A Threat to Europe: The Islamic State's Dangerous Gains in Libya

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Rival militias in Libya have thrown the country into civil war and made it easy prey for the Islamic State. The recent execution of 21 Egyptian Christians is only one sign of the terrorist group's growing footprint in North Africa.

The men sitting in Café L'Aurora in Tripoli stare silently into the smartphone Najib Ali is holding in his hand. They're watching a horrific video depicting the decapitation of 21 Egyptian Christians, probably on the beach at Sirte. The victims are wearing orange overalls while their Islamic State (IS) killers are clad in black. The men in the café have already seen the video numerous times and yet they continue to watch it, looking for any details that might indicate the horrific acts didn't really happen.

"Have you ever seen a Libyan that tall?" one asks. And what about the professional camera work? "A major power has to be behind it." And how could Sirte, the hometown of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, suddenly come under Islamic State rule? The release of the video on Sunday, Feb. 15, shortly before the fourth anniversary of the insurgency against Gadhafi, has led many Libyans to react reflexively with desperate denials of reality.

The truth is that Libya is well on its way to becoming a failed state -- making it the perfect prey for IS. Furthermore, Libya is close to Italy, has plenty of oil and offers a possible corridor to Boko Haram in Nigeria as well as to Islamists in Mali and in the Sahara. Indeed, if IS succeeds in solidifying its presence here, the terrorists could pose a threat to Southern Europe in addition to destabilizing all of North Africa. » | Mirco Keilberth and Christoph Reuter | Monday, February 23, 2015

Bill O'Reilly to Liberal Christian: Islamic State 'Would Behead You'

Bill O'Reilly of Fox News took to task a liberal Christian leader who used his television time to suggest that promoting peace via diplomatic discussion could go far in curbing the types of terrorism furthered by the likes of the Islamic State, telling him outright: You're wrong. The context of the comments came while the Rev.…

Der kurzsichtige Terrorfürst

TAGES ANZEIGER: IS-Chef al-Bagdadi verbreitet mit seiner Terrormiliz Angst und Schrecken: Deutsche Journalisten haben seine Vergangenheit durchstöbert – und Aussergewöhnliches gefunden.

Die Jihadisten-Miliz Islamischer Staat (IS) sorgt mit ihren Gräueltaten weltweit für Schlagzeilen, doch über ihren öffentlichkeitsscheuen Chef Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi ist wenig bekannt.

Einem Rechercheteam von «Süddeutscher Zeitung», WDR und NDR ist es nun nach eigenen Angaben gelungen, dank Dokumenten und Zeugenaussagen ein genaueres Bild des irakischen Jihadisten zu zeichnen. Wie die «SZ» am Donnerstag berichtete, war al-Bagdadi demnach schon früh machthungrig. Der «Weltspiegel extra» porträtierte den Terroristen. » | spu/AFP | Donnerstag, 19. Februar 2015

Egypt Strikes Islamic State Group in Libya after Video of Mass Killing

CAIRO (AP) - Egyptian warplanes struck Islamic State targets in Libya on Monday, just hours after the extremist group released a grisly video showing the beheading of several Egyptian Coptic Christians it had held hostage for weeks. An armed forces spokesman announced the strikes on state radio, marking the first time Cairo has publicly acknowledged taking…

Egypt Bombs IS in Libya after Beheadings Video

BBC AMERICA: Egypt says it has bombed Islamic State targets in Libya, hours after the militants released video of apparent beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians.

State TV said the dawn strikes had targeted camps, training sites and weapons storage areas. A second wave of strikes was reported hours later.

Libyan officials said Egypt hit targets in the militant-held city of Derna. The strikes came amid widespread condemnation of the killings. The US and UN described them as "cowardly".

A video emerged on Sunday showing militants forcing a group of men to the ground and decapitating them.

The kidnapped Egyptian workers, all Coptic Christians, were seized in separate incidents in December and January from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya, under the control of Islamist groups.

The video of the beheadings was posted online by Libyan jihadists who pledge loyalty to IS. It was one of the first such videos to come from an IS group outside its core territory in Syria and Iraq.

The video describes the Copts as "crusaders" and refers among other things to two women, wives of Coptic priests, whose alleged conversion to Islam triggered a sectarian dispute in Egypt in 2010.

IS militants claim to have carried out several attacks in Libya, which in effect has rival governments. (+ BBC video) » | Monday, February 16, 2015

Anjem Choudary, Radical Muslim Cleric: Quran Justifies Jordanian Pilot Burning

THE WASHINGTON TIMES: Controversial Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary suggested Thursday that the filmed burning of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh by Islamic State militants was justified under the Quran.

Speaking with NewsmaxTV host Steve Malzberg, Mr. Choudary said the video showing the pilot burning to death “has several intended affects.”

“One of them, of course, is to terrorize the enemy, and I think it’s had that effect,” he said, the Daily Caller reported. “It’s had a huge propaganda effect all around the world. Now, if you want to look at this from a Islamic perspective, what they are arguing is that it is reciprocation. » | Jessica Chasmar | The Washington Times | Thursday, February 05, 2015

Jordan Must Avenge Pilot's Death, Says Muath al-Kasasbeh's Father

Speaking from his home village of A'y on Tuesday, Safi al-Kasasbeh, the father of murdered pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh, says the Jordanian government must take action against Islamic State (Isis) following the release of a video showing his son being burnt to death. Other Jordanian citizens also respond to the news of the killing. The Jordanian government has executed two Iraqi Islamist militants in response to the pilot's murder

Isil 'Broadcast Video of Pilot Burning on Giant Public Screen to Young Children'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Young boy shown in video saying "I wish to capture pilots and burn them", as leaders across the Middle East condemn the death by burning of a captive Jordanian pilot

Isil broadcast the horrific video of a Jordanian pilot being burned to death on giant public screens to crowds that included young children, it has emerged.

