Sweden is home to 2,000 Islamist extremists, the nation’s intelligence chief revealed today – ten times the number recorded before Europe’s migrant crisis. Anders Thornberg, head of domestic spy service Sapo, attributed the rise primarily to the sophisticated propaganda machine of ISIS. Although ‘few extremists’ have ‘the will and ability’ to carry out attacks, they must … Read more
US-backed fighters pierced jihadist-held Raqa from the south for the first time on Sunday, crossing the Euphrates River to enter a new part of the Syrian city, a monitor said. The Syrian Democratic Forces have spent months closing in on the Islamic State group’s bastion Raqa and entered the city’s east and west for the … Read more
Special forces have recaptured more of Mosul’s historic heart as they press the final stages of an assault to drive the Islamic State group from Iraq’s second city, the military said Sunday. More than eight months since the country’s forces launched a gruelling operation to retake Mosul, IS has gone from fully controlling the city … Read more
Iraqi soldiers snap victorious “selfies” and pose with a captured Islamic State group flag at the Mosul mosque where jihadist chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi once spoke. “Where is Baghdadi?” they say, taunting the absent jihadist leader at the site of his triumphal 2014 appearance, the only time he is known to have appeared in public … Read more
The Islamic State group no longer has a presence in Syria’s Aleppo province after withdrawing from a series of villages where regime forces were advancing, a monitor said on Friday. “IS withdrew from 17 towns and villages and is now effectively outside of Aleppo province after having a presence there for four years,” said Rami … Read more
The UN voiced alarm Friday at rising threats against civilians in Mosul suspected of ties to the Islamic State group as Iraqi forces battle to retake the city from the jihadists. Iraqi forces are continuing their offensive into the last areas of the city seized in 2014 by IS, which imposed brutal rule on the … Read more
Iraq will declare victory over the Islamic State group in Mosul during the “next few days,” a senior commander said Friday, as pressure also mounts on the jihadists in Syria. IS, which declared a cross-border “caliphate” encompassing swathes of Iraq and Syria three years ago, is now facing twin offensives in Mosul and Raqa, its … Read more
Iraq will declare victory in the eight-month battle to retake second city Mosul from jihadists in the “next few days,” a senior commander said on Friday. “In the next few days, we will announce the final victory over Daesh,” Staff Lieutenant General Abdulghani al-Assadi told AFP in Mosul, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic … Read more
Canada will continue to train Kurdish militia for another two years as part of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq, the defense minister announced Thursday. The mission extension is the third in as many years, and Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan left open the possibility of ramping up the offensive, saying the … Read more
Iraq declared the Islamic State group’s “caliphate” was coming to an end after it recaptured Mosul’s iconic Nuri mosque Thursday, three years to the day after it was proclaimed by the jihadists. The jihadist group announced its self-styled “caliphate” on June 29, 2014 across swathes of territory its fighters overran in Iraq and neighbouring Syria. … Read more
US-backed forces cut off the last escape route for the Islamic State group from Raqa on Thursday, a monitor said, trapping the besieged jihadists inside their de facto Syrian capital. Fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces captured two villages on the southern bank of the Euphrates River the jihadists had been passing through to withdraw … Read more
Women and children involved with groups like Islamic State are increasingly returning to their home countries in Europe, with some posing a terror risk, a senior EU official said Thursday. The “new trend” of females and juveniles coming back from Middle East war zones means European countries must find special methods of dealing with them, … Read more
The Islamic State group has lost more than 60 percent of its territory and 80 percent of its revenue, an analysis firm said Thursday, as the jihadist “caliphate” turns three. The group declared its self-styled “caliphate” across swathes of Iraq and Syria on June 29, 2014, prompting the formation of a US-led coalition in a … Read more
An ivory-coloured rosary swings from the rearview mirror of Abboud Seryan’s pickup truck as he speeds through Syria’s Raqa, inspecting the positions of fellow Christian fighters taking on the Islamic State group. Lively music blasts through the car speakers while the thin 23-year-old, wearing a military-style cap and a revolver tucked into his waist, waves … Read more
The Iraqi military announced on Thursday that special forces had recaptured the iconic Mosul mosque where jihadist chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only known public appearance. A top special forces commander told AFP that while the Nuri mosque — which was blown up by the Islamic State group last week — was close to … Read more
With snipers lurking on rooftops and bombs hidden in the rubble, rescue workers are risking their lives in a desperate search for civilians buried during the battle for Iraq’s Mosul. Overwhelmed by a blazing sun and an unfathomable grief, Abdulrahman Mohammed and his brother Ammar smoke cigarettes in front of a digger as the workers … Read more
As many as 100,000 civilians are trapped in Syria’s Raqa, as US-backed fighters battle to retake the city from the Islamic State group, the UN rights chief warned Wednesday. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein voiced grave concern for the fate of civilians caught up in the anti-IS offensive in Raqa. … Read more
Canada’s supposed non-combat role in Iraq is being questioned after a special forces sniper took out an IS fighter in Iraq. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday would have none of it, saying Canadian troops training Kurdish fighters have orders to also fight in defense of coalition soldiers. “I can tell you that defending … Read more
The United States will not be drawn into Syria’s civil war, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said, despite an increasingly complicated battle space that has seen US warplanes down pro-regime aircraft. Speaking to reporters on a military plane late Monday as he headed for meetings in Europe, Mattis said the US-led coalition was determined … Read more
The US says it has identified “potential preparations” for another chemical attack in Syria, and issued a stark warning to the Syrian government. The White House said the activities were similar to those made before a suspected chemical attack in April. Dozens died in that attack and prompted President Donald Trump to order a strike … Read more