Written By Unknown on Kamis, 12 Maret 2015 | 23.31
Turkey says it has detained a "foreign spy" for helping three British schoolgirls who travelled to Syria to join Islamic State.
The Turkish foreign minister said an intelligence agent working for one of the states in the US-led coalition had helped London teenagers Kadiza Sultana, 16, Shamima Begum, 15, and Amira Abase, 15, get to Syria.
In an interview published on the official Anatolia news agency, Mevlut Cavusoglu said: "Do you know who helped those girls? He was captured.
"He was someone working for the intelligence (service) of a country in the coalition."
Mr Cavusoglu said the agent in question was not American nor from an EU state but did not elaborate.
Video:'No Sign Of Radicalisation'
The three schoolgirls flew from Gatwick to Istanbul on 17 February and are feared to have continued to Syria to become so-called "jihadi brides".
The girls, who all attended Bethnal Green Academy in East London, are believed to be staying in a house in the IS militants' stronghold, Raqqa.
The teenagers are thought to have stolen family jewellery to fund their trip, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley told MPs earlier this week.
Video:Girls' Journey From London To Syria
They paid more than £1,000 in cash to a travel agent for their flights to Turkey, the Home Affairs Select Committee heard.
It also emerged the trio were among seven schoolgirls who were handed letters by the police about another 15-year-old from Bethnal Green Academy who ran away to Syria in December.
Relatives of the girls have demanded an apology from the Met for failing to send the crucial letter directly to their parents.
Video:Girls 'Pictured On Way To Syria'
Abase Hussein, Amira's father, said if he had seen the police letter he would have talked his daughter out of leaving and taken away her passport.
Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe apologised for failing to communicate more directly with the families - but insisted there was nothing more the force could have done to stop the girls leaving the UK.
CCTV footage emerged last week which appeared to show the girls at a bus station in Istanbul.
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Gallery: Three Schoolgirls From East London Missing
These pictures were taken from Kadiza Sultana (l) and Shamima Begum's (r) Twitter accounts
Kadiza and Shamima are feared to be on their way to Syria with a third girl, 15-year-old Amira Abase
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Gallery: Inside Jordan's Refugee City
Syrian refugees are seen at the Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria
Nearly four million people have fled Syria since 2011, when anti-government protests turned into a violent civil war. Jordan says it is sheltering around 1.3 million refugees
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Syrian refugee children attend class in a UNICEF school
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Others look at the remains of a burnt caravan. Continue through for more images
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The UN Security Council has failed to alleviate the suffering of Syrian civilians, according to a report by international aid agencies.
More than 20 groups said the UN had not implemented three resolutions passed last year that were aimed at increasing aid assistance to Syrians.
Syrian refugees brave the cold in Istanbul to beg at the metro
The resolutions had been "ignored or undermined by the parties to the conflict, other UN member states, and even by members of the UNSC itself", the agencies said in a report called Failing Syria.
While violence in Syria has risen, the ability to provide aid has fallen and there is not nearly enough money provided for humanitarian assistance, they said.
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Gallery: Cave Hidouts For Rebels And Refugees In Syria
Syrian Rebel fighters sit outside caves which they dug to be used as shelters and to hide their tanks in al-Latamna town, in the northern countryside of Hama
A rebel fighter fires his weapon at the frontline against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad near Aleppo
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A rebel fighter of al-Badiya brigade in Jaysh al-Islam carries his weapon as he comes out from one of the caves used as shelter in al-Latamna town
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The agencies, including the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Handicap International, are urging UN members to ensure the resolutions are fully implemented.
The war in Syria is entering its fifth year, creating a humanitarian disaster that has affected the whole region.
More than 3.8 million Syrians out of a pre-war population of 23 million have fled their country since the uprising against President Bashar al Assad.
Video:Oct: Kobani Refugees' Hardship
Most have gone to neighbouring countries including Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey - the latter has more than 1.5 million registered within its borders.
A further 7.6 million people have fled their homes but remain displaced within Syria, according to UN figures.
