Al Qaeda seizes northern Iraq cities - vows march on Baghdad - June 11, 2014

[Tamikosmom]

LINK TO ABOVE POST

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/24/kerry-says-nobody-expected-mosul-collapse-despite-reported-warnings/

[Tamikosmom]

The following article is a good read in its entirety.

Janet

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Radical onslaught: Body count mounts as Islamic fanatics wage global war
Published June 24, 2014

From the Middle East to Russia, and from Africa to Asia, the bloody tide of jihad is rising as increasingly fragmented terror groups battle governments and each other for power and property.

Daily reports of the terror group Islamic States of Iraq and Syria/Levant, or ISIS, advancing toward a caliphate in Iraq have supplanted equally horrific news from Nigeria, where Boko Haram slaughtered schoolboys and kidnapped girls to sell into slavery. All the while, terror attacks in the name of Islam have continued in China, where members of the Islamic sect known as Uighurs are suspected of mass stabbing attacks, and Kenya, where the Muslim terrorist group al-Shabaab murdered 48 people a week ago.

"It is metastasizing worldwide because we are seeing radical Islam and groups organized across the world feeling empowered to bring back and resurrect an Islamic caliphate and establish Islam as they see it in their own eyes as it was practiced in the days of Muhammad," said Brigitte Gabriel, founder of Act! for America, and author of "They Must be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It."

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http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/24/radical-onslaught-body-count-mounts-as-islamic-fanatics-wage-global-war/

[Tamikosmom]

Iran reportedly sent military advisers, head of Quds Force to Iraq
Published June 26, 2014

Iran reportedly has sent military advisers into Iraq and dispatched the head of its infamous Quds Force to help Baghdad strategize in its fight against Sunni militants, as the United States takes similar steps despite concern about Tehran's involvement.

While not in lockstep, Tehran and Washington are now taking a similar approach in helping the beleaguered government in Baghdad.

Fox News confirms that Iran is flying surveillance drones over Iraq, something the U.S. also is doing.

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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/26/iran-reportedly-sent-military-advisers-head-quds-force-to-iraq/

[Tamikosmom]

US flying armed drones over Iraq, official says
Published June 27, 2014

The United States is flying armed drones over Iraq, a senior U.S. Defense official confirmed to Fox News, though the aircraft are not being sent at this time to engage Sunni militant fighters.

The U.S. already was flying surveillance drones over the country, and the decision to dispatch armed drones marks an escalation. But the armed drones, at this stage, still are only in place for surveillance purposes.

President Obama has not authorized combat operations in Iraq. The decision to deploy armed drones is described as defensive -- they could, if needed, be used to protect U.S. troops or the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

The White House is still weighing how deeply to get involved in the Iraq crisis, as the Shiite-led government struggles to stop the advances of Sunni militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/27/us-flying-armed-drones-over-iraq-official-says/

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[Tamikosmom]

Iraqi forces reportedly pull back from Tikrit amid fierce fighting with ISIS militants
Published June 29, 2014

Iraqi government forces have reportedly been forced to pull back from the northern city of Tikrit after an offensive to reclaim the city from Sunni Muslim militants was blunted by fierce fighting.

The BBC, citing eyewitnesses, reported Sunday that the Iraqi army had fallen back to the town of Dijla, approximately 15 miles to the south. The witnesses said that the government forces' drive to retake Tikrit had been hampered in part my the large number of improvised explosive devices laid on the approach to the city. The witnesses said that security forces continued to shell the city, though what damage those shells may have done is unclear.

Iraqi officials had claimed that troops had pushed into the heart of the city in what was the biggest attempt yet by the Baghdad government to reverse a series of defeats suffered earlier this month at the hands of the Al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and The Levant (ISIS). The militants have surged across Sunni-majority areas of the north and west, menacing the capital and bringing the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to the brink of collapse in the process.

Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein, was overrun by ISIS fighters on June 11 as part of an offensive that also swallowed up Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul.

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Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/29/iraq-forces-battle-militants-for-control-key-northern-city-tikrit/

[Tamikosmom]

ISIS declares Islamic state straddling Syria, Iraq
Sunday, June 29, 2014

BAGHDAD -- The al Qaeda breakaway group that has seized much of northeastern Syria and huge tracts of neighbouring Iraq formally declared the establishment of a new Islamic state on Sunday and demanded allegiance from Muslims worldwide.

