craig dale, nhk world. >>> russia has opened a new airport on etorofu. it's one of four islands held by russia and claimed by japan. sakhalin regional governor alexander khoroshavin attended the opening ceremony in central etorofu. construction of the airport began in 2007. its 2,300 meter runway will be used for both civilian and military planes. officials say regular flights are planned to the cities of khabarovsk and khabarovsk and yuzhno-sakhalinsk in the russian far east. planes are expected to bring a sharp increase in the flow of people and goods. the larger airport will also be able to handle military transport aircraft. japan calls the islands the northern territories. chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga says the four islands are being occupied by russia without legal grounds. he says japan has no means of stopping infrastructure projects there. >> translator: we have to reach a fundamental settlement over the northern territories issue. we will negotiate tenaciously with russian officials to seek a solution that is acceptable to both sides.

nhk world's craig dale has details. >> reporter: ships fired off a flurry of missiles from the red sea and arabian gulf. and fighter jets took to the skies to draw bomb bomb on syria. the damage on the ground was evident. syrian anti-government activists say dozens of militants with the islamic state were killed. military leaders in washington say attacks by the u.s. and five arab allies focused on raqqah, hasakah and abu kamal. they hit command centers, equipment and training camps. separately u.s. forces attacked aleppo, the stronghold of an al today linked faction known as the khorasan group. >> intelligence indicated they were in the final stages of plans to execute major attacks against western targets and potentially the u.s. homeland. >> reporter: u.s. warplanes and drones started hitting islamic state positions in iraq at the beginning of august. but president barack obama held off on attacking syria, where a civil war has been grinding on for more than three years. he's been wary of helping president bashar al assad in his fight against anti-government forces. he blames assad

more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: pro-russian separatists in eastern ukraine have been void by recent gains on the ground and support from across the border. russian president vladimir putin is calling for meaningful talks on statehood in southeastern ukraine. although, his spokesperson said he meant discussions on more autonomy and wasn't endorsing independence. the separatists call the pockets of territory they control new russia. they rose up in april, and they've been holding on in the face of an offensive by ukrainian forces. putin has long denied he sent in soldiers and military equipment to help them, but evidence of his involvement is mounting. ukrainian commanders handed over a group of russian paratroopers they captured inside their border in exchange for some of their own soldiers. european union leaders say it's clear russian forces are active in ukraine. they're preparing a fresh pack only of economic sanctions as a result. >> we have to act quickly given the evolution on the ground and the tragic loss of life. >> reporter: ukrainian president petro poroshenko s

nhk world's craig dale has the details. >> reporter: a variety of forces united to break the two-month siege of a town. iraqi soldiers fought alongside kurdish peshmerga and shia militia who are backed by iran. u.s. air tribes over the weekend helped them overwhelm sunni militants with the islamic state. the militants have cornered thousands of shia turkmen, an ethnic minority. those people are safe for now. and they've been getting much-needed supplies thanks to u.s. aid drops. a crowd cheered when outgoing iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki made a surprise visit. "i salute your steadfastness and patience against those beasts and killers," he said. maliki vowed to turn iraq into a big grave for islamic state fighters. the militants swept through the north in june, seizing territory and terrorizing residents. they've killed and raped those who won't convert to their strict brand of islam. they've been especially cruel to minorities, including christians and yazidis. united nations officials say over 1,400 people were killed in august alone. the vast majority of them civilians. nearly

more from nhk world craig dale. >> for weeks u.s. president barack obama has been making the case for the fight against islamic state. >> this group has terrorized who they come across in iraq and syria. >> he made his latest pitch before the u.n. general assembly asking for help to destroy what he calls the network of death. islamic state militants have storm add cross syria and iraq taking control of large chunks of territory. they've killed, raped and terrorized residents. obama started after them last month. this week he extended to syria with help of five arab allies. force have commanded the centers there. they've hit an islamic state oil facility in three areas. oil is a multimillion funding for the group. president obama is working to cut off other revenue streams and stop foreign fighters from joining the group also known as isil. obama and members of the security council unanimously passed this. >> to prevent individuals from reaching syria and slipping back across our borders is a critical element of our strategy to degrad