Since the war started, 210,060 people have been killed, including 65,146 civilians, of whom 10,664 were children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
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Gallery: Kobani Residents Desperate To Return
Kurdish refugee children from the Syrian town of Kobani look out as they stand behind fences at a refugee camp in the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, Turkey
Although the fight against IS for Kobani is over, the refugees desperate to return home must wait due to the the massive destruction and ongoing fighting in the area
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The human rights group relies on a large network of activists and medics across the country for its information.
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Aid Agencies Accuse UN Of Failing Syrians
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1/14
Gallery: Inside Jordan's Refugee City
Syrian refugees are seen at the Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria
Nearly four million people have fled Syria since 2011, when anti-government protests turned into a violent civil war. Jordan says it is sheltering around 1.3 million refugees
]]>
Syrian refugee children attend class in a UNICEF school
]]>
Others look at the remains of a burnt caravan. Continue through for more images
]]>
The UN Security Council has failed to alleviate the suffering of Syrian civilians, according to a report by international aid agencies.
More than 20 groups said the UN had not implemented three resolutions passed last year that were aimed at increasing aid assistance to Syrians.
Syrian refugees brave the cold in Istanbul to beg at the metro
The resolutions had been "ignored or undermined by the parties to the conflict, other UN member states, and even by members of the UNSC itself", the agencies said in a report called Failing Syria.
While violence in Syria has risen, the ability to provide aid has fallen and there is not nearly enough money provided for humanitarian assistance, they said.
1/20
Gallery: Cave Hidouts For Rebels And Refugees In Syria
Syrian Rebel fighters sit outside caves which they dug to be used as shelters and to hide their tanks in al-Latamna town, in the northern countryside of Hama
A rebel fighter fires his weapon at the frontline against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad near Aleppo
]]>
A rebel fighter of al-Badiya brigade in Jaysh al-Islam carries his weapon as he comes out from one of the caves used as shelter in al-Latamna town
]]>
The agencies, including the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Handicap International, are urging UN members to ensure the resolutions are fully implemented.
The war in Syria is entering its fifth year, creating a humanitarian disaster that has affected the whole region.
More than 3.8 million Syrians out of a pre-war population of 23 million have fled their country since the uprising against President Bashar al Assad.
Video:Oct: Kobani Refugees' Hardship
Most have gone to neighbouring countries including Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey - the latter has more than 1.5 million registered within its borders.
A further 7.6 million people have fled their homes but remain displaced within Syria, according to UN figures.
Since the war started, 210,060 people have been killed, including 65,146 civilians, of whom 10,664 were children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
1/14
Gallery: Kobani Residents Desperate To Return
Kurdish refugee children from the Syrian town of Kobani look out as they stand behind fences at a refugee camp in the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, Turkey
Although the fight against IS for Kobani is over, the refugees desperate to return home must wait due to the the massive destruction and ongoing fighting in the area
]]>
The human rights group relies on a large network of activists and medics across the country for its information.
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Facebook has removed the 'fat' option from its list of status "feelings" available to users - after thousands said it was offensive.
Members of the social network can choose from a number of status updates with a corresponding emoji face when using the prefix "feeling".
Examples of feelings available include 'discouraged' - accompanied by a sad face - and 'amazed' - featuring an emoji face surrounded by stars.
But it was the fat status, featuring a bloated face, which provoked outrage.
A Change.org petition gathered almost 17,000 signatures arguing that fat is not a feeling, and that the image was derisive.
Playwright Catherine Weingarten, who set up the petition, said: "As someone who has struggled with and overcome disordered eating, I know what it's like to 'feel' fat.
"I have spent years of my life consumed with negative thoughts about my body, and far too many days starving myself in an effort to lose weight.
"But even worse than the skipped meals and the hours spent obsessing in front of the mirror was the fear of what others thought about me and my body.
"Fat is not a feeling. Fat is a natural part of our bodies, no matter their weight. And all bodies deserve to be respected and cared for."
