Israel considered intervening in Syrian civil war before Russia stepped in
Israel considered military intervention in the Syrian civil war before Russia stepped in to aid President Bashar Assad, senior officials admitted Wednesday.
Islam
US says it will stay in Syria until jihadists defeated, demands Iran leave
The Trump administration is now pledging the US will remain in Syria until the ‘enduring defeat’ of the Islamic State group, a move that could signal open-ended American involvement in the war-torn country.
U.S. sanctions ‘will cripple the economy’ of Iran, say economists
The slated US sanctions targeting Iran’s energy and financial sectors in early November will pulverize the Islamic Republic’s struggling economy, according to a new analysis released last week by economists.
Pompeo to toe hard line in Pakistan; no plan to resume halted U.S. aid
U.S. officials say Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will toe a hard line with Pakistan’s new government when he visits Islamabad this week, roughly nine months after President Trump halted security aid to the South Asian nation on grounds it gives ‘safe haven to terrorists.’
Suspect in Amsterdam stabbing of Americans believes Dutch insult Islam, prosecutors say
Dutch prosecutors on Monday announced that the 19-year-old Afghan citizen accused of stabbing two American tourists may have done so because he believes Islam is insulted in the Netherlands.
US military to cancel $300m in Pakistan aid over terror groups
The US military says it is canceling $300 million in aid to Pakistan over what it calls Islamabad’s failure to take action against militant groups.
Coptic Christians find strength in faith and community of asylum seekers in Virginia
Fayza Estephanos knows exactly how long it has been since she learned that two of her brothers were among 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians kidnapped and beheaded by the Islamic State in 2015 — three years, six months.
Iran Sentences 4 Christians to 45 Years in Prison for Believing in Jesus Christ
Iran’s hardline government has sentenced four Christians to harsh prison terms for putting their faith in Jesus Christ.
Series of Attacks Plagues Egypt’s Beleaguered Christians
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that, as the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha concluded, a series of four attacks struck Upper Egypt from August 22 to 25, 2018. In each of these incidents, security forces either delayed providing protection to Christians or attempted to instigate violence.
European Aid To Iran Sends Signal To United States
The European Union’s decision to transfer millions of dollars in aid to Iran is a symbolic move intended to undermine the United States’ strategy of pressuring Tehran into re-negotiating the nuclear deal, analysts said.
U.S. strike kills ISIS leader in Afghanistan
The leader of ISIS in Afghanistan was killed in an airstrike on Saturday along with 10 other fighters, officials said.
Church Near Kampala, Uganda Closes after Months of Islamist Attacks
A church outside Kampala, capital of Uganda, has closed after months of area Muslims pelting its gatherings with rocks, sources said.
Top Iranian cleric threatens Tehran will target Israel if US attacks
A senior Iranian cleric on Wednesday warned that Tehran would target Israel if the United States harmed the Islamic Republic, continuing an escalating war of words over sanctions reimposed by Washington.
Iraq’s neighbors siphon Fertile Crescent water supply for their own agriculture, power projects
The Islamic State hold on territory has been broken, but Iraq now faces another existential threat as it battles neighboring Iran and Turkey for access to an increasingly scarce flow of water to the once-flourishing Fertile Crescent running down the spine of the country.
House-Church Members in Iran Reportedly Sentenced to Year in Prison
A convert from Islam in Iran said he and 11 other Christians were sentenced to a year in prison for ‘inclination to the land of Christianity’ among other charges, according to Mohabat News.
Trump administration creates Iran Action Group at State Department
The Trump administration has created an ‘elite team’ at the US State Department on Iran policy hoping to streamline execution of its newly aggressive strategy toward the Islamic Republic.
Russia says drone attacks on its Syria base have increased
Russian air defense assets in Syria have downed 45 drones targeting their main base in the country, its military said Thursday, after an attack by the Islamic State group on a Syrian army base a day earlier killed seven troops.
U.S. welcomes Saudi Arabia’s pledge of $100 million for Syria
The United States on Thursday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s contribution of $100 million to help stabilize parts of Syria no longer held by Islamic State, which comes as the Trump administration looks to cut back on foreign aid.
‘There Are No Girls Left’: Syria’s Christian Villages Hollowed Out by ISIS
The number of Christians across the Middle East has been declining for decades as persecution and poverty have led to widespread migration. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, considered Christians infidels and forced them to pay special taxes, accelerating the trend in Syria and Iraq.
‘ISIS 2.0’: Semi-independent terror cells, loyal only to radical ideology, plot strikes around world
Osama Bin Laden has been dead for years and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s ‘caliphate’ in the Middle East has crumbled, but the global jihadist threat continues to boil as extremists retreat underground to plot terror strikes around the world.