Iraq

Watch: Jewish woman and Satan give birth to ISIS on Iraqi TV

Political satire mocks rituals of Islamic State.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Report: Israeli drone shot down in Iraq

According to the Arab-language Al-Mayadin television network, the Hermes Model drone was shot down near Baghdad Airport, the third Israeli UAV to be intercepted in last week.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Pope Francis calls for solidarity with persecuted Christians in Middle East

“We cannot resign ourselves to imagining a Middle East without Christians, who have professed the name of Jesus there for over two thousand years," Pope Francis said.

Israeli aid to Iraq helps Christians persecuted by Islamic State

“What we’re trying to achieve is a partnership between religious actors...to provide as much aid as possible to hundreds of thousands of new refugees who are fleeing IS," says IsraAID director.

Israel expressed concerns to US over security failures in Iraq

Netanyahu gov't fears implications of US inability to train Arab forces; says failures in Iraq evidence against proposed US security plan for the Jordan Valley.

By MICHAEL WILNER,HERB KEINON

Israel receives first ever oil shipment from Iraqi Kurdistan

The SCF Altai tanker was anchored near Ashkelon port early on Friday morning, ship tracking and industry sources said.

By REUTERS

Malgré quelques revers, l’Etat islamique se porte bien

Rien ne semble remettre en question l’existence future de l’Etat islamique : ni les Kurdes, ni l’armée irakienne, ni les frappes aériennes américaines.

Yazidi boy recovering from surgery in Israel, father worried about family in Iraq

Save a Child’s Heart organization operated on the 17-month-old boy at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.

Akbar model to sideline Islamists

The current Indian government should use the model of King Akbar to curb radical Islamists in India and the region.

Checkmating Islamists in Iraq

It's time for India and other democracies to get serious about checkmating Islamists in Iraq.

ISIS becomes IS

Events move fast in the Middle East, and it seems the name ISIS has outlived its usefulness.

Behind the Lines: Islamic State’s explosive advance

Islamist group is advancing on three fronts, but the fantaticism that serves it well in the battlefield is leading to increased internal and external resistance.

The religious cleansing of Iraq’s Christians

"Can this really be happening in the modern world?"

Pedal to the metal: Netherlands allows Dutch biker gangs to fight Islamic State

Dutch prosecutor says motorcyclists are permitted to engage with Kurds battling jihadists, as long as they do not join terror groups.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Iraqi PM: Islamic State planning attacks on US, Paris subway systems

US security officials say have no information to support threat.

By REUTERS

Islamic State creates police force in northwest Iraq

"Islamic Police" have cars and boats; Residents say militants arrest dissidents.

By REUTERS

France hosting international summit on Islamic State

Iraqi authorities to meet in French capital with some 30 other countries and organizations to coordinate response to Islamic State.

By REUTERS

The trend of breakaway Islamists

Arab tribes have been fighting and allying with each other for centuries. And tribes also tend to unite against an invasion by outsiders.

US army attacks terrorists in Somalia

Al-Shabaab Islamists, affiliated with al-Qaida, were targeted in the attacks.

By REUTERS

Britain raises terrorism threat level to 'severe' in response to Iraq, Syria

"That means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, but there is no intelligence to suggest that an attack is imminent," the home secretary said.

By REUTERS

US conducts air strikes in Iraq near Arbil and Mosul dam

Central Command says strikes were aimed at supporting humanitarian efforts in Iraq and protecting US personnel and facilities there.

By REUTERS

US mulls military options for Iraqi mountaintop rescue of thousands

Obama promises to prevent genocide of Iraqi Yazidi minority on Mt. Sinjar despite denying any possible combat role for US troops in Iraq.

Without allies against ISIS, US finds itself in the same camp as Iran, its sworn enemy

An extremist Islamic state is coming into being in the heart of the Mideast. It will become a bastion of terrorism unleashing its attacks against neighbors and sending its faithful on operations in Europe and the US.

