[Editorial Note: This is not a "Best of," only a roundup of significant pieces. See here for an introduction to this roundup series]
English Articles
ISIS threatens the Islmaili capital of Syria (30 October 2014)
The fear of ISIS continues to haunt the local residents, especially in Silmiya. Citizens believe the Syrian regime will shelter them from harm
Syria: ISIS Tortured Kobani Child Hostages (4 November 2014)
According to Human Rights Watch, “Kurdish children from the Syrian city of Kobani (or Ain al-`Arab in Arabic) were tortured and abused while detained by Islamic State (also known as ISIS).”
ISIS Youth Recruitment: Life In ISIS-Ruled Raqqa So Grim, Parents Are Giving Up Their Children (6 November 2014)
Alessandria Masi reports about the recruitment of children by ISIS. "it is estimated that ISIS recruits between 200 and 300 children every month and has stepped up its junior jihadi training to cope with losses from recent clashes."
Northern Ireland man charged with attending training camp in Syria (8 November 2014)
“A Northern Ireland man charged with possessing weapons and explosives while in Syria told police he was involved in battles against both Islamic State (Isis) and the Assad regime, a court has heard”.
Yes, Isis exploits technology. But that’s no reason to compromise our privacy (9 November 2014)
John Naughton criticizes Robert Hannigan, the new chief of GCHQ (The Government Communications Headquarters), for using the fear from ISIS to deflect attention from the agency failure to notice the rise of the Isis menace and to threaten privacy of innocent civilians.
Turks increasingly sympathetic to Islamic State (10 November 2014)
Pinar Tremblay reports how " The Islamic State`s declaration of a caliphate has generated conflicting views in Turkey".
The Arabic version of this article can be found here:
الأتراك يتعاطفون أكثر فأكثر مع تنظيم الدولة الإسلاميّة
ISIS and Al Qaeda Ready to Gang Up on Obama`s Rebels (11 November 2014)
According to Jamie Dettmer, the Khorasan group is trying "to broker an alarming merger between militant archrivals the Islamic State and Jabhat al Nusra, the official Syrian branch of al Qaeda."
ISIS and Al Qaeda ready to gang up on Obama`s rebels (11 November 2014)
Jaime Dettmer reports on a merger between, terrorist rivals, ISIS and Al Qaeda and the ramifications this will have for the West.
Is Central Asia afraid of ISIS? (11 November 2014)
Daniil Kislov, a journalist and essayist from Uzbekistan, tackles the question whether ISIS poses a real threat in Central Asia and Russia by interviewing a number of experts and pundits.
ISIS Conspiracy? Jihadists Media Confirms Baghdadi`s Death but Shows Another Militant`s Body (11 November 2014)
Gopi Chandra Kharel writes about the confusion that appeared in media outlet regarding the death of ISIS`s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as resulted from the jihadists` master strategy to give a false impression to the US-allied forces.
Smuggler Says He Sent ISIS Fighters To Europe (11 November 2014)
““The Western world thinks there is no ISIS in their countries — that all the jihadis have gone to fight and die in Syria.” BuzzFeed News’ Mike Giglio speaks with the men who claim to have helped ISIS slip into Europe.”
Fear in Raqqa, under the rule of the Islamic State (12 November 2014)
Citizens in Raqqa continue to fear ISIS as public intimidation remains a constant threat.
Moderate Syrian rebels say U.S. airstrikes helped extremists seize province (13 November 2014)
If America’s motive in Syria continues, the real danger is that they will become “the enemy.” “And there’s the danger” that the Syrian people will turn to Nusra or the Islamic State “in order to target American interests even before those of the regime.”
ISIS announces new currency (13 November 2014)
ISIS is planning to mint its own currency in gold, silver and copper. According to Jimmy Gurule, a former U.S. Treasury undersecretary, "Unlike its predecessor al Qaeda, which raised money principally from external sources ... ISIS is principally, primarily self-funded."
