Tag: ISIS (page 23)

ISIS is claiming on Twitter it has executed the Judge who ordered the hanging of Saddam Hussein. It says Khalil Hussein Attia,a Jordanian official has confirmed the news, and said Judge Raouf Abdel-Ramen tried to flee disguised as a dancer.

In 2007, Judge Raouf Abdel-Ramen (aka Rashid Abd al-Rahman ) sought asylum to Great Britain but later canceled his application. In 2008, in Iraq, he condemned the hanging.

Several non-English newspapers are also reporting the claimed execution (here too), as is Wikipedia. He was apparently kidnapped a few days ago.

The Financial Times reports that for two years, ISIS has been publishing annual reports (al-Naba) with detailed accounts of its operations -- just like General Motors or any other huge corporation.

It is not a corporation and does not have shareholders, but the military success and brutality of the jihadi group surging through Iraq have been recorded with the level of precision often reserved for company accounts.

ISIS' 400 page 2013 report is filled with statistics of the number and type of attacks it carried out and even the number of people it has converted to its cause. [More....]

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• Dozens killed in Kenya where Islamic militants set fire to a hotel.
• Pakistan launches air strikes in North Waziristan, killing 10 militants.
• Israel conducts air strikes in Gaza on military sites used by Hamas
• Syria intensifies airstrikes on ISIS bases
• ISIS takes another Iraqi town, Tal Afar, not far from Mosul.

Secretary of defense Chuck Hagel today ordered the aircraft carrier U.S. Bush to the Arabian Gulf, along with a guided-missile cruiser and guided-missile destroyer.

The Bush will be accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun. The ships are expected to complete their transit into the Gulf later this evening.

ISIS is conducting mass executions of soldiers. Today their supporters posted photos of truckloads of captured Shia soldiers in Tikrit, with accompanying text claiming ISIS rounded up and killed 1,700 soldiers.

As ISIS continues to storm its way through Iraq, President Obama today ruled out sending ground troops to Iraq. (Transcript here.) Sounding like a stern parent, he said whatever other aid we provide will depend on the Iraqi Government getting its act together, and the U.S. will not be making any hasty decisions.

Over the past decade, American troops have made extraordinary sacrifices to give Iraqis and opportunity to claim their own future. Unfortunately, Iraqi leaders have been unable to overcome, too often, the mistrust and sectarian differences that have long been simmering there. And that's created vulnerabilities within the Iraqi government, as well as their security forces.

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The Wall St. Journal reported earlier today Iran has sent its Quds soldiers to Iraq to battle ISIS:

At least three battalions of the Quds Forces, the elite overseas branch of the Guards, were deployed support the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, an offshoot of al Qaeda that is swiftly conquering territory across Iraq, they said.

One Guards unit that was already in Iraq fought alongside the Iraqi army, offering guerrilla warfare advice and tactics that helped reclaim most of the city of Tikrit on Thursday. Two Guards’ units, deployed from Iran’s western border provinces on Wednesday, were tasked with protecting Baghdad and the holy Shiite cities of Karbala and Najaf, these security sources said.

The QUDS are the overseas branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. ISIS has reportedly seized a huge cache of U.S. military equipment. The Washington Post reports Iraq is falling apart, splintering into three factions: Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish. The Kurds have taken Kirkuk, ISIS is moving south towards Baghdad, and the Shiite-led government of Nouri al-Maliki is reduced to calling for volunteers and some help from Iran.

Has Obama's position changed? The Post quotes him as saying, “It’s fair to say . . . there will be some short-term things that need to be done militarily."

Foreign Policy says ISIS blindsided U.S. intelligence. [More...]

As ISIS beheads its way to Baghdad, leaving scores of headless bodies of police and soldiers along the roads, and President Obama promises aid, refusing to rule out military engagement, there are lots of questions.

• How did the U.S. and its allies not see this coming? It sure didn't happen overnight.
• Were the billions of dollars we spent training Iraqi forces just a waste?

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