A Pentagon official revealed that Evelyn Farkas, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, will depart at the end of October. The news comes during the UN General Assembly, where President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had what was described as a “candid” meeting regarding their relationship.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has officially ordered senior Department of Defense (DOD) officials to begin communicating with Russia on matters related to the Syrian conflict in an effort to avoid miscalculations and misjudgments, according to the Pentagon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described his evening meeting with President Barack Obama as “very constructive” and “surprisingly open.” It was their first formal meeting in two years.
Western countries are turning a blind eye to the genocide that the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is committing against Christians in Iraq and Syria, reports the U.K.’s Daily Express, citing a charity group.
Contents: Taliban scores major strategic victory in Afghanistan, capturing Kunduz; The Afghan Taliban return to Kunduz after fourteen years; Repercussions for Central Asia
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is expanding its presence in Afghanistan, recruiting followers in nearly 75 percent of the country’s 34 provinces, according to a United Nations report.
Nearly 30,000 foreign fighters from more than 100 countries have traveled to Iraq and Syria since 2011, mostly to join ISIS, the New York Times reported, citing anonymous intelligence and law enforcement officials.
At the UN General Assembly meeting today, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the West for the rise of radical Islamic groups. He also demanded a global alliance to fight these groups.
Contents: Massive Russian military deployment into Syria and Iraq continues; China’s military heads for Syria, supposedly to join Russia
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has executed more than 10,000 people, including women and children, in Iraq and Syria since the jihadist group declared a “global caliphate” in June 2014, reports Daily Mail Online.
Secretary of State John Kerry claims the Russian government is sending more troops and equipment to Syria in order to protect the Russian soldiers already in the country—a form of self-defense.
Al-Qaeda may pose a bigger longterm threat when compared to its rival, the Islamic State (IS/ISIS/ISIL), concludes a study prepared for the U.S. Special Operations Command Center (SOCOM) at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
Afghan jihadists loyal to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS) have closed down 57 schools in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province located along the Pakistan border, a known hotbed for high levels of terrorist activity.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the third time in the past ten days to discuss the situation in Syria. He warned Lavrov that Russia’s support of beleaguered President Bashar al-Assad “will only prolong the Syrian conflict.”
Patriarch Louis Sako, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad, is the latest Christian leader to ask Christians in the Middle East not to abandon their homelands despite threats from radical Islamic groups. He also slammed the countries who give preferential treatment to Christian refugees.
In remarks to various sympathetic pro-Russian networks, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused the West of working with the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, and claimed those not aiding his political survival were helping “terrorists.”
Contents: Russia’s Vladimir Putin tightens grip on Tajikistan at CSTO meeting; The troubled history of the CSTO in Central Asia; Russia’s economic slowdown means financial disaster for Central Asia
Vladimir Putin has issued a “common sense” call to the West to join Russia and Syria in a united front to fight against Islamic State (IS). Putin was speaking at a security summit in Tajikistan when he made the appeal to the
Danish teenager Lisa Borch slaughtered her mother Tina Römer Holtegaard after binging on horrific Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) beheading videos, police report. A court has convicted her and her much older Muslim boyfriend of murder.
The Russian government sent humanitarian aid to Syria over the weekend, only a few days after officials demanded U.S. cooperation to avoid “unintended consequences.”
Contents: Russia opens a dangerous new chapter in Syria and the Mideast; ‘Putin’s Plan’ for Russia and Syria; How is Vladimir Putin different from Ronald Reagan?; Choosing the lesser of two evils
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mocked the U.S.’s policy on Libya while talking to reporters about Russian troops and equipment in Syria.
Jinan Badel, a young Yazidi girl who escaped the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), met with French President Francois Hollande where he offered her asylum. She politely turned down his offer so she can return to Iraqi Kurdistan.
Contents: Russia and Iran send more troops to Syria to back faltering al-Assad; Putin’s plan for Syria: al-Assad regime in anti-ISIS coalition with West; Assad regime and ISIS are apparently BOTH now using chemical weapons in Syria
A young Yazidi sex slave told The Daily Mail that Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) militants ripped off American hostage Kayla Mueller’s fingernails before she became the wife of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Those who attempt to escape deserve their death and destruction, the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) argues in the latest issue of their magazine Dabiq, using a photo of drowned toddler Aylan Kurdi to emphasize their point.
Kurdish official Saeed Mamouzini told IraqiNews.com that the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) kidnapped 127 children in Mosul, Iraq, to train them as jihadists.
Small Christian militias continue to fight for Iraq–men determined to stop the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) from destroying their homeland and heritage. The Assyrian fighters are one of many groups profiled in the past year who are willing to stand up to the radical Islamic group.
A Syrian official confirmed the Russian government provided the country with more military experts in the past 12 months.
Contents: Egypt’s army starts ‘The Martyr’s Right’ operation in North Sinai; Turkey’s troops enter northern Iraq to hunt PKK after terror attacks; Violence spreads in cities across Turkey; Pro-government mobs in Turkey storm Hurriyet offices for alleged Erdogan misquote; Turkey appears to be approaching civil war.
Raghab Ahmed told The Daily Mail how ISIS taught him and other young boys to kill at the terrorist group’s infamous training camps.
Contents: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen suffers its deadliest day; In major escalation in Yemen war, Qatar is sending 1,000 troops; Britain’s RAF drones target and kill British nationals in Syria
The Russian government is claiming officials never denied or misled anyone about sending weapons and equipment to Syria. The report comes days after terrorist groups in Syria published photos or Russians in Syria and the U.S. warning the Kremlin about military activity in the war-torn country.
Press TV reported that an Iraqi woman killed a top Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) commander in Mosul after he forced her into sex slavery.
In what is potentially a major escalation in the growing sectarian wars in the Mideast, intelligence officials are saying that Russia appears to be building a new military base in Syria, in the Mediterranean port city of Latakia, with an airfield and prefabricated housing units for up to 1,000 personnel.
Turkish police raided the offices of opposition paper Bugün after the publication ran a story that claimed Turkey sent weapons to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Syria. The paper included pictures that allegedly show the weapon exchange.
Russian officials denied reports that the government placed Russian soldiers in Syria and deployed fighter jets. Reports of Russian activity in the war-torn country swarmed the internet this week.
A Kurdish official claimed that 25 Kurdish prisoners escaped from an Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS) prison in Mosul.
Art is popular with children psychologists, since children do not have to speak about violence they witnessed and endured. Psychologists are using this treatment with Boko Haram’s child victims.
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) have forced out thousands of Yazidis as they established their caliphate in Iraq and Syria. The majority fled to Turkey, and the younger Yazidis now wish to stay in Europe.
