ISIS – IRAQ - KURDISTAN : NEWS THREAD

[Anthea]

There is a general movement in networks to boycott the publishing of ISIS executions. That's what they wish we do. So please don't post it there.

Moreover, there is something that surprises me : why hostages accept to read ISIS statement ? they know that they will be executed just after it is not even to save their life. I wonder why they don't say something like 'fuck off Al Baghdadi… ' or 'I shit on your caliph'…

It was not the actual execution but the victim reading from some sort of script

That was the really odd thing - he was so calm - it makes no sense to me

Unless he knew he was not going to be executed

He did not look terrified and could not have been on drugs to deaden his senses or he would not have been able to stay still and read the script

I have never watched any footage of an execution but there is a lot on the internet about the executions being fake - apparently the executions are BLOOD-FREE

People see what is supposed to be the knife going into the victims neck - but none of the videos show any blood

[Piling]

I wonder if they drug them for they stay still.

[Anthea]

I wonder if they drug them for they stay still.

Steven Sotloff spoke much too clearly to have been drugged

What if both him and James Foley had both agreed to support the Islamic State by taking part in muck executions

We have no idea what brainwashing both of them have been subject to over their many months of captivity

Both James Foley and Steven Sotloff so-called executions required production teams

The videos were not 2 minute jobs on a mobile phone

We all know that the Islamic State has an excellent propaganda machine

Who better to be part of that machine than a couple of reporters willing to do anything to stay alive

I mean no disrespect to either men - just thinking about things logically and unemotionally

[Piling]

I don't think it is brain washing : both were Westerner journos and aware of ISIS deeds. And the Peshmerga who has been beheaded red the same speech, I think, so they could not brainwash someone in few days.

Obviously they have red it under threatening, but I just wonder what could they fear by knowing that, in all cases, they were going to be killed immediately. A psychologist might explain ?

[Anthea]

Huffington Post

Arm the Kurds

The Commons returned this week to a major statement from Prime Minister David Cameron on several international crises including Iraq. Denouncing Isil barbarism, he defined his position as providing equipment to the Kurdish forces and supporting US military air strikes. Opposition Leader Ed Miliband backed both. That defines the current cross-party consensus given many British people oppose British airstrikes, let alone the use of British soldiers.

Arming the Kurds plus British airstrikes was proposed by several friends of Kurdistan. The Peshmerga are the main boots on the ground and should be equipped against a well-armed enemy. American airstrikes have been militarily and psychologically vital but MPs recognise limited tolerance by Americans to unilateral action but that British support can help bolster it.

The disproportionate American defence burden has long dominated Nato debates. It was said that the Americans did the cooking while the Europeans did the washing up and that was when defence costs were evenly shared. The lion's share now falls on America, which increases insular impulses.

Popular opposition to liberal intervention boxes Cameron who is also hemmed in by expectations that Parliament rather than the Executive should decide such matters. Its disastrous refusal a year ago to back military strikes against Assad hangs uneasily over current debates.

Advocacy by MPs on all sides, however, can expand public support for necessary military actions. Cameron was clearly taking great care in assessing the parliamentary mood and increasing his room to manoeuvre. When former Foreign Office Minister Peter Hain supported equipping the Kurds but opposed "British troops on the ground," Cameron agreed that "there should be no question of British combat troops on the ground" - a subtle qualification that allows advisers to be sent.

Various MPs sought to open up space for firmer and wider action. Jason McCartney, an RAF officer in the No Fly Zone, suggested that British air strikes would be militarily expedient and symbolise support for the Kurdish people. The PM agreed that "we should listen very carefully to our Kurdish friends and allies, because they are in the front line against this ISIL monster."

Another veteran Kurdophile, Mike Gapes cited Conservative Prime Minister John Major's decision a generation ago to use British air power to save the Kurds and asked: "Why should we just leave it to the United States, particularly when the Kurdistan regional government have called for the whole of NATO to express solidarity and provide weaponry to them and air power to fight this genocidal caliphate?"

