Terrorism

RFE/RL In an interview with Samira Ali Mandee of RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq, General Jabbar Yawar, secretary-general of the Peshmerga Ministry of Iraq’s Kurdish region, discusses the ongoing fight against Islamic State militants, cooperation with Iraqi and outside militaries, and the mood on the front. RFE/RL: Could you tell us about the security developments along […]

Featured

The Alamo of the Kurds: Kobane Near Falling to ISIL

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Ismat Sheikh, commander of the Kurdish forces at the border town of Kobane (Ain al-Arab) that is besieged by ISIL tanks and artillery, says that he expects massacres of its inhabitants if it falls to the Sunni Arab extremists. He warned that ISIL fighters are less than a mile from his front […]

Education

In Iraqi Classrooms, Sunni Muslim Extremists Ban Evolution, Patriotism And Literature

contributors

By Ahmad Mohammed | Kirkuk | via Niqash.org In areas under the control of Sunni Muslim extremists, teachers have been issued a special set of instructions. Among other things they say that males and females are to be separated, all mentions of evolution are to be removed from textbooks and anything that encourages patriotism –like […]

Featured

7 Surprising Reasons Turkey is entering war on ISIL

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole The Turkish parliament voted by a large margin Thursday to allow Turkish troops to make incursions into neighboring countries if necessary to defeat the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This authorization is necessary according to the Turkish constitution. Likewise, parliament voted to allow foreign troops involved in the […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Denying ISIL Legitimacy and the problem of Radical Returnees

contributors

By Akil N. Awan via The National Interest Last week, President Barack Obama chaired a special meeting of the UN Security Council in which member states passed a resolution establishing an international legal framework to help prevent the recruitment and transport of would-be foreign fighters from joining terrorist groups. As expected, United Nations Security Council […]

Human Rights

The Other Iraq Reality: Shiite Militias besieging Sunni Towns

contributors

By Erin Evers, HRW Shia militias, still operating under the control of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, are laying siege to Latifiyya, especially the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq militia. Failure to address the broader effects of international assistance in Iraq’s fight promises to further polarize Iraq’s communities. The spectacular conquests by the Islamic State have held […]

Barack Obama

Pretext for US Syria Bombings?: No sign that Dread “Khorasan” Group even Exists

contributors

AJ+ Imran Khan “The Khorasan Group: The U.S. government insists it’s one of the biggest threats facing the country. But until a couple of weeks ago most people had never heard of it. We talk to Imran Khan, the Al Jazeera English correspondent in Baghdad, who has a theory about what is going on.” “> […]

Iraq

Can Iraq Convince its Sunnis to Fight Extremists?

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad via Niqash.org Local opposition to Sunni Muslim extremists in control of parts of Iraq is building – and it’s being formalised with the creation of a new National Guard, with military units enlisting locals to protect their own provinces. As well as fighting the extremists, the new units could include […]

Afghanistan

Syria to Afghanistan: US Military Policy hasn’t Solved the Zone of Crisis & may Enlarge it

contributors

By Amin Saikal, author of Zone of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq The Middle East and its wider eastern environs are in the grip of multiple humanitarian and geopolitical crises. The entire region from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Iraq and Syria to Palestine and Libya is shattered by more violence than usual and long-term […]