As gruesome as all sounds it’s the only way to end war.
If you want to win you must make your enemy give up it’s will to fight.
That’s what happened to Germany and Japan.
These ISIS forces are willing to die for their cause the Iraq army is not.
If it takes genocide to win the war on terror, so be it.
Important development today that could foresee the end of Iraqi PM Maliki. Influential lead cleris Al Sistani, also a Shia has called for his removal.
[h=1]Iraq's top Shiite cleric al-Sistani calls for new, 'effective' government[/h]By Sameer N. Yacoub
Associated Press
Posted: 06/20/2014 09:23:24 AM PDT0 Comments
Updated: 06/20/2014 09:23:26 AM PDT
Click photo to enlarge
Newly-recruited Iraqi volunteers take part in a training session on June 20... ( HAIDAR HAMDANI )
BAGHDAD -- The spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiite majority called for a new, "effective" government Friday, increasing pressure on the country's prime minister a day after U.S. President Barack Obama challenged him to create a more inclusive leadership or risk a sectarian civil war.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's comments at Friday prayers contained thinly veiled criticism that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in office since 2006, was to blame for the nation's crisis over the blitz by Sunni insurgents led by an al-Qaida splinter group that seeks to create a new state spanning parts of Iraq and Syria and ruled by its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Al-Sistani's remarks come as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to travel to Iraq soon to press its government to share more power.
While al-Maliki's State of Law bloc won the most seats in parliament in the Iraq's April 30 election, his hopes for a third term are now in doubt with rivals challenging him from within the broader Shiite alliance. In order to govern, his bloc must first form a coalition with other parties.
And with Iraq asking the U.S. for airstrikes to temper the militants' advance -- especially as the insurgents were said to be preparing Friday for another assault on the country's biggest oil refinery -- al-Maliki appears increasingly vulnerable.
"It is necessary for the winning political blocs to start a dialogue that yields an effective government that enjoys broad national support, avoids past mistakes and opens new horizons toward a better future for all Iraqis," al-Sisanti said in a message delivered by his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the Shiite holy city of Karbala.
The Iranian-born al-Sistani, who is believed to be 86, lives in the Shiite holy city of Najaf south of Baghdad. A recluse, he rarely ventures out of his home and does not give interviews. Iraq's majority Shiites deeply revere him, and a call to arms he made last week prompted thousands of Shiites to volunteer to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was once part of al-Qaida.
Al-Sistani's call to arms has given the fight against the Islamic State militants the feel of a religious war between Shiites and Sunnis. His office in Najaf dismissed that charge, and al-Safi on Friday said: "The call for volunteers targeted Iraqis from all groups and sects. ... It did not have a sectarian basis and cannot be."
Al-Maliki has been seeking to place the blame for the chaos on the Islamic State and not his perceived exclusion of the Sunnis. However, questions persist on how much support, if any, the Islamic State enjoys among the Sunni population in areas it now controls.
Ali Hatem al-Salman, a prominent tribal Sunni leader and a critic of al-Maliki, said Sunni tribesmen would eventually fight the extremist Islamic State.
Using the commonly used Arabic acronym for the Islamic State, he told The Associated Press on Thursday: "Daash themselves know that the tribes will push them out. ... There can't be any trust given to Daash."
Al-Maliki's Shiite-led government long has faced criticism of discriminating against Iraq's Sunni and Kurdish populations. But it is his perceived marginalization of the once-dominant Sunnis that sparked recent violence reminiscent of Iraq's darkest years of sectarian warfare after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Iraq's newly elected parliament must meet by June 30 to elect a speaker and a new president, who in turn will ask the leader of the largest bloc to form a new government within 15 days.
Shiite politicians familiar with the secretive efforts to remove al-Maliki said two names mentioned as possible replacements are former vice president Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a French-educated economist who is also a Shiite, and Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who served as Iraq's first prime minister after Saddam Hussein's ouster.
