ISIS

Experts Doubting that Airstrike Killed Terrorist Leader al-Baghdadi

The reports that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghadi has been killed in a US coalition airstrike have not been confirmed or denied by US military officials. The airstrike on late Saturday was broadcast on Syrian state television. But the British and others have reported that no report has surfaced on either state television or […]

Tourism is dead as Egypt continues to be plagued by terrorism

The Sinai Peninsula once teemed with tourists soaking sunshine and culture alike. Not anymore. A six-year-old Islamist insurgency has seen to that. The Bedouin insurrection, triggered by Cairo’s neglect for the region, that followed the Arab Spring in 2011 has mutated to today’s Sinai Province—one of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) chief affiliates. It’s achieved much […]

Gulf leaders trade barbs as Qatar dispute shows no let-up

Gulf states traded public barbs on Saturday, showing little sign of resolving the region’s deepest rift in years, five days after Arab nations severed diplomatic, trade and transport ties with the tiny Gulf kingdom of Qatar. Foreign leaders expressed growing concern over the dispute, which pits Qatar against Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), […]

U.S. joins battle as Philippines takes losses in besieged city

U.S. special forces have joined the battle to crush Islamist militants holed up in a southern Philippines town, officials said on Saturday, as government forces struggled to make headway and 13 marines were killed in intense urban fighting. The Philippines military said the United States was providing technical assistance to end the siege of Marawi […]

Boots on the ground: Elite U.S. troops are in Raqqa near the Islamic State’s front line

WASHINGTON — U.S. special operations forces are on the ground alongside Syrian Kurdish allies in Raqqa where they’ve begun their advance into the Islamic State’s de-facto capital, an important development highlighting how American military muscle will shape what’s expected to become a grueling urban campaign. Some 2,500 ISIS fighters remain inside the city, U.S. officials […]

US-backed Syrian fighters move slowly into IS ‘Capital’ of Raqqa

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rebel force against the government of Assad has cautiously entered the final Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa. They entered thru the eastern edge of the city, fording a river on foot and in light vehicles all the while relaying their position by radio in an attempt not to fall […]

Former Metro Access driver found guilty of supporting Islamic State

An Alexandria, Va., man who in 2015 quit his job as a Metro Access bus driver and traveled to Islamic State territory has been found guilty of supporting terrorism. Mohamad Khweis, 27, was captured in northwestern Iraq last March by Kurdish forces, surprising American counterterrorism officials. He had no known record of extremism and was […]

US-backed Syrian Fighters Move Slowly into IS “Capital” of Raqqa

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rebel force against the government of Assad has cautiously entered the final Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa. They entered thru the eastern edge of the city, fording a river on foot and in light vehicles all the while relaying their position by radio in an attempt not to fall […]

U.S. shoots down drone after it attacks coalition fighters in Syria

A drone launched by “pro-Syria regime” fighters attached U.S. backed forces in Southern Syria on Thursday, prompting a U.S. warplane to shoot it down. This incident is the latest in a number of altercations that have placed Iranian backed militias that support Syrian President Bashar al Assad against fighters trained by the United States, the […]

Turkey readies for ‘aggression’ from US-backed SDF in Raqqa

The US-backed coalition of Kurds and Arabs of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have begun their long-awaited assault on the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate in Raqqa. The forecast for the battle has it that it will be long and costly as the IS fighters are cut off from any support. But the government of Turkey […]

Syrian Forces Closing on Special Operations Base Hit with US Air Strikes

Syrian military forces loyal to embattled President Assad ignored warnings about approaching a small US base that houses its Special Operations Forces this week and was hit by a US-led airstrike. This was the second attack in just the past month against Assad’s forces by US airstrikes in what the Defense Department characterized as self-defense […]