Tag Archives: The Islamic State

International, Politics

ISIS continues spreading violence as ‘children are being beheaded’

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In a video interview with CNN’s Jonathan Mann, Chaldean-American leader Mark Arabo has described the current situation for none Muslim civilians in the Islamic State as a “Christian genocide.”

During the video, Arabo described how thousands of Christians in Iraq are fleeing to neighboring countries as violence is continued to be spread by ISIS.  Specifically, Arabo told Mann, “children are being beheaded, mothers are being raped and killed, and fathers are being hung.”

“There’s actually a park in Mosul where they actually beheaded children and put their heads on a stick,” Arabo said.  “They are doing the most horrendous, the most heart-breaking crimes that you can think of.”

Graphic images of the violence can be found here at Catholic Online.

Opposing Views is also reporting a surge of systemic violence towards non-Sunni Muslims in the Islamic State saying Christians, Kurds, and other Muslim denominations are facing similar levels of violence.  This violence has killed at least 5,500 civilians, wounded close to 12,000, and driven some 1.2 million from their homes since January according to a July report from the Guardian.

ISIS has also been behind numerous bombings of religious sites throughout the Islamic State, such as Christian churches and Shiite mosques.

Currently, France is leading the effort to grant asylum to those trying to escape the violence of ISIS, reports the Gospel Herald.

“This is genocide in every sense,” said Arabo.  “The world hasn’t seen an evil like this for generations.”

International, Politics

More US troops to be sent back to Iraq

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After announcing last week the U.S. would send about 300 military advisers to the war-torn country of Iraq, the White House is now sending an additional 300 more troops to Iraq, bringing the total U.S. troop count in Iraq to approximately 750.

The additional troops are being sent to strengthen the security at U.S. specific places such as the embassy in Iraq and other areas where U.S. citizens are located or own property.  CBS News also reports part of the troops will be sent to reinforce the security details at the Baghdad International Airport.

These troops will not be involved with the other troops previously sent to Iraq as military advisers, reports The Journal.

Part of the additional military forces have already been deployed to Iraq, arriving as early as Sunday before the announcement was made late Monday night.

“This force will remain in Iraq,” President Obama wrote in a letter to Congress.  “This force is deploying for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property, if necessary, and is equipped for combat.”

Air support in the form of helicopters and drones will also be sent to the country to help raise “airfield and travel route security,” said John Kirby, Pentagon spokesman, according to the Navy Times.

“The presence of these additional forces,” Kirby said according to USA Today, “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 (ISIL).”

International, Politics

ISIS Video Mocks “Obama, Did You Prepare Enough Diapers For Your Soldiers?”

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The Islamic State (TIS), the new caliphate born from the ISIL controlled regions of Iraq and Syria, already faces the challenge of retaking the Iraqi city of Tikrit, while taunting the U.S. to interfere in their controlled areas.

Tikrit is a Sunni dominant city and fell to ISIL early in the group’s swift offensive through Iraq.  According to Al-Jazeera America, Iraqi military forces have been working to retake the city since Saturday when various assaults were launched.  ISIL has thrown back most of the attacks, but the Iraqi military spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi said Sunday, the Iraqi forces had control of the university in the city and he was confident in the military advances in Tikrit.

“The battle has several stages,” al-Moussawi told Al-Jazeera America.  “It is a matter of time before we declare the total clearing (of Tikrit).”

After TIS established itself, a video was released via the Gateway Pundit showing ISIL members raising their adopted flag over a former military base and exploring what remains in the area from the fighting.  Abu Saffiya, the narrator for the majority of the video makes various statements about the Iraqi military including, “they are nothing but cowards,” as he shows off abandoned Border Patrol vehicles and military patches seemingly left behind by Iraqi forces.

Near the end of the video, another ISIL soldier asks the camera, “Yo Obama, did you bring enough diapers for your soldiers,” as laughter is heard in the background and the speaker smiles on.

ISIL has already made plans to expand their reach after suicide bombers claimed by the group struck parts of Lebanon.  The bomber prematurely detonated himself in the hotel he was staying in after security forces stormed the hotel.  The bomber was the only casualty, but four members of the security force searching the building were injured.  Reports say the attack is the first f many on Lebanese soil to be carried out in the name of TIS.

A caliphate is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as a “political-religious state compromising the Muslim community and the lands and peoples under its dominion in the centuries following the death of the Prophet Muhammad.”  Some say these lands though, historically, stretch from Spain over North Africa and through the Middle-East to the edge of historical Persia, now Iran.

 

Featured, International

ISIS Announces New State in Iraq, Syria; Names Leader Caliph

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This article was written by guest contributor Jason Ditz.

Reflecting its virtually uncontested control over a broad swath of land in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has announced the formation of a new nation, dubbed simply The Islamic State (TIS).

According to the announcement, TIS has been determined by Shura councils to be the “restoration of the Caliphate,” and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been declared the Caliph.

While TIS has been a de facto state for quite some time, albeit one with ill-defined borders engaged in multiple wars, the declaration of themselves as the new Caliphate is likely to fuel controversy around the world, and a direct challenge to Islamist factions.

That’s because a Caliphate claims to be the direct successor of the Prophet Muhammad, and its Caliph would at least claim to be the consensus final religious authority for all of Sunni Islam.

Caliphates have a long history across the Middle East, with dominant Caliphates ruling significant territory and wielding broad influence through much of history. For centuries, Ottoman sultans also held the position of Caliph. In 1924, Turkey dissolved the institution of Caliphate, and there has been no consensus Caliph since. In recent decades several Islamist factions have called for the restoration of the Caliphate, though naturally each has envisioned itself at the head, and none has gained anywhere near this much traction.

With the declaration, ISIS is making an enormous power play, aiming to put itself formally in command of all “faithful” Sunnis on a religious level. While that’s unlikely to matter across the broader Sunni world, except as a slap in the face, among Salafist factions like al-Qaeda this is a direct challenge, and a call for al-Qaeda and other such factions to submit to a position under Baghdadi’s rule.

 

This article is from Antiwar.com.  A friend in need is a friend indeed – and we need your help to fight this brazen state repression. We’re fighting to restore constitutional government in America – but we need your tax-deductible donation to do it. Please, make your contribution today!”