Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Fearing IS, Palestinian families leave Mosul for Iraqi Kurdistan | — RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — About 120 Palestinian families have emigrated from Mosul in northern Iraq to Iraqi Kurdistan fearing IS threats, according to the consulate of Palestine in Erbil. In a statement, released Saturday, the consul of Palestine in Erbil Nathmi Hazouri said Palestinian families […]

Iraq

Yazidi Women Victimized by Daesh/ ISIL tell of Rape, Slavery, & their Resistance

contributors

By Khales Joumah | Mosul | via Niqash.org | — Three months ago, the extremist group known as the Islamic State kidnapped hundreds of women from the Yazidi sect. Since then there have been many stories about what has happened to the women, including physical and sexual abuse, slavery and forced marriage. NIQASH spoke to […]

Counter-Terrorism

Top 5 Ways Daesh/ ISIL is Losing, as it lashes out like a Cornered Rat

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Daesh is what ISIL is called in the Middle East by the vast majority that doesn’t like it. It has not had a good month, suffering substantial setbacks in Iraq and watching with concern as the Damascus regime of Bashar al-Assad looks set to retake the major northern city of Aleppo, to […]

Iraq

Iraq Shocker: Sunni Tribe invites Shiite Militias into al-Anbar to fend off ISIL Massacres

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | via Niqash.org — Shiite militias are making inroads into the mainly Sunni province of Anbar. Previously Anbar’s Sunni tribes have not allowed the controversial militia groups in but now one tribe has invited them to help. Things are becoming ever more complex in Anbar and the arrival of US […]

Featured

Daesh/ ISIL calls for Terror attacks on Saudi Arabia

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | — Daesh, the brutal terrorist group the US calls ISIL or ISIS, is calling for attacks in Saudi Arabia. A voice recording has surfaced, attributed to Ibrahim al-Samarra’i, the leader of the brutal terrorist group Daesh (which the US calls ISIL or ISIS). Al-Samarra’i was wounded in a US airstrike on […]

Iraq

Women Targeted by Militarism in Strong States and Extremism in weak ones

contributors

By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Nov 6 2014 (IPS) – Ongoing military conflicts in the strife-torn Middle East – specifically in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Palestine – have resulted in widespread civilian casualties, impacting heavily on the most vulnerable in besieged communities: women and children. The biggest death toll has stemmed from the civil war […]

Bush

ISIL Grew out of Bush’s Destruction of Iraq’s Socialist Economy

contributors

By Noah Bassil via The Conversation To explain the disaster befalling Iraq, as well as the rise of Islamic State (IS), you have to go back a century – before modern Iraq even existed. That’s not to discount the shared culpability of Iraq’s numerous leaders, from King Faisal I to Saddam Hussein and Nuri al-Maliki, […]

Featured

Why it Isn’t that Important Whether ISIL Leader was Killed

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Revised 11/10 Rumors are swirling that ISIL leader Ibrahim al-Samarra’i (who goes by the nom de guerre of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi) was severely wounded and that some of his chief lieutenants were killed by a US air strike on a meeting of ISIL leaders on Friday. (Update: ISIL is confirming the injury […]

Iraq

Unlikely Cavalry: Iraq’s Sunni Tribes Split on ISIL, Pursue own Feuds

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | via Niqash.org. Some tribes in the north of Iraq pledge allegiance to the extremist group, IS. In the south, tribes are divided as to whether to do this. The city of Anbar is becoming a battleground. But the fight is no longer as simple as the Iraqi government versus […]