What Washington Doesn’t Get About ISIS (Or is it ISIL?) (13 November 2014)
Akbar Ahmed provides his perspective on how to understand ISIS.
Sources: Obama seeks new Syria strategy review to deal with ISIS, al-Assad (13 November 2014)
Without a political transition in Syria, ISIS will not be abolished; as a result, Obama seeks review of U.S. policy toward Syria
UN says Islamic State imposing rule of terror in Syria (14 November 2014)
Islamic States continue to cause public intimidation, actively promote abuses and crimes, and impose “rule of terror” in areas it controls.
Why ISIS coverage sounds familiar (14 November 2014)
Damaris Colhoun criticizes media coverage of ISIS and the lack of nuance in much of the current reporting as a reminiscent of the narrative of war on post 9/11 and the Iraq War in 2013.
ISIS Keeps Getting Better at Dodging U.S. Spies (14 November 2014)
Run Silent provides an insight about how ISIS was able to adjust its communications patterns, and why it was able to avoid being detected by U.S. surveillance and spies.
ISIS and the Intimate Kill (17 November 2014)
Simon Cottee provides an insight about how ISIS has transmuted the shock of intimate killing into a mythical aura, and how it has utilized brutality as an instrument for polarizing.
Only the Syrian Army is able to fight ISIL: so let’s back it? (17 November 2014)
Kamal Alam writes about the necessity to support the regular Syrian Army to defeat ISIS as the Syrian Army "remains the only capable, inclusive, multi-ethnic and religious force in the whole Arab world"
Report: ISIS Takes Control of a Libyan City (19 November 2014)
David Stout reports that militants loyal to (ISIS) has taken over Derna, a Libyan city of near the Egyptian border.
The Myth of the Caliphate (19 November 2014)
Nick Danforth tackles the political history of the Caliphate.
Child soldiers become integral part of ISIS` army (23 November 2014)
A report about how ISIS is actively conscripting children for battle and committing abuses in a systematic and organized manner against the most vulnerable at a young age.
ISIS Now Has a Network of Military Affiliates in 11 Countries Around the World (23 November 2014)
Katie Zavadski reports that at least 12 groups outside Iraq and Syria "have made a formal pledge of allegiance to ISIS and Baghdadi."
US air strikes in Syria driving anti-Assad groups to support Isis (23 November 2014)
Mona Mahmood reports that "US air strikes in Syria are encouraging anti-regime fighters to forge alliances with or even defect to Islamic State (Isis)".
Baghdadi vs. Zawahri: battle for global jihad (24 November 2014)
Bruce Riedel provides an insight about the rivalry between Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who are engaged in a battle for the hearts and minds of Islamic militants worldwide.
Iraqi forces retake territory from ISIS, as peshmerga try to win back Sinjar (24 November 2014)
In efforts to recapture territory, Iraqi security forces seek the Sinjar Mountain, and prevent ISIS to advance further.
Conflicting policies on Syria and Islamic State erode U.S. standing in Mideast (27 November 2014)
As the military campaign against the Islamic State continues in Syria, IS has held its strongholds and even expanded their reach. The fight continues without resolve, while damage only accumulates in the region.
The Islamic State (IS) and Pledges of Allegiance: The Case of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam (28 November 2014)
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi analyzes the case of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam (‘The Group of the Supporters/Partisans of Islam’), which has traditionally been a rival of IS.
Syrian rebels to be heavily screened before US military training (29 November 2014)
Missy Ryan writes about the US plan to train Syria`s rebels in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and two other countries to counter both ISIS and Assad.
U.S. considers opening new front against Islamic State to create a safe zone in Syria (1 December 2014)
U.S. considers significantly increasing its resources in order to establish a new front against IS and operations in Syria and Iraq.
How ISIS governs its caliphate (2 December 2014)
Simon Cordall on the expansion of the Islamic State and its strategic form of governing its borders.
