The Islamic State has released a new audio message from its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who claims the group has expanded its “caliphate” into Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
US and allied forces conducted 16 airstrikes in Syria since Nov. 10; 10 of them near Kobane. US President Barack Obama has requested a review of policy towards Syria and may be open to the deposition of the Assad regime, according to senior officials interviewed by CNN. The Kurdish YPG is angling for self-rule in […]
A UN envoy to Syria claims that regime officials gave him “positive signals” regarding a proposal for a ceasefire in Aleppo. The SOHR has stated that more than 860 have been killed since the start of US and allied airstrikes in Syria, including 746 Islamic State fighters, 68 members of Nusrah and at least 50 […]
UAE emerges as quiet, potent US ally
A popular jihadist figure in Syria has posted a picture of fighters allegedly from the Turkistan Islamic Party, an al Qaeda-affiliated group that operates in China and in Central and South Asia.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, has released pictures and a video showcasing a large military parade in the northwestern province of Idlib.
Former US and Austrian soldiers join fight against Islamic State in Syria
Bodyguard of Syrian rebel who defected to ISIS reveals secrets of the jihadist leadership
Unidentified gunmen killed five nuclear engineers, one of them Iranian, near Damascus, according to SOHR. The Lebanese Army arrested a Free Syrian Army commander attempting to enter the country with false paperwork. The president of the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition said that Western airstrikes are weakening support of non-extremists. At least 21 people were killed […]
Congress lays groundwork for stepped-up US presence in Iraq
Obstacles Limit Targets and Pace of Strikes on ISIS
Iraqi military reach Baiji; Baghdadi’s fate unclear
Why arming rebels will fuel Syria’s inferno
Syrian official: negotiations with US blocked by Saudi Arabia
Central Command general to ISIS: We can hear you
Lebanese general: Negotiations with ISIS require more time
Peshmergas blunt, don’t break, Islamic State siege of Syria’s Kobane
Video surfaced late last night showing a destroyed car in Samarda, Idlib. Activists on the scene reported that the car belonged to Al Nusrah Front.
CENTCOM denied that the five airstrikes on Nov. 5 targeted “the Nusrah Front as a whole” but instead were directed at the Khorasan Group. This is a distinction without difference, as the Khorasan Group is part of the Al Nusrah Front.
Training camps run by the Al Nusrah Front, the Khorasan Group, and a Chechen-led group, Khalifat Jamaat, were identified in Syria. The Long War Journal has identified 42 jihadist training camps in Iraq and Syria.
‘You want to kill’: ISIS deserter recounts training, torture and terror
The US widened airstrikes to target Ahrar al Sham and the Al Nusrah Front in Syria; highly-sought French bomb maker David Drugeon is reported to have been killed by a drone attack. Jihadists are using cruise lines to get to Syria. Iran is working to organize Shiite militias fighting in Syria. The Islamic State remains […]
In a new video released by the Islamic State titled “The Resolve of the Defiant,” the group attempts to justify the battle for Kobane.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has tweeted a series of photos purportedly showing the aftermath of the US-led coalition’s airstrikes in Idlib. Prior to today, the coalition had not announced any airstrikes against Al Nusrah since the first day of the bombing campaign in Syria.
Iranian general is said to mastermind Iraq ground war
Mortar rounds crashed into a school in the rebel-held town of Qaboun, killing at least 11 children. Some ethnic Kurds are aiding the Islamic State near Kobane, according to Kurdish officials. Islamic State fighters have vowed to continue fighting in Kobane, as the outcome of the battle remains uncertain. US strategy in Syria is in […]
Al Qaeda Ally’s Advance Imperils Moderate Syrian Rebels
Rights group: Child captives suffered ‘torture and abuse’ by Islamic State
Life in Raqqah under Islamic State
Kadyrov: ‘Most Chechens In Syria Grew Up In Western Countries’