Another strong supporter of the Kurds, John Woodcock, persevered: given the PM seems open to direct participation in the current air strikes to protect the Kurds, "would he not just say so clearly now?" The PM emphasised that "we should ask ourselves how we best help those people on the ground who are doing vital work in countering ISIL."

Former Foreign Office Minister, Alistair Burt, asked if the PM had received a specific request for arms from the KRG. Cameron cited successful requests from the Kurds to facilitate the transfer of arms from Jordan and Albania. He was not aware of a specific request for direct arms and military support, but "would look very favourably on such a request" because the Kurds "are our allies and friends" who should be "properly armed and equipped to deal with the threat that they face."

He told Nadhim Zahawi that "I am grateful for the travel he undertook to [Kurdistan], and for the work he is doing to build our relationship with President Barzani. It is hugely helpful." Ann Clwyd highlighted the sale of Yazidi women as sex slaves and suggested offering asylum to some, as France has done. They will never enjoy normal lives if they return home.

Another supporter of the Kurds, Dave Anderson also tabled a Commons motion supporting the appeal by the UK Kurdish Genocide Task Force of ‎legal and academic experts and British Parliamentarians for signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention and Member States of the United Nations to act to end, prosecute and punish acts of genocide and crimes against humanity against Yezidi Kurds, Assyrian Christians, Shabaks and Kakayis committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. It urges a fact-finding commission to collect eye-witness evidence and prepare a timely record to establish whether the prima facie evidence justifies international recognition of these acts as genocide and/or crimes against humanity and prosecution.

Such interventions can convince western opinion that arming the Kurds together with continued airstrikes can reverse and reduce the jihadist threat to Kurdistan and at home. But this debate faces public scepticism about military action by a government that also contains differing views between and within its coalition components and faces a difficult election in a few months. The friends of Kurdistan have their work cut out, as do the Kurdish people.

Follow Gary Kent on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gary kent

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/gary-ke ... 57274.html

[Anthea]

Reuters

Islamic State kidnaps 40 men in Iraq's Kirkuk region

Islamic State militants kidnapped 40 men from a town in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk on Thursday, dragging the men into cars before driving off, residents said.

Residents of the Sunni Muslim town of Hawija said by telephone they did not know why the men had been taken, from a district on the edge of the town. They added that Islamic State, which controls Hawija, had not faced any resistance from its inhabitants.

Islamic State has seized hundreds of Iraqi and Syrian soldiers as well as members of other insurgent groups, journalists and civilians. Some have been sold for ransom and others have been killed.

The group launched a lightning advance through northern and central Iraq in June, declaring an Islamic caliphate. With the help of U.S. air strikes, Iraq's army and Kurdish forces have been able to push the fighters back from some areas.

The Ministry of Defense said on Thursday on state television Iraqi forces had killed three "leaders" of Islamic State in three separate attacks on Mosul and Tel Afar in the north.

(Reporting by Raheem Salman and Oliver Holmes; editing by Andrew Roche)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/ ... OY20140904

[Anthea]

Rudaw

A Risk Averse Leader of the Free World
Opinion By DAVID ROMANO

Although Kurds, Shiites and many others in Iraq never regretted the 2003 American invasion, most Americans do. From many Americans’ point of view, the younger President Bush turned out to be reckless, squandering vast sums of the country’s blood and treasure on risky, ill-prepared and mendaciously justified undertakings. While the toppling of Saddam turned out to be easier than most people expected, the occupation of Iraq cost Americans much too much for far too little in return.

It was thus an America tired of war that elected Mr. Obama in 2008. It should come as no surprise that Mr. Obama was elected on a platform promising to focus on domestic rather than foreign policy problems. The slogan “Yes we can!” was certainly not meant to apply to any new ventures abroad. It should also probably come as no surprise that in contrast to his predecessor, Mr. Obama also appears exceedingly risk averse in foreign policy. Whether the issue is Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Russia’s advances in the Ukraine, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the civil war in Syria or just about anything else, the new president seems to prefer cautious non-committal to decisive engagement or action.