Bashar al-Assad: airstrikes against Islamic State are failing (3 December 2014)
The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad claims that the U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State has not created a significant shift in power on the ground as predicted at first.
ISIL sympathisers say support is growing (4 December 2014)
Omar Shahid reports that "sympathy for the self-proclaimed Islamic State group is fuelled by Muslim distrust of the Western media`s narrative. "
Syrian forces ‘use chlorine gas’ on ISIS: monitor (7 December 2014)
The Syrian regime resorts to the use of chlorine gas against ISIS in efforts to prevent further advancement into Deir Ezzor.
Ambassador Fred Hof on buffer zones, rebel groups, and U.S. ISIS strategy (3 December 2014)
“The avoidance of the scenario in Iraq, probably more than anything else, explains U.S. policy in the past three and half years”
A three-part power struggle: ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and the Syrian regime (5 December 2014)
Katarina Montgomery interviews Yezid Sayigh who provides his insight on the conflict dynamics between ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and the Syrian regime.
Author`s journey inside ISIS: They`re `more dangerous than people realize` (5 December 2014/ Updated 4 January 2015)
This article discusses Juergen Todenhoefer`s journey into ISIS territory, Raqqa and Deir Ezzor in Syria, as well as Mosul in Iraq.
Isis: the inside story (11December 2014)
“One of the Islamic State’s senior commanders reveals exclusive details of the terror group’s origins inside an Iraqi prison right under the noses of their American jailers. Report by Martin Chulov””
The Islamic State: The Fear of Decline? (15 December 2014)
Dalia Ghanem provides an insight on Dabiq—the propaganda magazine of the Islamic State (IS).
ISIS lures teens through social media interaction (15 December 2014)
Julia A. Seymour reports that ISIS has attracted many teenagers in the West through use of social media and predatory online techniques.
“The Legal Foundations of the Islamic State” (17 December 2014)
Mara Revkin discusses the ways in which ISIS is using law to legitimize its violent state-building agenda.
The Arabic version of this article can be found here:
تقرير تحليلى : الأسس القانونية لتأسيس الدولة الإسلامية و كيف صنعت الدولة الإسلامية دولة قانون ! – الجزء الأول
تقرير تحليلى : الأسس القانونية لتأسيس الدولة الإسلامية و كيف صنعت الدولة الإسلامية دولة قانون ! – الجزء الثاني
The unmasking of an Islamic State twitter troll (17 December 2014)
Hassan Hassan on the unmasking of Shami witness and what this means for the potency of ISIS message.
Inside Isis: The first Western journalist ever to be given access to the `Islamic State` has just returned – and this is what he discovered (21 December 2014)
Adam Withnall provides a comprehensive article about Jürgen Todenhöfer`s trip to Mosul, the largest city occupied by Isis, after months of negotiations with the group’s leaders.
German journalist returns from time with ISIS with chilling stories (22 December 2014)
Jürgen Todenhöfer discusses ISIS and their campaign after returning from a 10-day trip that the spent among the areas the group control in Syria and Iraq.
In Kobani, Islamic State takes a pounding, but holds on (23 December 2014)
As U.S. airstrikes in Kobani continue, the Islamic state has remained there, and its foes fear the fight will continue.
Isis in Iraq: Yazidi girls killing themselves to escape rape and imprisonment by militants (23 December 2014)
Lizzie Dearden reports that "captured Yazidi girls in Iraq are killing themselves to escape rape and torture at the hands of Isis militants holding them prisoner."
The Islamic State is failing at being a state (25 December 2014)
Liz Sly provides an insight on the inability of the Islamic State to provide adequate services or governing the city.
The EU shifting its strategy on Syria, Iraq and fighting ISIS (27 December 2014)
The EU has changed its position in Syria. The main focus is fighting terrorism and cooperating with Syrian security forces. “Political realism requires a change in behavior and approach and not insisting on Assad’s departure as a priority.”
