Islamic State

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CIA: Here's How Many Fighters ISIS Has

Recruitment has surged, agency says

(Newser) - The CIA says the number of fighters it believes ISIS can muster in Iraq and Syria has tripled in the space of months. The new estimate of between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters on the ground is based on intelligence gathered between May and August, reports the BBC . "...

James Foley's Mom Rips US Over Son's Death

Says government threatened to prosecute if family paid a ransom

(Newser) - James Foley's mother has some blistering words for the US government in how it handled her son's abduction . In an interview with Anderson Cooper that airs tonight on CNN , Diane Foley says she is "embarrassed and appalled" at how American officials acted. Officials threatened family members with...

Yazidi Girl Given as Gift to ISIS Recounts Escape

'Narin' tells Post journalist: 'I still have nightmares'

(Newser) - A 14-year-old Yazidi girl, captured and given as a gift to ISIS members, recounted her tale of escape to journalist Mohammed A. Salih in the Washington Post . The girl Salih calls "Narin" and her family were among the thousands of Yazidis who fled ISIS fighters to Mount Sinjar in...

Saudi Arabia 'Full Partner' in Fight Against ISIS

Kingdom to arm, train militant group's foes

(Newser) - Islamic state versus Islamic State: Saudi Arabia has agreed to help step up the fight against ISIS and will host a training camp for moderate Syrian rebels fighting the extremists as well as the Syrian regime, reports the New York Times . A senior Obama administration official says details are still...

Obama: I Won't Hesitate to Hit ISIS in Syria

President says US-led coalition will go after militants 'wherever they exist'

(Newser) - In a prime-time address tonight, President Obama laid out the US strategy to "degrade" and "destroy" ISIS, and he made clear that he's ready to expand US airstrikes from Iraq into Syria . The president says a US-led coalition will go after militants from the Islamic State "...

ISIS Eyed as Blast Wipes Out Syria Rebel Leaders

Suicide bomber takes out hardline Islamist group

(Newser) - The leadership of a hardline Islamist group battling the Syrian regime has been wiped out by a suicide bomber—and suspicion has fallen on the even more hardline Islamists of ISIS. The blast hit a meeting of Ahrar al-Sham, a powerful member of the Islamic Front rebel coalition, killing leader...

Obama: I Can Hit ISIS Without Congressional OK

President appears ready to approve airstrikes in Syria: Washington Post

(Newser) - President Obama will lay out his plan to cripple the Islamic State tomorrow night, and the Washington Post reports that he looks poised to order airstrikes in Syria. That controversial action probably won't come right away, but Obama has met with foreign policy experts and believes he is within...

Sotloffs: Steven Sold to ISIS by Other Rebels

Spokesman says family's relationship with White House is 'very strained'

(Newser) - A family spokesman for the family of Steven Sotloff appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 last night and revealed that the location of the journalist had been sold to ISIS by "so-called moderate rebels," leading to Sotloff's capture, CNN reports. "Somebody at the [Syrian] border crossing made...

US Fights ISIS Propaganda —With Propaganda

State Department has gotten into the business of posting graphic videos

(Newser) - A new YouTube video depicts ISIS in all its brutality, but this time ISIS isn’t responsible—bizarrely, the US State Department is, the Washington Post reports. Mock recruitment video "Welcome to ISIL-Land" is 69 seconds of graphic violence meant to undermine the abundance of ISIS online propaganda. The...

Obama: We Will 'Hunt' ISIS 'Wherever They Are'

Plans policy address on Wednesday

(Newser) - President Obama will address the nation on Wednesday, outlining the threat posed by the Islamic State and his plans for dealing with it on the eve of the 13th anniversary of 9/11. While pledging to "hunt down" militants "wherever they are," Obama tells Chuck Todd in an...

US Airstrikes Hit ISIS Near Critical Iraq Dam

Militants were trying to capture Haditha Dam

(Newser) - The US military today launched airstrikes around Haditha Dam in western Iraq, targeting Islamic State insurgents there for the first time in a move to prevent the group from capturing the vital dam. The strikes represented a broadening of the US campaign against the Islamic State militants, moving the military...

Obama Lines Up 9 Allies Against ISIS

But next step is to get more Arab nations on board

(Newser) - After taking grief for saying the US lacks a strategy in the fight against the Islamic State, President Obama sought to fix that yesterday by lining up nine nations at the NATO summit in a new coalition. The other nine are Britain, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and...

Only 'Superior Version of Islam' Can Stop ISIS

David Brooks: Military might will go only so far to stop these extremists

(Newser) - The militants of ISIS could have executed their American hostages in any number of ways, but they deliberately chose beheadings . David Brooks susses out what makes this method so "revolting" to the rest of us, and he concludes that it's mostly a "moral revulsion" we feel. A...

Sotloff Hid Jewish Identity From ISIS

Slain journalist fasted in captivity, held US, Israeli citizenship

(Newser) - Like James Foley, who sent a last letter to family , slain journalist Steven Sotloff kept a secret from his Islamic State captors until the very end: He was Jewish, held both US and Israeli citizenship, and purposefully hid the fact from his captors, friends say. "He told them he...

Biden: We'll Chase ISIS to 'Gates of Hell'

While Hagel reiterates that US will 'degrade and destroy' the group

(Newser) - Joe Biden today said America will follow the terrorists who posted videos showing the beheading of two journalists "to the gates of hell." Speaking at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Biden said the Islamic State militant group responsible for beheading James Foley and Steven Sotloff won't intimidate the...

As ISIS Threatens Brit Hostage, UK Won't 'Be Cowed'

UK will exercise 'every possible option' to protect Haines

(Newser) - In the video of Steven Sotloff's execution , ISIS threatened that its next victim would be a British aid worker, the UK confirms without naming the man, as per the BBC . Other news outlets have identified him as David Cawthorne Haines, who was abducted in Syria in early 2013. "...

Sotloff Family Grieves After Release of Video

Journalist was aware of Syria dangers, colleagues say

(Newser) - The family of American journalist Steven Sotloff is aware that ISIS has released a video it claims shows his beheading and is "grieving privately," a spokesman says. The State Department says it is "sickened" and is trying to determine whether the video is genuine, reports the AP...

ISIS Claims to Execute US Journalist Sotloff

Video emerges with apparent beheading, threatens British captive next

(Newser) - The captors of American journalist Steven Sotloff appear to have carried out their threat to execute him as they did James Foley , reports the AP . A new video posted online by the Islamic State, or ISIS, claims to show his beheading. A global terrorism monitor, SITE Intelligence Group, says the...

Marines Helicopter Crashes With 25 on Board

But all are rescued in Gulf of Aden

(Newser) - Close call in the Arabian Sea: A group of 17 Marines and eight Navy sailors avoided serious injury today when their helicopter crashed in the Gulf of Aden, the Navy says. The CH-53E Super Stallion—a Marine Corps helicopter—was trying to land on the USS Mesa Verde's deck...

UN Backs $1.2M Inquiry Into Islamic State

Diplomats OK probe of alleged crimes in Syria, Iraq

(Newser) - The UN's top human rights body today overwhelmingly approved the Iraqi government's request for an investigation into alleged crimes against civilians committed by the Islamic State group in its rampage across northeastern Syria and parts of Iraq. Diplomats agreed by unanimous consent to approve a nearly $1.2...

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