Islamic State

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Mattis Breaks From Trump on Key Iraq Issue

Defense secretary assures Iraq we want to help beat ISIS, not take its oil

(Newser) - President Trump has noted more than once he thinks we should've taken Iraq's oil when we had the chance (and suggests that option may still be on the table), but his secretary of defense is pushing a different message—what the New York Times characterizes as comments that...

They Were Dancing at Sufi Shrine. Then the Bomber Struck

Attack is Pakistan's deadliest since 2014

(Newser) - An ISIS suicide bomber struck inside a famed shrine in southern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 75 people in the deadliest attack in the country in more than two years. The bomber entered the main hall of the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan and detonated his payload...

Pentagon's Public Stats on US Airstrikes Are Way Off

Likely by thousands—and it's raising questions on transparency, accuracy

(Newser) - The Pentagon's transparency in its fight against overseas extremists is being questioned after a Military Times investigation revealed perhaps thousands of secret airstrikes in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria were never publicly disclosed. The US Air Force has an open-source database tapped by Congress, analysts, and others to figure out...

ISIS Destroys Roman Theater in Ancient City

Palmyra's famous Tetrapylon is gone

(Newser) - ISIS militants have destroyed a landmark ancient Roman monument and parts of the theater in Syria's historic town of Palmyra, the government and opposition monitoring groups say. Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of Syria's antiquities department, says the militants destroyed the facade of the second-century amphitheater along with the...

New Real Housewives Spoof Gets Controversial Fast

BBC sketch comedy show satirizes an all-too-real terror group

(Newser) - The new BBC sketch comedy show Revolting didn't wait long before jumping into controversy: Its very first episode featured a Real Housewives of ISIS skit, Rolling Stone reports. It's exactly what you'd expect—a spoof of Bravo's Real Housewives franchise in which the wives of ISIS...

Iraq Facing Potential 'Catastrophe of Biblical Proportions'

Mosul Dam breach could pose greater threat than ISIS

(Newser) - As Iraqi forces continue their battle against ISIS in Mosul, there's another problem lurking just 25 miles away from the embattled city: the Mosul Dam, a structure the US Army Corps of Engineers has called the "most dangerous dam in the world," per a piece by Dexter...

ISIS Supporters Publish List of US Churches Before Christmas

FBI asks local law enforcement to be extra vigilant

(Newser) - The country's law-enforcement agencies are being asked to be extra vigilant this holiday weekend after a list of US churches was published on pro-ISIS websites, CNN reports. In a warning issued Friday, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security say ISIS supporters "continue aspirational calls for attacks on...

The US Computer Geek Who May Be ISIS' 2nd in Command

The chilling story of John Georgelas (aka Yahya Abu Hassan) of Texas in the 'Atlantic'

(Newser) - What Yahya Abu Hassan has described as the "best day of his life" involved sneaking his emaciated, pregnant wife and three sick young kids through a barbed-wire fence over the Syrian border to Turkey, where he didn't even say goodbye before they were whisked to safety. That day...

Video Shows Berlin Suspect Vow to Fight 'Crusader Pigs'

Anis Amri pledges allegiance to ISIS' leader

(Newser) - A video released by the Islamic State shows the Tunisian suspect in the Berlin truck attack pledging allegiance to its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and vowing to fight against what he calls "the Crusader pigs," the AP reports. The video, which appeared to have been taken by Anis...

Australian Police Say They've Prevented Christmas Bombing

Seven suspects arrested early Friday

(Newser) - Police say they have arrested seven suspects who allegedly planned a series of bomb attacks in the heart of Australia's second largest city on Christmas Day, the AP reports. Victoria state Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton told reporters the seven had been inspired by the Islamic State group and...

Orlando Shooting Families Sue Facebook, Twitter, and Google

Defendants helped ISIS 'spread extremist propaganda, raise funds, attract new recruits': complaint

(Newser) - What responsibility do social media platforms hold for radicalizing individuals who then carry out attacks? According to families of the victims of the June shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub , enough to warrant a lawsuit, per Fox News . Named in the federal civil complaint filed Monday by the families of...

Months After Victory Concert, ISIS Reclaims Old Syrian City

Palmyra has fallen, again

(Newser) - Earlier this year, Russia flew an orchestra into Syria's ancient city of Palmyra to celebrate its liberation from the Islamic State. On Sunday, militants recaptured the city from Syrian troops, according to both sides in the battle, scoring a major advance after a year of setbacks in Syria and...

ISIS Documents Set Out Rules for Sex Slaves, Beards

Fighters advised to 'enjoy' underage girls

(Newser) - As ISIS retreats from villages surrounding Mosul, detailed evidence of the group's harsh rule is emerging. In documents discovered by Reuters in recently abandoned ISIS offices near the Iraqi city, the group sets out strict requirements for beard-growing, the proper way of praying—and the treatment of sex slaves....

Iraqi Forces Reach Last Major Islamic State Stronghold

Losing Mosul would be major defeat for Islamic State

(Newser) - Iraq's special forces fought their way into the outskirts of Mosul on Tuesday, taking its state television building despite resistance by Islamic State group fighters that is only likely to stiffen when combat reaches the inner city, the AP reports. It was the first time Iraqi troops have set...

Photographer Caught in Car Bomb Attack Tells His Tale

'My only thought was to get low and find cover'

(Newser) - Bryan Denton was out of the safety of the armored vehicle and away from cover when the suicide car bomb approached, looking "like an armadillo covered in steel plates." "As everyone began to run, and the soldiers opened up on the vehicle, my only thought was to...

Inside the Battle for Mosul
Inside the Battle for Mosul
the rundown
Oct 21, 2016 11:14 AM CDT

Inside the Battle for Mosul

ISIS putting up fierce resistance in operation's first week

(Newser) - Iraq and Kurdish forces backed by a US-led coalition have begun what could be a long fight to recapture the city of Mosul from the Islamic State; it's the group's last major stronghold in the country. Related coverage on the fight and why it matters:
  • "Blood stained
...

'God Willing, We Will Take This Town Today'

Elite Iraqi forces advance on town of Bartella, which is near Mosul

(Newser) - Iraqi special forces charged into the Mosul battle Thursday with a pre-dawn advance on a nearby town held by ISIS, a key part of a multi-pronged assault on eastern approaches to the besieged city. As they advanced, attack helicopters fired on the militants and heavy gunfire echoed across the plains,...

How a NYC College Kid Died Fighting for ISIS

Court docs show Samy Mohammed el-Goarany, 24, reportedly died in November

(Newser) - It's a long way from SoHo to Syria, but somehow a New York City college student ended up dying there last fall fighting for ISIS, prosecutors say. Per court records, 24-year-old Samy Mohammed el-Goarany showed "an increased interest in militant forms of Islam" and headed to Syria in...

This May Be 2016's Biggest Humanitarian Challenge

Some 1M civilians could flee Mosul, with 700K of them requiring shelter

(Newser) - The military operation to wrest Mosul from ISIS could become the single largest, most complex humanitarian operation in the world in 2016, a UN official said Monday. Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said that in the worst case scenario, some 1 million civilians could flee the city,...

It Begins: 'Final Battle' for Biggest ISIS City

More than 35K troops launch push to retake Mosul

(Newser) - Iraq has launched what a military spokesman says is no less than a battle for the country's future: An operation to retake Mosul, once the country's second-largest city, from ISIS, which seized it more than two years ago, has begun. The US-led coalition is supporting Iraqi troops and...

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