Footage appeared on Wednesday purporting to show a crowd cheering and chanting as the murder was projected onto an outdoor screen at night in Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The new five-minute film includes interviews with those in attendance at the screening, who appear to be giving their verdict on the murder. While some appear serious in their response, others - including a young boy seemingly no older than eight - smile as they discuss the footage.

"If he was here, I'd burn him by my hand. I wish to capture pilots and burn them”, the child says. » | Andrew Marszal, and AP | Wednesday, February 04, 2015

Japan Outraged at IS 'Beheading' of Hostage Kenji Goto

Kenji Goto, pictured in October 2014, is a well-known freelance
journalist and filmmaker

BBC AMERICA: Japan has reacted with anger and defiance to a video purporting to show the beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto by an Islamic State militant.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan "would not give in to terrorism" and that he would expand his support to countries fighting IS.

IS has cited Japanese aid as a reason for the hostage taking. The video comes less than a week after the apparent beheading of another Japanese man, Haruna Yukawa.

Mr Goto, 47, a respected journalist known for his work covering the suffering of civilians in war zones, went to Syria in October, reportedly to try to secure Mr Yukawa's release.

The video, which has all the hallmarks of previous IS propaganda videos, has not been authenticated, but Japanese officials believe it is genuine. » | Sunday, February 01, 2015

'If My Son Is in Jihadi John Beheading Video, He Should Be Executed,' Says Father

Nasser Methane appeared to be among 16 jihadists
who were filmed beheading Syrian soldiers

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The father of a medical student turned jihadist from Cardiff fears his son appears in the Islamic State's latest execution video and says "he must face up to what he has done".

The father of a British medical student turned jihadist has said his son should face execution himself if he is proved to be a killer appearing in an Islamic State execution video alongside 'Jihadi John'.

Ahmed Muthana, said he fears his son, Nasser Muthana, is one of a gang of camouflaged Isil fighters who line up to behead Syrian military captives in a horrific video released at the weekend.

Muthana, from Cardiff, is suspected of appearing standing alongside the masked militant known as Jihadi John in the video, which also announces the death of American hostage Peter Kassig.

His father said he had seen stills of the video and was unable to confirm the man was his 20-year-old son, but feared it was. He said his son should face a death sentence if proven to be a killer.

Mr Muthana, 57, said: "If that's what he has done to someone then that is what should be done to him. » | Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent | Monday, November 17, 2014

Five Things John Cantlie's Latest Video Teaches Us About Isil's Strategy

Find out what John Cantlie's latest video appearance teaches us about Isil's strategy, as new video apparently showing the hostage "reporting" from Kobane is released by Islamic State

Read the short Telegraph article here | Tuesday, October 28, 2014

«Dem IS könnten bald einmal die Ressourcen ausgehen»

IS-Kämpfer in einem Propaganda-Video

Die Terrormilizen des Islamischen Staates können in Syrien und im Irak kaum gestoppt werden – auch die US-Luftangriffe bleiben oft ohne Wirkung. Weshalb ist das so? Der Berner Islam-Wissenschaftler Reinhard Schulze gibt Auskunft.

Den Artikel hier lesen | Dienstag, 28. Oktober 2014

Canadian Parliament Attack: The Identical Terror Threat Facing Canada and Australia

An armed AFP officer stands guard outside
Parliament House [Canberra]

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Canada and Australia have both featured prominently in the Islamic State's online diatribes, in which the group urges its global followers to kill.

But the similarities don't end there.

They are both parliamentary democracies whose leaders have vocally and materially backed international action against the Islamic State, with small but devoted extremist networks at home and some dozens of citizens currently fighting with jihadist groups in the Middle East. They both have tight gun laws and have ramped up security at their parliaments and government buildings in response to the current heightened threat.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's response to the assault overnight on Canada's war memorial and parliament in Ottawa highlighted the likenesses.

"For quite some time, these murderous, brutal terrorist organisations have been speaking about attacks on those sorts of institutions and in those sorts of countries, including Canada, Australia, the United States, any country that opposes their ideology, any country that embraces freedom and tolerance," she told the ABC. (+ video) » | David Wroe | National security correspondent | Thursday, October 23, 2014

Australien beunruhigt über Video des IS

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Die islamistischen Attacken in Kanada haben auch das australische Parlament in Alarmbereitschaft versetzt. Für Entsetzen sorgt zudem ein Video, in dem ein junger australischer IS-Kämpfer westlichen Staaten mit Vergeltung droht. » | Heidi Gmür, Sydney | Donnerstag, 23. Oktober 2014

Un article lié à cet article ici »

John Cantlie's Sister Appeals to Isil to Communicate with His Family

Jessica Cantlie, the sister of British journalist John Cantlie who is being held hostage by the Islamic State (IS), has urged the terror group to "restart dialogue" with his family

Read the Telegraph article here | Telegraph Video, and PA, video source APTN | Monday, October 13, 2014

Syrian Government on IS and Obama - Newsnight

«Fehler der USA haben IS zum Aufstieg verholfen»

Hohe US-Militärs kritisieren die Irak-Politik der USA: Der Truppenrückzug und falsche Versprechen der US-Regierung seien mit verantwortlich für den Erfolg der Terrormiliz.