isis
A man claiming to be the self-appointed caliph of the Islamic State jihadist group made what is thought to be his first taped appearance in a video that circulated on social media Saturday. Previously there were only two known images of the notoriously elusive Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.
As ISIS continues to successfully blaze a path through territory and the digital landscape, Iraq's numerous stakeholders reassess their roles in ensuring the young republic's existence.
More than 100 Islamic prayer-leaders from various denominations of Sunni and Shiite Muslims have signed a letter calling on British Muslims not to travel to Iraq or Syria to fight. Security services say the influx of Western Muslims to Syria creates a threat to the West, when radicalized fighters return home from fighting in the region.
In the wired age, "Twitter bombs" that spam feeds with militant propaganda are as much a part of the modern jihadi’s arsenal as bullets. But with every burst of online messaging from extremists comes potential blowback.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has taken to Twitter to spread its message, trumpet bloody successes, and recruit potential jihadists, but its social-media campaign has come under attack from forces that range from the U.S. State Department to the mysterious group of hacker-activists who call themselves Anonymous.
A video on YouTube showing a young man preaching out to his “brothers and sisters” in Britain to unleash their jihad upon the United Kingdom has been reported on by The Sunday Times. The video is just the latest in many more showing young Britons drawing on their western roots and Islamist inspiration to instigate, what might be termed, a YouTube jihad, according to the newspaper.
The announcement of a formal Islamic state by insurgents in Syria and Iraq is a "declaration of war against the West and al Qaida", an expert has warned. The Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (Isis) group has sought to solidify its leadership of worldwide jihad today by declaring that its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is the new caliph, or head of state.
Iran is ready to help Iraq fight an armed revolt using the same methods it deployed against opposition forces in Syria, an Iranian general said, suggesting Tehran is offering to take a larger role in battling Sunni militias threatening Baghdad.