Militants Take Major Iraqi Cities, Vow March On Baghdad

Jun. 12, 2014 - 2:18 - Conor Powell reports from Jerusalem

Repent or Die: Al-Qaeda Forces Announce Rules for Iraqi Territory They Now Control

A man is executed in a new video released by ISIS

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: ISIS, the al-Qaeda group that has swept through northern Iraq, releases list of rules that citizens must live by: [sic] including 'repent or die'

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham has set out a list of rules for residents of Mosul as it seeks to impose its Islamist rules on Iraq's second city.

Referring to the area by its ancient name, Nineveh, the group says it has a clear set of instructions for the remaining occupants of the city and surrounding area.

Firstly it tells "anyone who is asking," who its members are and what it is about: "We are soldiers of Islam and we've taken on our responsibility to bring back glory of the Islamic Caliphate."

All Muslims in the city have been instructed to attend mosque for the five daily prayers.

It confirms that it seized up to half a billion dollars from the Mosul branch of the Bank of Iraq but states it can be trusted with the funds.

Any one of its members who breach[es] this promise will have their hands cut off.

"No drugs, no alcohol and no cigarettes allowed," it added. » | Damien McElroy | Thursday, June 12, 2014

Militants on the March in Iraq: Will US Be Drawn In?

Jun. 11, 2014 - 7:48 - Reaction from Fox News military analyst Gen. Jack Keane

Iraq Army Capitulates to Isis Militants in Four Cities

THE GUARDIAN: Half a million people on the move after gunmen seize four cities and pillage army bases and banks

Iraq is facing its gravest test since the US-led invasion more than a decade ago, after its army capitulated to Islamist insurgents who have seized four cities and pillaged military bases and banks, in a lightning campaign which seems poised to fuel a cross-border insurgency endangering the entire region.

The extent of the Iraqi army's defeat at the hands of militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) became clear on Wednesday when officials in Baghdad conceded that insurgents had stripped the main army base in the northern city of Mosul of weapons, released hundreds of prisoners from the city's jails and may have seized up to $480m in banknotes from the city's banks.

Iraqi officials told the Guardian that two divisions of Iraqi soldiers - roughly 30,000 men - simply turned and ran in the face of the assault by an insurgent force of just 800 fighters. Isis extremists roamed freely on Wednesday through the streets of Mosul, openly surprised at the ease with which they took Iraq's second largest city after three days of sporadic fighting.

Senior government officials in Baghdad were equally shocked, accusing the army of betrayal and claiming the sacking of the city was a strategic disaster that would imperil Iraq's borders.

The developments seriously undermine US claims to have established a unified and competent military after more than a decade of training. The US invasion and occupation cost Washington close to a trillion dollars and the lives of more than 4,500 of its soldiers. It is also thought to have killed at least 100,000 Iraqis. Read on and comment » | Martin Chulov and Fazel Hawramy in Irbil | Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Iraq Crisis: Militants Attack Tikrit After Taking Mosul

BBC: Islamist insurgents have attacked the Iraqi city of Tikrit after the second city, Mosul, was earlier overrun.

Officials say militants are now in control of some parts of Tikrit - Saddam Hussein's hometown which lies just 150km (95 miles) north of Baghdad.

Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has vowed to fight back against the jihadists and punish those in the security forces who have deserted.

The insurgents who attacked Mosul are from the ISIS group.

It is not confirmed who is attacking Tikrit but one report said there was also fighting further south in Samarra.

ISIS - the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is also known as ISIL - is an offshoot of al-Qaeda.

It controls considerable territory in eastern Syria and western and central Iraq, in a campaign to set up a militant enclave straddling the border. (+ video) » | Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Al-Qaeda Seizes Iraq's Third-largest City as Terrified Residents Flee

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Militants storm northern city of Mosul, freeing thousands of prisoners, as Iraqi army retreats and prime minister asks parliament to declare state of emergency


Al-Qaeda seized control of Iraq's third biggest city on Tuesday, freeing thousands of comrades in a series of jailbreaks and sparking a mass exodus of refugees.

The assault on the city of Mosul, 225 miles north west of Baghdad, saw the Iraqi army retreat to the outskirts after a sustained assault by men armed with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

As well as seizing the main governorate building - forcing the city's governor to flee - the gunmen were also reported to have gained control of three different jails, numerous police stations and an airport, where several military planes and helicopters were based.

The loss of the city, home to around one million people, is potentially a huge challenge to the Iraqi government, which has been struggling to quell a regalvanised al-Qaeda insurgency for more than two years.

Terrified residents of Mosul spoke of seeing militants raising al-Qaeda's black flag from buildings, and of newly-released prisoners running through the streets in yellow jumpsuits. » | Colin Freeman, agencies | Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Al Qaeda Chief Urges Westerner Kidnappings

Ayman al-Zawahiri

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Muslims to kidnap Westerners, particularly Americans, who could then be exchanged for jailed jihadists including a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to attack the United Nations and other New York landmarks.