Anti-ISIS Syria tribesmen among 2,000 ‘executed’ (28 December 2014)
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that since June 2014, ISIS has executed around 2,000 people in Syria - half of them from an important Sunni tribe.
2014: The Year ISIS Won the Propaganda Battle (31 December 2014)
Markham Nolan writes about the ways in which ISIS has been documenting its progress throughout 2014 in a constant stream of propaganda.
Policy and Reports
What Will Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State Do Next in Syria? (20 November 2014)
Yezid Sayigh analyzes Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS strategies following the recent gains they attained at the expense iof both the Syrian regime and the armed opposition.
The Arabic version of this article can be found here:
الخطوة التالية لجبهة النصرة والدولة الإسلامية في سورية
Rule of Terror: Living under ISIS in Syria (14 November 2014)
“The UN commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic has documented shocking accounts of the armed group’s use of terror to subjugate Syrians living in its areas of control, as well as the use of extreme violence against both civilians and captured fighters, in its latest report, “Rule of Terror: Living under ISIS in Syria”.
The PDF file can be found here.
TSG IntelBrief: The Islamic State’s Fear of History (17 November 2014)
According to Soufan Group, a New York-based security and intelligence firm, the Islamic State" can’t help but be itself, and its indiscriminate killing of Sunnis, whom the group professes to protect and represent, is allowing history to repeat. The group is terrified of popular revolt among those Sunnis.”
TSG IntelBrief: The Chechen Foreign Fighter Threat (21 November 2014)
According to Soufan Group, a New York-based security and intelligence firm, "the current successes of the Islamic State’s purported military commander Abu Omar al-Shishani, a Georgian of renown from his time supporting Chechen rebels, stands to increase the number of North Caucasian volunteers who will fight under the group’s banner."
TSG IntelBrief: The Islamic State’s Potential to Expand to North Africa
(24 November 2014)
According to Soufan Group, a New York-based security and intelligence firm, “an increasing number of extremist groups in North Africa are pledging allegiance to the Islamic State; however, most of them are small and have no institutional links to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”
The Islamic State (November 2014)
The Soufan Group’s Special Report on The Islamic State.
Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria (November 2014)
In this report, published by Institute for the Study of War, Jennifer Cafarella argues that Jabhat al-Nusra "is more subtle and insidious than ISIS, and is therefore more difficult to contain or defeat."
Question of how to address the challenges of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) (November 2014)
Security Council Research Report that addresses the major challenges of ISIS.
Everyday Sectarianism: The Paradox of an Anti-Islamic State Ally (3 December 2014)
Saudi Arabia joined the anti-Islamic State coalition despite the fact that the kingdom "has institutionalized sectarianism in virtually every aspect of political, social, and economic life". Report by Frederic Wehrey.
The Arabic version of this article can be found here:
الطائفية الاعتيادية: مفارقات حليفٍ مناهضٍ للدولة الإسلامية
The Current Partitioning of Syria (3 December 2014)
The Soufan Group’s Special Report on “the de facto partitioning of Syria into three parts—those controlled by the Assad regime, the Islamic State, and Jabhat al-Nusra (JN)”
Pentagon in Denial About Civilian Casualties of U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria (3 December 2014)
Chris Woods reports "U.S. and allied forces may have killed dozens of civilians in airstrikes while bombing the Islamic State. But the defense department refuses to take responsibility."
ISIS: the military response in Iraq and Syria - Commons Library Standard Note (8 December 2014)
Louisa Brooke-Holland and Claire Mills provide a comprehensive report about the military campaign against ISIS.
Syrian military and ISIS have been ‘ignoring’ each other on the battlefield (10 December 2014)
Matthew Henman discusses a strategy of the Islamic State and Assad’s security forces, which is based on ignoring each other while focusing on attacking more moderate opposition groups.
