Russia began airstrikes in Syria allegedly against “terrorists” today, but an unnamed U.S. official told Reuters that the planes are not targeting areas held by the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
Many of the estimated 250 Americans who have traveled overseas since 2011 to join or try to join the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) have been able to reenter the United States without being arrested or monitored, reveals a report issued by the House Homeland Security Committee.
A Pentagon official revealed that Evelyn Farkas, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, will depart at the end of October. The news comes during the UN General Assembly, where President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had what was described as a “candid” meeting regarding their relationship.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has officially ordered senior Department of Defense (DOD) officials to begin communicating with Russia on matters related to the Syrian conflict in an effort to avoid miscalculations and misjudgments, according to the Pentagon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described his evening meeting with President Barack Obama as “very constructive” and “surprisingly open.” It was their first formal meeting in two years.
Western countries are turning a blind eye to the genocide that the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is committing against Christians in Iraq and Syria, reports the U.K.’s Daily Express, citing a charity group.
Contents: Taliban scores major strategic victory in Afghanistan, capturing Kunduz; The Afghan Taliban return to Kunduz after fourteen years; Repercussions for Central Asia
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is expanding its presence in Afghanistan, recruiting followers in nearly 75 percent of the country’s 34 provinces, according to a United Nations report.
Nearly 30,000 foreign fighters from more than 100 countries have traveled to Iraq and Syria since 2011, mostly to join ISIS, the New York Times reported, citing anonymous intelligence and law enforcement officials.
At the UN General Assembly meeting today, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the West for the rise of radical Islamic groups. He also demanded a global alliance to fight these groups.
Contents: Massive Russian military deployment into Syria and Iraq continues; China’s military heads for Syria, supposedly to join Russia
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has executed more than 10,000 people, including women and children, in Iraq and Syria since the jihadist group declared a “global caliphate” in June 2014, reports Daily Mail Online.
Secretary of State John Kerry claims the Russian government is sending more troops and equipment to Syria in order to protect the Russian soldiers already in the country—a form of self-defense.
Al-Qaeda may pose a bigger longterm threat when compared to its rival, the Islamic State (IS/ISIS/ISIL), concludes a study prepared for the U.S. Special Operations Command Center (SOCOM) at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
Afghan jihadists loyal to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS) have closed down 57 schools in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province located along the Pakistan border, a known hotbed for high levels of terrorist activity.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the third time in the past ten days to discuss the situation in Syria. He warned Lavrov that Russia’s support of beleaguered President Bashar al-Assad “will only prolong the Syrian conflict.”
Patriarch Louis Sako, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad, is the latest Christian leader to ask Christians in the Middle East not to abandon their homelands despite threats from radical Islamic groups. He also slammed the countries who give preferential treatment to Christian refugees.
In remarks to various sympathetic pro-Russian networks, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused the West of working with the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, and claimed those not aiding his political survival were helping “terrorists.”
Contents: Russia’s Vladimir Putin tightens grip on Tajikistan at CSTO meeting; The troubled history of the CSTO in Central Asia; Russia’s economic slowdown means financial disaster for Central Asia
Vladimir Putin has issued a “common sense” call to the West to join Russia and Syria in a united front to fight against Islamic State (IS). Putin was speaking at a security summit in Tajikistan when he made the appeal to the
Danish teenager Lisa Borch slaughtered her mother Tina Römer Holtegaard after binging on horrific Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) beheading videos, police report. A court has convicted her and her much older Muslim boyfriend of murder.
The Russian government sent humanitarian aid to Syria over the weekend, only a few days after officials demanded U.S. cooperation to avoid “unintended consequences.”
Contents: Russia opens a dangerous new chapter in Syria and the Mideast; ‘Putin’s Plan’ for Russia and Syria; How is Vladimir Putin different from Ronald Reagan?; Choosing the lesser of two evils
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mocked the U.S.’s policy on Libya while talking to reporters about Russian troops and equipment in Syria.
Jinan Badel, a young Yazidi girl who escaped the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), met with French President Francois Hollande where he offered her asylum. She politely turned down his offer so she can return to Iraqi Kurdistan.
