Nov 03 Canada launches first air strikes against Islamic State targets By Joshua Barajas Over the weekend, Canadian fighter jets launched the country’s first airstrikes against ISIS strongholds since joining the U.S.-led campaign to combat the extremist group in Iraq, Canada’s defense minister said. Continue reading
Oct 28 Latest Islamic State propaganda video depicts British hostage as war correspondent By Ayan Sheikh Freelance British photojournalist, John Cantlie — abducted in 2012 along with U.S. journalist James Foley — appears in the Islamic State’s latest video as a foreign correspondent reporting from the Syrian town of Kobani, the New York Times reported. Continue reading
Oct 23 Islamic State group earning $1 million per day in black market oil, U.S. says By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Islamic State militants are raking in money at a remarkable rate, earning about $1 million a day from black market oil sales alone, a Treasury Department official said Thursday. David Cohen, who leads the department's effort to undermine… Continue reading
Oct 22 Watch State Department faces criticism in uphill social media war against Islamic State group By PBS News Hour Three teenage girls from Denver were detained in Germany last weekend by American authorities under suspicion of joining the Islamic State. The militant group lures recruits worldwide with a sophisticated social media operation. Margaret Warner reports on how the U.S. Continue watching
Oct 18 Watch A step forward in ISIS fight? Iraq lawmakers approve Sunni, Shiite ministers By PBS News Hour For more on the Iraq parliament’s approval of Sunni and Shiite ministers, ISIS’s presence in Anbar province and the group’s encroachment on Baghdad, Douglas Ollivant, a partner with global strategic consulting firm Mantid International, joins Hari Sreenivasan from Washington. Continue watching
Oct 17 Kobani key to U.S. strategy against Islamic State By Lara Jakes, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Dusty and remote, the Syrian city of Kobani has become an unlikely spoil in the war against Islamic State militants — and far more of a strategic prize than the United States wants to admit. Continue reading
Oct 12 Watch Why is Turkey hesitant to enter the fight against ISIS? By PBS News Hour Geoff Dyer of the Financial Times joins Hari Sreenivasan from Washington to talk about Turkey’s reluctance to fight ISIS, as the NATO partner pushes for a broader fight that includes combating Assad’s regime. Continue watching
Oct 09 Islamic State group uses only half of a Quran verse to justify beheadings -- see what's in the other half By Hari Sreenivasan The Islamic State militants use the Quran to justify their inhumane acts of violence, including beheadings, but are they just cherry-picking verses? We asked an Arab studies scholar to set the record straight about what the holy book actually says. Continue reading
Oct 05 Watch The War on ISIS: Where in the Middle East is the Islamic State making gains? By PBS News Hour Islamic State jihadists made several gains in cities throughout the Middle East over the past week and was met with powerful resistance in others. To try to make sense of what’s occurring on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq, former… Continue watching
Oct 03 Islamic State militants release video that purports to be beheading of British aid worker By Joshua Barajas Islamic State militants released a video Friday night that purportedly shows the beheading of British aid worker Alan Henning, the Associated Press reports. This is amid ongoing U.S. airstrikes against the extremist group's strongholds along the Syria-Iraq border. Continue reading