With Iraq in turmoil, al-Maliki's rivals have mounted a campaign to force him out of office, with some angling for support from Western backers and regional heavyweights. On Thursday, their effort received a boost from Obama, who said: "Only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis."
An "inclusive agenda" has not been high on the priorities of al-Maliki, however. Many of al-Maliki's former Kurdish and Shiite allies have been clamoring to deny the prime minister a third term in office, charging that he has excluded them from a narrow decision-making circle of close confidants.
Al-Maliki's efforts last year to crush protests by Sunnis complaining of discrimination under his Shiite-led government sparked a new wave of violence by militants, who took over the city of Fallujah in the western, Sunni-dominated province of Anbar and parts of the provincial capital, Ramadi.
Iraqi army and police forces battling them for months have been unable to take most areas back, and over the past week or so the militants have also taken over the cities of Mosul and Tikrit.
Less than three years after Obama heralded the end of America's war in Iraq, he said Thursday he was dispatching up to 300 military advisers to help quell the insurgency. They would join up to 275 being positioned in and around Iraq to provide security and support for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and other American interests.
But he was adamant that U.S. troops would not be returning to combat.
Despite the deteriorating conditions, Obama has held off approving airstrikes sought by the Iraqi government. The president said he could still approve "targeted and precise" strikes if the situation on the ground required it, noting that the U.S. had stepped up intelligence gathering in Iraq to help identify potential targets.
U.S. officials say manned and unmanned U.S. aircraft are now flying over Iraq 24 hours a day on intelligence collection missions.
Not all Shiites welcomed the announcement that more Americans were heading to Iraq.
A Shiite cleric, Nassir al-Saedi, warned that the 300 advisers would be attacked. Al-Saedi is loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia fought the Americans in at least two rounds of street warfare during their eight-year presence in Iraq.
"Our message to the occupier: ... We will be ready for you if you are back," he told a Friday sermon attended by al-Sadr supporters in Baghdad's Sadr City district.
Mohammed al-Khalidi, a Sunni lawmaker who favors a replacing al-Maliki's government with a more inclusive one involving Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, said he thought "Obama's statement was balanced and reasonable."
"But," he added, "U.S. officials should be aware that the situation in Iraq needs an immediate remedy because Iraq is heading to the unknown."
[h=1]Iraq's top Shiite cleric al-Sistani calls for new, 'effective' government[/h]By Sameer N. Yacoub
Associated Press
Posted: 06/20/2014 09:23:24 AM PDT0 Comments
Updated: 06/20/2014 09:23:26 AM PDT
Click photo to enlarge
Newly-recruited Iraqi volunteers take part in a training session on June 20... ( HAIDAR HAMDANI )
BAGHDAD -- The spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiite majority called for a new, "effective" government Friday, increasing pressure on the country's prime minister a day after U.S. President Barack Obama challenged him to create a more inclusive leadership or risk a sectarian civil war.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's comments at Friday prayers contained thinly veiled criticism that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in office since 2006, was to blame for the nation's crisis over the blitz by Sunni insurgents led by an al-Qaida splinter group that seeks to create a new state spanning parts of Iraq and Syria and ruled by its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Al-Sistani's remarks come as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to travel to Iraq soon to press its government to share more power.
While al-Maliki's State of Law bloc won the most seats in parliament in the Iraq's April 30 election, his hopes for a third term are now in doubt with rivals challenging him from within the broader Shiite alliance. In order to govern, his bloc must first form a coalition with other parties.
And with Iraq asking the U.S. for airstrikes to temper the militants' advance -- especially as the insurgents were said to be preparing Friday for another assault on the country's biggest oil refinery -- al-Maliki appears increasingly vulnerable.
"It is necessary for the winning political blocs to start a dialogue that yields an effective government that enjoys broad national support, avoids past mistakes and opens new horizons toward a better future for all Iraqis," al-Sisanti said in a message delivered by his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the Shiite holy city of Karbala.
