ISIL

Extremists are getting younger: Canadian counter-terrorist police investigated minors as young as 13

One of the extremists who had communicated online with Aaron Driver, the would-be suicide bomber killed by police in Strathroy, Ont., on Aug. 10, was a British 15-year-old, he said. The youth has since been convicted for his role in a terror plot in Australia.

Juvenile terrorists are not new. Four members of the Toronto 18 terrorist group, arrested in 2006 for plotting bomb and gun attacks in Ontario, were minors. But Cabana said the trend has worsened over the past two to three years.

Libyan general seizes key oil terminals from militia

The U.S. and other Western nations view the U.N.-backed government in the capital as the best hope for unifying Libyans and defeating the extremist group. Libyan forces loyal to the U.N.-backed government are currently battling a powerful Islamic State affiliate in the central city of Sirte with the help of U.S.-led airstrikes. Martin Kobler, the U.N. envoy to Libya, expressed concern over the general’s seizure of the terminals. He later called for a cease-fire and recognition of the U.N.-brokered government.

Terror attacks being foiled ‘every single day’ in France, prime minister says

“Every day, the intelligence services, the police, gendarmes, are foiling attacks, unraveling Iraqi-Syrian networks. The threat today is maximum and we are a target, everyone understands that.”

Valls said 700 French jihadis were believed to be fighting with Islamic State in Syria, among them more than 200 women. French intelligence services were watching 15,000 people suspected of being radicalized.

Remains of U.S. fighters killed by Daesh ‘ISIS’ are finally homeward bound

Three Americans volunteered for combat alongside Kurdish militia; repatriation was a complicated affair.
Americans don’t need a visa to enter Iraqi Kurdistan, but their passports are stamped there before they are driven into Syria through YPG-controlled border checkpoints. The volunteers don’t get Syrian government visas.

When fighters die in Syria, getting them home is a far more complex affair, and an expensive one. Representatives of the Rojava government paid $43,600 dollars for the cost to return the remains of all three men this time, according to Lucy Usoyan, a Washington-based representative of a Kurdish group that helped organize the return.

Pentagon confirms successful strike against one of Islamic State’s senior leaders, Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani

Yesterday, a statement from Peter Cook, the Pentagon’s Press Secretary, confirmed that the US airstrike on August 30th targeting Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani, one of the Islamic State’s senior leaders was successful. Al- Adnani was responsible not only for a large part of Islamic State’s propaganda but he also recruited and facilitated most of their foreign terrorist operations. The Department of […]

Mother may I? U.S. special operations troops in Daesh ‘ISIS’ fight frustrated with limited role

“If you have [the Islamic State’s] No. 3 in the crosshairs and he’s using human shields, would we be able to strike him or not?” the officer asked. “This is an important debate. But are we fighting a war or are we not? They are clearly waging a war against us. Are we waging a war, or are we conducting a police action?
“How do you ‘advise and assist’ someone when you are not allowed to go into combat with them?” the officer added.

Syria has no end and Damascus might never fall

Damascus has remained relatively untouched by the country’s insurgents. Its defense is rooted in Assad’s strategy, but aided by our uncoordinated policy. Syria is unique because its center of gravity is not the people. Iraq ultimately failed in part due to our failure to capture the support of the people. We ignored the Sunnis in Fallujah and expelled […]

Flow of foreign fighters plummets as Daesh ‘ISIS’ loses its edge

“It’s like after the Afghanistan war in the 1980s,” said Neumann, citing the period after Soviet troops withdrew in 1989 and legions of foreign fighters formed a diaspora of radicalized veterans that subsequently fueled the rise of al-Qaeda. “They’ll be asking themselves, ‘What’s next?’ “

Out of the past: The next 9/11

It’s not a matter of the Taliban learning their lesson. The Taliban has changed and the same original fighters do not comprise the bulk of the force. This is a question of what do they have to lose? Do they want revenge?

The Kurds are betrayed again — never mind Angelina Jolie

The Kurds should not be treated only as the brave allies to be thrown to the battle against ISIS, but also as the political allies, whose national demands should be part of any fundamental solution to the problems of Iraq and Syria.

Will all this, or even part of it, happen in the near future? Not really, and if that is the case, even the death of ‘’the Kurdish Angelina Jolie’’ will not lead to any salvation to the real Kurds. They will continue to fight, and continue to be betrayed.

Hilux – the defacto Middle East war mascot

It’s an open secret that the Rebels receive Toyota trucks. It’s en vogue to blame the U.S. and other Western forces for training the would-be terrorist groups. This gives extremely high praise to the training and the resources they receive. Why would any force knowingly train a force to be very effective against their interests?