Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

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ISIS: We've Formed a New Islamic State

All Muslims ordered to obey 'Caliph Ibrahim'

(Newser) - The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has dropped "of Iraq and Syria" from its name because as far as it is concerned, there is no "Iraq" or "Syria"—just an Islamic caliphate stretching from Aleppo to eastern Iraq. The militant group has declared a new...

Iraq Launches Push to Reclaim Saddam's Hometown

State media claims success in Tikrit

(Newser) - Iraqi troops backed by helicopter gunships launched an operation today aimed at dislodging Sunni militants from the northern city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown and one of two major urban centers militants seized in recent weeks in a dramatic blitz across the country. State media reports said the government...

ISIS Executed 160 Captives, Rights Group Confirms

Russia warns of emerging cross-border 'terrorist state'

(Newser) - Iraqi insurgents executed at least 160 captive soldiers earlier this month in the northern city of Tikrit, Human Rights Watch said today, citing an analysis of satellite imagery and grisly photos released by the militants. The rights group says the "number of victims may well be much higher, but...

Syria Launches Airstrikes in Iraq: Reports

57 civilians reported killed in hits supposedly on Sunni militant targets

(Newser) - Syria may have just fully inserted itself into Iraq's civil war. Syria launched cross-border airstrikes on several parts of Anbar province yesterday, killing at least 57 civilians and wounding more than 120 more, local officials tell CNN . The officials say they used scopes and other equipment to identify the...

ISIS&#39; Big Mistake: Breaking Bin Laden&#39;s Rules
ISIS' Big Mistake:
Breaking bin Laden's Rules
OPINION

ISIS' Big Mistake: Breaking bin Laden's Rules

Al-Qaeda leader urged fighters to avoid butality: William Saletan

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden was, to put it mildly, not a nice guy. But in some ways, he looks like a gentle soul compared to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The group, which al-Qaeda has disowned, breaks all seven of bin Laden's famed rules for effective terrorists, William...

ISIS Takes Hold of Iraq's Largest Oil Refinery

Kerry promises 'intense, sustained' US support

(Newser) - After more than a week of fighting, ISIS militants say they are now fully in control of Iraq's main oil refinery. The facility at Baiji, some 155 miles north of Baghdad, supplies around a third of the country's refined fuel and the BBC notes that its capture is...

Iraq Loses Control of Western Border

ISIS miltants seize key border crossings

(Newser) - Islamic State of Iraq and Syria fighters have taken another step toward making their name a reality with the weekend seizure of two key border crossings in western Iraq. Though the news that they took four key towns (Qaim, Rutba, Rawa, and Anah) in two days was reported yesterday, the...

Can ISIS Be Stopped?
 Can ISIS Be Stopped? 

Can ISIS Be Stopped?

Militants have taken four towns in two days

(Newser) - Officials in Baghdad are increasingly worried that the Iraqi Army is simply incapable of standing up to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which is both better armed and better trained, diplomats and politicians tell the BBC . And the militants provided plenty of evidence for that as their campaign...

US Sending 300 'Military Advisers' to Iraq

Obama says team will help Baghdad fend off insurgents

(Newser) - President Obama said today he's sending 300 US "military advisers" to Iraq as Islamic extremists threaten to overtake Baghdad , reports the AP . Obama reiterated that he will not send regular ground troops and dismissed a concern about "mission creep" in response to a question: "American combat...

Iraq Wants US Airstrikes, but US Wants Maliki Out

Battle for biggest refinery still raging

(Newser) - Did somebody say "regime change?" American lawmakers have stepped up their criticism of Nouri al-Maliki even as his government pleads for US help against the insurgency threatening to rip Iraq apart. Administration officials have made it clear that they want the country to have a new government that doesn'...

On to the Oil: ISIS Invades Iraq's Biggest Refinery

Official reports militants occupy 75% of refinery, government denies

(Newser) - The situation at Iraq's largest oil refinery is a murky, smoky one: A refinery official on the scene earlier told Reuters that militants have "managed to break in" and occupy 75% of the Baiji refinery. Though the Iraqi army now says it has beaten them back and killed...

Militants Strike Town Just 37 Miles From Baghdad

Meanwhile, Sunnis killed inside the capital

(Newser) - The battle for Iraq is getting uncomfortably close to its capital city. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants briefly took over parts of the city of Baquba, which is just 37 miles from Baghdad, the BBC reports. The Iraqi military and allied Shiite militias eventually drove them off—and...

ISIS Kills Shiite Volunteers Outside Holy City

Meanwhile, the White House says it may cooperate military with Iran

(Newser) - Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria killed over two dozen volunteer Shiite fighters today outside the holy city of Samarra—the first such attack since Shiites began signing up against ISIS, the New York Times reports. The volunteers, aiming to reinforce Iraqi defenses in Samarra, were traveling...

ISIS: We Just Slaughtered 1,700 People

US considering talks with Iran on dire situation

(Newser) - Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria say they've slaughtered 1,700 Iraqi soldiers in Tikrit, a massacre that, if confirmed, would be by far the largest atrocity in the country in more than a decade. The militants released photos late Saturday showing the soldiers being led...

Militants in Iraq: We&#39;ve Executed 1,700 People
 Marines Arrive in Baghdad 
updated

Marines Arrive in Baghdad

Militants fight for new towns, claim mass executions

(Newser) - As fighting rages today across Iraq, Washington is beginning to take action. About 50 to 100 Marines and Army personnel are now at the US embassy in Baghdad, and some embassy staff have been moved to other consular offices in Iraq and Jordan, CNN reports. Meanwhile, US Navy ships including...

Every Iraqi Urged to Pick Up a Weapon

Iraq's top cleric says 'everyone who can' must fight

(Newser) - Iraq's top Shiite cleric issued a statement during Friday prayers today, calling on everyone—Shiite and Sunni alike—to fight back against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the New York Times reports. It is "the legal and national responsibility of whoever can hold a weapon, to...

US Flew Secret Drone Missions Over Iraq

Embassy evacuation plans stepped up

(Newser) - The US rebuffed Iraq's request for airstrikes as insurgents gained strength, but American drones were already collecting intelligence on the militants. The secret drone program, carried out with the consent of the Iraqi government since last year, failed to predict the rapid advance of militants who have now seized...

Iraq Militants Loot Bank, Are Now Insanely Wealthy

ISIS makes off with $429M, may be world's richest terror group

(Newser) - What's worse than a ruthless multinational terrorist organization? A rich ruthless multinational terrorist organization. And that's what Iraq has on its hands now, because the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has plundered 500 billion Iraqi dinars—or about $429 million—from Mosul's central bank, which the...

US Rejected Iraq's Call for Airstrikes

Militants vow to take fight to Baghdad

(Newser) - As the scale of the threat from militants who have now seized several Iraqi cities became clear, Iraq's government asked the US to strike militant positions—only to find Washington, somewhat unsurprisingly, reluctant to become involved in new military action in the country. Requests for both manned and unmanned...

Iraq Loses Control of Its 2nd-Largest City

Police abandon Mosul to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

(Newser) - Fighters believed to be with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria took control of the city of Mosul today, as police and military forces fled their bases, leaving weapons, vehicles, and even their uniforms behind for the taking, the New York Times reports. The militants have seized the provincial...

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