By ZVI MAZEL

Pentagon pushes back against Israeli critique of Iraq

Senior US defense official says Israeli criticism of security training fundamentally misread the threats facing Iraq.

Iran opposes US intervention in Iraq, says Khamenei

After Obama offers up 300 Americans to help coordinate the fight against ISIS, the Iranian supreme leader says intervention in Iraq is unnecessary.

By REUTERS

The GUNS OF AUGUST

Inside the Kurdish-Islamic State war

ISIS: Apocalypse Now?

The actual number of ISIS fighters is relatively small, but their achievements have been nothing short of spectacular.

US-led air strikes slow advance of Islamic State near Syrian border town

War jets fly over Syrian town of Kobani after days of heavy raids against jihadist group.

By REUTERS

Book Review: Descent into chaos

An Iraqi author describes how the foundations for sectarianism, civil war and corruption grew out of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003

Hot off the Arab press

What citizens of other countries are reading about the Middle East.

By COMPILED BY THE MEDIA LINE

Hot off the Arab press

What citizens of other countries are reading about the Middle East

By THE MEDIA LINE

Most Americans unclear on objective in ISIS fight

Nevertheless, a clear majority favors military action against the extremist group.

Turkey grants passage for Iraqi Kurds to fight Islamic State in Syria

Announcement marks a significant policy shift by Ankara -a government that has long been hostile to Kurdish nationalists

Islamic State reportedly training pilots to fly captured jets

Monitor group says extremist group has taken to the air for first time in three aircraft.

By REUTERS

Iranian intelligence helping Iraq and Syria tackle Islamic State

Minister slams Mossad, CIA for spying on Iran's nuclear, military facilities.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

VIDEO: US reports nearly 20 strikes on Islamic State in Syrian border town

American aircraft hit 18 IS targets in Kobani, 5 positions in Iraq on Tuesday and Wednesday.

By REUTERS

ISIS sold Muslim women to Jews, Kuwaiti cleric charges

The coalition to fight ISIS is a fraud and ISIS is selling Muslim women to Jews, according to Imam Saleh Jawhar.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

US military says it conducts airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria, Iraq

The US and Dutch militaries also carried out three airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq near Tal Afar and Hit on Friday and Saturday, Central Command said in a statement.

By REUTERS

Israeli Arab who joined Islamic State killed in fighting in western Iraq

Ahmed Habashi, 23, hailed from from the village of Iksal, just south of Nazareth

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Belgium, Netherlands and Australia start combat flights against ISIS in Iraq

Australians and Dutch conduct combat flights; Belgian plane bombs and "neutralizes" target.

By REUTERS,JPOST.COM STAFF

Khorasan Group targeted by US in Syria a special unit of al-Qaida

Jenan Moussa of Dubai-based Alaan TV gathered exclusive images and documents from the bombed headquarters of the so-called Khorasan Group in Aleppo.

British jets launch their first attacks against Islamic State targets in Iraq

Jets attack a heavy weapons position that was endangering Kurdish forces and they subsequently attack an (IS) armed pick-up truck in the same area, defense secretary says.

By REUTERS

Watch: Islamic State seizes millions of dollars from Iraqi home

Piles of cash estimated to be worth millions, says unidentified man in video.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Turkish hostages abducted by Islamic State released

Diplomats, soldiers, children taken in Iraq are now in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

US: Iran is welcome to participate in UN meeting on Iraq

Friday session chaired by Secretary Kerry is open to Iranian participation, US says; Obama not opposed to meeting with Rouhani.

US expands attacks on Islamic State while mulling arms and training for Syrian rebels

Politicians will begin debating legislation on Tuesday to give President Barack Obama approval to arm and train rebels who oppose both Islamic State and the Syrian government.

By REUTERS

Without Iran, world leaders tackle ISIS

Powers focus on Iraq over Syria, plan to retake Mosul; DC, Tehran spar over talks.

