The latest would-be ISIS recruits are a couple from Mississippi, 19-year-old Jaelyn Delshaun Young and 21-year-old Muhammad Oda Daklalla. According to an unsealed criminal complaint reported by ABC News, “The FBI says the couple planned for months to travel to Turkey in order to slip into Syria and join ISIS.”
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced this week that the country can take at least 10,000 Syrian refugees if his Conservative government is reelected in October.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has released human rights activist Mazen Darwish “in a rare goodwill gesture” after holding him for three years. A verdict for his case should be released later this month.
The United Nations security council unanimously voted to adopt a resolution to investigate if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against innocent civilians. However, the honeymoon did not last long when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blasted these claims.
As mentioned last week, President Obama’s desultory attempt to influence the bloody chaos in Syria with a mere handful of U.S.-trained and equipped Syrian rebels brought contempt and stunned disbelief from across the Arab world.
The onslaught of ISIS in central Syria is threatening yet another Christian town, prompting human-rights activists to warn that hundreds of families could be in peril.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently met to discuss ways to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). Turkey already joined a U.S.-led coalition after an ISIS attack, but Russia stated no desire to join the fight.
Six American F-16 jets have arrived at Incirlik air base in Turkey, following the Turkish government’s agreement to allow U.S. planes to fly bombing runs against ISIS from their air fields. Last week saw the first strike missions carried out by drones, which were flying unarmed reconnaissance from Incirlik prior to Turkey’s change in policy.
The Turkish government’s anti-terrorism campaign, initially advertised as a campaign to destroy the Islamic State terrorist group, has killed hundreds of members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and left the terror group significantly diminished, as its imprisoned leader calls for peace talks.
Turkish newlyweds Fethullah Uzumcuoglu and Esra Polat decided to skip the usual wedding reception and spend their big day, still dressed tux and bridal gown, distributing food to starving refugees from war-torn Syria.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PPK) terrorist group’s leadership has called upon the United States to intervene and encourage the Turkish government to engage in peace talks with the Kurdish group, in the hopes of ending the air campaign Turkey is waging against them while claiming to be fighting the Islamic State (ISIS).
Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS) militiamen have kidnapped 230 Syrian civilians, including 19 children and 45 women, after invading a village in the province of Homs in central Syria. Among the hostages are 60 Christians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based NGO.
Contents: As Iran rises in the Mideast, Kurds benefit in Iraq and Syria; Saudi Arabia suffers deadliest terrorism attack in years; Puerto Rico default triggers selloff in municipal bond funds
Tensions between Turkey and the Kurds continue to escalate as Kurdish militia groups who have been fighting ISIS in Syria complained of coming under fire from Turkish forces. Notably, these are Kurdish militia units not direct affiliated with the PKK—the Kurdish separatists classified as terrorists by Turkey and subjected to airstrikes by American-made Turkish F-16 jets after several recent instances of violence.
A month after Turkey agreed to allow U.S. and allied forces to use its airfields for operations in Syria, the first armed drone strike has been conducted by the United States.
The Jerusalem Post presents a dismaying roundup of reactions from the Arab world to the performance of the U.S.-trained and equipped New Syrian Force, the tiny group of “moderate” rebels that hit the battlefield just a few weeks ago, and was swiftly picked apart by al-Qaeda, with nearly two dozen of its fighters and officers taken captive.
The Obama administration says it may reconsider the use of parole for certain Syrian nationals in addition to its Syrian refugee resettlement effort.
Contents: Hundreds of migrant deaths in Mediterranean highlight Libya-Calais relationship; U.S.-trained Free Syrian Army’s Division 30 suffers major defeat; US program to train rebels in Syria appears flawed from the start
Reuters reports the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has leveled sanctions against a dozen Turkish shipping and energy companies for doing business with Syria, along with four individuals connected with one of the sanctioned corporations, Milenyum Energy.
The conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, continues to intensify, with reports of three more Turkish soldiers killed by mine and missile attacks from PKK militants.The U.S. State Department has called on both sides to resume peace talks.
The awful humiliation of Obama’s strategy in Syria continues, as five more U.S.-trained “moderate Syrian rebels” have been kidnapped by al-Qaeda’s affiliate, the Nusra Front.
The increased level of Turkish cooperation with American efforts against the Islamic State (ISIS) has produced the uncomfortable side effect of the Turks declaring open season on our most vital ally, the Kurds. At least the Turks are making good on their promise to allow more extensive American use of their airbases, as the Pentagon says armed US drones are now operating from the Incirlik Air Base.
Relatives of fallen Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG) fighters in Turkey say the Turkish government is denying permission for the bodies to return to Turkish soil to be buried. A group of 12 bodies, including that of a German national fighting in Syria, have been waiting in a refrigerated truck on the Syrian border for more than one week for permission to enter Turkey.
U.S. officials announced Sunday that the Pentagon will defend American-trained Syrian rebels against attacks from the Syrian Armed Forces – the military forces controlled by Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Damascus.
A man named Ebrahim B., a German Tunisian, released details about life with the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) after abandoning his duties as a jihadi for the group. He hopes his journey will change minds of young people who still want to join ISIS.