ISIS`s Global Messaging Strategy Fact Sheet: December 2014 (16 December 2014)
Jessica Lewis McFate, Harleen Gambhir and Evan Sterling provides an insight on the global threat imposed by ISIS and report that "ISIS is not limited to Iraq and Syria; the global threat of attacks by ISIS is amply attested and requires due consideration."
Mosul on the Mediterranean? The Islamic State in Libya and U.S. Counterterrorism Dilemmas (17 December 2014)
Frederic Wehrey provides an insight on the emergence of the jihadist groups in Libya " like everything else in the country, the jihadist field in Libya is highly fragmented and hyper-localized. And the rise of the Islamic State has stirred significant debates within this fractured community about how to respond."
Iraq: Yezidi women and girls face harrowing sexual violence (23 December 2014)
"Torture, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, suffered by women and girls from Iraq’s Yezidi minority who were abducted by the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS), highlights the savagery of IS rule, said Amnesty International in a new briefing today. "
ISIS Offensives in Ramadi City and Al-Asad Airbase in Al-Anbar, Iraq (24 December 2014)
Jessica Lewis, Ahmed Ali, and Sinan Adnan discuss the contest for Ramadi, the capital city of Anbar province in western Iraq, and the political as well as military opportunities of controlling this city.
Isil publishes interview with captured Jordanian pilot (30 December 2014)
Ruth Sherlock reports about the interview, that was published by The Islamic State, with Maaz al-Kassasbeh, a Jordanian pilot who was captured after his plane crashed over the group’s stronghold in Raqqa, Syria.
Economy and Agriculture
Understanding the oil money that`s fueling ISIS (4 November 2014)
David Butter on the key source of income for the Islamic state and what this means for Syria at large.
Strikes by U.S. blunt ISIS but anger civilians (13 November 2014)
Insights from Raqaa on Isis & American airstrikes and their disapproval of U.S. intervention.
ISIS’s Governance Crisis (Part I): Economic Governance (3 December 2014)
This report demonstrates the economic difficulties that ISIS confronts after the US-led military campaign. "According to the International Energy Agency, ISIS’s oil production has dropped to about 20,000 barrels since the counteroffensive began, accompanying a drop in oil prices of 30 percent (around $60 per barrel)."
The Business of the Caliph (4 December 2014)
German newspaper Zeit provides an in-depth look at how ISIS makes its money.
ISIS’s Governance Crisis (Part II): Social Services (24 December 2014)
Mona Alami provides an insight on the social changes imposed by ISIS. "The terror organization has ushered in numerous changes to the curriculum in territories under its control. Science, history, civic, physical education and geography classes have been canceled, basic mathematics courses kept, and intensive religious material added."
Iraq Finance Minister: War With ISIS Hurting Economy (3 December 2014)
“Plunging oil prices and soaring costs from Iraq’s war against the Islamic State group is hurting Iraq’s economy and will prompt government spending cuts, including in defense, the country’s finance minister said Wednesday.”
Economic effects of the Syrian war and the spread of the Islamic state on the Levant, Volume 1 (8 December 2014)
This paper, by Elena Ianchovichina & Maros Ivanic, uses a global computable general-equilibrium framework with new detail on six Levant countries -- the Arab Republic of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Turkey -- to quantify the direct and indirect economic effects of the Syrian war and the advance of the Islamic State on the Levant.
Documentaries, Special Reports, and Other Media
Anti-ISIS Satire Lampoons Militant Group`s Hypocrisy (10 November 2014)
Audie Cornish talks to professor Marwan Kraidy, who studies TV and social media in the Arab world, about the slapstick sketches and music videos that poke fun at ISIS in sometimes bizarre ways.”
ISIS: Islamic State creating its own Country & Currency to bring forth the Caliphate (15 November 2014)
“FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a `fair use` of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law.”
Terrorisme, comment l`Etat Islamique pille les antiquités? (3 December 2014)
A report about the illicit excavations and trade in archaeological objects by ISIS during the ongoing conflict in Syria and an interview with Dr. Maamoun Abdulkarim, Director of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Syria.