Facebook has removed the 'fat feeling', and replaced it with the word 'stuffed'. The fat face emoji remains.
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Video:'Jihadi Jake' In High School Video
A Melbourne teenager who went to Iraq to join Islamic State has reportedly been killed carrying out a suicide bombing.
An image from video apparently released by the group, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, showed a white four-wheel-drive with an inset image of a young man who looks like Jake Bilardi sitting behind the wheel.
Another image posted on Twitter showed the 18-year-old sat beneath an IS flag with a caption that suggested the Australian had been involved in a "martyrdom" operation.
Militants carried out 13 suicide car bombings on security personnel positions in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar province on Wednesday.
Bilardi travelled to Iraq to join Islamic State in 2014
Two soldiers were killed and eight others wounded in the near-simultaneous attacks, Sabah Karhout, head of Anbar's provincial council, said.
In a statement posted online, IS said the suicide blast had been carried out by foreign fighters from Australia, Belgium, Syria and Uzbekistan.
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Gallery: Iraqi Forces Enter Tikrit
Members of Iraqi government forces drive on the outskirts of the city of Tikrit as they prepare to launch a military operation to take control of the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters
The Iraqi forces enter a northern neighbourhood of Tikrit, marking a new stage in the operation launched 10 days ago to wrest the city back from jihadists, army officers said
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Members of Iraqi paramilitary Popular Mobilisation units, which are dominated by Shia militias, carry a box loaded with weapons on the outskirts of the northern city of Tikrit
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Some 30,000 Iraqi soldiers, police and the increasingly influential paramilitary Popular Mobilisation units, which are dominated by Shia militias, have been involved in the operation
]]>
Iraqi fighters in north Tikrit. The city has been one of the jihadists' main hubs since they overran large parts of Iraq nine months ago. Continue through for more pictures
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Images of other fighters said to have been involved in the attacks also appeared on the internet.
Australian authorities have been unable to confirm that Bilardi has died in Iraq.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the reports were "absolutely horrific".
"It shows the lure, the lure of this death cult to impressionable youngsters and it's very, very important that we do everything we can to try to safeguard our young people against the lure of this shocking, alien and extreme ideology," he said.
The teenager, described as a shy but gifted maths student, converted to Islam after the death of his mother while he was at high school.
He travelled to the Middle East last year and after two months reportedly contacted his family to tell them he was training to become a suicide bomber.
However, he later told them he had changed his mind and was travelling to Syria to fight there.
Bilardi's passport was cancelled in October on the advice of security agencies, Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop said.
Police said they first learned about Bilardi when he was reported missing in late 2014.
Video:IS Militants Bulldoze Ancient City
While searching his home in Melbourne, officers found chemicals that could be used to make an explosive device.
No actual devices were found, police said.
Meanwhile, details of a blog reportedly written by the teenager have emerged.
In a long post entitled From Melbourne to Ramadi: My Journey, Abu Abdullah al Australi, understood to be Bilardi's pseudonym, writes about his research into Islam and his upbringing.
"My life in Melbourne's working-class suburbs was, despite having its ups and downs just like everyone else, very comfortable. I found myself excelling in my studies, just as my siblings had, and had dreamed of becoming a political journalist," the blog reads.
"I always dreamed that one day I would travel to countries such as Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan to cover the situations in these lands."
The images of Bilardi and the other suspected suicide bombers were released the day after video emerged that appeared to show a young boy shooting dead a man IS claimed was an Israeli spy.
The parents of the Israeli Arab victim told Sky News they believed he had been killed because he had tried to run away from the group.
French officials said the boy and the man with him were French citizens who could be related to Mohammed Merah, who killed seven people in attacks on a Jewish school and paratroopers in 2012.
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Australia's 'Jihadi Jake' In Suicide Attack
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Video:'Jihadi Jake' In High School Video
A Melbourne teenager who went to Iraq to join Islamic State has reportedly been killed carrying out a suicide bombing.
An image from video apparently released by the group, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, showed a white four-wheel-drive with an inset image of a young man who looks like Jake Bilardi sitting behind the wheel.
