Tag: ISIS (page 21)

Reuters is among those reporting that ISIS has brought in engineers to repair the Mosul Dam. It looks like ISIS intends to supply Mosul with water, not open the floodgates, as many have feared.

An engineer at Mosul dam told Reuters that Islamic State fighters had brought in engineers to repair an emergency power line to the city, Iraq's biggest in the north, that had been cut off four days ago, causing power outages and water shortages. "They are gathering people to work at the dam," he said.

ISIS' Ninwa News has released a video of its takeover of the dam. There's no violence in it and you can watch it here or download it here. It says the Peshmerga fled, leaving behind their uniforms, with the TV still running, and provides screenshots. [More....]

There is still no official response by ISIS to the U.S. Airstrikes. But, via Reuters:

A fighter told Reuters by telephone the U.S. air strikes would have "no impact on us".

"The planes attack positions they think are strategic, but this is not how we operate. We are trained for guerrilla street war," he said. "God is with us and our promise is heaven. When we are promised heaven, do you think death will stop us?"

Do ISIS fighters (as opposed to supporters) really talk to the media by phone? Who knows, but I do think the response is in line with what ISIS will say when it does respond.

Related: Matthew Barber, a scholar at the University of Chicago, has been in Sinjar and Shariya (another Yazidi town near Dohuk) with the Yazidis and the Kurds all week. He has a very informative, interesting first person account of events. [More...]

President Obama gave a lengthy interview to Tom Friedman at the New York Times. On ISIS and their goal of a Caliphate state:

We do have a strategic interest in pushing back ISIL. We’re not going to let them create some caliphate through Syria and Iraq, but we can only do that if we know that we’ve got partners on the ground who are capable of filling the void. So if we’re going to reach out to Sunni tribes, if we’re going to reach out to local governors and leaders, they’ve got to have some sense that they’re fighting for something.” Otherwise, Obama said, “We can run [ISIL] off for a certain period of time, but as soon as our planes are gone, they’re coming right back in.”

He's not saying we're going to bring troops into Iraq to stop them. It's really a continuation of his answer to a previous question about why the the U.S. didn't go after ISIS when they first started their hyped up tour of destruction: [More...]

The U.S. launched airstrikes against ISIS today outside Irbil (Erbil.) Here's a bigger version of the map above from the Washington Post.

Obama is holding firm for now that no ground troops will return to Iraq.

“I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq.” [More...]

Ten days ago, ISIS captured these members of the al Sha'etat tribe in Deir Ezzor, Syria. I thought they were going to be killed immediately but ISIS gave them a reprieve, allowing them to repent. Non violent photos of them when they were captured are here and after the reprieve here.

Apparently, many either didn't repent or repented then rescinded, because today ISIS reported and showed photos of their slaughter. They were beheaded, crucified or otherwise executed and the photos are disgusting. I'm not linking to the photos, but it's clear they are the same young men.

Also today, ISIS supporters deny killing Yazidi civilians or that ISIS intends to do so. [More...]

ISIS unleashed its wrath yesterday on the Yezidis in Sinjar (aka Yazidis in Shingal) and two other towns in the Ninewa Province in northern Iraq. Here's a recap of the day's events. The U.N. says 200,000 Yezidis have been displaced. Thousands of cars were trying to leave, more than would fit on the roads. Here's a video. [More...]

I really thought these Sunni al Sha'etat (aka Al Sh'etat or Sh’ytat or Shu'aytat) Tribe members in Deir Ezzor, Syria were done for. Their tribe had an agreement with ISIS which it claimed ISIS broke, and they expelled ISIS, killing 9 or 11 ISIS members. ISIS returned with its typical furor, and seized dozens of tribe members, mostly young men. It didn't kill them right away but put them in jail. ISIS released these (non-violent) images of their capture. (The towns were Abu Hamam, Kashkiyeh and Ghranij, in Deir Ezzor.)

There were unofficial reports the men were going to face a Sharia Court for treason, and that the penalty for treason is death, or the hacking off of an arm and a leg on opposite sides of the body.

Today, ISIS announced they were spared by order of the Khalifah, and given the chance to repent and pledge allegiance to ISIS. The photo announcement is here. They look much happier now. (And cleaner, maybe ISIS let them take showers and gave them fresh clothes.)[More...]

I can't bring myself to watch (and won't link to) the ISIS video of the massacre of hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims and army deserters in Tikrit. Almost all are in their 20's and 30's. The video is 36 minutes long, and the real horror is in the last 6 or 7 minutes. Shorter version: There are trucks loaded with hundreds of terrified young men. First they make them lie down in the sand. Then they shoot around 50 of them in the head, one by one. Then there's a scene of an open area packed with more than 100 bodies. And then:

The 36-minute video ends with a scene in which fifteen young men are being escorted to a blood-soaked path along a river, where masked gunmen await, one of whom is holding the Islamic State's flag. The victims are each shot in the head and dumped into the river one by one.

Video above: Neil Young and CS&N, Big Sur Sept 6, 1969:

"Down by the river, I shot my baby
... This much madness is too much sorrow...."

In a NY Times Oped, two scholars in Arab Studies, Chams Eddine Zaougui and Pieter Van Ostaeyen, debunk the myth that ISIS is coming after the West. They say homegrown terrorists are a bigger threat than foreign fighters returning from Syria.

...Contrary to what many counterterrorism experts believe, however, ISIS has so far shown no interest in Western targets. The group’s overarching objective is to consolidate its dominion in the Levant, a place of great religious significance.

What could change this dynamic?

The one thing that might change the attitude of foreign fighters is the United States’ launching military action against them.

[More...]

ISIS released the second edition of Dabiq, its glossy magazine yesterday, titled "It’s Either the Islamic State or the Flood"." There's a drawing of a big ark on the cover. While they certainly have mastered graphic design -- the issue is visually compelling, well laid-out, and uses easily readable fonts, it's also very long (44 pages) and mostly centered around religious concepts.

As with its other publications, it mostly ignores the West and U.S. The notable exception is that it devotes 2 pages to John McCain. On the first page it blasts him.[More...]

ISIS yesterday published its most gruesome photos yet of multiple beheadings at the Division 17 base in Raqqa, Syria. I'm not going to link because they are just too gross.

The New York Times says 50 Syrian soldiers were killed. Reuters says the same.

ISIS has released these photos of its new recruits being trained somewhere in Ninawah. Apparently, there is no shortage of volunteers. (None of these photos have gruesome images or depict killings or injuries.)

Note the boys dressed in white. In one photo, one of the boys is taking pictures and in another, one is just holding the flag. Since the soldiers are in beige uniforms, I thought maybe he was like the team "mascot" -- or ISIS had implemented a "bring your kids to work" day. Apparently not: In this photo, the kid marches with his gun. In this photo, the two boys in white are seated with the group, one holds a gun and another the flag.

Is ISIS just training young boys, or using them in actual combat? And what's the difference between the soldiers in gray versus those in tan? Do they have different functions?