The White House’s proposal to invest $500 million in training and equipping “vetted” and “moderate” Syrian rebel forces rests on the feeble premise that such forces, if they indeed exist, will be able to operate independently of the al Qaeda-linked groups that dominate the battlefield.
Armed US aircraft now flying over Iraq: defense officials
At least one helicopter was shot down after commandos landed at Tikrit University. The outcome of the operation is uncertain.
Jihadist returnees stir concern in the Maghreb
ISIS Jihadists Step Up Recruitment Drive
The Mansuriyah and Ajeel oil fields in Iraq, and the Al Omar facility in Syria, are said to be in ISIS hands. ISIS will want the infrastructure for the operations of its Islamic state.
Iraqi oil infrastructure “sabotaged” before ISIS attack–industry source
Jordan shaken by threats from ISIS, Iraq, Syria
Abu Yusuf al Masri, a leader in Albu Kamal, swore allegiance to a senior “Chechen” commander in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. The move could strengthen ISIS’ hold on the Iraq-Syrian border.
Syrian Qaeda wing pledges loyalty to ISIS in border town
Jordan on alert after ISIS seizes border crossing
Records show how Iraqi extremists withstood US antiterrorism efforts
Syrian Kurdish leader: Turkey turns blind eye to ISIS
Hundreds of ISIS fighters parade Humvees, artillery pieces, military trucks, and police vehicles that were captured during the battle of Mosul.
ISIS recruits Kurdish youth, creating a potential new risk in a peaceful part of Iraq
Iraqi military facing ‘psychological collapse’ after losses, desertions
While Sunni Iraqi support of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham is not monolithic, the central government’s security forces are unlikely to decisively uproot the terrorist organization from the more distant provinces of Iraq anytime soon.
The Ninewa Division of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham shows its fighters taking control of “The Second Operations Command Center” as well as executing three Iraqi soldiers.
Kerry promises ‘intense and sustained’ US support for Iraq
ISIS Surge in Iraq Fans Regional Fears Including Lebanon
The British brothers fighting against ISIS in Iraq
Ansar al Islam, a jihadist group founded in September 2001, has released a set of propaganda photos showing its claimed operations in Iraq. The photos purport to show the organization’s control over a highway between Tikrit and Kirkuk, captured spoils, and its willingness to grant amnesty to members of Iraq’s security forces.
ISIS plays with big bucks in estimated billion-dollar fortune
Iraq jihadists ‘turning back clock’ in Mosul
Netanyahu Warns US Not to Work with Iran on Iraq Crisis
Jordan Salafist leader Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi, freed, quiet so far on ISIS-Nusrah rift
Iraq authorities: Rare manuscripts smuggled out of Mosul
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham seized the Tarbil border crossing to Jordan, the Al Walid crossing to Syria, and the town of Rutbah in southwestern Anbar.
The reality of Syria jihad, as told by young Moroccan returnee
Iraqi militants seize 2 more border crossings