Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

By Brian M. Downing | (Informed Comment) | – War is largely a seasonal activity in Afghanistan. Winters are harsh and fighters need to work fields and tend herds. With spring, another fighting season is underway. This year will be different from its many predecessors. US ground troops are no longer engaged in large numbers; […]

Iraq

Cunning Stunts in Iraq: ISIL Sleeper Cells Are Secret Weapon in Ramadi

contributors

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) – Refugees from Ramadi trying to escape the city and extremists. Last week’s small extremist victories in Ramadi were fuelled by the work of sleeper cells, who spread rumours and panic that saw security forces abandoning the city and locals fleeing for Baghdad. But those worst fears were never […]

Human Rights

Daesh in Mosul seeks Child Soldiers, Child Suicide-Bombers

contributors

By Khales Joumah | Mosul | (Niqash.org) – One of the latest inventions by the Islamic State in Mosul is the mobile pulpit. Most recently a caravan for propaganda appeared in a city fun fair. The target for extremist recruitment? The city’s children. It has almost become a joke among the families of Mosul. It […]

Barack Obama

US Airstrike in Syria kills 53 Civilians, 6 Children

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) As Mariam Karouny reports for Reuters, the US air strike on Friday that inadvertently hit a village of non-combatants, killing members of six families, raises new questions about the Obama administration’s approach to fighting Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) in Syria. Despite months of bombing raids, Daesh has lost no […]

Iraq

“We had to destroy Tikrit to save it from ISIL”: Recovered Iraqi City a Ghost Town

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Tikrit | (Niqash.org) – It’s been almost a month since the Islamic State group was expelled from Tikrit. NIQASH went there and found a graffiti-covered ghost town ruled by opposing groups of gunmen, none of whom trust one another. In Basha Street in the centre of the Iraqi city of Tikrit, […]

Iraq

The Battle Plans of ISIL: Can they Succeed in Mideast Conquest?

contributors

By Richard Rousseau | (The Conversation) What is Islamic State’s political program? What is its ideology? Who are its theoreticians? The answers to these questions can be found in its propaganda. Islamic State has transformed from an ultra-minority party into one of the major political actors in the Middle East within a few months. It […]

History

Mobilizing For Mosul, Iraq: Scholars Work To Save Town’s Heritage from ISIL

contributors

By Coilin O’Connor | (RFE/RL) – While much of the world stands by as the militant Islamic State group takes a sledgehammer to the Middle East’s cultural legacy, a team of Czech scholars is working feverishly to try and save one Iraqi town’s architectural heritage. All across the large swaths of Syria and Iraq that […]

Iraq

Iraq’s Future in the Balance: Will Sunni Arab Tribes join or fight ISIL?

contributors

By Khales Joumah | Mosul | (Niqash.org) | – The key to long lasting victory in northern Iraq is the loyalty of it’s Sunni Muslim tribes. Both the Iraqi Kurdish and the extremists are starting new flirtations with the tribal leaders of Ninawa. But how genuine are these suitors? At a recent meeting in Ninawa, […]