With brutal efficiency, the Sunni extremist group has carved out a large chunk of territory that has effectively erased the border between Iraq and Syria and laid the foundations of its proto-state. But the declaration, made on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, could trigger a wave of infighting among the Sunni militant factions that formed a loose alliance in the blitz across Iraq and impact the broader international jihadist movement, especially the future of a-Qaida.

The spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declared the group's chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the leader of the new caliphate, or Islamic state, and called on Muslims everywhere, not just those in areas under the organization's control, to swear loyalty to al-Baghdadi and support him.

"The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph's authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas," said the spokesman, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, in an audio statement posted online. "Listen to your caliph and obey him. Support your state, which grows every day."
Al-Adnani loosely defined the Islamic state's territory as running from northern Syria to the Iraqi province of Diyala -- a vast stretch of land straddling the border that is already largely under the Islamic State's control. He also said that with the establishment of the caliphate, the group was changing its name to just the Islamic State, dropping the mention of Iraq and the Levant.
Muslim extremists have long dreamed of recreating the Islamic state, or caliphate, that ruled over the Middle East, much of North Africa and beyond in various forms over the course of Islam's 1,400-year history.

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Read more:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/isis-declares-islamic-state-straddling-syria-iraq-1.1891479

[Tamikosmom]

[Tamikosmom]

ISIS Crucifies Eight Rival Rebels For Being Too 'Moderate,' Will Display Bodies For Three Days In Syrian Town Square
June 29 2014 5:55 PM

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) reportedly killed and crucified eight men in a town near Aleppo, Syria.

The independent monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the men were executed for being too moderate as members of a rival rebel group. They were crucified on Saturday and will be on display for three days in the town square in Deir Hafer.

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http://www.ibtimes.com/isis-crucifies-eight-rival-rebels-being-too-moderate-will-display-bodies-three-days-syrian-1614864

[Tamikosmom]

A member of ISIS waves an ISIS flag in Raqqa, Syria on June 29, 2014.

[Tamikosmom]

I apologize.  I did not realize the image was so large.

[Tamikosmom]

A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul (Reuters / Stringer)

[Tamikosmom]

When it the reported crucifixion of eight Muslims who were "too moderate" is considered ... what fate awaits Iraqi and Syrian Christians now that CSIS has declared an Islamic State?

[Tamikosmom]

Iraq developments: ISIS establishes 'caliphate,' changes name
Mon June 30, 2014

(CNN) -- The extremist group that's taken over a large swath of western and northern Iraq announced on Sunday the establishment of a "caliphate," an Islamic state stretching across the region, and said it would now be known as the Islamic State rather than the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The announcement was made in a newly released audio message and written statement purportedly from the official spokesman of ISIS, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani al-Shami.

He said "Al-Baghdadi" is the emir of the caliphate, using his real name Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al Samarrai, but who is more commonly known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The group said its flag flies from the Aleppo province in Syria to Diyala province in Iraq.

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http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/29/world/meast/iraq-developments-roundup/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

[Tamikosmom]

US Sending 300 More US Troops to Iraq
Jun 30, 2014

The U.S. is sending another 300 troops to Iraq to beef up security at the U.S. Embassy and elsewhere in the Baghdad area to protect U.S. citizens and property, officials said Monday.

That raises the total U.S. troop presence in Iraq to approximately 750, the Pentagon said.

The State Department, meanwhile, announced that it was temporarily moving an unspecified "small number" of embassy staff in Baghdad to U.S. consulates in the northern city of Irbil and the southern city of Basra. This is in addition to some embassy staff moved out of Baghdad earlier this month,

Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the Baghdad embassy "will be fully equipped to carry out" its mission.

The White House announced that President Barack Obama had directed that 200 troops be sent to reinforce security at the embassy, its support facilities and Baghdad International Airport.

The Pentagon said the 200 arrived Sunday and Monday.