Video: ISIS, Yazidis, and the Enslavement of Thousands of Women (10 December 2014)
“Joshua Landis and Matthew Barber discuss the devastating IS campaign to plunder Mosul’s Christians and enslave thousands of Yazidi women”
Isis releases `abhorrent` sex slaves pamphlet with 27 tips for militants on taking, punishing and raping female captives (10 December 2014)
This article overviews a guide called Questions Answers on Taking Captives and Slaves that believed to be issued by ISIS dealing with issues such as which women can be held as slaves and when they can be beaten.
Through social media, ISIS sympathizers draw foreign fighters to the battlefield (22 December 2014)
"There are a lot of people involved in the social media campaign who are cheerleaders of ISIS who are not formally associated with ISIS and who aren’t necessarily based in Iraq and Syria."
Arabic:
خط ساخن بين عين العرب وأربيل و«جبهة النصرة» تكتسح معقلاً للمعتدلين
Peshmerga forces arrived in Kobane to fight against ISIS.
«النصرة» تنافس «داعش» ... على حدود تركيا
In defiance of «Islamic State», Jabhat al- Nusra mobilized its forces near the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey.
سلمية... بوابة النظام السوري لكسب ود التحالف الدولي
Absi Sumaisem writes about Al-Salamiyah city (which is located in western Syria, in Hama Governorate) as a strategic point for the Syrian regime to win the International Alliance`s acknowledgment of the regime as a partner in fighting ISIS.
أوباما يعلن عن "مرحلة جديدة" في الحرب ضد تنظيم "الدولة الإسلامية"
This article outlines Obama comments on sending additional 1,500 US troops to Iraq, and news of wounding some ISIS leaders including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by American airstrikes.
الحياة في الرقة في ظلّ حكم داعش
"The faceless young Syrian behind the “Raqqa is being slaughtered silently” campaign and website tells Al-Monitor columnist Ali Hashem, about life in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, an Islamic State stronghold".
The English version of this article can be found here:
Life in Raqqa under IS
داعش.. الرعب والإتقان الإعلامي
Ibrahim al-Basri writes about how both ISIS and the Syrian regime utilize terror and propaganda as tactics.
التاريخ يُكتب في العراق
Amer Mohsen provides an insight on the battle against ISIS in Iraq.
القلمون: انشقاق في «داعش»
Radwan Mortada reports about the expulsion of Abu Talal al- Hamad the Emir of ISIS in Qalamoun.
«النصرة» تخلف «داعش»: مرحباً بـ«شرطي الثورة» الجديد
Suhaib Anjarini reports how Jabhat al Nusra uses ISIS tactics in al-Rastan by acting as the “Police of the Revolution”.
قيادي في "القاعدة" ينتقد قطع الرؤوس التي ينفذها "داعش"
Nasser Bin Ali Al-Ansi, a leader in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), criticizes ISIS Beheadings as `Un-Islamic`.
الإسلامي المتشدد أبو قتادة يشن هجوما عنيفا على تنظيم "الدولة الإسلامية"
Abu Qatada, a Jordanian preacher, criticizes ISIS/"Daash" and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
صنداي تايمز: البلدة السورية التي تحولت إلى "لندن مصغرة"
Sunday Times reports that Manbij, a town in the Aleppo Governorate, became as ‘little London’ as it became populated by so many British jihadists.
The English version of this article can be found here:
UK terrorists turn Isis stronghold into ‘little London’
تكلفة الآثار الاقتصادية للحرب السورية وتوسع تنظيم الدولة الإسلامية: من خسر وما حجم الخسارة؟
Elena Ianchovichina and Maros Ivanic provides an insight on the the Economic Impact of the Syrian War and the spread of ISIS. " Syria and Iraq have seen per capita income in constant terms declining by 23 percent and 28 percent relative to the levels that could have been achieved if war hadn’t broken out"
The English version of this article can be found here:
The Economic Impact of the Syrian War and the Spread of ISIS: Who Loses & How Much?