Another image posted on Twitter showed the 18-year-old sat beneath an IS flag with a caption that suggested the Australian had been involved in a "martyrdom" operation.
Militants carried out 13 suicide car bombings on security personnel positions in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar province on Wednesday.
Bilardi travelled to Iraq to join Islamic State in 2014
Two soldiers were killed and eight others wounded in the near-simultaneous attacks, Sabah Karhout, head of Anbar's provincial council, said.
In a statement posted online, IS said the suicide blast had been carried out by foreign fighters from Australia, Belgium, Syria and Uzbekistan.
1/10
Gallery: Iraqi Forces Enter Tikrit
Members of Iraqi government forces drive on the outskirts of the city of Tikrit as they prepare to launch a military operation to take control of the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters
The Iraqi forces enter a northern neighbourhood of Tikrit, marking a new stage in the operation launched 10 days ago to wrest the city back from jihadists, army officers said
]]>
Members of Iraqi paramilitary Popular Mobilisation units, which are dominated by Shia militias, carry a box loaded with weapons on the outskirts of the northern city of Tikrit
]]>
Some 30,000 Iraqi soldiers, police and the increasingly influential paramilitary Popular Mobilisation units, which are dominated by Shia militias, have been involved in the operation
]]>
Iraqi fighters in north Tikrit. The city has been one of the jihadists' main hubs since they overran large parts of Iraq nine months ago. Continue through for more pictures
]]>
Images of other fighters said to have been involved in the attacks also appeared on the internet.
Australian authorities have been unable to confirm that Bilardi has died in Iraq.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the reports were "absolutely horrific".
"It shows the lure, the lure of this death cult to impressionable youngsters and it's very, very important that we do everything we can to try to safeguard our young people against the lure of this shocking, alien and extreme ideology," he said.
The teenager, described as a shy but gifted maths student, converted to Islam after the death of his mother while he was at high school.
He travelled to the Middle East last year and after two months reportedly contacted his family to tell them he was training to become a suicide bomber.
However, he later told them he had changed his mind and was travelling to Syria to fight there.
Bilardi's passport was cancelled in October on the advice of security agencies, Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop said.
Police said they first learned about Bilardi when he was reported missing in late 2014.
Video:IS Militants Bulldoze Ancient City
While searching his home in Melbourne, officers found chemicals that could be used to make an explosive device.
No actual devices were found, police said.
Meanwhile, details of a blog reportedly written by the teenager have emerged.
In a long post entitled From Melbourne to Ramadi: My Journey, Abu Abdullah al Australi, understood to be Bilardi's pseudonym, writes about his research into Islam and his upbringing.
"My life in Melbourne's working-class suburbs was, despite having its ups and downs just like everyone else, very comfortable. I found myself excelling in my studies, just as my siblings had, and had dreamed of becoming a political journalist," the blog reads.
"I always dreamed that one day I would travel to countries such as Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan to cover the situations in these lands."
The images of Bilardi and the other suspected suicide bombers were released the day after video emerged that appeared to show a young boy shooting dead a man IS claimed was an Israeli spy.
The parents of the Israeli Arab victim told Sky News they believed he had been killed because he had tried to run away from the group.
French officials said the boy and the man with him were French citizens who could be related to Mohammed Merah, who killed seven people in attacks on a Jewish school and paratroopers in 2012.
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Police have arrested a 15-year-old boy on suspicion of attempting to kidnap a toddler in an incident caught on camera.
The teenager, who lives in the small farming town of Sprague in eastern Washington state, was arrested on Wednesday.
Dramatic surveillance video footage showed a male running down a sidewalk with 22-month-old Owen Wright in his arms in Sprague last Sunday.
The child's two siblings screamed and chased him. The scene ended after two teenage boys joined the chase, and the man put the toddler down and fled.
Owen was not hurt, police confirmed.
The 15-year-old was booked into a juvenile detention facility on suspicion of second-degree kidnapping, Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers said.