Women from American heartland joining Islamic State terrorists

"ISIS is recruiting these women in order to be baby factories. They are seeing the establishment of an Islamic state and now they need to populate the state," expert says.

By REUTERS

Report: Jordan to provide logistical support, training to Iraq

US to send CIA officers to Jordan for security and intel coordination, reports Arab newspaper.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Saudi jails six for going abroad to fight

The kingdom imprisoned dozens of people last month in security trials amid fears that the conflicts in Iraq and Syria will radicalise a new generation of young Saudis.

By REUTERS

24 year old survives Islamic State massacre

Mohammed Majul Hamoud says was ordered to lie face down and was handcuffed; "Anyone who moved or raised his head was shot."

By REUTERS

Former intel chief: No reason for Israel to fear Islamic State

Amos Yadlin says IDF would have less trouble eliminating Islamic State terrorists than Hamas operatives hiding in Gaza hospitals.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

US strikes Islamic State Fighters in Iraq

The strikes are meant to thwart Islamic State attacks on the 15,000 residents of the besieged town of Amerli

By REUTERS

US seeks global coalition against Islamic State

Washington wants broad group of allies before striking Syria; UK, Saudis likely to participate; Kerry to unite Mideast against terrorism.

Tehran seeks to overcome Western influence by supplying weapons to Kurds

Iranians have been present in Kurdistan and pushing for their interests for a long time, says expert.

Islamic State executes man by stoning for adultery, Pope calls parents of James Foley

Pope Francis calls parents of murdered journalist expresses condolences, states Western countries "justified" in taking action against Islamic State.

By REUTERS

Iran denies report linking cooperation on Islamic State to nuclear talks

Islamic Republic dismisses report that Tehran is ready to help counter Sunni Islamist group in return for progress on talks with world powers.

By REUTERS

US military campaign against Islamic State 'unchanged' after public killing

Islamists demanded ransom for American journalist; Iran conflates nuclear diplomacy with ISIS response.

Islamic State warns it has sleeper cells in the West, raises the stakes with beheading of American

The abundance of foreign fighters in Islamic State ranks pose a serious threat, could use Western passports to keep low profile in home countries.

By REUTERS

Analysis: The Islamic State sends a bloody ransom note to President Obama

The beheading of an American journalist, with another held and threatened, is a direct challenge to the leadership of Barack Obama.

American flights banned from flying to Syria

FAA warns American pilots about anti-aircraft weapons as Islamic State continues its encroachment into the country.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

By bombing ISIS in Iraq, US sidesteps Syria

US broadens military mission against Islamic State by widening scope of security requirements for US assets, personnel in Iraq.

US scores military victory over Islamic State at Mosul Dam

Key facility retaken by Kurdish forces after major campaign of American airstrikes.

Islamic State kills 80 Yazidis in north Iraq

Kurdish official: "We believe it's because of their creed: convert or be killed."

By REUTERS

Iraq's Maliki steps aside as PM, backs replacement

Haider al-Abadi is seen as a far less polarizing figure that has a chance of uniting Iraqis against Sunni insurgents.

By REUTERS

Humanitarian crisis averted on Mount Sinjar, says Obama

Obama said the US had broken the Islamic State’s attempted siege of Iraq’s Yazidi minority.

Yazidi writer: ‘Defend us from the massacres’

“Thousands of men were killed in front of their families and many old men have died from thirst and illness,” says Khalida Khalil.

Political crisis roils Baghdad as Maliki refuses to cede power

Iraq’s president nominates successor to longtime PM; US warplanes conduct bombing campaign on Islamic State fighters at base of Mount Sinjar.

Islamic State forces kill hundreds of Yazidi minority in Iraq threaten Kurdish capital

The newly declared caliphate buries some alive in mass graves and takes Yazidi women as slaves, US continues to bomb Islamic State positions near Kurdish capital.

By REUTERS

US prepared for long military effort in Iraq against ISIS, Obama says

Nearly a dozen targets were successfully eliminated by US forces on Friday.