The Iranian-born al-Sistani, who is believed to be 86, lives in the Shiite holy city of Najaf south of Baghdad. A recluse, he rarely ventures out of his home and does not give interviews. Iraq's majority Shiites deeply revere him, and a call to arms he made last week prompted thousands of Shiites to volunteer to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was once part of al-Qaida.
Al-Sistani's call to arms has given the fight against the Islamic State militants the feel of a religious war between Shiites and Sunnis. His office in Najaf dismissed that charge, and al-Safi on Friday said: "The call for volunteers targeted Iraqis from all groups and sects. ... It did not have a sectarian basis and cannot be."
Al-Maliki has been seeking to place the blame for the chaos on the Islamic State and not his perceived exclusion of the Sunnis. However, questions persist on how much support, if any, the Islamic State enjoys among the Sunni population in areas it now controls.
Ali Hatem al-Salman, a prominent tribal Sunni leader and a critic of al-Maliki, said Sunni tribesmen would eventually fight the extremist Islamic State.
Using the commonly used Arabic acronym for the Islamic State, he told The Associated Press on Thursday: "Daash themselves know that the tribes will push them out. ... There can't be any trust given to Daash."
Al-Maliki's Shiite-led government long has faced criticism of discriminating against Iraq's Sunni and Kurdish populations. But it is his perceived marginalization of the once-dominant Sunnis that sparked recent violence reminiscent of Iraq's darkest years of sectarian warfare after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Iraq's newly elected parliament must meet by June 30 to elect a speaker and a new president, who in turn will ask the leader of the largest bloc to form a new government within 15 days.
Shiite politicians familiar with the secretive efforts to remove al-Maliki said two names mentioned as possible replacements are former vice president Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a French-educated economist who is also a Shiite, and Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who served as Iraq's first prime minister after Saddam Hussein's ouster.
With Iraq in turmoil, al-Maliki's rivals have mounted a campaign to force him out of office, with some angling for support from Western backers and regional heavyweights. On Thursday, their effort received a boost from Obama, who said: "Only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis."
An "inclusive agenda" has not been high on the priorities of al-Maliki, however. Many of al-Maliki's former Kurdish and Shiite allies have been clamoring to deny the prime minister a third term in office, charging that he has excluded them from a narrow decision-making circle of close confidants.
Al-Maliki's efforts last year to crush protests by Sunnis complaining of discrimination under his Shiite-led government sparked a new wave of violence by militants, who took over the city of Fallujah in the western, Sunni-dominated province of Anbar and parts of the provincial capital, Ramadi.
Iraqi army and police forces battling them for months have been unable to take most areas back, and over the past week or so the militants have also taken over the cities of Mosul and Tikrit.
Less than three years after Obama heralded the end of America's war in Iraq, he said Thursday he was dispatching up to 300 military advisers to help quell the insurgency. They would join up to 275 being positioned in and around Iraq to provide security and support for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and other American interests.
But he was adamant that U.S. troops would not be returning to combat.
Despite the deteriorating conditions, Obama has held off approving airstrikes sought by the Iraqi government. The president said he could still approve "targeted and precise" strikes if the situation on the ground required it, noting that the U.S. had stepped up intelligence gathering in Iraq to help identify potential targets.
U.S. officials say manned and unmanned U.S. aircraft are now flying over Iraq 24 hours a day on intelligence collection missions.
Not all Shiites welcomed the announcement that more Americans were heading to Iraq.
A Shiite cleric, Nassir al-Saedi, warned that the 300 advisers would be attacked. Al-Saedi is loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia fought the Americans in at least two rounds of street warfare during their eight-year presence in Iraq.
"Our message to the occupier: ... We will be ready for you if you are back," he told a Friday sermon attended by al-Sadr supporters in Baghdad's Sadr City district.
Mohammed al-Khalidi, a Sunni lawmaker who favors a replacing al-Maliki's government with a more inclusive one involving Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, said he thought "Obama's statement was balanced and reasonable."
"But," he added, "U.S. officials should be aware that the situation in Iraq needs an immediate remedy because Iraq is heading to the unknown."