As I have written in previous columns, the rise and recent advances of the Islamic State (IS) demonstrate this tendency in the White House very well. Initially Mr. Obama dismissed the IS as a two-bit junior varsity regional problem. When the IS captured Mosul and much of Western Iraq in June the Americans seemed to be caught with their pants almost as far down as the Iraqi Army’s. When the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga faced their own surprise humiliation at the hands of IS in early August, again the Americans appeared too hesitant and unsure about what course of action they would take. Only when Erbil itself seemed to be under threat and tens of thousands of Yezidi civilians had already been on Mount Shangal five days did the American President decide to say something and act.

The action he chose was “limited air strikes to protect American personnel in Iraq and the civilians on Mount Shangal.” This was combined with a promise not to send American troops into Iraq. The arming and resupply of the Kurds fighting the IS would only occur with Baghdad’s approval and collusion. Throughout August, Mr. Obama’s apparent position remained that the IS was the problem of others in the region, stating that “We’re not the Iraqi military, we’re not even the Iraqi air force,” and “I am the commander in chief of the United States armed forces, and Iraq is gonna have to ultimately provide for its own security.” Most recently, the President added that regarding the Islamic State, “I don't want to put the cart before the horse. We don't have a strategy yet.”

In other words, while President Obama reassesses the IS and attempts to devise a strategy, he continues with his non-committal cautious policies, adding relatively small tweaks to the status quo foreign policy only when forced to do so. The caution instinct seems to run so deep that the President even promised not to send troops back to Iraq and admitted to not having a strategy to defeat the Islamic State.

But why would anyone enter a contest by placing limits on what they can do, and then publically admit that they have no idea what to do? America may not need to send significant numbers of troops into Iraq or Syria, but surely there is no need to tell its enemies that it will not do so under any circumstances? Likewise, can the public admission of lacking a strategy inspire confidence in American allies battling the IS Jihadis as we speak? What if instead of looking indecisive, Mr. Obama threatened both the IS and others that he will back allies like the Kurds one hundred per cent, without limit or conditions? At the same time, he could privately tell the Kurds what they actually have to do in the short term to receive unrestrained American assistance in this war.

Cautious diplomacy and minor tweaks to the status quo foreign policy can not possibly be the right answer to every single challenge facing the United States. Leaders that turn out to be too risk averse may endanger their country and its interests just as much, or more than, reckless ones.

David Romano has been a Rudaw columnist since 2010. He is the Thomas G. Strong Professor of Middle East Politics at Missouri State University and author of The Kurdish Nationalist Movement (2006, Cambridge University Press) and co-editor (with Mehmet Gurses) of Conflict, Democratization and the Kurds in the Middle East (2014, Palgrave Macmillan).

http://rudaw.net/english/opinion/04092014

[Anthea]

BAS News

EXCLUSIVE: German Weapons to Reach Kurds by End of September
Hawar Abdulrazaq

The German Consul General in Iraqi Kurdistan said Thursday that German military aid for Kurds fighting Islamic State (IS) militants will arrive by end of September.

In an exclusive interview with BasNews, Alfred Simms-Protz, the German Consul General in Erbil, said with confidence that next week non-lethal military equipment from Germany will be sent to the Kurdistan Region. He also explained that a number of Peshmerga officers will travel to Germany to train with the new weapons to ensure the soldiers can use them to the utmost efficiency.

“By the end of this month, the lethal weapons will arrive which include anti-tank missiles and automatic rifles,” Simms-Protz said from Erbil.

He also said that the military equipment includes body-armor, helmets and other military needs. The decision to supply assistance was made after a request for aid from the Kurdish government with the approval of the Iraqi central government in coordination with Europe and the U.S.

He also said that Germany has already sent six soldiers to the German Consulate General in Erbil to coordinate the deliveries.

The German Consul said that the Kurds are fighting the IS militants on behalf of the entire world, hence the reason that the support from the international community is so vast.

“The Islamic State not only poses a threat to Kurds, it poses threat to the whole world world,” Added Simms-Protz.

