Reuters BAGHDAD/KIRKUK, Iraq: Kurdish forces seized two oil fields in northern Iraq and took over operations from a state-run oil firm Friday, while Kurdish politicians suspended their participation in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government. The moves escalated a feud between the Shiite-led central government and the autonomous Kurdish region against […]
by Afzal Ashraf ALJAZEERA Afzal Ashraf is a Consultant fellow at Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI) and served in the UK Armed Forces. He was […]
Before the winner of the Brazil World Cup has even been decided, the 2022 event is facing fresh threats. And this time, it’s not down to construction delays or street protests, it’s ambitious terrorists. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the terrorist organisation currently wreaking havoc in the Middle […]
Muslim scholars and movements from across the Sunni Islamic spectrum have rejected the caliphate declared by the Islamic State group, with the fighters receiving scathing criticism from both mainstream religious leaders, and those associated with their former allies, al-Qaeda. Assem Barqawi, also known as Abu Mohamed al-Maqdesi, who was released […]
Muslim scholars and movements from across the Sunni Islamic spectrum have rejected the caliphate declared by the Islamic State group, with the fighters receiving scathing criticism from both mainstream religious leaders, and those associated with their former allies, al-Qaeda. Assem Barqawi, also known as Abu Mohamed al-Maqdesi, who was released […]
Summary Iraq’s new parliament delayed its next session for five weeks Monday, extending the country’s political paralysis in the face of a Sunni Islamist insurgency which claimed the life of an army general on the northwestern outskirts of Baghdad. Saudi Arabia reported three shells hit the Arar area inside the […]
Summary Maliki exit path to hope Despite growing unease over his tenure by allies in the West and the region, including internal partners in Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appears as determined as ever to retain power, but his obstinacy looks to threaten the stability of the entire region and […]
RAMZY BAROUD Published — Tuesday 8 July 2014 AS Iraq stands on the verge of a complete breakdown into mini sectarian states, former leading neoconservative and Iraq war advocate Richard Perle made a sudden appearance on Newsmax TV. His statements in the interview were yet another testament to the intellectual […]
on July 5, 2014 Terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the first caliph of so-called ‘Islamic State’ founded by outfit Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), has been injured in […]
on July 5, 2014 Terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the first caliph of so-called ‘Islamic State’ founded by outfit Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), has been injured in […]
Summary Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki refused Friday to give up his quest for a third term in power, defying a chorus of critics demanding he step aside as the country faces a Islamist insurgent threat. Maliki has come under mounting pressure since militants from the Al-Qaeda splinter group ISIS […]
(CNN) — ISIS has made huge territorial gains in the border areas between Iraq and Syria during the past month, as well as capturing strategic cities such as Mosul and Tikrit. Now its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has changed the group’s name from the previous “Islamic State of Iraq and […]
Bassem Mroue| Associated Press DAILY STAR LEBANON BEIRUT: A young, red-bearded ethnic Chechen has rapidly become one of the most prominent commanders in Al-Qaeda splinter group ISIS that has overrun swaths of Iraq and Syria, illustrating the international nature of the movement. Omar al-Shishani, one of hundreds of Chechens who […]
The Independent: The group formerly known as Isis has declared the ‘restoration of the caliphate’ under the name The Islamic State – with huge implications for the wider region. Last night the Isis militant group declared its occupied territories as a new state, removing “Iraq and the Levant” from its name […]
SUMMARY: by Rami G. Khouri, The Daily Star, Lebanon There is no single thread that explains the turbulent Middle East today, no single map being redrawn, no one dominant force that motivates the actions of hundreds of millions of agitated people. For thousands of years – almost 10,000 years to […]
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic State stretching across Iraq and Syria, has vowed to lead the conquest of Rome as he called on Muslims to immigrate to his new land to fight under its banner around the globe. Baghdadi, who holds a PhD in Islamic studies, […]
Interview Conducted By Bernhard Zand In an interview, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, warns that his country is threatened with collapse under the pressure posed by ISIS terrorists. But, he says, it isn’t a civil war yet. You have to cross a total of four checkpoints before you […]
Interview Conducted By Bernhard Zand In an interview, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, warns that his country is threatened with collapse under the pressure posed by ISIS terrorists. But, he says, it isn’t a civil war yet. You have to cross a total of four checkpoints before you […]
Islamist militants have declared an Islamic “caliphate” in an area straddling Iraq and Syria, trumpeting the declaration in several videos. One slick video, mostly in English, features a bearded fighter with an AK-47 on his back, explaining the new caliphate. “This is not the first border we will break, we will break other borders,” a jihadist […]
BY ROBERT FISK, THE INDEPENDENT Well, God bless Barack Obama – he’s found some “moderate” rebels in Syria. Enough to supply them with weapons and training worth $500m. Congress wants to arm these brave freedom fighters, you see. And Obama, having sent his 300 elite Spartan lads to Iraq to […]