Detectives working on the case started focusing on the arrested suspect in the past 24 hours. They collected additional evidence, DNA and carried out interviews and surveillance to identify the suspect, Sheriff Magers said.
One of Owen Wright's siblings also positively identified the suspect.
The identity of the youth was being withheld because he is a juvenile. The Lincoln County Prosecutor's Office will make the formal charging decisions.
At least five people have been killed and another 25 are believed to be buried under rubble after a fire at a shopping centre in the Russian city of Kazan.
The fire broke out in a cafe on the first floor of the shopping centre on Wednesday, with media reports saying five people died as the flames ripped through the building.
"Around 25 people have not been in touch (with their relatives)," a senior local official was quoted as saying.
Authorities say all 25 are now presumed dead, with around 40 more people injured.
Head of regional emergency services Igor Panshin has been quoted by the Tass news agency as saying: "The hope of finding survivors under the shopping centre debris has been abandoned."
Around 200 people were evacuated from the building in the capital of Russia's Tatarstan region when the fire broke out.
Emergency workers are now sifting through the rubble to search for the missing.
A new Barbie doll that can record everything said by its owner and make chatty responses has privacy advocates crying foul.
They have launched a petition urging toy-maker Mattel to scrap the "creepy" product, which uses an embedded microphone and voice-recognition software to "listen".
With one press of a button on its belt buckle, wifi-connected Hello Barbie will transmit audio to a cloud server where speech is recorded and processed.
Mattel says the doll will keep learning about its owner, remembering the name of the child's pet, for example, offering a more engaging play experience.
At a recent New York toy fair, a Mattel representative told Hello Barbie she liked being on stage.
When the representative later asked the doll what she should do when she grew up, it responded: "Well, you told me you like being onstage. So maybe a dancer?"
Mattel and ToyTalk, the San Francisco-based start-up that developed Hello Barbie's software, say privacy is their main concern.
But advocacy groups are labelling the toy "eavesdropping" Barbie.
Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said in a statement: "Kids using Hello Barbie aren't only talking to a doll.
"They are talking directly to a toy conglomerate whose only interest in them is financial.
"It's creepy - and creates a host of dangers for children and families."
The group says such a toy could be used to stealthily encourage children to pester their parents for more Barbie products.
But Mattel says parents can choose to receive regular emails containing the audio files of their child's interactions with Hello Barbie.
The toy is due to hit stores this autumn and will retail at $74.99 (£50).
Mattel has been struggling to revive slumping sales of its flagship brand, which debuted in 1959.
Young girls have increasingly turned to electronic toys, tablets and toys based on popular films, such as Elsa from Frozen.
More than 200 unlicenced traditional healers and soothsayers have been arrested in Tanzania over the attacks and killings of albinos.
Albinism is caused by a complete lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes which, because of inbreeding in some areas, affects one in 1,400 Tanzanians, as opposed to one person in 20,000 in the West.
Body parts from an albino person are highly desirable for witchcraft purposes.
The arrests were carried out as part of a special operation in parts of the east Africa country - further operations are planned for all 30 regions.
They followed condemnation from President Jakaya Kikwete who described continuing attacks on people with albinism as "disgusting and a big embarrassment for the nation".
A police spokesperson said: "Some of those arrested were found in possession of items like lizard skin, warthog teeth, ostrich eggs, monkey tails, bird claws, mule tails and lion skin."
He said the police operation is targeting gangsters, traders and witchdoctors.
UN figures say at least 76 albinos have been killed since 2000 with a further 34 surviving after having parts of their body hacked off.
At least 15 more have been dug up from graves.
Dismembered body parts sell for around $600 (£400) and entire bodies are worth up to $75,000 (£50,000).
Lack of education among some communities has led to a belief that the condition is either a divine punishment or bad luck and even that it could be a contagious disease.
But concurrent superstitions tell of body parts made into potions bringing good luck and wealth to users.
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Video:Police Chief: Cop Shot Under Eye
By Sky News US Team
The St Louis County police chief says the shooting of two officers in Ferguson was an "ambush".