In a wide[-]ranging audio interview, the al Qaeda leader expressed solidarity with the Muslim Brotherhood which is facing a violent crackdown by the army-backed government in Egypt and urged unity among rebels in their fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the Zawahiri tape, but the voice resembled that of the al Qaeda leader.

"I ask Allah the Glorious to help us set free Dr. Omar Abdel-Rahman and the rest of the captive Muslims, and I ask Allah to help us capture from among the Americans and the Westerners to enable us to exchange them for our captives," said Zawahiri, according to the SITE website monitoring service. Read on and comment » | Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Mark Potter | Dubai | Saturday, April 26, 2014

Al-Qaeda Unveils New Magazine Aimed at Western Jihadis

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Advert for 'Resurgence' magazine uses words of Malcolm X in appeal to disaffected Muslims in US and Europe, as it turns focus away from Middle East

Al-Qaeda is starting an English language magazine as part of a fresh effort to recruit and inspire Western jihadis to launch attacks in their own countries, according to security analysts.

A video posted on YouTube uses the words of Malcolm X to justify violent struggle, before announcing the name of the magazine, Resurgence.

It appears to be modelled on Inspire, an online publication produced by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has carried messages from Osama bin Laden, bomb making directions and tactics for launching “lone wolf” attacks.

However, the new magazine appears to be the first English language magazine from the group’s core leadership and is advertised with a slick video from as-Sahab, its media production house. Analysts believe it marks a shift from al-Qaeda's recent focus on Syria. » | Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Monday, March 10, 2014

The New Jihadists Make Al-Qaeda Look Like Tired Old Has-beens

Al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri, above, is seen as the godfather
of Islamist terrorism – but an increasingly isolated one

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The creation of a de facto Islamic state in Syria could act as a springboard for a takeover of the Arab world

There is something rather laughable about the fugitive leader of al-Qaeda railing – as he has been recently – against the violent tactics employed by a new generation of Islamist militants.

This, after all, is an organisation that is no stranger to committing wanton acts of unprovoked violence, such as last year’s assault on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall. Judging from reports this week, it may also have radicalised the first British man to carry out a suicide bombing in the Syrian civil war.

But what really seems to be bugging Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s ideological linchpin, is not so much the violent methods being employed by militants fighting in Syria and Iraq, but the fact that they are no longer prepared to take orders from him. He is the godfather of Islamist terrorism – but an increasingly isolated one.

This is certainly the view of American intelligence officials, who closely monitor every aspect of Islamist activity around the world.

“What we are looking at is the replacement of al-Qaeda by a new generation of Islamist militants who have a far more radical and focused agenda,” a senior US counter-terrorism official told me in an interview in Washington. “The new generation of these terrorists are far more ambitious. They are not just content with plotting terror attacks against the West: they are determined to create their own Islamist state.” » | Con Coughlin | Thursday, February 13, 2014

Terrorist Group Releases British 'Suicide Bomber' Martyrdom Video

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Abdul Waheed Majeed smiles and poses for the camera with fellow fighters minutes before he carries out what is believed to be the first suicide attack by a Briton in Syria

Looking calm and relaxed, it is hard to believe these are the last moments of Abdul Waheed Majeed's life.

The jihadist, thought to be the first British citizen to carry out a suicide attack in Syria, poses for the camera with his hands nonchalantly in his pockets, dressed in a white Muslim robe and black scarf on his head bearing the insignia of an extremist Islamist group.

Minutes later he would drive a truck laden with explosives into the gates of a nearby prison, killing himself and scores others.

Today, Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda-aligned group to which he belonged, released a 46-minute "martyrdom" video showing the moments leading up to his death.

Standing next to the truck he would use in his mission, he is approached by the cameraman and asked in Arabic to say some final words. Majeed appears not to understand and a third voice interrupts to explain that he speaks English. (+ Telegraph video) » | Josie Ensor | Friday, February 14, 2014

Syrian Spillover: Deadly Violence in Lebanon as 'Al-Qaeda Ideology Spreads'

Humanitarian agencies are evacuating people from the besieged Syrian city of Homs as a ceasefire between the government and opposition is extended for another three days. Peace talks resumed in Geneva this week to try and end the war that's plunged the region into chaos. And neighbouring Lebanon is one of the countries worst affected, with not only the deadly violence, but also a radical ideology that's spilling over the border. RT's Maria Finoshina reports on the shocking revelations on who's joining the rebels from across the Syrian border.

Empire: America and Al-Qaeda 3.0

We examine the resurgence of al-Qaeda in one of the world's most troubled regions and unpick the US' response.

Al-Qaeda Armies Seize Entire Iraqi Cities in Chaos Left Behind by War

The black flag of Al-Qaeda was this week raised over two Iraq cities which are now under the control of Jihadists bent on creating a new Islamic nation. But the real blood-letting is yet to begin, warn experts, as the Iraqi army and tribal militias mobilise, and prepare to counter-attack.

