Syria: IS Abducts Dozens of Christians
Islamic State jihadists have captured several Christian families after seizing Qaryatain, a town in the Syrian province of Homs.
ISIS
Islamic State building up for mass-casualty attacks, competing with al Qaeda for recruits, intel
Members of the U.S. intelligence community are warning that Islamic State fighters could be working toward mass-casualty attacks, a serious departure from the terror group’s current focus on lone-wolf attacks.
Islamic State recruitment document seeks to provoke ‘end of the world’
An apparent Islamic State recruitment document found in Pakistan’s lawless tribal lands reveals that the extremist group has grand ambitions of building a new terrorist army in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and triggering a war in India to provoke an Armageddon-like “end of the world.”
U.S. to withdraw carrier from Gulf amid Obama budget cuts
The United States’ air strike capabilities against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) may take a serious hit this fall as the U.S. will be without an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf for the first time since 2007.
FBI Director: Islamic State now a bigger threat than al Qaeda
According to FBI Director James Comey, U.S. military strikes have diminished the threat posed by the al Qaeda offshoot Khorasan Group, but the Islamic State still poses a significant threat.
Turkey Opens Key Air Bases for US Strikes On ISIS
Turkey will open up Incirlik Air Force Base, about 250 miles from the Syrian city of Raqqa, to U.S. and coalition strike operations against the Islamic State, or ISIS, Pentagon and Obama administration officials confirmed. The move puts anti-ISIS aircraft, which had been flying some 1,200 miles to strike enemy positions, much closer to the various battlegrounds, including Raqqa, the effective capital of the Islamic State in Syria.
Islamic State forces children to practice beheadings on dolls
The children had all been shown videos of beheadings and told by their trainers with the Islamic State group that they would perform one someday. First, they had to practice technique. The more than 120 boys were each given a doll and a sword and told, cut off its head.
Islamic State affiliate claims attack on Egypt navy boat in Sinai
An Islamic State affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai said Thursday that it has destroyed an Egyptian navy vessel with a rocket off the strategic peninsula’s Mediterranean coast.
4 Marines reportedly dead in shooting attack at Tennessee Navy facility
Four Marines were reportedly killed Thursday in one of two attacks at U.S. Navy facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn., and at least one shooter was dead.
NATO plans biggest exercise since 2002 to counter Islamic State
NATO and its allies will hold their biggest military exercise in more than a decade from October, deploying 36,000 personnel across the Mediterranean to counter the threat of Islamic State on the alliance’s southern flank.
ISIS Bombed Italian Consulate in Cairo
Islamic State claimed responsibility for an explosion on 11 July that ripped through the Italian consulate building in central Cairo, the first attack in Egypt against a foreign mission since violence in the country escalated two years ago.
FBI says arrested 10 in July 4 plots inspired by Islamic State
US authorities thwarted plots to kill people in the United States around the July 4 holiday, arresting more than 10 people who were inspired by Islamic State online recruitment, FBI Director James Comey said on Thursday.
Obama: “Ideologies Are Not Defeated With Guns, They are Defeated with Better Ideas”
During a press conference, President Barack Obama said the Islamic State’s “twisted ideology” will not be defeated with guns, but rather they are “defeated with better ideas.”
DoD Joins Homeland, FBI in Warning of ISIS July 4th Threat
The Defense Department joined the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI on Wednesday in warning of the threat of an ISIS attack in the U.S. over the 4th of July holiday weekend.
Obama Blocks Plan to Fight ISIS
The United States has blocked attempts by its Middle East allies to fly heavy weapons directly to the Kurds fighting Islamic State jihadists in Iraq.
ISIS Promises to Be a ‘Thorn in the Throat of Hamas’ and Israel
Islamic State insurgents threatened on Tuesday to turn the Gaza Strip into another of their Middle East fiefdoms, accusing Hamas, the organization that rules the Palestinian territory, of being insufficiently stringent about religious enforcement.
U.S. unprepared for chemical attack as Islamic State nears Syria’s stockpile
The U.S. government is unprepared for a chemical attack against the homeland, a new report shows, even as the Islamic State takes responsibility for more terror attacks around the world and inches closer to gaining access to Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.
Islamic State Threatens to Topple Hamas in Gaza
Islamic State insurgents threatened on Tuesday to turn the Gaza Strip into another of their Middle East fiefdoms, accusing Hamas, the organization that rules the Palestinian territory, of being insufficiently stringent about religious enforcement.
FBI Setting Up Command Centers to monitor terrorist threats over July 4 weekend
The FBI is establishing command centers around the country to monitor any potential terrorist threats around the July 4 weekend.
Greek Banks And Stock Exchange In Shutdown
Banks in Greece and the country’s stock exchange will be shut all week in a sign of the deepening financial crisis.