The Iraqi Army Was Crumbling Long Before Its Collapse, U.S. Officials Say - Eric Schmitt and Michael R. Gordon (New York Times)
The stunning collapse of Iraq's army in the north reflects poor leadership, declining troop morale, broken equipment and a sharp decline in training since the last American advisers left the country in 2011, American military and intelligence officials said Thursday.
Four of Iraq's 14 army divisions virtually abandoned their posts, stripped off their uniforms and fled when confronted by militant groups.
The divisions that collapsed were made up of Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish troops. Other units made up of mainly Shiite troops and stationed closer to Baghdad were believed to be more loyal to the government of Prime Minister Maliki, a Shiite, and would most likely put up greater resistance.
The U.S. spent $25 billion to train and equip Iraq's security forces and provide installations for them.
"This is not about ISIS strength, but the Iraqi security forces' weakness," said a former senior American officer who served in Iraq. "Since the U.S. left in 2011, the training and readiness of the Iraqi security forces has plummeted precipitously."
The stunning collapse of Iraq's army in the north reflects poor leadership, declining troop morale, broken equipment and a sharp decline in training since the last American advisers left the country in 2011, American military and intelligence officials said Thursday.
Four of Iraq's 14 army divisions virtually abandoned their posts, stripped off their uniforms and fled when confronted by militant groups.
The divisions that collapsed were made up of Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish troops. Other units made up of mainly Shiite troops and stationed closer to Baghdad were believed to be more loyal to the government of Prime Minister Maliki, a Shiite, and would most likely put up greater resistance.
The U.S. spent $25 billion to train and equip Iraq's security forces and provide installations for them.
"This is not about ISIS strength, but the Iraqi security forces' weakness," said a former senior American officer who served in Iraq. "Since the U.S. left in 2011, the training and readiness of the Iraqi security forces has plummeted precipitously."
The Battle for Iraq Is a Saudi War on Iran - Simon Henderson
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has for years regarded Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as little more than an Iranian stooge. He has no doubt realized that - with his policy of delivering a strategic setback to Iran by orchestrating the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus showing little sign of any imminent success - events in Iraq offer a new opportunity.
When the revolt against Bashar al-Assad grew in 2011 - and Riyadh's concern at Iran's nuclear program mounted - Saudi intelligence started supporting the Sunni opposition, particularly its more radical elements. The writer is director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. (Foreign Policy)
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has for years regarded Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as little more than an Iranian stooge. He has no doubt realized that - with his policy of delivering a strategic setback to Iran by orchestrating the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus showing little sign of any imminent success - events in Iraq offer a new opportunity.
When the revolt against Bashar al-Assad grew in 2011 - and Riyadh's concern at Iran's nuclear program mounted - Saudi intelligence started supporting the Sunni opposition, particularly its more radical elements. The writer is director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. (Foreign Policy)
Unlikely Allies Aid Militants in Iraq - Matt Bradley and Bill Spindle (Wall Street Journal)
Radical Sunni fighters in northern Iraq are being aided by local tribes who reject the Islamists' extreme ideology but sympathize with their goal of ousting the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
This alliance helps explain how several hundred ISIS insurgents have handily defeated a far larger, better-equipped Iraqi army and come to control about a third of Iraqi territory.
"This is a revolution against the unfairness and marginalization of the past 11 years" by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said Sheikh Khamis Al Dulaimi, a tribal leader in the Anbar Military Council of Tribal Revolutionaries, a group that has led protests against Maliki for the past year and a half.
Radical Sunni fighters in northern Iraq are being aided by local tribes who reject the Islamists' extreme ideology but sympathize with their goal of ousting the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
This alliance helps explain how several hundred ISIS insurgents have handily defeated a far larger, better-equipped Iraqi army and come to control about a third of Iraqi territory.
"This is a revolution against the unfairness and marginalization of the past 11 years" by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said Sheikh Khamis Al Dulaimi, a tribal leader in the Anbar Military Council of Tribal Revolutionaries, a group that has led protests against Maliki for the past year and a half.
