[Published here on November 15, 2016]
It only takes a split second for the expression on the Iraqi soldier’s face to transform from relaxed contentment to absolute terror. “Car bomb!”
ISIS
Mosul area retaken, but still danger of IS attack | AFP
[Published here on November 13, 2016]
Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) – A black Humvee speeds down a dusty road in eastern Mosul carrying two boys: one is dead, and the other’s leg has been torn open by the same mortar strike.
Iraqi troops listen in on IS walkie-talkies in Mosul | AFP
[Published here on November 12, 2016]
Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) – “Two grooms are coming,” a low voice crackles over the walkie-talkie, prompting a lanky Iraqi special forces soldier listening in Mosul to shout: “Boys! They’ve just dispatched two suicide bombers!”
With shovels and bulldozers, Iraq Kurds draw line in sand | AFP
[Published here on November 11, 2016]
Shaqouli (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi Kurdish fighters are building a berm in the desert near Mosul that could demarcate a boundary of the state they hope to establish after the Islamic State group is defeated.
IS turns to tunnels in last stand for Iraqi town | AFP
[Published here on November 9, 2016]
Iraqi Kurdish forces came under heavy fire from a salmon-coloured house on the edge of the Islamic State group-held town of Bashiqa, but when they stormed it, it was empty.
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Iraqi Kurds seize IS-held town near Mosul | AFP
[Published here on November 9, 2016]
Bashiqa (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi Kurdish forces have seized the town of Bashiqa near Mosul from the Islamic State group, an official said Tuesday, as US-backed militia forces advanced on the jihadists’ Syrian stronghold Raqa.
Inconsistencies in leaked IS files sound ‘alarm bells’: analysts | AFP
[Published here on March 10, 2016]
Beirut (AFP) – Analysts on Thursday cast doubt on the authenticity of thousands of documents reportedly leaked from the Islamic State jihadist group, pointing out mistakes and uncharacteristic language.
US-led strikes in Syria, Iraq hit IS ‘middle-management’ | AFP
[Published here December 30, 2015]
Beirut (AFP) – US-led strikes against Islamic State group officials in Iraq and Syria are robbing the jihadists of one of their most valuable resources: experienced mid-level commanders.
Ten of the group’s higher-ups, including one with “direct” ties to the alleged mastermind of the Paris attacks, were killed in air strikes in December alone, the US military said.
Limelight-hungry IS ups the ante with violence | AFP
[Published here December 11, 2015]
Beirut (AFP) – As the Islamic State jihadist group comes under growing military pressure, its prodigious propaganda output has slowed somewhat but turned increasingly gruesome in a bid to keep in the headlines.
Since it announced a self-styled caliphate across Iraq and Syria last year, IS has become notorious for broadcasting its macabre tactics.
Why I Joined ISIS: As Told to Maya Gebeily | Matter
[Published here on February 26, 2015]
In interviews I conducted with ISIS fighters and supporters, I tried to bring it back to basics: why did you join, what’s it like, where’s your family? These brief yet illuminating conversations gave me a glimpse inside their heads.
We are friendly! Unless you are an enemy, of course, I mean, just because people are in ISIS doesn’t mean that they go around on a killing rampage. They are humans, they laugh they joke, they goof with each other. The beheading, execution in public are messages to ISIS enemies, but also part of Sharia law and shows that they implement it fully. — Abu Bakr al-Janabi
Mainly my main inspiration to come to Syria was George Bush, Tony Blair, and the presidents of the West and their foreign policy towards Islam — Egypt, Kashmir, Sinai, Yemen, Afghanistan. Guantanamo Bay. Abu Ghraib. —Abu Sumayyah
MAYA GEBEILY 