Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The terrorist attack on Ataturk Airport in Istanbul Tuesday immediately drew a crass barb from Donald Trump implying that it supported his notion of banning Muslims from the US. Trump probably doesn’t know that the Turks are mostly Muslim, so he is threatening reprisals against the […]

Christianity

Syrian War Overflows: Radical Salafis attack Christian Village in Lebanon

Juan Cole

Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – A wave of suicide bombings was launched by four radical attackers struck al-Qaa, a largely Christian Lebanese village on the border with Syria on Monday, killing five locals and wounding 15. The first attacks came in the morning but that evening a second wave was launched, attacking […]

Featured

Fallujah Falls: The Slow Death of ISIL and the Future of Iraq

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – As Shakir Jawdat, Chief of the Iraqi Federal Police, announced the complete liberation of the last, northern neighborhoods of Fallujah from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi came to the city on Sunday to plant the Iraqi flag right downtown. al-Abadi, the commander in chief […]

Iraq

How ISIL is losing al-Anbar Province: Corruption, Reckless Driving, Carelessness w/ Secrets

contributors

Niqash.org | Baghdad | – – “Newsletters sent to Islamic State fighters in Anbar indicate the group’s problems with bad drivers and corruption. It also shows a decentralized command structure that ensures the group’s ongoing survival.” A cache of internal correspondence and newsletters, sent by senior members of the extremist group known as the Islamic […]

Iraq

Suicide Bombers + Secret Tunnels: ISIL Tactics On Fallujah’s Front lines

contributors

Mustafa Habib | | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – The battle for Fallujah will be long and hard. The Islamic State has prepared for a siege, is relying on foreign fighters and is spreading lies to persuade locals to fight. NIQASH spoke to those on the front line. In the Nuaimiya area, south of […]

Iraq

How The US, Iraqi Army And Shiite Militias United – Then Split – In Fallujah

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Anti-extremist forces have been fighting in Fallujah for a week. But before they began, there were serious negotiations between the partners-in-battle. And the negotiations continue on the front lines. On May 23, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appeared near an Iraqi army camp near the […]

Archaeology

Inside ISIL’s looted antiquities trade

contributors

By Fiona Rose-Greenland | (The Conversation) | – – For excavators – archaeologists, but also looters like the [so-called] Islamic State, or ISIL – the opportunity for discovery in modern Iraq and Syria is dazzling. The countries lie within the Fertile Crescent, a broad swath of land stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to the Zagros […]

Featured

As US/ Kurdish force Moves on ISIL at Manbij, Turkey goes Ballistic

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The left-leaning Beirut daily al-Safir (Ambassador) points out that less than two weeks after the Syrian Democratic Forces announced their campaign against al-Raqqa, the capital of the phony caliphate of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), the SDF instead has veered off to the west in a bid to […]

Featured

ISIL counter-attack in Fallujah: can Iraqi Forces maintain momentum?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The London pan-Arab daily al-Hayat [Life] reports that Iraqi troops are advancing on Fallujah despite facing fierce resistance from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) . At the same time, fear is mounting abot the fate of the tens of thousands of non-combatants inside the city who are caught […]