US airstrikes have had ‘a very temporary effect’ on Islamic State
The Islamic State has “thus far shown the ability to attack on multiple axes,” General Mayville said. “This is not insignificant.”
Monthly Archives: August 2014
Iraq
US military role in its 3rd Iraq conflict unlikely to accomplish much
Iraq
Iraq militants changing tactics, complicating US airstrike mission
Iraq
The US targeted an Islamic State mortar pit in an airstrike north of Sinjar. Nine Iraqis were killed in two bombings in Baghdad. The Iraqi military claimed it killed 89 Islamic State fighters in Diyala and 65 more in northern Hillah. The military also claimed it killed 14 more Islamic State fighters while clearing the […]
Lebanon
The head of Lebanese armed forces said the Islamic State had tried to set up a bridgehead in Arsal from which to attack Shiite areas and engulf the country in sectarian strife. French sources said that Saudi Arabian red tape has delayed the shipment of arms from France to Lebanon. The British ambassador conveyed the […]
Iraq
Pentagon Says Airstrikes Have Slowed but Not Stopped Sunni Militants
Iraq
Vatican calls on Muslim leaders to denounce ISIS
Iraq
Aleppo’s forgotten Christians
Jordan
Jordanian Salafist leader Mohammad al Shalabi a.k.a. Abu Sayyaf has indicated his support for the Islamic State, and said efforts are being made to resolve the differences between the IS and the Al Nusrah Front. Over the past two weeks, Jordanian authorities have arrested 20 Jordanian Salafists in Amman and Zarqa who are suspected of […]
Chechen-led jihadist group in Syria releases video of training camp
Jamaat Ahadun Ahad, or the Group of the One and Only, is led by a Chechen commander and its fighters include “many Chechens, Turks, Arabs, Europeans, and even several former members of the Taliban.”
Iraq
Meet Haider al-Abadi, the man named Iraq’s new prime minister
Ansar Dine leader resurfaces, urges expulsion of France from Mali
Ansar Dine leader Iyad Ag Ghaly has appeared in a video calling on Muslims to fight back against France and its allies.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed 20 civilians in fighting in Kunduz, and six policemen and three civilians in Ghazni. Afghan officials who were caught in an ambush in Badakhshan were freed by the Afghan military. The NDS captured a Taliban district governor and two suicide bombers in Kandahar.
Iraq
President Masoum appointed Haidar al Abadi as the new prime minister. Former Prime Minister Maliki said the move is “unconstitutional” and vowed to fight the appointment. The US is sending weapons and munitions to the Kurds. The US launched airstrikes against an Islamic State convoy near Irbil. The Iraqi military said it killed an Islamic […]
Lebanon
Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji said the military’s recent intervention in Arsal “saved Lebanon from a deadly sectarian rift,” and said his priority now was ensuring the return of some 35 security forces abducted by Islamist militants. Palestinian ambassador Ashraf Dabbour claimed that Islamic State militants are not present in the Palestinian refugee camps in […]
Iran
Power struggle on Baghdad streets as Maliki replaced but refuses to go
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Yemeni president vows relentless fight against militants
AQAP claims killing of 50 Yemeni soldiers in Seyoun attack
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed via Twitter that its fighters had killed more than 50 Yemeni soldiers in an attack on the 1st Military District headquarters in Seyoun on Aug. 7.
Central African Republic
Central African Republic crisis: Seleka rebels reject new Muslim PM Kamoun
Indonesia
Does Islamic State ideology threaten Indonesia?
Saudi Arabia
A court sentenced four Saudi men to jail terms ranging from four months to nearly three years for traveling or attempting to travel to Syria to join terrorist groups; at least some of them were also found guilty of facilitating the travel of jihadist fighters to the conflict zones. Saudi officials are planning to develop […]
Mali
French forces dropped up to five bombs in the Essakane region west of Timbuktu yesterday, targeting al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb positions. President Keita said last week that he is committed to preventing the emergence of a caliphate in Mali.
Kosovo
Police carried out some 60 raids across the country in a crackdown on Islamic extremists, arresting 40 men suspected of either fighting for, or supporting, the Islamic State or the Al Nusrah Front. Makeshift mosques were raided and weapons, ammunition, electronic equipment, and explosives were confiscated.
Islamic State
Islamic State beheads, crucifies in push for Syria’s east
China
Authorities arrested a man in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, who is accused of spreading “online rumors” about government violence in Yarkant to websites abroad. State media claimed that 18 suspects in the July 28 terror attack in Shache surrendered to authorities, but that few of them were “diehard terrorists.”
Indonesia
The Detachment 88 counterterrorism squad arrested Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid leader Afif Abdul Majid, who was added to the US’ global terrorist list in 2013. Majid, who recently returned from Syria, has pledged support to the Islamic State, along with jailed al Qaeda-linked cleric Abu Bakar Ba’asyir. Although the government reportedly banned IS ideology within the […]
Australia
Defence Minister David Johnston said Australia is “not ruling out” providing backup military support for the US “as they go in and deal kinetically with this terrorist organisation.” Australia is already providing two Hercules transport planes for airlifting supplies. He said: “Islamic State … is not just a terrorist group, it is a terrorist army. […]
Iraq
US strike aircraft destroyed three Islamic State armored personnel carriers and a technical in four airstrikes in the Sinjar Mountains. The Peshmerga is said to have regained control of Gwair, Makhmour, and Zumar. The military claimed it killed 16 Islamic State fighters in Tikrit.
Iraq
US lawmakers mull ISIS action
Iraq
US removes some staff from consulate in northern Iraq