Gen. Michael Hayden: "The State of Iraq As We Know It Is Gone" -
"The state of Iraq as we know it is gone, and it's not going to be reconstituted," former CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden said Wednesday. "We've got three successor states there now," Hayden added. "As much as we might look for opportunities to keep Iraq together, we need to be prepared for the reality that it's not going to stay together."
"We should snuggle up comfortable with the Kurds in Kurdistan, who have always been pro-American and actually have a functioning society and state right now." He called Nouri al-Maliki's surviving state "Shiastan."
"Then we've got Sunnistan, and that's the state under the control of ISIS right now, and frankly, we've got to treat that as if it were a safe haven for terrorists and begin to think about it the way we had thought about Waziristan for the last decade-plus."
"The state of Iraq as we know it is gone, and it's not going to be reconstituted," former CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden said Wednesday. "We've got three successor states there now," Hayden added. "As much as we might look for opportunities to keep Iraq together, we need to be prepared for the reality that it's not going to stay together."
"We should snuggle up comfortable with the Kurds in Kurdistan, who have always been pro-American and actually have a functioning society and state right now." He called Nouri al-Maliki's surviving state "Shiastan."
"Then we've got Sunnistan, and that's the state under the control of ISIS right now, and frankly, we've got to treat that as if it were a safe haven for terrorists and begin to think about it the way we had thought about Waziristan for the last decade-plus."
I would hate to have to make these decisions. We're not talking about training camps or the countryside now. We're talking villages overtaken by terrorists, and while yes some of the residents support them the rest range from the uninvolved to outright hostages. When Sharia is forced onto a captured village it is with savagery. Bombing a camp with a terrorist leadership and their wives and children is a whole lot different than bombing a village of 1,000 people captured by 100 terrorists, especially not knowing how many support the jihad.
Fucking cannibals can't even keep their 4-prong jihad (Shia / Jew / Great Satan / Each Other) in proper order:
ISIS Allies Turn on Jihadists in Iraq (Telegraph-UK)
Sunni militants who fought together to capture swathes of Iraqi territory have turned their weapons on each other during clashes in Kirkuk province that cost 17 lives.
The fighting erupted last Friday between ISIS and the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandiyah Order (JRTN) in Hawija, sources told AFP.
Witnesses said the clashes were over who would take over multiple fuel tankers in the area.
ISIS Allies Turn on Jihadists in Iraq (Telegraph-UK)
Sunni militants who fought together to capture swathes of Iraqi territory have turned their weapons on each other during clashes in Kirkuk province that cost 17 lives.
The fighting erupted last Friday between ISIS and the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandiyah Order (JRTN) in Hawija, sources told AFP.
Witnesses said the clashes were over who would take over multiple fuel tankers in the area.
Russian Jets and Experts Sent to Iraq to Aid Army - Rod Nordland (New York Times)
Iraqi government officials said Sunday that Russian experts had arrived in Iraq to help the army get 12 new Russian warplanes into the fight against Sunni extremists.
The Russian move was an implicit rebuke to the U.S., which the Iraqis believe has been too slow to supply American F-16s and attack helicopters - although the U.S. is now in the process of providing both.
Iraqi government officials said Sunday that Russian experts had arrived in Iraq to help the army get 12 new Russian warplanes into the fight against Sunni extremists.
The Russian move was an implicit rebuke to the U.S., which the Iraqis believe has been too slow to supply American F-16s and attack helicopters - although the U.S. is now in the process of providing both.
Army Drives Back Insurgents in Tikrit - Rod Nordland and Suadad Al-Salhy (New York Times)
Independent sources confirmed that an Iraqi Army counteroffensive had driven ISIS militants from the center of Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, with a largely Sunni population of 250,000.
"There is a very big change in the performance of the security forces, and now we can say the initiative is in the hands of the Iraqi forces," said Ahmed al-Sheraifi, a former air force pilot and now a professor at Baghdad University.
He attributed the improved performance to intelligence support by American drones, as well as to American advice on tactics. "The security forces began relying on their airborne division, and this is a trademark of U.S. tactics," he said.