He also believes that there is no need for German soldiers to be sent to Iraq, because he thinks Peshmerga can defeat IS insurgents on their own with the helpful addition of modern weapons.

http://basnews.com/en/News/Details/EXCL ... mber/32985

[Anthea]

Reuters

U.S. forms "core coalition" to counter Iraq militants
By Phil Stewart and Julien Ponthus

The United States said it had created a "core coalition" on Friday to battle Islamic State militants in Iraq, calling for broad support from allies and partners around the world but ruling out committing ground forces.

President Barack Obama sought to use a NATO summit in Wales to enlist allied support in a campaign to destroy the Islamist militants but as the summit drew to a close it remained unclear how many nations might join Washington in air strikes.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told foreign and defence ministers from 10 nations at a hastily arranged meeting that there were many ways they could help, including training and equipping the Iraqis.

British and German ministers warned that it would be a long campaign to push the Sunni militants back after stunning gains they have made in Syria and Iraq, drawing volunteers from many countries including in the West.

NATO announced plans for allies to share more information on westerners fighting for IS - who U.S. and European security officials see as a major risk to national security when they return home. NATO may also coordinate airlifts by member states to deliver assistance to Iraq.

"We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own," Kerry told the meeting.

"Obviously I think that's a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground."

Hagel told ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark that they, with the United States, formed the core group for tackling the Sunni militant group.

"It is the core group that will form the larger and extended coalition that's going to be required to deal with this challenge," he said.

Kerry said he hoped the allies could develop a comprehensive plan for combating IS in time for this month's annual U.N. General Assembly session in New York.

The threat posed by returning foreign fighters was "a challenge to every country here", Kerry told the ministers.

Britain raised its terrorism alert last week to its second-highest level over the threat posed by IS, meaning it assessed a strike was "highly likely".

Turkey, which attended the talks, has been struggling to staunch a flow of foreign jihadists across its border with Syria. Hagel travels to Turkey next week.

STRATEGY SOUGHT

British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande, the leaders of Europe's main military powers, told Obama in private meetings that Washington had to do more than simply order air strikes on IS targets in Iraq and needed an overall strategy, European officials said.

"It can't be just 'let's go and bomb a few targets and see what happens'," said one Western defence official familiar with the talks between the allied leaders.

France said this week it was ready to engage in all aspects of the fight against IS, including potentially military action. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Friday that London had not yet decided on any involvement in air strikes.

A British official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "There is a growing sense that this is going to take more than we are doing... but it needs to be a measured, cautious approach."

A statement issued by Hagel and Kerry after the meeting said the coalition would need to go after IS finances, including any trade in petroleum products, and discredit its ideology.

The Europeans have called for a global strategy to combat the Islamic State threat, involving a new Iraqi government, Iraq's neighbours and other stakeholders.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier summed up the reservations of several European allies when he told reporters: "A military confrontation will be only successful if it is embedded in a political setting."

Obama drew bipartisan criticism last week after saying candidly he had not yet developed a strategy for confronting the Islamic State in Syria, where militants have beheaded two U.S. journalists in the last month.

The United States acknowledged that action against IS in Iraq would have implications in Syria as well.

"We're convinced in the days ahead we have the ability to destroy ISIL. It may take a year, it may take two years, it may take three years. But we're determined," Kerry said.

(Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Sabine Siebold and Guy Faulconbridge. Writing by Phil Stewart. Editing by Paul Taylor/Mike Peacock)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/0 ... DK20140905

[Anthea]

Rudaw

Peshmerga Squeeze Militants in Nineveh, Recapture Four Towns and Villages

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish forces recaptured four towns and villages near Khazir in Iraq’s Nineveh province early Friday in an offensive that killed six Islamic State (IS/formerly ISIS) militants, a Peshmerga commander said.

Peshmerga forces have surrounded the town of Bashik, Brig. Bahram Arif Yassin told Rudaw. He said that six IS militants were killed and several captured in the fighting.

“Our forces attacked the IS near Khazir and we have taken Mount Zartak and four surrounding villages,” Yassin said.

