Terrorism

Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL) | – – The militant group Islamic State (IS) has vowed in a rare video message in Persian that includes the apparent beheading of four captured soldiers that it will conquer Iran. In an appeal to sectarian divides, the group also calls on Iran’s Sunni minority to rise up against […]

Iraq

Mosul: ISIL Deploys Ideological Booby Trap As It Retreats

contributors

David Patrikarakos | ( RFE/RL ) | – – The coalition battling to take the Iraqi city of Mosul from the extremist [so-called] “Islamic State” group (IS) is closing in. Earlier this year, coalition forces captured eastern Mosul (the city is bisected by the Euphrates River) and are now squeezing the city’s western half. According […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Amal Clooney and Nadia Murad Want to Stop an ISIL Genocide

contributors

Popsugar Entertainment | (Video Report) | – – “Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney is hoping to help stop a genocide at the hands of ISIL with the help of one brave survivor.” Popsugar Entertainment: “Amal Clooney and Nadia Murad Want to Stop ISIL’s Genocide”

Iraq

Mosul: ISIL Scorched Earth Tactics put Civilians in Crossfire

contributors

Special Correspondent* | Niqash.org | Baghdad | – – Mosul Locals Explain Extremists’ Desperate Tactics Mosul locals, some of whom have escaped the extremists and some who are still under their control, describe the Islamic State group’s desperate tactics. They will fight to the death, trapped locals warn. A month has passed since Iraqi pro-government […]

Displaced and Refugees

After Trump Massacres in Mosul, Campaign against ISIL Halted

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Candidate Donald Trump called last year for carpet-bombing of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. It is possible that Trump has loosened the rules of engagement for the US Air Force, which is providing air support to the Iraqi Army. Looser rules could well be […]

Counter-Terrorism

A distracted Trump administration Couldn’t even focus on its own anti-ISIL summit.

contributors

By Paul Rogers | ( OpenDemocracy.net ) | – – Donald Trump’s election campaign made much of his predecessor Barack Obama’s failure to control and defeat ISIL, contrasting this with his own determination to destroy the movement if and when he became the United States president. Around the time of his inauguration in January, he […]

Counter-Terrorism

Daesh/ISIL encouraging Loner attacks to Mask its Death Spiral

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The terrorist organization known as Daesh in the Middle East and Europe but as ISIS or ISIL in the US is in a death spiral. Daesh hit its peak of territory in 2015 on taking Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s al-Anbar province. Since then, it has […]

Human Rights Watch

Iraq: ISIS Dumped Hundreds in Mass Grave

contributors

Via Human Rights Watch | – – Security Forces, Prisoners, Women, Among Those Executed (Erbil) – The Islamic State (also known as ISIS) executed and dumped the bodies of possibly hundreds of detainees at a site near Mosul, Human Rights Watch said today. Multiple witnesses told Human Rights Watch that the bodies of those killed, […]

Iraq

Ghosts Of ISIL: While All Eyes are On Mosul, Extremists Return To Other Iraqi Provinces

contributors

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) – – While Iraq’s pro-government forces battle on in Mosul, extremists are heading back to other provinces. Locals say the number of attacks keep rising – and that something needs to be done before it is too late. In the town of Baiji in central-northern Iraq, a senior police […]