ISIS

Are the CIA and Donald Trump slipping into a Russian designed civil war?

A recent CIA briefing given to the Senate indicating that the Russian intelligence services sought to manipulate US elections to favor President Elect Donald Trump has ignited a firestorm across the political spectrum, however, it also signals something far more perilous: a brewing civil war between the incoming president and what will be his primary […]

Marine veteran and reporter takes heat for shooting at ISIS

A Marine veteran turned journalist has been recalled from Iraq after tweeting a picture showing him shooting at ISIS fighters. On Thursday, Jason Buttrill tweeted a picture of him with a sniper rifle along with the the message: “Major bucket list completed. Shoot at #ISIS ? Check!” Buttrill also tweeted that he fired six shots […]

The secret, hypocritical gay world of ISIS

The murder of a 15-year-old teenager, thrown to his death by ISIS for being gay, not only reveals—yet again—the terror group’s murderous homophobia, but also the hypocrisy that exists alongside it. A senior commander of the so-called Islamic State, named in reports as Abu Zaid al-Jazrawi, was having some kind of relationship with this as-yet-nameless […]

Islamic State loses its stronghold in Libya, but more chaos could soon follow

CAIRO — Libyan militias backed by American airstrikes said they have cleared the stronghold of the Islamic State in Libya, a defeat that would set back the group’s ambitions in North Africa. The country, however, remains very unstable amid battles between rival militias, and the remaining militants could still undermine a fragile U.S.-backed unity government, […]

Life in Damascus during the Syrian civil war

The brutal Syrian civil war has produced a series of stark images that bombard the western world on a daily basis.  Pictures of injured children haunt us and galvanize many to ask what can be done to stop the madness.  Video emerges on social media of dirty urban combat amongst skeleton-like remains of destroyed buildings. My […]

Mainstream media whitewashes SOFREP articles on malfeasance at 5th Special Forces Group

For months now, SOFREP has been writing a series of articles about how badly things are going for the Special Forces soldiers assigned to covert and clandestine programs in Syria, Turkey, and Jordan.  Some of the frustration that the Green Berets are experiencing is indeed normal, as the unconventional warfare mission is difficult, complicated, and […]

Defense Secretary Ash Carter: U.S., partners need to stay in Iraq after ISIS defeat

The American military, along with its international partners, will need to remain in Iraq even after the expected defeat of the Islamic State group, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Saturday. Carter said the U.S. and its coalition partners must not stop after completing the current campaign to expel ISIS from Mosul. He said the militants […]

Iran claims to have thwarted Islamic State attack in Tehran

Iran’s intelligence minister has claimed that his agents prevented a planned Islamic State (IS) terrorist attack in the capital, Tehran. Speaking on November 29, Intelligence Minister Mahmud Alavi said a “terrorist group” had been identified and “liquidated.” He added that explosives had been confiscated. Alavi gave no further information about the purported attack and did […]

Aleppo member of parliament Fares Shehabi goes ballistic

While attending a conference hosted in Damascus by the British Syrian Society I met an interesting Syrian member of parliament from Aleppo named Fares Shehabi.  He was quite a firebrand on stage, yelling in genuine outrage at western journalists as he pointed to pictures of Al Qaeda commanders in Aleppo running al-Nusra operations centers.  “Would […]

Sub-Saharan Africa’s long history of kidnappings

Sub-Saharan Africa has long been one of those places on Earth that just invites trouble & conflict, dating as far back as 500 AD by then there was already an extensive network of trans-Saharan trade routes. But peace would not last for long through the discovery of the camel; this enabled tribes to expand the […]

CIA chief warns Trump: Scrapping Iran deal ‘height of folly’

The director of the CIA has warned US President-elect Donald Trump that ending the Iran nuclear deal would be “disastrous” and “the height of folly.” In a BBC interview, John Brennan also advised the new president to be wary of Russia’s promises, blaming Moscow for much of the suffering in Syria. In his campaign, Mr […]

A painful reminder that U.S. fighting a war in Syria

On the afternoon of August 31, 2013, French Rafale fighter jets bristled on their runways, readied for war. As far as French President Francois Hollande was concerned, D-Day had arrived; at 3 a.m. his planes would begin air strikes against missile batteries and command centers of the Syrian Army’s 4th Armored Division — the Syrian […]