The two officers were shot during a protest outside the Ferguson, Missouri, police headquarters on Wednesday night.
"We're lucky by God's grace we didn't lose two officers," St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told reporters.
"This is really an ambush."
Attorney General Eric Holder called the shooting a "heinous assault" that threatens reforms under way in Ferguson.
Video:On Tape: Moment Officers Were Shot
"We will continue to stand unequivocally against all acts of violence against cops whenever and wherever they occur," he said in a statement.
The shooter remains at large. But Sky News' Paul Kelso in Ferguson said officers swarmed a property on Thursday morning looking for suspects.
Witnesses said two men were taken away, and SWAT teams were on the roof shining a light in the house.
Eyewitness Bruce Patterson told Sky News: "Since August, it's just been a nightmare.
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Gallery: Violence On Streets Of Ferguson, Missouri
Fury has erupted into fighting on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, where two police officers have been shot during a demonstration
The city's police chief Thomas Jackson quit his post following a report that exposed racism in his department and a profit-driven court system
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Protesters had been calling for Jackson's removal since the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white Ferguson police officer on August 9 last year
]]>
Following Jackson's resignation, crowds gathered outside the City of Ferguson Police Department, quickly turning violent overnight
]]>
Before Jackson, city manager John Shaw and then Municipal Court judge Ronald Brockmeyer stepped down from their jobs
]]>
"It's brought out the worst in people. After last night it's just got me scared."
The two wounded policemen were released from hospital on Thursday. They are not expected to have long-term injuries.
A 32-year-old officer was shot in his cheek, just below his right eye, with the bullet lodging behind his ear.
The other officer, 41 years old, was shot in his right shoulder, with the bullet exiting his body through his back, said Chief Belmar.
Video:Riots And Racial Tension: A History
"We could have buried two police officers next week over this," he said.
The shots were fired in front of the police department hours after the resignation of Police Chief Thomas Jackson, the latest city official to quit in the wake of a scathing federal government report alleging bias within the police department and court system.
Before the shooting, the protest was largely peaceful, with some chanting to show they were not satisfied with the resignations of Chief Jackson and other officials over recent days.
Then shots rang out, fired from across the street from the police department, according to Chief Belmar.
Video:Ferguson: How The Protests Grew
A large number of officers, some in riot gear, formed a guard around the police station as panic spread among the protesters.
Ferguson, a predominantly black suburb, has been on edge since last summer, when Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old who was unarmed, was shot and killed by city police officer Darren Wilson.
When Officer Wilson, who is white, was cleared in November by a state grand jury, the decision set off further protests, looting and fires.
But this week is the first time an officer at a protest has been shot.
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Police Call Ferguson Shooting An 'Ambush'
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Police Chief: Cop Shot Under Eye
By Sky News US Team
The St Louis County police chief says the shooting of two officers in Ferguson was an "ambush".
The two officers were shot during a protest outside the Ferguson, Missouri, police headquarters on Wednesday night.
"We're lucky by God's grace we didn't lose two officers," St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told reporters.
"This is really an ambush."
Attorney General Eric Holder called the shooting a "heinous assault" that threatens reforms under way in Ferguson.
Video:On Tape: Moment Officers Were Shot
"We will continue to stand unequivocally against all acts of violence against cops whenever and wherever they occur," he said in a statement.
The shooter remains at large. But Sky News' Paul Kelso in Ferguson said officers swarmed a property on Thursday morning looking for suspects.
Witnesses said two men were taken away, and SWAT teams were on the roof shining a light in the house.
Eyewitness Bruce Patterson told Sky News: "Since August, it's just been a nightmare.
1/12
Gallery: Violence On Streets Of Ferguson, Missouri
Fury has erupted into fighting on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, where two police officers have been shot during a demonstration
The city's police chief Thomas Jackson quit his post following a report that exposed racism in his department and a profit-driven court system
]]>
Protesters had been calling for Jackson's removal since the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white Ferguson police officer on August 9 last year
]]>
Following Jackson's resignation, crowds gathered outside the City of Ferguson Police Department, quickly turning violent overnight
]]>
Before Jackson, city manager John Shaw and then Municipal Court judge Ronald Brockmeyer stepped down from their jobs
]]>
"It's brought out the worst in people. After last night it's just got me scared."
