Author's journey inside ISIS: They're 'more dangerous than people realize'

By Frederik Pleitgen, CNN

December 22, 2014 -- Updated 0618 GMT (1418 HKT)

(CNN) -- Juergen Todenhoefer's journey was a tough one: dangerous, but also eye-opening. The author traveled deep into ISIS territory -- the area they now call their "caliphate" -- visiting Raqqa and Deir Ezzor in Syria, as well as Mosul in Iraq.

Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, was taken by ISIS in a Blitzkrieg-like sweep in June.

Todenhoefer managed to visit the Mosque there where the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi, gave his only ever public address.

And he saw the realities of daily life under ISIS, with all shops having to close for prayers in the middle of the day.

"There is an awful sense of normalcy in Mosul," Todenhoefer said in an exclusive interview with CNN.

Fate of Isis leader remains unclear after US airstrike in Iraq

Monitoring of Isis communications following attack near Mosul reveals nothing to suggest Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed

The Guardian

Officials in Baghdad and Washington remained unclear on Sunday about the fate of the Islamic State (Isis) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after a key aide was killed in a US air strike near Mosul.

A senior Iraqi official confirmed to the Guardian that the aide, Abdur Rahman al-Athaee, also known as Abu Sajar, was killed in the the attack late on Friday night, which hit a 10-car convoy southwest of the Isis stronghold.

Athaee was known to have been in almost constant contact with Baghdadi and officials deduced that his presence in the convoy likely meant that Baghdadi was with him.

However, monitoring of the group’s communications in the aftermath of the attack has revealed nothing to suggest that Baghdadi was killed. Officials have not ruled out that he may have been injured.

Central Command general to ISIS: We can hear you

By Eric Marrapodi, CNN

(CNN) -- The top U.S. military commander in the fight against ISIS said airstrikes are working to erode the terror group's capabilities and warned militants that the U.S. military is listening to them.

Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, who heads the U.S. Central Command, made those remarks at an event Thursday with the Atlantic Council, which was moderated by CNN anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper.

"I'm confident we're having the desired effects," Austin said of airstrikes in Syria and Iraq aimed at ISIS.

"What we want to do is take away the enemies' ability to command and control, his ability to sustain himself, his ability to project combat power and his ability to move forces back and forth across the Iraq/Syria border."

Latest strikes target Khorasan group.

ISIS Wave of Might Is Turning Into Ripple

By BEN HUBBARDNOV. 5, 2014

The New York Times

BAGHDAD — The extremists of the Islamic State appeared unstoppable after their sudden blitz through Iraq this summer, with its battle-hardened fighters continually raising their black flag over newly conquered areas.

Today, roughly a third of Iraq is dotted by active battle fronts, with intense fighting and occasional Islamic State victories. But analysts also say the days of easy and rapid gains for the jihadists may be coming to a close in Iraq, as the group’s momentum appears to be stalling.

The international airstrike campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has clearly played a role in slowing the Sunni Muslim group’s advance. But analysts say other factors are having a major effect, including unfavorable sectarian and political demographics, pushback from overrun communities, damage to the group’s financial base in Syria and slight improvements by ground forces in Iraq.

Enforcer at Treasury Is First Line of Attack Against ISIS

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVISOCT. 21, 2014

The New York Times

Every morning David S. Cohen descends into a fortified, cavelike complex in the bowels of the Treasury Department to pore through hundreds of pages of leads — from raw intelligence reports to polished threat assessments — to try to penetrate the vast and opaque finances of the Islamic State, the terrorist group capable of producing 50,000 barrels of oil a day.

U.S. Air Drops Arms To Kurdish Forces Fighting ISIS In Kobani

 AP      | By ROBERT BURNS

Posted: 10/19/2014 10:16 pm EDT Updated: 3 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Sunday it had airdropped weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to Kurdish forces defending the Syrian city of Kobani against Islamic State militants.

The airdrops Sunday were the first of their kind and followed weeks of U.S. and coalition airstrikes in and near Kobani, near the Turkish border. The U.S. said earlier Sunday that it had launched 11 airstrikes overnight in the Kobani area.

Syrian Kurds Gain Importance In Campaign Against ISIS

Posted: 10/16/2014 8:47 pm EDT     

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

WASHINGTON -- After more than a month of being outnumbered and outgunned, facing likely doom in Kobani, Kurdish fighters have begun to turn the tide against Islamic State militants with help from airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.

ISIS Retreating from Kobani, Says Kurdish Official

Rishi Iyengar  4:58 AM ET

TIME

The radical Islamist militants now reportedly control only 20% of the border town, as opposed to about 40% before

The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) has suffered setbacks and has begun retreating from parts of the Syrian border town of Kobani, according to a local official, who said Kurdish forces were advancing against the militant group.

Idris Nassan told the BBC that ISIS had previously controlled almost half the town but currently occupies “less than 20%.”

The Unserious Air War Against ISIS

The campaign against Serbia in 1999 averaged 138 strike sorties daily. Against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: seven.

The Wall Street Journal

By MARK GUNZINGER And  JOHN STILLION

Oct. 14, 2014 7:04 p.m. ET

Since U.S. planes first struck targets in Iraq on Aug. 8, a debate has raged over the effectiveness of the Obama administration’s air campaign against Islamic State. The war of words has so far focused on the need to deploy American boots on the ground to provide accurate intelligence and possibly force ISIS fighters to defend key infrastructure they have seized, such as oil facilities. But debate is now beginning to focus on the apparent failure of airstrikes to halt the terror group’s advances in Iraq and Syria—especially Islamic State’s pending seizure of Kobani on the Syrian border with Turkey.