Meet Al-Qaeda's New Poster Boy for the Middle East

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The fall of the Iraqi city of Fallujah back into the hands of al-Qaeda has shown the power of the movement's new leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

The FBI “most wanted” mugshot shows a tough, swarthy figure, his hair in a jailbird crew-cut. The $10 million price on his head, meanwhile, suggests that whoever released him from US custody four years ago may now be regretting it.

Taken during his years as a detainee at the US-run Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, this is the only known photograph of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria. But while he may lack the photogenic qualities of his hero, Osama bin Laden, he is fast becoming the new poster-boy for the global jihadist movement.

Well-organised and utterly ruthless, the ex-preacher is the driving force behind al-Qaeda’s resurgence throughout Syria and Iraq, putting it at the forefront of the war to topple President Bashar al-Assad and starting a fresh campaign of mayhem against the Western-backed government in Baghdad. » | Colin Freeman | Saturday, January 11, 2014

Al-Qaeda Armies Seize Entire Iraqi Cities in Chaos Left Behind by War

The black flag of Al-Qaeda was this week raised over two Iraq cities which are now under the control of Jihadists bent on creating a new Islamic nation. But the real blood-letting is yet to begin, warn experts, as the Iraqi army and tribal militias mobilise, and prepare to counter-attack.

'They Shoved People In Baking Ovens': Syrian Rebels Execute Over 80 Civilians

Over 80 civilians in a town northwest of the Syrian capital of Damascus have been executed by Islamist rebels, sources within the Syrian military told RT. Many others were kidnapped to be used as human shields.

Iraq Is Still Bleeding 10 Years after Saddam Hussein's Capture

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Friday's anniversary of the dictator's arrest sees the country struggling with a resurgent al-Qaeda and a death rate double that of a decade ago

Ten years after the capture of Saddam Hussein, Iraq is at risk of becoming a failed state again as al-Qaeda reclaims vast swathes of the country.

Friday’s anniversary of the Iraqi dictator’s arrest sees the country still struggling with his legacy, with al-Qaeda launching a fresh campaign of terrorist atrocities from new territory carved out in western and northern Iraq.

Backed by jihadists fighting the civil war in neighbouring Syria, the group is trying to create an “emirate” straddling the two countries, taking advantage of the collapse in security across the border.

Bridges linking four key border towns on the Iraqi side have been dynamited, making it difficult for security forces to operate in the area.

Road signs have even been put up proclaiming it to be the turf of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the name for the joint Syrian-Iraqi al-Qaeda franchise. » | Colin Freeman, Baghdad | Thursday, December 12, 2013

Lee Rigby Murder Trial: Accused 'Hopes to Be Accepted into Paradise as Martyr'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michael Adebolajo tells the Old Bailey he "loves" al Qaeda and considers the terrorist group as "brothers"

The Islamist fanatic accused of murdering soldier Lee Rigby told a court he “loves” al Qaeda and considers the terror group "his brothers in Islam”.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, also told the Old Bailey jury that he was a “soldier of Allah” and that he had no regrets over the killing because he was obeying his god.

He said after the case he should be either “ransomed” back to his Mujahideen brothers, freed or killed.

At the start of his defence in chief, Adebolajo sat in the witness box of Court number 2, surrounded by five security guards and just feet from Fusilier Rigby’s family. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Monday, December 09, 2013

Saudi Arabia Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon

AL JAZEERA: Announcement comes amid heightened risk of political violence in the country, as Syria war spillover heightens tensions.

Saudi Arabia has asked its citizens to leave Lebanon due to the risk of political violence in the country, where twin suicide bombings near Iran's embassy in Beirut killed 25 people this week.

Riyadh has issued several similar calls in the past two years as the civil war in Syria has inflamed political and sectarian tension in neighbouring Lebanon.

"Saudi ambassador Ali Awadh al-Asseiri said on Thursday...that the embassy urged Saudi nationals to leave Lebanon, considering the alarming security situation," the Lebanese National News Agency reported, citing a phone call with Asseiri.

A Lebanon-based Sunni armed group close to al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility. » | Source: Agencies | Thursday, November 21, 2013

Al-Qaeda-linked Rebels Apologise after Cutting Off Head of Wrong Person

Mohammed Fares, left) was mistakenly decapitated

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham militants say sorry for decapitating a fellow extremist rather than enemy

Militant Islamist rebels in Syria linked to al-Qaeda have asked for "understanding and forgiveness" for cutting off and putting on display the wrong man's head.

In a public appearance filmed and posted online, members of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, one brandishing a knife, held up a bearded head before a crowd in Aleppo. They triumphantly described the execution of what they said was a member of an Iraqi Shia militia fighting for President Bashar al-Assad.

But the head was recognised from the video as originally belonging to a member of Ahrar al-Sham, a Sunni Islamist rebel group that often fights alongside ISIS though it does not share its al-Qaeda ideology.

After inquiries, an ISIS spokesman admitted he was Mohammed Fares, an Ahrar commander reported missing some days ago. This could not be independently confirmed, but in an earlier video of a speech by Mr Fares he bears a close resemblance to the severed head in the later video. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, November 14, 2013