Independent sources confirmed that an Iraqi Army counteroffensive had driven ISIS militants from the center of Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, with a largely Sunni population of 250,000.
"There is a very big change in the performance of the security forces, and now we can say the initiative is in the hands of the Iraqi forces," said Ahmed al-Sheraifi, a former air force pilot and now a professor at Baghdad University.
He attributed the improved performance to intelligence support by American drones, as well as to American advice on tactics. "The security forces began relying on their airborne division, and this is a trademark of U.S. tactics," he said.
Egypt Arrests 15 ISIS Militants in Sinai (Jerusalem Post)
Egyptian special forces arrested 15 militants in Sinai belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), members of a terrorist cell which had used tunnels to cross from Gaza into Sinai, Ma'ariv reported on Saturday.
Egypt said the group's intent was to set up terrorist cells for ISIS in Egypt, to fight the Egyptian government.
Egyptian special forces arrested 15 militants in Sinai belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), members of a terrorist cell which had used tunnels to cross from Gaza into Sinai, Ma'ariv reported on Saturday.
Egypt said the group's intent was to set up terrorist cells for ISIS in Egypt, to fight the Egyptian government.
Has Syria's Chemical Weapons Arsenal Truly Been Dismantled? - Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Dany Shoham (Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University)
- The Syrian regime is fully aware of the critical role of chemical weapons (CW) for the outcome of the civil war. Assad has no moral qualms about using CW, and his Russian and Iranian allies would not truly discourage him from doing so, particularly if he is on the verge of losing the war.
- Ostensibly, Assad has met the Syrian undertaking of chemical disarmament, but in reality, the remaining, seemingly marginal, issues are of great concern and have dangerous potential:
- In September 2013, Syria reported 23 sites which held a combined 41 facilities containing "1,300 tons of chemical precursors and agents, plus 1,230 unfilled munitions." Currently, no further investigations have been held in Syria to ascertain that no additional sites and/or additional quantities existed and/or were added.
- It is not clear whether since September 2013 production of CW was entirely stopped throughout Syria. Additionally, reports by the Syrian opposition claiming hidden CW (mainly VX agent-loaded) in the area of Hama cannot be ignored. The opposition's claim that at least 20% of the Syrian CW arsenal was not declared might be true.
- The employment of toxic chemicals by the Syrian regime continued during the first half of 2014. The chemical attacks mainly included chlorine, ammonia, and possibly additional toxic chemicals, such as pesticides. The typical delivery mode has been dropping toxic barrel-bombs from helicopters. Airborne chlorine-releasing canisters have been used as well.
- Although prohibited by the CW and BW (biological weapons) conventions, no toxic materials of biological origin, namely toxins, were declared by Syria. However, such agents are probably present in the Syrian arsenal. Besides, it is highly likely that Syria also continues to maintain certain pathogens as deployable biological warfare agents.
- The security and safety within the remaining Syrian CW facilities are doubtful. There is a tangible danger that the rebels will seize undeclared depots of Syrian CW.
- For now, the job done by the inspectors is notable, but is far from complete.
Gloves Come Off between Syrian Regime, Islamic State - Edward Dark
The Islamic State (IS) now controls more than a third of Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The group's stunning victories in Iraq have been repeated in Syria. IS now controls nearly all of the oil-rich eastern province of Deir ez-Zor. After ousting its rival, the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, from the provincial capital, IS is now face to face with regime forces.
The undeclared truce between the regime and IS seems to have run its course. The devastating assault by IS on the al-Shaer gas field in Homs on July 16 left up to 300 regime troops and civilian employees dead. Meanwhile, the Syrian regime has launched airstrikes on IS headquarters and training camps, an indication that the gloves are now definitely off. (Al-Monitor)
The Islamic State (IS) now controls more than a third of Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The group's stunning victories in Iraq have been repeated in Syria. IS now controls nearly all of the oil-rich eastern province of Deir ez-Zor. After ousting its rival, the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, from the provincial capital, IS is now face to face with regime forces.
