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Islamic State takes attack online with cyber weapons September 18, 2014 The Islamic State (IS) is infamous for the brutal methods it employs to gain control in Syria and Iraq, and now there are reports it is gathering cyber weaponry to take the conflict online. According to cyber security company FireEye, the militant group could pose the biggest threat to cyber security in the West. [...]
Defence secretary Michael Fallon announces plan to arm Iraqi government against Islamic State September 9, 2014 The UK will send weapons to the Iraqi government to help it fight the Islamic State (IS), Michael Fallon said today. The defence secretary said he is "committed" to assisting the Iraqi government and to helping Kurdish forces defend themselves against the militants. According to the BBC, he added he wanted to help [...]
Obama to outline strategy for targeting Islamic State September 7, 2014 On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama will outline his strategy for targeting Islamic State (IS) – the extremist group currently taking over large parts of Syria and northern Iraq. "I'm preparing the country to make sure that we deal with a threat from Isil,” he said on NBC's Meet the Press. "On Wednesday, I'll [...]
Coalition seeks supporters of military action in Iraq and Syria as strikes on Islamic State considered September 4, 2014 The Conservative party has begun canvassing its MPs to find out if they would support military action in Iraq and Syria, as leaders from all three main parties appeared to be warming towards possible air strikes yesterday. As the Nato summit got underway in Wales, Tory party whips were quizzing MPs to find out how [...]
If Islamic State can prove a “true caliphate”, Taliban fighters will join September 2, 2014 Fighters from a militant Islamic group in Afghanistan have said they would consider joining forces with the Islamic State (IS). The Hezb-e-Islami group is allied to the Taliban, and its commander Mirwais told the BBC that if IS can prove a true Islamic caliphate, they would link up with it. Referring to IS [...]
Islamic State in Syria: Obama authorises surveillance flights August 26, 2014 US President Barack Obama has authorised the use of surveillance flights to monitor the activities of Islamic State (IS) in Syria. The news came from a senior US administration official who spoke to the AP news agency on condition of anonymity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US Central Command overseeing American [...]
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 [...]