planes struck oil refineries in Syria
• Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 14 militants and five civilians were killed last night in Deir Ezzor and Hassakeh
• British Prime Minister David Cameron has said UK planes are "poised" to join the action in Syria, with parliament set to be recalled on Friday to debate the issue
• Barack Obama urges Islamic State supporters "leave the battlefield while they can" at the UN  General Assembly
• Jordan's King urges action against the "extreme reflections of a great global threat" in IS
  
  extreme reflections of a great global threat
  Deir ez Zor

The emir of Qatar has just spoken at the UN General Assembly in New York, affirming his support for the fight against IS and stressing that terror has deep roots, among them oppression.

Though US President Barack Obama said it is "very rare" for such there to be such consensus at a UN General Assembly, there were signs that not all delegates were on the same page.

During Sheikh Tamim Al Thani of Qatar's speech, Egypt's President Sisi walked out of the room, reports NBC News correspondent Bill Neely.

During President SIsi of Egypt's speech, he reports that the Turkish premier did the same.

A US official confirms that the joint US-led airstrikes are now targeting oil installations.

Islamic State is estimated to be making between $1 and $3m per day from oil sales, thanks to oil produced at fields in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.

CNN reports that US and Emirati planes are now launching airstrikes against fields in remote areas of northern Syria.

Officials told the channel to "expect oil fires" as the allies launch a systematic campaign against IS-run installations.

Iraqi President Haidar al-Abadi is speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Abadi said that IS is composed, among other groups, of "remainders of the fascist Ba'ath party" that ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein.

He said "several states" are responsible for providing financial liquidity and funding to IS, which he said also relies on oil sales for funding.

Abadi called on the security council to provide all forms of support for Iraq in the fight against IS.

He said IS should be blocked in all attempts to spread "propaganda", including on the internet, and that the international community must help Iraq to cut off IS's funding sources, including by blocking the buying of oil sold by the group.

After his speech, President Obama, who is chairing the meeting, said he recognised that Iraq is "on the front-lines" of the fight against IS.