ISIS

The UK and US brawl over ISIS terrorists who beheaded Westerners

London, United Kingdom—Despite urging from the United States, the British government is reluctant to repatriate two of its citizens who were high-profile members of the Islamic State (ISIS). Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were part of a four-man team responsible with high-profile executions. Nicknamed as “The Beatles” because of their British accents, the group […]

Posting ISIS atrocities leads French far-right leader to be ordered to psychiatrist

Paris, France—Marine Le Pen, the French far-right politician, has been ordered to see a psychiatrist after posting pictures of crimes committed by ISIS. A French court has instructed Le Pen to undergo psychiatric tests “as soon as possible” to determine whether she “is capable of understanding remarks and answering questions.” According to the ruling, the […]

Mattis: US Troops can remain in Syria to ensure stability

Secretary of Defense Mattis today re-iterated that American soldiers can remain in Syria to help ensure stability, but no one knows what kind of time horizon is being discussed for these deployments… if it is even being discussed at all.  While ISIS appears to be largely defeated and other Islamist forces are up against the […]

Syrian intervention in support of US-led coalition being debated by Germany

Berlin, Germany—German politicians remain divided as to whether German forces will join the U.S.-led international coalition in Syria and Iraq. A new sense of urgency infused the political debate after the Syrian government’s 2017 and 2018 attacks against its citizen in Idlib and Douma, which killed over 70 people. “We are in talks with our […]

British foreign fighter faces Turkish jail time for fighting against ISIS

Ankara, Turkey—A British national faces jail time in a Turkish prison because he fought with the Kurdish Peshmerga against ISIS. Last year, Joe Robinson was arrested while enjoying a respite in a Turkish beach resort. At the time, the Turkish authorities used his association with the YPG, a Kurdish militant group that fights ISIS in […]

ISIS close to tactical defeat?

London, Great Britain—The Islamic State (ISIS) is going through its final days, according to Major General Felix Gedney, the Deputy Commander of the allied coalition. Great Britain has been part of the Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led international coalition, since 2014. Operation Shader, the UK component, initially began as a humanitarian aid operation. Quickly, however, […]

UN investigation: Syria has gassed its people dozens of times since 2013

Using his executive authority, President Donald Trump had twice ordered retaliatory strikes against Syrian government targets after over the use of chemical weapons.  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has numerous times authorized the gassing of rebels and civilians fighting in the nation’s ongoing Civil War. In both instances, Russia released statements claiming that the chemical attacks were […]

Analysis: At least 48 killed in suicide attack in Kabul, likely the Islamic State

An explosion ripped through an education center in Kabul, Afghanistan. A suicide bomber detonated an explosive strapped to their person, killing at least 48 and wounding approximately 67 — these numbers are still coming in and will likely change as more details become apparent. The mass majority of the victims, who were civilians, were young […]

The crumbling skeleton of the Islamic State rattles on for now

It has been estimated that there are 20,000 to 30,000 Islamic State militants still in Syria and Iraq, according to the U.N.’s latest report. The group is standing on the brink of collapse as their strongholds have been lost and the influx of recruits has almost dwindled to nothing. The U.N. report estimated that in […]

Syrian Democratic Forces offer Druze villagers assistance in the face of Islamic State attack

As a prominent Druze spiritual leader, Hikmat Salman al-Hijri expressed his gratitude towards the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for offering an exchange of SDF-held Islamic State prisoners for ISIS-held Druze hostages. The Druze are an ethnoreligious group that resides primarily in Syria; their faith is centered on the teachings of Greek philosophers paired with Islamic teachings of […]