Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Europe

Swedish man charged over 2015 killing of a Jordanian pilot

2025-05-29

[NEWARAB] A Swedish man was indicted Tuesday in connection with the killing by the Islamic State

More from the Times of Israel:

Prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Swedish jihadist over the 2014 capture and subsequent killing of a Jordanian pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh, who was burned to death in a cage in Syria by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Osama Krayem, 32, was charged with “participating in the brutal execution of a pilot” near the city of Raqqa, prosecutor Reena Devgun told a press conference.

Krayem, who is already serving a 30-year sentence for involvement in the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, was charged with “serious war crimes and terrorist crimes.”

According to prosecutors, who had announced they intended to charge Krayem last week, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria on December 24, 2014. The pilot was captured by IS fighters the same day near the central city of Raqqa, and killed sometime before February 3, 2015. The execution was filmed and a 22-minute video accompanied by a specially composed religious chant was published.

In the video, the victim is seen walking past several masked IS fighters, including Krayem, according to prosecutors. The pilot is then locked in a cage that is set on fire, leading to his death, Henrik Olin, the other prosecutor in charge of the case, told reporters.

“This bestial murder, in which a prisoner was burned alive in a cage, was staged in a carefully produced video that was broadcast around the world. Its publication marked an unprecedented escalation in the Islamic State group’s violent propaganda,” Olin said.

Prosecutors have been unable to determine the exact day of the murder, but the investigation has identified the location where it took place.

‘OBLIGATION’ TO PROSECUTE
The defendant’s lawyer, Petra Eklund, told AFP that her client admitted to being present at the scene but disputed the prosecution’s version.

“He denies the acts for which he is prosecuted,” she said.

“He acknowledges having been present at that place during the event but claims not to have acted in the manner described by the prosecutors in the account of the facts.”

Krayem, who is from Malmo in southern Sweden, joined the IS group in Syria in 2014 before returning to Europe. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison in France for helping plan the November 2015 Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed. The following year, he was given a life sentence in Belgium for participating in the bombings on March 22, 2016, at Brussels’ main airport and on the metro system, which killed 32 people.

“Even though this is a person that’s already sentenced and is serving very long prison sentences in other countries, we will still charge him and we have an international obligation to do so,” Devgun told AFP.

Krayem has been “temporarily handed over to Sweden to participate in the trial,” which is scheduled to begin June 4, according to the Swedish Prosecution Authority.

“It is painful for my parents to be confronted with this event again, but we are grateful that the Swedish authorities want to give us justice,” Jawdat al-Kasasbeh, the pilot’s brother, told broadcaster Sveriges Radio.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Nigerian government losing ground to a resurgent Boko Haram and its IS-affiliated splinter : Peoples Dispatch

2025-05-28

[PEOPLESDISPATCH.ORG] Amid a series of attacks in Nigeria's northeastern border state of Borno, its governor, Babagana Zulum, sounded an alarm that only one of the over 300 towns and villages in its Marte Local Government Area (LGA) remains under government control.

Several other of the 27 LGAs of the state have also been attacked this year, especially since March. The attackers? A resurgent Boko Haram and its splinter, the Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
of West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Past midnight on May 23, Boko Haram button men were intercepted by the army while trying to infiltrate a brigade's headquarters in the Damboa LGA. In the two-hour-long battle that ensued, two soldiers and 16 forces of Evil were reportedly killed before the latter retreated.

The night before, around 10:30 pm on May 22, the army killed five more murderous Moslems while repelling an attack on a military base in Gajibo village of the Dikwa LGA. The button men also opened fire on civilians in the village, killing at least nine and injuring many more.

Dozens more civilians were executed last week in the Kukawa LGA, where a Boko Haram faction's button men reportedly rounded up over a hundred residents, mostly bean farmers and fishermen, in the village of Malam Karanti and its neighboring Kwatandashi on May 15. They were marched into a bush where 57 bodies, most of them with slit throats, were recovered two days later.

RIVALRY AND COOPERATION BETWEEN BOKO HARAM AND ISWAP
Local media reports and eyewitness accounts that Boko Haram attacked these villagers for paying protection money to its rival ISWAP highlight that civilians remain the victims even when the conflict is within the Jihadist movement.

ISWAP was formed in 2016 and affiliated itself with the Islamic State after it broke away from Boko Haram which formed in 2002. In 2009, Boko Haram unleashed a terror campaign, which continues till today, killing 36,000 people and displacing another 2.2 million. Clashes between these two rivals have also been reported. Nevertheless, the Nigerian government is losing ground again to the Jihadists, even as they fight each other.

Their rivalry and collaboration appear to be separated by a thin and often blurred line. Nigerian media attributes several attacks to ''Boko Haram/ISWAP'', including the attack on Gajibo on May 22 and the earlier coordinated raids between May 12 and 13 on the two military bases — one in Rann in Kala Balge LGA, and another in Gajiram in the Nganzai LGA.