US aircraft strikes Islamic State targets in northern Iraq

Two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a mobile artillery piece near Arbil, the Pentagon said.

By REUTERS

Iran looks to form new government in Iraq

Senior Iranian official says finding suitable replacement for Maliki was difficult, saying

By REUTERS

Islamic State tightens modesty laws for women

IS terrorists tell women: Don full-face veils, cover hands and feet, wear loose clothing, don't wear perfume, or face punishment.

By REUTERS

Iraq says footage purporting to show ISIS leader is false

Government in Iraq says video posted online alleging to show Abu Bakr el-Baghdadi praying in northern city of Mosul was a farce.

By REUTERS

Netanyahu promotes ‘bookends doctrine'

PM lobbies for support of independent Kurdish state, strong Jordan to box in Islamic extremists.

Turkey rejects independent Kurdish state, wants Iraq unity government

Turkey has in the past been cool to efforts for greater autonomy for Iraqi Kurdistan for fear of stirring up separatist feelings among its own Kurds.

By REUTERS

Watch: ISIS fighter says group will 'break all borders to reach Jerusalem'

Social media clip shows man, who claims to be standing on the Iraq border with Syria, reaffirm the declaration of an Islamic "caliphate."

By JPOST.COM STAFF,REUTERS

Netanyahu: I support Kurdish independence

Israel must prepare for ISIS infiltration into Jordan by building security barrier from Eilat to Golan Heights, says PM.

Terrorists target Iraq air base as US assessment teams deploy

Two weeks of advances by militants spearheaded by ISIS has threatened to rupture the country 2.5 years after US withdrawal.

By REUTERS

Pentagon rejects reports of US drone strike on Syria-Iraq border

Spokesman for US DoD says there is "not truth to rumors in media" of American attack on area controlled by ISIS-led militants.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

On surprise Baghdad visit, Kerry says US will not choose Iraq's leader

The trip comes as ISIS takes control of more and more areas, including Syria border strongholds over the weekend.

By REUTERS

The Islamic Republic and Islamic State

The ambition of both Iran and the IS is wide territorial expansion.

By YARIV LEVIN

On My Mind: Heritage protection

Jews perhaps know more than others about having their cultural possessions plundered.

The US should no longer be in Iraq. Iraqis must destroy IS

We’ve done enough battling an enemy that grows new appendages like a hydra.

By H.A. GOODMAN

Islamic State and the shattering of Western myths in the Middle East

For past decades, Western diplomacy was defined by an assumption that the root of all problems in the Middle East was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

By YARIV LEVIN

Intervention’s limits

Over the decade since the invasion of Iraq, Republicans and Democrats alike have learned the hard way the limits of the US’s ability to effect change.

Connecting the dots

Western leaders failed to recognize the similarities between the Islamic State and Hamas.

By MICHEL GURFINKIEL

End Iraq terror

The deafening silence from the West is similar to that which greeted previous genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and Sudan, where crimes that could have been prevented.

How should we fight Hamas?

Israel has become the canary in the coal mine, exposing a dangerous species of pacifism sweeping across Europe and parts of the US.

By ARIEL HARKHAM

Disavowing Kurdish independence, Turkey prepares for Kurdish energy future

Turkey seems to have officially disavowed any support for the independence of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq.

By MICHA’EL TANCHUM

Behind the Lines: Fractured states

Western diplomacy lags behind reality on the ground in the ‘former’ Iraq and Syria.

Iraq and Iran: A plague on both their houses

This is a death struggle between two competing forces for overall geopolitical superiority and hegemony in the Middle East.

By ZALMAN SHOVAL

The Iraqi factor

What has happened in Iraq has vindicated Israel’s opposition at the time to Kerry’s proposal.

ISIS: Beyond the regional instability

Since the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria organization, the media has been disseminating an apocalyptic portrayal of the situation.

By YORAM SCHWEITZER