The West and Middle East have failed to fully recognise the threat of Islamic State August 20, 2014 THE appalling decapitation of American journalist James Foley, apparently by a British member of the Islamic State (IS), is a shocking development in an already tragic conflict. Although IS has long favoured this method of murder, it is the fact that a British man seems to be responsible that is especially difficult to swallow. How [...]
Islamic State in Europe: Nine suspects detained in Austria August 20, 2014 Nine people have been arrested in Vienna, Austria, for intending to join the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria. According to the Austria Press Agency, the individuals were being questioned and a decision on whether to place them in investigative custody was pending. The news was reported by prosecutors in Austria on [...]
Can the Islamic State be defeated without the West ramping up military intervention? August 18, 2014 Professor Michael Kerr, director of the Middle East & Mediterranean studies programme at King’s College London, says Yes. Islamic State (IS) can be contained without Western ground troops playing a central role in the present crisis. Following the West’s withdrawal from Iraq, Arab uprisings, and the outbreak of civil war in Syria and Iraq, a [...]
France to arm Iraq’s Kurds against Islamic State militant group August 13, 2014 France has announced that it is delivering weapons to the Kurds in Iraq, in order to help them fend off the Islamic State (IS) militant group that has taken control of much of the north of the country. A statement issued earlier today by the office of French President Francois Hollande said that the [...]
New Iraqi PM Haidar al-Abadi appointed to lead war on Islamic State August 11, 2014 Iraq’s President appointed Haidar al-Abadi as the country’s new Prime Minister, in a bid to revitalise the government’s floundering effort to fight the militants of Islamic State (IS), the extremist group formerly known as ISIS. However, the existing PM Nouri al-Maliki accused President Fuad Masum of a “dangerous violation” of the constitution in inviting Abadi to [...]
US launches an airstrike in Iraq to target Islamic militants August 8, 2014 The US department of defense has launched an airstrike against at Islamic militants in northern Iraq. It said that it had used American aircraft to target artillery that was being used by the Islamic State (IS) against Kurdish forces defending the city of Irbil. The move follows US President Barack Obama's authorisation of [...]