The IS took the town of Bashik as well as Bairde, Kani Kawan, Sewdinan and Ashqalan from Peshmerga forces last month, when the militants launched a surprise attack into Kurdish-controlled territories.

Yassin said his forces were keeping up their attacks, pushing the militants further into Bashik.

Hours earlier, Peshmerga forces said they had killed three IS militants near Gwer and wounded seven others as they attacked a revel convoy.

Today’s Peshmerga advance coincides with the arrival of 70 tons of military equipment from Germany for the Peshmerga forces.

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/05092014

[Anthea]

The Economist

Unsavoury allies

The growing power of Shia militias in Iraq and Syria poses a tricky problem

THERE was never any doubting the brutality of Islamic State (IS), the jihadist group that has swept across large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared an Islamic caliphate. Its war has been accompanied by a stream of gory video recordings of mass-executions and ethnic cleansing. As America has joined the fight against IS, deploying bombers and drones to help Iraqi allies push back the jihadists, the group has started to kill Western hostages it had hitherto held for ransom.

On September 2nd it released a gruesome video of the beheading of Steven Sotloff, an American journalist, supposedly in response to America’s “arrogant foreign policy”. It was the second such atrocity in a fortnight; last month another American journalist, James Foley, was killed in exactly the same way. IS threatens to behead a British captive next.

The group’s startling expansion and lust for blood are only fuelling demands for a more forceful international response. But many of the West’s potential or de facto allies are scarcely more savoury. Some of the most capable anti-IS forces are the Shia militias that once fought American soldiers and waged a vicious sectarian war against Sunnis.

On the same day as the video of Mr Sotloff was uploaded, images circulated of men, allegedly from Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a notorious Shia militia, posing triumphantly with the charred bodies of Sunnis in Iraq. On August 22nd Shia gunmen shot 68 Sunnis dead in a mosque in Diyala province. Human Rights Watch, a New York-based lobby, has accused government-backed Shia militias of kidnapping and killing scores of Sunni civilians this year.

As America embarked on air strikes against IS in Iraq on August 8th, it was at pains to stress that it was not siding with the Shias. Indeed it has been keener to use air strikes to help Kurdish forces in northern Iraq than to aid the Shia-led authorities in Baghdad. And when debating possible strikes against IS’s bastion in Syria, American officials say they are “not on the same page” as Bashar Assad, Syria’s president, who comes from the Alawite sect, often regarded as a Shia offshoot.

That said, the recapture on September 1st of Amerli, an Iraqi town home to Shia Turkmen, shows that America will struggle to avoid co-operating with Shia militiamen. The operation was ostensibly led by the Iraqi army, with whom the Americans say they were co-ordinating their air strikes. But it could not have succeeded without several Shia militias. These display stronger fighting spirit than regular Iraqi forces, and have gained experience fighting not only against Americans in Iraq but also for Mr Assad in Syria.

The myriad Shia fighting groups are linked either to Iran’s powerful clandestine arm, the al-Quds organisation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard; or to the Iraqi Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr; or to factions of the Shia-dominated government. They expanded rapidly after America’s invasion of Iraq in 2003 and were believed to run death squads during the sectarian war in 2006-07. Most of these fighters later put down their weapons, but the rise of IS has prompted a surge in new recruits.

At least four Shia militias took part in the battle for Amerli: the Badr Corps, set up in the 1980s by Iran to challenge the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein; Asaib Ahl al-Haq, which is popular among new recruits because of its audacity and cruelty; Kataib Hizbullah (not directly related to Lebanon’s group of the same name), a well-trained outfit linked to Iran; and Saraya al-Salam, a rebranded version of Mr Sadr’s Mahdi army, which was formally disbanded in 2008. Smaller militias of 100-150 men have popped up since June, when Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s highest Shia authority, urged men to volunteer (for the army, not militias) to defend Baghdad after IS took Mosul, Iraq’s second biggest city.

If the West wants to counter IS, it may have no choice but to co-operate, explicitly or implicitly, with such Shia fighters. Many Sunni groups that once helped America repel Sunni jihadists have gone over to IS, while the Kurds may have only a limited ability to advance beyond their heartland.

