Amb. James Jeffrey, who served as US Ambassador to Iraq under President Obama, said that the Middle East has “destabilized considerably more rapidly than under President Bush” on Friday’s “On the Record” on the Fox News Channel. “The situation has
A Vatican statement released on Friday from its UN representative, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, denounces a series of atrocities committed by the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) against children in Syria. The statement follows the release of a similar speech on Thursday, which was the first Vatican document to mention the Islamic State by name, rather than the more generic “religious fundamentalism.”
A lethal attack on a hotel by Islamist militants in Somalia Friday has left at least 17 dead and more than 30 wounded. Simultaneously, a video has been released depicting the slaughter of blindfolded Somali civilians on a beach.
An official Vatican communiqué Friday conveyed the Pope’s sorrow and solidarity with the families driven from their homes by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq. He likened their suffering to that of Jesus Christ during His passion, and sent them financial assistance, as well as Italian Easter cakes, as a sign of his closeness to them.
Puerto Rico bankruptcy may be imminent, potentially a ‘seminal event’; Israel releases tax revenue collections to Palestinian Authority; Mideast nations line up for and against Saudi airstrikes in Yemen; Mideast countries opposed to Saudi intervention in Yemen
According to the Associated Press, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is open to discussing cooperating with the United States—years after President Obama’s chemical weapons “red line” debacle—but demands respect as a legitimate ruler despite cementing power in an election the State Department openly called a “sham.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged his full support to the Sunni Arab coalition currently fighting the Shiite Houthi rebels that have taken over Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. Stating that Iranian attempts to “dominate the region” have “begun annoying us,” Erdogan noted that Turkey is ready to further involve itself in the conflict “if there is a role to play.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) claims water is being used as a weapon in the Middle East. The report stated the numerous wars and “aging delivery systems” cut down on clean water in the region.
Adımlar Magazine, a radical Islamist publication headquartered in Istanbul that has publicly supported ISIS, has lost a writer and three of its editors were injured this week in a blast at their headquarters. Responsibility for the attack is disputed in several publications, though the editor in chief of Adımlar insists the bombing was the work of “the CIA or the Mossad.”
The Pentagon has released a copy of an anti-ISIS leaflet to the public that was dropped over Raqqa, Syria earlier in March. Raqqa is known as the de facto capital of the Islamic State’s operations in Syria.
In January, the world’s single largest terror attack since 9/11 was carried out by Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group in northern Nigeria. That incident, which drew only passing notice from the West, saw the slaughter of 2,000 civilians in the border town of Baga. Boko Haram’s oath of allegiance to the Islamic State last weekend raises questions about how this will affect the group. Given Boko Haram’s demonstrable ruthlessness in Baga, a better question would be, why aren’t we aiming to “degrade and destroy” it, too?
Employing its harshest and most candid language to date, the Vatican has condemned the actions of the Islamic State by name, declaring it guilty of “unspeakable crimes” and “repulsive and damnable” atrocities.
Saudi Arabia, with US help, leads Arab nations to strike Houthis in Yemen; Iran threatens retaliation against Saudi Arabia for Yemen strikes; Shia militias sidelined for Iraq’s assault on Tikrit, with US help
Nobel Prize-winning author V.S. Naipaul says ISIS represents the closest thing the world has seen to a “Fourth Reich” and urges world leaders to expand the military campaign against them to ensure their “annihilation.”
Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari visited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday in an event that appears intended to strengthen ties between Baghdad and Damascus in light of their mutually shared threat of Islamic State (ISIS) invasion. Iraq’s desire to forge stronger ties with Assad flies in the face of American diplomatic efforts to isolate the dictator after his alleged use of chemical weapons on civilians.
Two weeks ago, the seemingly effective Iraqi operation to retake the city of Tikrit from ISIS ground to an abrupt halt, the “final push” delayed for an indefinite period out of concerns over collateral damage, according to Iraqi officials. It was widely speculated the more pertinent problem was that Islamic State forces proved to be much harder to dislodge than anyone wanted to admit, so time was needed to bring up reinforcements and prepare the battlespace.
The Islamic State has taken over at least parts of the Tunisian town of Tataouine, with over 4,000 jihadists currently housed there. The government of Tunisia insists, however, that the town’s most recognizable pop culture institution remains safe from jihadist destruction.
ROME, Italy– At dawn on Wednesday, Italian special forces executed the final stage of a counterterrorist operation, breaking up an ISIS terrorist cell in northern Italy.
US joins Iran and Iraq in fighting ISIS in Tikrit; Saudi Arabia begins airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen; Obama administration continues to hail Yemen as a model
Australia has been conducting a strong push against terrorism, which began months ago with some general comments from officials who knew they had a problem, and it quickly developed into effective action. Part of the program involves preventing would-be jihadis, including teenagers, from fleeing the country and signing up with ISIS and other ugly crews in Iraq and Syria.
Al-Monitor delivers one of the most sobering assessments of the bloody mess in Syria to date, as author Edward Dark returns to his hometown of Aleppo for a look at the plight of the dwindling Christian community, and finds them turning to dictator Bashar al-Assad for protection from the jihadis fighting to overthrow him.
In February 2013, jihadists dressed all in black stopped two unidentified men at a Syrian checkpoint and on examining their IDs discovered they were Christians. The militants handcuffed the two men, threw them into the back of a truck and drove them to an undisclosed location some eight hours away.
Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers (D-Omaha) is facing a major backlash for comments he made on March 20 comparing American police officers to ISIS terrorists and talking about shooting them.
U.S. officials are concerned Iranian militants currently fighting ISIS in Iraq with help from U.S. air power could eventually turn on American troops in the country.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph this week, actor Sean Penn explained that he watches beheading videos made by the Islamic terrorist group ISIS in order to see and understand “real violence.”
