ISIS has been using Kia vehicles as their weapon of choice in Mosul

ISIS has apparently traded in its fleet of Toyota trucks in favor of Kia and Hyundai compacts. Based on various videos from ISIS propagandists and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), vehicles from South Korean car manufacturers Kia Motors and Hyundai have been spotted with greater frequency in Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq and one of ISIS’ remaining bastions. Kia and […]

Morocco says arrests 15 for Islamic State links

Moroccan authorities said on Friday they had arrested 15 people suspected of ties with Islamic State in the latest raid officials say targeted militant networks. The suspects had been active in Casablanca, Marrakech, Tangiers, and Agadir, among other cities, and were involved in inciting or threatening to carry out attacks, the interior ministry said in […]

Israel’s Air Force Bombs Targets in Syria

Israeli Air Force jets pounded targets in Syria which resulted in the Syrian air defense systems launching multiple ground-to-air missiles at the jets in retaliation. One of the rockets was intercepted. The two countries have been technically at war since the 2011 Syrian civil war against Bashar Al-Assad’s government began. But the bombing of yesterday […]

In-depth: the history and development of ISIS car bombs

Historically speaking, car bomb usage has been reserved for use by terrorists in civilian areas. A nondescript civilian vehicle filled with explosives would detonate at a target, causing deaths and wreaking havoc. While that statement partly stands true today, there’s one place where car bomb usage has adapted and changed. Anyone who’s familiarized themselves with the ongoing […]

Syria government urges U.N. chief to avert ‘looming dam catastrophe’

Syria’s government urged U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to demand that a U.S.-led military campaign against Islamic State militants stop targeting the Euphrates and Tishrin dams and surrounding areas “to forestall a looming catastrophe.” In a letter to Guterres and the Security Council, released on Thursday, Syria’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Mounzer Mounzer wrote that residents along […]

IS Mosul commander killed, government forces battle for bridge

Iraqi government forces killed the Islamic State commander of Mosul’s Old City on Tuesday as the battle for the militants’ last stronghold in Iraq focused on a bridge crossing the Tigris river. As fighting intensified on Tuesday after the previous day’s heavy rains, civilians streamed out of western neighborhoods recaptured by the government, cold and […]

Belgium passes controversial anti-terrorism law

Belgium has passed a counter terrorism law that is drawing condemnation from civil rights groups who say it unfairly targets immigrants and minorities for deportation without any legal recourse, the New York Times has reported. The law gives the government the power to deport legal residents from Belgium on the suspicion of terrorist activities without […]

Malaysia arrests five Filipinos for suspected Islamic State links

Malaysian police said on Monday they had arrested seven people, including five Filipinos, for suspected links to the Islamic State militant group. The Southeast Asian nation has been on high alert since armed gunmen linked to the Islamic State launched multiple attacks in Jakarta, the capital of neighboring Indonesia, in January 2016. Muslim-majority Malaysia arrested […]

IS fighters left in Mosul will die, says US envoy McGurk

Any so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters left in Mosul will die in the Iraqi city, a US envoy co-ordinating the offensive has said. Brett McGurk, the senior US official in the counter-IS coalition, issued the warning after Iraqi forces cut off the last road out of the city, trapping IS fighters inside. The jihadists have […]

Assad calls U.S. forces ‘invaders,’ but still hopeful on Trump

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said U.S. forces in Syria were “invaders” and he had yet to see “anything concrete” emerge from U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to prioritize the fight against Islamic State. Assad has said he saw promise in Trump’s statements emphasizing the battle against Islamic State in Syria, where U.S. policy under President […]

US troops seem poised to take a prominent role in attacking the ISIS capital

US military forces seem poised to take a prominent role in the long-awaited battle to take down Raqqa, Syria, the capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Though the Pentagon has long downplayed the role of US ground troops in the fight against the ISIS terror group in Iraq and Syria, recent deployments of many more “boots […]

Conventional Troops Adding to Special Operations Forces in Syria

The US has augmented the already 500 Special Operations forces in Syria with 400 conventional troops. Reports were filtering down that a Marine Corps artillery unit and an Army Stryker unit have been sent to Syria in advance of the anticipated battle to free the major town of Raqqa. Army General Joseph Votel, Commander of […]