The undeclared truce between the regime and IS seems to have run its course. The devastating assault by IS on the al-Shaer gas field in Homs on July 16 left up to 300 regime troops and civilian employees dead. Meanwhile, the Syrian regime has launched airstrikes on IS headquarters and training camps, an indication that the gloves are now definitely off. (Al-Monitor)
Generation ISIS: The Western Millennials Stocking the Terror Army - Kimberly Dozier (Daily Beast)
1,000 foreign fighters a month are still traveling to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS, despite the Obama administration's year-long campaign to target ISIS and tighten regional laws and borders against militants.
U.S. counterterrorist officials estimate that some 250 U.S. citizens have tried to travel to join the fight, with 60 of them formally charged for attempting to travel or traveling to the region and providing support, Assistant Attorney General John Carlin said.
Life in the Islamic State: Spoils for the Rulers, Terror for the Ruled - Kevin Sullivan (Washington Post)
White vans come out at dinnertime, bringing hot meals to unmarried Islamic State fighters in the city of Hit in western Iraq.
A team of foreign women, who moved from Europe and throughout the Arab world to join the Islamic State, work in communal kitchens to cook the fighters' dinners.
Foreign fighters and their families are provided free housing, medical care, religious education and even a sort of militant meals-on-wheels service.
But local people interviewed said their daily lives are filled with fear and deprivation in the Islamic State "caliphate."
1,000 foreign fighters a month are still traveling to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS, despite the Obama administration's year-long campaign to target ISIS and tighten regional laws and borders against militants.
U.S. counterterrorist officials estimate that some 250 U.S. citizens have tried to travel to join the fight, with 60 of them formally charged for attempting to travel or traveling to the region and providing support, Assistant Attorney General John Carlin said.
Life in the Islamic State: Spoils for the Rulers, Terror for the Ruled - Kevin Sullivan (Washington Post)
White vans come out at dinnertime, bringing hot meals to unmarried Islamic State fighters in the city of Hit in western Iraq.
A team of foreign women, who moved from Europe and throughout the Arab world to join the Islamic State, work in communal kitchens to cook the fighters' dinners.
Foreign fighters and their families are provided free housing, medical care, religious education and even a sort of militant meals-on-wheels service.
But local people interviewed said their daily lives are filled with fear and deprivation in the Islamic State "caliphate."
NATO Concerned ISIS Is Plotting Nuclear Attack on Britain - Tom Whitehead (Telegraph-UK)
ISIS terrorists are plotting to carry out biological and nuclear attacks on Britain and Europe, EU and NATO security chiefs warned at an international security conference in London.
Jorge Berto Silva, deputy head of counter terrorism for the European Commission, said ISIS had shown an interest in obtaining chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear (CBRN) materials.
Dr. Jamie Shea, deputy assistant secretary general for emerging security threats at NATO, added: "We know terrorists are trying to acquire these substances."
Full Article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...d-concern-that-isil-is-plotting-nuclear-atta/
ISIS terrorists are plotting to carry out biological and nuclear attacks on Britain and Europe, EU and NATO security chiefs warned at an international security conference in London.
Jorge Berto Silva, deputy head of counter terrorism for the European Commission, said ISIS had shown an interest in obtaining chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear (CBRN) materials.
Dr. Jamie Shea, deputy assistant secretary general for emerging security threats at NATO, added: "We know terrorists are trying to acquire these substances."
Full Article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...d-concern-that-isil-is-plotting-nuclear-atta/
Security Fears as Dozens of Islamic State's European Fighters Granted "Leave" to Return Home - Josie Ensor (Telegraph-UK)
Dozens of European jihadists have been granted "leave" to return home by the Islamic State, according to leaked ISIS files documenting their movements, prompting fresh fears the group could be plotting attacks in the West.
Dozens of European jihadists have been granted "leave" to return home by the Islamic State, according to leaked ISIS files documenting their movements, prompting fresh fears the group could be plotting attacks in the West.
