ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Stuart WILLIAMS Turkey on Tuesday pounded Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria with new artillery strikes as expectations grew of a major Ankara-backed offensive against the group after a deadly suicide bombing on its soil. With tensions flaring on the Turkey-Syria border following the bombing in the nearby city of Gaziantep that left 54 people dead, Turkish howitzers on Monday hit jihadist and Kurdish rebel targets across the frontier. Turkey has […]
Tag: Islamic State
UN bracing for massive flight from Iraq’s Mosul
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – The United Nations said Tuesday it was rushing to build camps to accommodate what it expects to be a mass exodus from Mosul once a battle begins for Iraq’s second city. The UN refugee agency warned that an expected battle to liberate Mosul, the Islamic State group’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq, was likely to “dramatically worsen” the displacement situation in the country. Iraq is already facing one of the world’s […]
Turkey seeks to identify IS child bomber who killed 54
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Fulya OZERKAN Stuart WILLIAMS Turkish authorities scrambled Monday to identify a child suicide bomber acting on the orders of Islamic State jihadists who killed 54 people including several children at a Kurdish wedding close to the Syrian border. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the IS group needed to be completely pushed out of the border zone inside Syria, amid Turkish media reports of an Ankara-backed offensive by rebels against the group. […]
Death toll in Turkey wedding bomb attack rises to 50: local governor’s office
(REUTERS) The death toll from Saturday’s suspected suicide bomb attack in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep has risen to 50, the local governor’s office said. President Tayyip Erdogan said it was likely that Islamic State militants had carried out the late-night attack, when the bomb exploded among people dancing and celebrating a wedding.
Trump hires ‘street fighter’ in new shakeup of White House campaign
(REUTERS) U.S. Republican Donald Trump overhauled his presidential campaign team on Wednesday for the second time in less than two months, hiring the head of a conservative news website to bolster his combative image and try to reverse poor opinion poll numbers. Trump named Steve Bannon, head of the Breitbart News website, as campaign chief executive officer, a new position. He also promoted senior adviser Kellyanne Conway to the post of campaign manager. The […]
Trump promises to work with NATO to defeat Islamic State
(REUTERS) Republican Donald Trump said on Monday he would work closely with NATO allies to defeat Islamic State militants if he wins the White House, reversing an earlier threat that the United States might not meet its obligations to the Western military alliance. In a policy speech, Trump said he would wage a multi-front “military, cyber and financial” war against Islamic State, although it was not clear how that would differ from the Obama […]
Clinton, Trump spar over his Islamic State founders claim
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Hillary Clinton admonished rival Donald Trump on Thursday for claiming that she and Barack Obama were the founders of the Islamic State, saying anyone who would “sink so low” should never be president. “No, Barack Obama is not the founder of ISIS,” Clinton tweeted. “Anyone willing to sink so low, so often should never be allowed to serve as our Commander-in-Chief.” Trump again roiled the presidential campaign late Wednesday, telling a […]
Ukraine blocks jihadist routes to Syria: security service
KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) – by Dmitry ZAKS Ukraine’s security service said on Thursday it had blocked channels being used by jihadists travelling to fight with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and detained an ‘IS recruiter’ from one of the former Soviet republics. “The Ukranian security service, prosecutor’s office, police and migration service have blocked several channels for the transit of foreign fighters to the IS international terrorist group through our state’s territory,” […]
Libya pro-govt forces say Sirte battle in ‘final phase’
TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) – by Rim Taher Pro-government forces battled Thursday to clear the Islamic State group from its main Libyan stronghold of Sirte, after dealing a major blow to the jihadists by seizing their headquarters. IS still controls several areas of the Mediterranean city, whose capture in June 2015 sparked fears the extremists would use it as a springboard for attacks on Europe. Sirte’s fall would be a huge setback to the jihadists’ efforts […]
At ancient Syria site, IS discovers then destroys treasures
When the Islamic State group captured Tal Ajaja, one of Syria’s most important Assyrian-era sites, they discovered previously unknown millennia-old statues and cuneiform tablets, and then they destroyed them. https://youtu.be/FP7irLPtMO0
Islamic state posts video of men it says were French church attackers
REUTERS — Islamic State’s news agency on Wednesday (July 27) released a video of two men it said were those who attacked a church in France in which they pledged allegiance to the group’s leader. The video was published on a social media website carrying the logo of Amaq news agency a day after two men burst into the Catholic church in Normandy during a service, forced the priest to his knees and slit his […]
Intel report on alleged ISIS threats on Davao City not from AFP, PNP
MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said, intelligence reports claiming that Davao City is under terror threat from the Islamic State (ISIS) did not come from the military or police. Acting Davao City Mayor Paolo Duterte earlier said that ISIS militants are threatening to attack the southern city. The local military and police have been alerted to avert the plot, Duterte said. He did not […]