Iraq’s Shias, Kurds, Christians and even many Sunnis initially welcomed the Shia militias because few trust the regular Iraqi army to defend Baghdad. But the very strength of the Shia militias will make it harder to woo disgruntled Sunnis, even with offers of more political power and jobs in the army. Shia militiamen balk at the idea of giving Sunnis more rights, and exert influence through shadowy connections to religious or political figures rather than through parliament. All this bodes ill for Haidar al-Abadi, Iraq’s prime minister-designate, as he seeks to meet a deadline on September 10th for the creation of a new, more inclusive government—a cornerstone of any American plan.

In Syria the conundrum is even trickier, since the West is at odds with both IS and its ostensible enemy, the regime of Mr Assad. Less extreme Sunni rebels pushed IS out of several towns at the start of the year. But, short of weapons, their campaign has run out of steam.

The Syrian army and its various allies are thus IS’s strongest foes. The thinly-spread Syrian army has been bolstered by several Iraqi Shia militias, often seeking to defend Shia shrines such as Saida Zeinab in Damascus. Many of them pulled back to Iraq this summer. The National Defence Forces, a Syrian paramilitary outfit, was created with Iranian help. Another Iranian protégé, Hizbullah, Lebanon’s Shia militia hardened by wars with Israel, has been prominent in battles near Damascus.

Mr Assad’s forces are vile too. On September 2nd Syrian government thugs reportedly slit the throats of 13 Sunni civilians in a village near Hama. Government bombs and rockets continue to wreak daily carnage among civilians. And yet, as war splits Iraq and Syria along sectarian lines, any American action against IS risks unwittingly supporting Iran and the Shias, thereby deepening the very sense of Sunni victimhood on which IS feeds.

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-ea ... ses-tricky

[Anthea]

BBC News

Young British Muslims from different sects of Islam discuss their views on the concept of a Caliphate and what it means to them.

phpBB [video]

[Anthea]

BBC News Middle East

Iraq and Syria: Who are the foreign fighters?
By Mohanad Hashim

International attention given to foreign fighters within the ranks of Islamic State (IS) is largely focused on militants from Europe and the United States.

These Western fighters have had a high media profile, especially since the beheading of two US journalists by a suspected British jihadist.

Yet recent studies show that most foreign militants in Syria and Iraq are Arabs.

The New York-based Soufan Group and the London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalization suggest that the total number of foreign fighters in Syria at present is between 11,000 and 12,000, with only about 3,000 of them from the West.

Of the remainder, Tunisians make up the largest group (estimated at about 3,000), followed by those from Saudi Arabia (about 2,500) and Morocco (1,500).

Tunisia 'incubator'

Arab media stress that the true figures could be much higher than these estimates.

Tunisian media sources, quoting a PEW/CNN report, point to the fact that their country has become the main "incubator" of "terrorists" fighting in Syria.

Since the overthrow of Tunisian President Ben Ali in 2011, the country has seen a low-level insurgency involving Islamist militants. Several opposition politicians have been assassinated, and dozens of militants and soldiers have been killed.

Tunisia has also suffered from the chaos in neighbouring Libya and the presence of militants there.

Syrian report

According to a report attributed to the Syrian military, almost 54,000 foreign combatants from 87 different countries have come to the country since the start of the civil war. Thousands of them are said to have been killed.

The report, first published by Tunisian daily newspaper al-Chourouk and widely circulated in the Arabic media, says the study was compiled by an unnamed Syrian military research centre.

It says Chechens top the list of foreign fighters with 14,000 combatants, of which 3,691 have been killed. Besides Chechens, the largest groups of fighters are thought to be Saudis, Lebanese, Libyans, Iraqis and Tunisians.

Saudi fighters are estimated at 12,000, with 3,872 reported killed and 2,689 said to have disappeared, including seven women.

Out of 9,000 Lebanese involved with jihadis in Syria, about 2,904 have lost their lives, including four women.

According to Maghreb analysts quoted by al-Chourouk, Libyans and Tunisians are mainly fighting under the IS banner, while Algerians and Moroccans are with al-Nusra Front.