The two wounded policemen were released from hospital on Thursday. They are not expected to have long-term injuries.
A 32-year-old officer was shot in his cheek, just below his right eye, with the bullet lodging behind his ear.
The other officer, 41 years old, was shot in his right shoulder, with the bullet exiting his body through his back, said Chief Belmar.
Video:Riots And Racial Tension: A History
"We could have buried two police officers next week over this," he said.
The shots were fired in front of the police department hours after the resignation of Police Chief Thomas Jackson, the latest city official to quit in the wake of a scathing federal government report alleging bias within the police department and court system.
Before the shooting, the protest was largely peaceful, with some chanting to show they were not satisfied with the resignations of Chief Jackson and other officials over recent days.
Then shots rang out, fired from across the street from the police department, according to Chief Belmar.
Video:Ferguson: How The Protests Grew
A large number of officers, some in riot gear, formed a guard around the police station as panic spread among the protesters.
Ferguson, a predominantly black suburb, has been on edge since last summer, when Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old who was unarmed, was shot and killed by city police officer Darren Wilson.
When Officer Wilson, who is white, was cleared in November by a state grand jury, the decision set off further protests, looting and fires.
But this week is the first time an officer at a protest has been shot.
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Putin at an apparently pre-recorded International Women's Day event
Kremlin officials have denied reports that Vladimir Putin is ill amid mounting speculation about the Russian president's health.
Two state events have been cancelled in recent days and Mr Putin has not been seen in public since a meeting with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi in Moscow on 5 March.
A planned trip to Kazakhstan was postponed on Wednesday, with an unnamed Kazakh government official telling the Reuters news agency: "It looks like he [Putin] has fallen ill."
The International Women's Day event may have taken place on 5 March
The second engagement – a ceremony to formalise the controversial annexation of South Ossetia – was reportedly cancelled at such short notice that the South Ossetian delegation had already arrived in Moscow.
The Russian leader was also not present at a meeting of the Federal Security Service on Thursday, which he has often attended in the past.
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Gallery: Vladimir Putin - Man Of Action
Vladimir Putin has earned a reputation as something of an action man. Here in 2013 he is seen shaking hands with a walrus on a visit to the under-construction Primorsky Aquarium.
Seemingly always keen to be seen with members of the animal kingdom, he was also pictured touching a dolphin during his trip to the new attraction on the Russky Island, in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.
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Here, at a Moscow sports complex in St Petersburg, he shows off his judo skills.
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He joined a group of scientists in the Arctic to help tag endangered polar bears.
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In the Siberian mountains, he rode bare-chested on a horse.
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"There's no need to worry, he's absolutely healthy," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Echo of Moscow radio station.
He said the agreement with South Ossetia would be signed next week and insisted the president had not planned to attend the security service meeting.
"Yes, he's usually there," Mr Peskov said. "But this year he was not planning to be."
Asked whether Putin's handshake was still firm, Mr Peskov laughed and said: "It breaks your hand."
However, he declined to say when the president would next make a public appearance.
Video:Public React To Nemstov Death
"He has meetings all the time," Mr Peskov told Reuters.
"He has meetings today, tomorrow. I don't know which ones we will make public."
The Kremlin press service released an image on Wednesday purporting to show Vladimir Putin meeting the regional governor of Karelia, but several news agencies said the meeting had actually taken place on 4 March.
Adding to the speculation, Russian business newspaper RBK said footage of the president congratulating women on International Women's Day, posted on the Kremlin website on March 8, had been pre-recorded on 5 March.
The 62-year-old rarely takes time off, and it is unusual for him to miss state events through illness.