White House insists anti-Isis strategy is on track despite setbacks on the ground

Isis advances on Baghdad and Kobani despite 21 air strikes

Turkey bombs Kurdish targets in south-east of country

Dan Roberts in Washington and Constanze Letsch in Istanbul

The Guardian, Tuesday 14 October 2014 20.31 BST

The Guardian

The US-led campaign to combat Islamic State (Isis) fighters in Syria and Iraq is facing a growing crisis of confidence as setbacks on the battlefield coincide with efforts to improve allied coordination and calls for President Barack Obama to escalate the military attacks.

ISIS May Have Chemical Weapons

Posted: 10/13/2014 9:01 pm EDT  

Akbar Shahid Ahmed

akbar.ahmed@huffingtonpost.com

WASHINGTON -- The Islamic State militant group may possess chemical weapons that it has already used to extend its self-proclaimed caliphate, according to photos taken by Kurdish activists and examined by Israeli researchers.

Fear and firepower: Bloodlust biggest weapon in ISIS arsenal

By Perry ChiaramontePublished October 14, 2014

FoxNews.com

The terrorist army of Islamic State has missiles, tanks and bombs, but the potent weapon that allows a relatively small force to keep much of Iraq and Syria in its grip is bloodlust - in the form of beheadings, crucifixions and mass executions.

ISIS enters Kobani, city's defenders see 'last chance to leave,' sources say

By Ralph Ellis, CNN

October 5, 2014 -- Updated 2250 GMT (0650 HKT)

(CNN) -- ISIS moved closer to seizing Kobani on Sunday as militants entered the southeastern edge of the Syrian city and street-to-street fighting began, a fighter and a media activist inside the city told CNN.

The city's defenders were looking for ways to escape the Kurdish stronghold strategically located near the Turkish border, the fighter said.

"It's the last chance to leave," the fighter said. The fighter and media activist requested their names be withheld for security reasons.

Australia authorizes special forces troops to go to Iraq

BY LINCOLN FEAST

SYDNEY Fri Oct 3, 2014 3:16am EDT

(Reuters) - Australian special forces troops will be deployed in Iraq to assist in the fight against Islamic State militants, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday, and its aircraft will also join U.S.-led coalition strikes.

U.K. Carries Out First Airstrikes in Iraq

Ministry of Defense Says RAF Destroyed an Islamic State Arsenal and a Machine Gun-Mounted Vehicle

The Wall Street Journal

By JENNY GROSS

Updated Sept. 30, 2014 5:15 p.m. ET

LONDON—Britain's Royal Air Force carried out its first strikes in Iraq on Tuesday, destroying an Islamic State arsenal and a machine gun-mounted vehicle, the Ministry of Defense said.

The many names of ISIS (also known as IS, ISIL, SIC and Da'ish)

The Economist

Sep 28th 2014, 23:50 by M.R. | CAIRO

FOR the third time in as many decades America is leading a powerful coalition to war in the Middle East. On September 23rd the offensive expanded dramatically as coalition aircraft and missiles struck in Syria, widening the theatre beyond its initial arena in Iraq. Their target is a radical jihadist group that has grabbed headlines since June, when its black-clad gunmen burst beyond territory they had captured during Syria’s civil war and seized big chunks of Iraq, including the country’s second biggest city, Mosul. Alarm has grown as they have massacred hundreds of prisoners, sometimes with grisly televised beheadings, and hounded thousands of Christians and other minorities from their homes. Nearly everyone shares a desire to destroy this scourge, yet they cannot seem to agree on what to call it. The group has been variously dubbed ISIS, ISIL, IS, SIC and Da'ish. Why the alphabet soup?

Isis 'just one mile from Baghdad' as al-Qaeda fighters join forces against Syria air strikes

The Independent

MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2014

Isis fighters are reportedly just one mile away from Baghdad as reports emerge of al-Qaeda militants bolstering their ranks in Syria.

According to the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, Isis was approaching the Iraqi capital on Monday morning.

Isis onslaught against Kurds in Syria brings ‘man-made disaster’ into Turkey

In the border town of Suruç, there is anger and despair among the Syrian Kurd refugees who have joined the exodus

Constanze Letsch in Suruç

The Guardian, Monday 22 September 2014 20.43 BST

In the small bus shuttling passengers between Gaziantep and the small predominantly Kurdish border town of Suruç, all conversation is focused on one topic only.

“Suruç is teeming,” says Izzettin Abdi Hacirashad, 51, a spare parts trader. “In the parks, the bus station, the streets. Everywhere. You will see.”

U.S. and Arab partners bomb ISIS in Syria

By Holly Yan and Jim Sciutto, CNN

September 23, 2014 -- Updated 1053 GMT (1853 HKT)

(CNN) -- The United States and several Arab nations rained bombs on ISIS targets in Syria on Tuesday -- the first U.S. military offensive in the war-torn country and a forceful message to the militant group that the U.S. would not stand by idly while it carried out its rampage of terror.

The airstrikes focused on the city of Raqqa, the declared capital of ISIS' self-proclaimed Islamic State. But other areas were hit as well.

The operation began with a flurry of Tomahawk missiles launched from the sea, followed by attacks from bomber and fighter aircraft, a senior U.S. military official told CNN.

James Clapper: We underestimated the Islamic State’s ‘will to fight’

The Washington Post 

By David Ignatius Opinion writer September 18

The United States has made the same mistake in evaluating fighters from the Islamic State that it did in Vietnam — underestimating the enemy’s will, according to James Clapper, the director of national intelligence.