Terrorism

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The extensive Russian bombing campaign in support of the Syrian Arab Army of the Bashar al-Assad regime has yielded fewer victories than Moscow had hoped, and some of them have been reversed by al-Qaeda, ISIL or other fighters. But on Wednesday it was reported that the […]

Jabhat al-Nusra

Syria: al-Qaeda, Army of Islam Cage Hostages in Street as Human Shields

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (New York) – Syrian armed groups are endangering civilians, including women, and detaining soldiers by placing them in metal cages throughout Eastern Ghouta. The armed groups say they are doing that to deter indiscriminate government attacks on the area. Expand Still from video showing caged civilians in Eastern Ghouta, […]

Egypt

Who are the ISIL Fighters in Egypt’s Sinai, claiming to down Plane?

contributors

By Joanna Paraszczuk | ( RFE/RL ) | – – A [so-called] Islamic State [group] (IS) affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has claimed that it downed a Russian charter plane that crashed in a mountainous area of the Sinai Peninsula on October 31. Russia’s transport minister has denied the claims. The Airbus A321 — carrying […]

Egypt

Why ISIL is a Vast Exaggeration: & No, it can’t Shoot down Planes

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in the Sinai Peninsula made a big deal of claiming they shot down a Russian airliner Saturday morning. They did not. The plane was at 30,000 feet when it got into trouble. Anti-aircraft weaponry like Manpads can’t reach those altitudes. This kind of […]

Featured

Syria: US Boots on Ground risks Conflict with Turkey, not Russia

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The White House’s announcement on Friday that the US will keep “less than 50” special ops troops at an HQ of the Kurdish YPG in northeast Syria for the purposes of training and strategic counseling raised concerns in some quarters that Russia might inadvertently bomb US […]

al-Qaeda

Syria: On eve of Vienna Summit, Has Russia changed the facts on the Ground?

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Writing in al-Hayat [Life] this week, columnist Walid Choucair outlined the successes he sees Russia to have had in its Syria campaign, and the goals for which it is reaching. Choucair is the Lebanese affairs bureau chief of this pan-Arab, Saudi-owned London daily, which has a […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Why Russia Fears ISIL: Panic over Domestic Terror Plots & Wave of Arrests

contributors

By Joanna Paraszczuk | ( RFE/ RL ) | – – Russia appears to be cracking down on Muslims and labor migrants in response to what it says are domestic terror threats from the Islamic State (IS) extremist group with reports of mass arrests of “IS-linked suspects” last week. The apparent crackdown comes amid heightened […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

More of Iraq’s Kurdish Women Training to Fight Extremists

contributors

Shalaw Mohammed | Erbil | ( Niqash.org ) | – – Increasing numbers of Iraqi Kurdish women are training to become soldiers; they want to join their men in the fight against the extremist Islamic State group. Silaf Muslih doesn’t believe there should be any difference between males and females on the battlefields of Iraq. […]

al-Qaeda

American Hypocrisy: Against Muslim Sharia law at home, Calls it “Moderate” in Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – I just watched the 5 pm news hour on CNN anchored by Wolf Blitzer, and the editors had clearly decided that the lead was that Russian bombing in south Aleppo risks creating a new wave of refugees. They also stuck to the cover story that the […]