Two members of the Kurdistan Regional Parliament fought early in the week in the auditorium over President Massoud Barzani. The action forced Speaker Tariq Jawhar to investigate the fistfight. “The argument occurred between the two deputies from (Barzani’s) Kurdistan Democratic
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.”
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) released a video to flaunt an Assyrian Christian man who allegedly converted to Islam. Analysts believe he is one of the 220 Assyrian Christians ISIS kidnapped in Syria in February.
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Islamic State (ISIS) militias have uploaded a video showing the conversion to Islam of one of the Assyrian Christian hostages captured during the offensive carried out in the Khabour river valley last February. The video has provoked accusations of forced conversion under torture and the shameless exploitation of prisoners for propaganda.
The Associated Press reports that Jordan has announced plans to help train Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State. “The training is part of a regional effort also involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as hosts of training sites. The U.S. Congress has passed legislation providing $500 million for training about 5,000 rebels over the next year,” writes the AP.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is reporting that Russian-speaking women in the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) released a message to women in Russia to join them in Syria.
According to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a watchdog group based in England, ISIS has recruited over 400 children since the beginning of 2015.
The government of Uruguay has closed its doors to former Guantánamo detainees “definitively” and halted its program to accept refugees from the Syrian civil war for at least another year, according to Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa.
The Associated Press reports that a Syrian military helicopter has crashed following an equipment malfunction, resulting in the capture and killing of its crew by “insurgents” of the al-Nusra Front.
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Syria killed 54 Kurdish civilians, including 35 women and children, as they celebrated the Kurdish new year’s eve, a monitor group reports.
An investigation by Vocativ has found the Islamic State releases what they describe as “softer” propaganda in areas they captured or want to capture, instead of more well-known videos of slaughter and executions that are intended for a Western audience.
A new report from the United Nations human rights division claims the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) may have committed genocide and war crimes as they attempt to establish a caliphate through the Middle East.
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The fate remains completely uncertain of around 220 Assyrian Christians who continue to be held captive in Syria by the Islamic State terror group.
