Arab League nations on Sunday agreed to take the “necessary measures” to confront militants from the Islamic State, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said after they meet in Cairo. “The Arab foreign ministers have agreed to take the necessary measures to confront terrorist groups including (the Islamic State)”, Arabi said at a press conference, without explicitly supporting calls from the …
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Iraq: lawmakers vote on government, Obama to announce strategy against extremists
The Iraqi parliament met under pressure to approve of an inclusive government that has broad support against extremists on Monday. The outgoing government has come under fire from the Sunni Arab community, having helped create conditions which have revitalized Sunni militants, including the Islamic State (IS). Lawmakers approved Abadi’s cabinet after the vote, making him the new Prime Minister, with …
Read More »UK tightens anti-terror laws, can temporarily seize passports
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday announced tough measures against Britons intending to fight in Syria and Iraq, and against battle-hardened extremists who might return to the UK. The British premier said that his government will draw up plans to ban suspected British national extremists returning to the UK, while the police will get additional powers to temporarily seize …
Read More »UN puts total number of Syrian refugees at 3 million
The United Nations on Friday said that there are now over three million Syrian refugees due to the civil war in Syria, as US President Barack Obama revealed that the US government has no strategy in place to tackle the advancing extremists. António Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in Geneva that Syria has become the “biggest …
Read More »Hollande says Assad an ally of Syrian extremists
French President Francois Hollande on Thursday warned that Syrian President Bashar Assad is not the West’s ally in fighting terrorism but an ally of extremists wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria. “Assad cannot be a partner in the fight against terrorism, he is the de facto ally of jihadists” he said to a gathering of global ambassadors in Paris. His …
Read More »UN human rights chief accuses Iraqi extremists of “ethnic cleansing”; Syria ready to work with international community against “terror”
Syria on Monday said that it was willing to work with the international community against “terrorism” as the United Nations accused extremists in Iraq of conducting an “ethnic and religious cleansing”. UN human rights Chief Navi Pillay leveled the accusations as Kurdish peshmerga forces forced back militants from the Islamic State (IS) northeast of Baghdad only a day after they …
Read More »Obama says US broke siege on Mount Sinjar in Iraq
US President Barack Obama on Thursday said that US air strikes had ended the siege in the Sinjar Mountains in Iraq where civilians had sought refuge, and that soldiers conducting reconnaissance will be withdrawn. However, he added that US air strikes will continue against extremist forces belonging to the Islamic State (IS) if they threaten US facilities and personnel in …
Read More »Syria: militants seize villages in the north, 52 dead and several others captured
On Wednesday, militants from the extremist group Islamic State (IS) captured several villages in northern Syria, killing 52 people in the process, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The extremists captured eight villages between Aleppo and the Turkish border, bolstered by their success in Iraq, the observatory said. They killed 40 fighters from other rebel groups and capture 50 …
Read More »Iraq: US jets take on IS artillery to defend Kurd allies
On Friday, US aircraft struck extremist position in northern Iraq in what could potentially be a turning point in the two-month long crisis which Washington said was threatening to develop into genocide and expose United States assets in the country. US President Barack Obama’s order for the air strikes, the first strikes in Iraq since he ended the US occupation …
Read More »Iraq: cleric claims extremists planning push for Baghdad
Moqtada Sadr, one the most influential Shi’ite clerics in Iraq, on Friday claimed that extremists were poised to attack Iraqi capital Baghdad and promised to send his men to fight for the capital. “There are terrorist groups that have completed their preparations for a breakthrough into Baghdad.We are ready to defend the city, we are ready to supply forces and …
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