"The presence of these additional forces will help enable the embassy to continue its critical diplomatic mission and work with Iraq on challenges they are facing as they confront Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant," the Pentagon's press secretary, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, said in a written statement.

Obama notified House and Senate leaders in a letter on Monday of the additional forces heading to Iraq. Officials said they bring a detachment of helicopters and drone aircraft to improve airfield and travel route security in Baghdad.

Obama has ruled out sending combat troops back into Iraq. He said the extra troops will stay in Iraq until security improves so that the reinforcements are no longer needed.

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http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-sending-200-us-troops-iraq-24372122

[Tamikosmom]

ISIS destroys shrines and mosques, may be targeting Mecca
Published July 10, 2014

ISIS is leaving a path of destroyed churches, shrines and mosques in its wake as it storms across Syria and Iraq, and has even set its sights on Mecca -- Islam's holiest site.

The nihilistic jihadis, led by self-proclaimed descendant of Prophet Muhammad Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, have already bulldozed or blown up some of the most sacred places in Iraq, and seem bent on killing and destroying anyone or anything that does not measure up to their vision of Islam. Experts say the group, which originally stood for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, but now simply calls itself "Islamic State," has appointed itself the leading proponent of the Muslim faith.

“They see themselves as the last defenders of Islamic civilization and want to eradicate anything that they see as the enemy of Islam, and any Muslim they perceive as compromising with the West,” Yvonne Haddad, a professor at Georgetown University who specializes in the history of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations, told FoxNews.com.

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http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?action=post;topic=15303.40;num_replies=53

[Tamikosmom]

Under threat, Iraq's Christians flee city of Mosul
Published July 19, 2014

BAGHDAD –  The message played over loudspeakers gave the Christians of Iraq's second-largest city until midday Saturday to make a choice: convert to Islam, pay a tax or face death.

By the time the deadline imposed by the Islamic State extremist group expired, the vast majority of Christians in Mosul had made their decision. They fled.

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BAGHDAD –  The message played over loudspeakers gave the Christians of Iraq's second-largest city until midday Saturday to make a choice: convert to Islam, pay a tax or face death.

By the time the deadline imposed by the Islamic State extremist group expired, the vast majority of Christians in Mosul had made their decision. They fled.

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http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/19/under-threat-iraq-christians-flee-city-mosul/

[Tamikosmom]

Purged by ISIS, Iraq's Christians appeal to world for help
Published July 23, 2014

Iraqi Christians are begging for help from the civilized world after Mosul, the northern city where they have lived and worshiped for 2,000 years, was purged of non-Muslims by ISIS, the jihadist terror group that claims to have established its own nation in the region.

Assyrian Christians, including Chaldean and Syriac Catholics, Syriac Orthodox and followers of the Assyrian Church of the East have roots in present day Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran that stretch back to the time of Jesus Christ. While they have long been a minority and have faced persecution in the past, they had never been driven completely from their homes as has happened in Mosul under ISIS. When the terror group ordered all to convert to Islam, pay a religious tax or face execution, many chose another option: flight.

"By 12 noon on Saturday, the Christians -- all of them -- left the city," Yousif Habash, an Iraqi-born bishop of the Syriac Catholic Church, told FoxNews.com.

Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, included 60,000 Christians in 2003. By last month, the number had dwindled to just 35,000. It now stands at zero, according to Ignatius Yousef Younan III, patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church.

"We have to pray to wake our master, the Lord Jesus," a somber Younan, who was in Mosul earlier this month and has discussed the situation with the Pope, said Wednesday on Fox & Friends.

Habash, who roundly criticized the Obama administration and the United Nations, specifically, for what he called their "careless absence" in taking action against the militants, said such violent intolerance demanded action from the international community.

"Where is the conscience of the world? Where is the United Nations? Where is the American administration to protect peace and justice?" he asked. "Nobody has said a word."

Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, is the "first cradle of Christianity in Iraq," Habash said. But after Islamic militants seized the city on June 10, Arabic letters with a chilling ultimatum were left at the homes of Iraqi Christians.

"The letter said that if you don't convert or if you don't pay, there is a sword between you and us, meaning execution," Habash said.

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http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/23/purged-by-isis-iraq-christians-appeal-to-world-for-help/?intcmp=latestnews