إغلاق مسجد في ألمانيا بتهمة الترويج لـ "داعش"
For the first time in Germany, authorities closed a mosque because of its management of promoting ISIS values and encouraging young Muslims in the city to travel to Syria and Iraq.
أرقام «الاتجاه المعاكس»: في سجّل «داعش» مجزرة واحدة لا أكثر
Ala`a halabi criticizes the sectarian-based messages of Al-Jazeera shows like Faisal al-Qassem`s show "The Opposite Direction."
«داعش» يستدرج «التحالف» إلى سورية... ويُعدل الأولويات
Ibrahim Hamidi provides overview of the developments of ISIS during 2014 and predicts that land forces will intervene in Syria against ISIS in 2015.
منتج فيلم داعش: لست عميلا للدولة الإسلامية ومحاكمتي اغتيال للحقيقة
CNN Arabic interviews Medyan Dairieh, a filmmaker who had previously shot films about the war in Syria for Vice, who defends himself against accusation of supporting ISIS.
منتج أشهر فيلم عن التنظيم يشرح كيف حقق "داعش" تقدمه العسكري
Medyan Dairieh, a filmmaker who had previously shot films about the war in Syria for Vice, explains how ISIS was able to achieve military advances.
داعش والنظام يحاصران "مصاصة متّة"
Abdullah Amin Alhallak writes about Masasit Mati (yerba mate bombilla), a young Syrian acting troupe, and the ways in which their non-violence activism through arts was negatively affected by both the Syrian regime and ISIS.
غارات التحالف في سوريا قتلت "أكثر من ألف مسلح" بتنظيم الدولة الإسلامية
According to BBC, which cited the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “more than 1000 militants were killed in U.S.-led air strikes in Syria.”
"داعش" قتل 100 مقاتل اجنبي حاولوا الفرار
ISIS executes 100 foreign fighters who attempted to quit and flee from the insurgents` de-facto capital of Raqqa.
تنظيم الدولة الإسلامية "أعدم نحو ألفي شخص" في ستة أشهر
Syrian activists report that ISIS executed around 2000 persons inside Syria during last 6 months.
الطاعون الداعشي فتك بأهل الصحافة
Zainab Hawi writes about the dangers to journalists working in ISIS territory.
عبد الباري عطوان في عقل «داعش»
Samir Nassif reviews Abdel Bari Atwan`s new book about the rise and future of the Islamic State.
سوريا: مجزرة تكشف عن العلاقات المعقدة بين تنظيم "الدولة الإسلامية" وبعض العشائر
The bodies of 230 people killed by the Islamic State group have been found in a mass grave uncovered by their relatives in Syria`s Deir Ezzor province.
أسر الطيار الكساسبة يشعل منصات التواصل
Following the capture of the Jordanian pilot, Muath al-Kassasbeh, hashtags with his name spread through social media.
The Islamic State`s (ISIS, ISIL) Magazine: Dabiq
“All of the issues of the Islamic State`s glossy propaganda magazine `Dabiq,` named after a key site in Muslim apocalypse mythology can be found here.”
Or you can download each issue separately:
Islamic State (ISIS) Magazine: Dabiq - "The Return of Khilafah" (Issue 1)
Islamic State (ISIS) Magazine: Dabiq - "The Flood" (Issue 2)
Islamic State (ISIS) Magazine: Dabiq - "The Call to Hijrah" (Issue 3)
Islamic State (ISIS) Magazine: Dabiq - "The Failed Crusade" (Issue 4)
Islamic State (ISIS) Magazine: Dabiq - "Remaining and Expanding" (Issue 5)
Islamic State (ISIS) Magazine: Dabiq - "Al-Qa`idah of Waziristan: A Testimony From Within" (Issue 6)