It is not known how many Chechens or Saudis are fighting alongside IS.

Room to radicalise

Like their Western counterparts, Arab jihadis appear to rely on both online and offline radicalisation and recruitment techniques.

In the immediate aftermath of the Arab Spring in 2011, the newly-found freedoms in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Libya allowed Islamists and jihadis alike to openly promote their ideologies.

This was done through handing out pamphlets, public talks and conferences as well, as via recorded videos and content shared online, radicalisation in mosques and schools, and mainstream media.

The Syrian conflict provided a narrative to help galvanise the recruitment process.

And when the Muslim Brotherhood was removed from power in Egypt, the space available for radical clerics tightened, leaving social media and personal networks to fill the gap.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-29043331

[Anthea]

Rudaw

Kidnapped Children Held in Mosul Orphanage
By Rafat Zrari

Around 100 kidnapped children are being held hostage by Islamist militants in a Mosul orphanage, sources inside the city told Rudaw.

Multiple sources in the city reported that about 45 Yezidi and 50 Shiite children are being held at Dar al-Baraim orphanage in Mosul’s Zuhir quarter.

One of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for his safety, said Islamic State (IS) extremists brought the Yezidi and Shiite children to the orphanage after the group overran the city of Talafar in June and the town of Shingal in August. The extremists took hundreds of women, girls and children.

“The place is being closely guarded by six IS militants,” said the source.

The orphanage is said to be one of the biggest in the city run by IS. Ten local Mosul children were originally sheltered there.

The orphanage is run by five local women who worked at the facility before IS took over Mosul in June.

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/06092014

[Anthea]

BBC News Middle East

US strikes Islamic State militants at Iraq's Haditha dam

The US has carried out a series of air strikes on Islamic State militants close to the vital Haditha dam in western Iraq, US officials say.

The US strikes, the first in the area, were to protect the Iraqi forces and Sunni tribesmen in control of the dam.

The US has carried out scores of air strikes to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces as they try to halt the advance of the militants in the north and west.

Earlier, Kurdish forces retook the strategically important Mount Zarta.

Analysis: Jim Muir, BBC News, northern Iraq

The American air attacks, the first of their kind in Anbar province, signal that Washington has crossed a line that it itself drew.

It has long had a standing request from the outgoing Iraqi government to use its air power against IS in all areas. But until recently, it made it clear it would only do that once a new, inclusive government is formed in Baghdad, with full Sunni representation.

That hasn't yet happened, though intensive efforts are under way to produce a new cabinet in the coming days.

A US official said: "At the request of the Iraqi government and in keeping with our mission to protect US personnel and facilities, US military planes have begun striking Isil terrorists near the Haditha dam."

The Pentagon's press secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby, later said: "We conducted these strikes to prevent terrorists from further threatening the security of the dam, which remains under control of Iraqi security forces, with support from Sunni tribes."

IS, also often referred to as Isil or Isis, has taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria in recent months, declaring the land it holds a "caliphate".

The US has now carried out more than 130 air strikes since early August.

Islamic State fighters have targeted a number of dams in their offensive, capturing the facility at Fallujah.

They also took the largest dam, at Mosul, but US air strikes helped force them out.

The group has so far failed in its attempts to capture Haditha dam, on the Euphrates valley in western Anbar province. It is Iraq's second largest dam.

IS militants in August reportedly closed eight of the Fallujah dam's 10 lock gates that control the river flow, flooding land up the Euphrates river and reducing water levels in Iraq's southern provinces, through which the river passes.

Many families were forced from their homes and troops were prevented from deploying, Iraqi security officials said.

IS also controls other key national assets - several oil and gas fields in western Iraq and Syria.

Short battle

The mountain fell to the Islamists last month when they staged a lightning attack on Iraqi Kurdistan.

Since then Kurdish "peshmerga" fighters have been slowly pushing back, assisted by US air power.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Iraq says Mount Zartak was retaken in a short, sharp battle that left more than 30 IS fighters dead.

Link to Article and Video:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-29098791