Video:Fear Stalks The Russian Opposition
Mr Putin has cultivated an image as a physically-fit, strongman president, posing for photographs while hunting, swimming and riding a horse bare-chested, flying a fighter jet, and supposedly saving a TV crew from a tiger attack.
It makes a stark and presumably deliberate contrast to the failing health of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, and to the succession of ailing, elderly leaders of the early 1980s, whose decline seemed to mirror that of the Soviet Union.
Rumours about Mr Putin's health last surfaced in 2012 when the Russian president cancelled several trips and appeared to have developed a limp, but the Kremlin said that was due to a sports injury.
In October Mr Putin's spokesman told journalists to "shut their trap" after an article suggested the president might have pancreatic cancer.
Mr Peskov appeared to be trying to laugh off the latest speculation, accusing reporters on Thursday of "spring madness".
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Kremlin Denial As Putin Sickness Rumours Swirl
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Putin at an apparently pre-recorded International Women's Day event
Kremlin officials have denied reports that Vladimir Putin is ill amid mounting speculation about the Russian president's health.
Two state events have been cancelled in recent days and Mr Putin has not been seen in public since a meeting with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi in Moscow on 5 March.
A planned trip to Kazakhstan was postponed on Wednesday, with an unnamed Kazakh government official telling the Reuters news agency: "It looks like he [Putin] has fallen ill."
The International Women's Day event may have taken place on 5 March
The second engagement – a ceremony to formalise the controversial annexation of South Ossetia – was reportedly cancelled at such short notice that the South Ossetian delegation had already arrived in Moscow.
The Russian leader was also not present at a meeting of the Federal Security Service on Thursday, which he has often attended in the past.
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Gallery: Vladimir Putin - Man Of Action
Vladimir Putin has earned a reputation as something of an action man. Here in 2013 he is seen shaking hands with a walrus on a visit to the under-construction Primorsky Aquarium.
Seemingly always keen to be seen with members of the animal kingdom, he was also pictured touching a dolphin during his trip to the new attraction on the Russky Island, in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.
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Here, at a Moscow sports complex in St Petersburg, he shows off his judo skills.
]]>
He joined a group of scientists in the Arctic to help tag endangered polar bears.
]]>
In the Siberian mountains, he rode bare-chested on a horse.
]]>
"There's no need to worry, he's absolutely healthy," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Echo of Moscow radio station.
He said the agreement with South Ossetia would be signed next week and insisted the president had not planned to attend the security service meeting.
"Yes, he's usually there," Mr Peskov said. "But this year he was not planning to be."
Asked whether Putin's handshake was still firm, Mr Peskov laughed and said: "It breaks your hand."
However, he declined to say when the president would next make a public appearance.
Video:Public React To Nemstov Death
"He has meetings all the time," Mr Peskov told Reuters.
"He has meetings today, tomorrow. I don't know which ones we will make public."
The Kremlin press service released an image on Wednesday purporting to show Vladimir Putin meeting the regional governor of Karelia, but several news agencies said the meeting had actually taken place on 4 March.
Adding to the speculation, Russian business newspaper RBK said footage of the president congratulating women on International Women's Day, posted on the Kremlin website on March 8, had been pre-recorded on 5 March.
The 62-year-old rarely takes time off, and it is unusual for him to miss state events through illness.
Video:Fear Stalks The Russian Opposition
Mr Putin has cultivated an image as a physically-fit, strongman president, posing for photographs while hunting, swimming and riding a horse bare-chested, flying a fighter jet, and supposedly saving a TV crew from a tiger attack.
It makes a stark and presumably deliberate contrast to the failing health of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, and to the succession of ailing, elderly leaders of the early 1980s, whose decline seemed to mirror that of the Soviet Union.
Rumours about Mr Putin's health last surfaced in 2012 when the Russian president cancelled several trips and appeared to have developed a limp, but the Kremlin said that was due to a sports injury.
In October Mr Putin's spokesman told journalists to "shut their trap" after an article suggested the president might have pancreatic cancer.
Mr Peskov appeared to be trying to laugh off the latest speculation, accusing reporters on Thursday of "spring madness".
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