Vanguard reported that five soldiers were killed and six others were maimed in Rann, while the army was able to repel the attack in Gajiram — both of which have come under repeated attacks this year.

Earlier on May 12, button men had also struck another military base in Marte town in Marte LGA on the border with Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
, killing seven soldiers and dislodging others before stealing weapons. After the base was briefly overrun, 20,000 people fled the town to take refuge in an Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in Dikwa LGA's town.

''This huge number is a threat as allowing them to stay in the camp may'' leave ''the younger ones— vulnerable to recruitment by the murderous Moslems,'' Governor Zulum warned.

Reassured by his visit to the town with security forces in the aftermath of this attack, many of the residents have returned, and are now ''resettled for the second time,'' he said in a presser on May 18. They were first resettled here about four years ago when the army retook control over this area from the forces of Evil under the previous administration.

However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
with Nigeria's economy shrinking under the deepening neoliberal austerity measures by the current administration, the security forces are increasingly ill-equipped and underfunded. They have been ceding ground once again to a resurgent Boko Haram, which is reportedly deploying drones of the sort used by Israel and Ukraine.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Damascus is preparing to take control of al-Hol camp

2025-05-25

It will be interesting to see whether the HTS government absorbs the ISIS fighters into their ranks or sees them as the undesirable other.

[Rudaw] The Syrian government will assume control of al-Hol and shift focus to rehabilitation of the thousands of suspected Islamic State

Link

Iraq

Sulaimani security forces arrest three ISIS suspects

2025-05-25

[Rudaw] Three suspected members of the Islamic State

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran sentences three to death over deadly attacks on Shiite shrine

2025-05-19

[IsraelTimes] Verdicts address two ISIS-linked shootings in 2022 and 2023 that killed 15 at the Shah Cheragh mausoleum in Shiraz

Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
has sentenced three people to death and nabbed
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
several others convicted over their roles in deadly attacks on a Shiite shrine in the southern city of Shiraz, the judiciary said Sunday.

The verdicts stem from two shootings — in October 2022 and August 2023 — that killed 15 people at the Shah Cheragh mausoleum in the capital of Fars province. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic State

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

SDF captures 10 ISIS suspects in east Syria, kills 1

2025-05-17

[Rudaw] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday they captured 10 Islamic State

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Jihadists Kill Troops, Fishermen In Northern Nigeria

2025-05-17

[BARRONS] Twin jihadist attacks across Lake Chad killed at least 22 people in Nigeria, sources told AFP Friday, with Boko Haram

... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
killing more than a dozen civilians and Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Islamic State

West Africa Province raiding a military base.

The attacks come as Nigeria's embattled northeast -- facing an insurgency that since 2009 has killed 40,000 and displaced two million -- has witnessed renewed attacks in recent weeks.

While violence has fallen from its 2014-2015 peak, the governor of Borno recently warned that the military was losing ground to jihadists. A spate of attacks killed 100 people.

Militants from Boko Haram killed at least 17 fishermen and farmers on Thursday, local anti-jihadist militia members told AFP, warning that the toll may rise.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syrian militants continue abuses in north Syria despite integration: HRW

2025-05-15

[Rudaw] Syrian National Army (SNA) Death Eaters continue to detain and extort civilians in northern Syria despite a decline in arrests in recent months, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report said on Wednesday, warning that commanders complicit in serious human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
abuses are now being integrated into Syria’s official military structure.

"These fighters are being integrated into Syria’s Armed Forces, with their commanders appointed to key government and military positions, despite their past involvement in serious abuses," HRW said, calling on the transitional government in Damascus to "end and investigate ongoing abused and exclude those with records of abuse from the Syrian security forces."

The report cited Syrian for Truth and Justice (STJ) - a local human rights organization - which last month documented dozens of arrests by SNA factions in January and February. Despite the removal of most SNA checkpoints in the vicinity of the Kurdish city of Afrin in northern Syria, "hundreds remain detained in SNA-run, Ottoman Turkish-supervised prisons."

The watchdog also cited a December attack by fighters from the SNA’s notorious Suleiman Shah Brigade, who allegedly took control of a village in Aleppo province, beat residents, stole personal belongings, and arrested seven men "under the pretext of searching for weapons." Two of the men "remained in detention" as of early May, according to the HRW.

It also referred to earlier reports that detail "abductions, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, including of children, sexual violence, and torture by the various factions of the SNA, the Military Police, a force established to curb such abuses, and members of the Ottoman Turkish Armed Forces and Ottoman Turkish intelligence agencies."

"The primary targets were Kurds and those linked to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which Turkiye considers part of the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK], which announced its dissolution on May 12," HRW said.

"Turkiye, which still oversees former SNA factions and continues to provide weapons, salaries, training, and logistical support to these factions, also bears responsibility for their abuses and potential war crimes," it added.

In 2018, ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
and its allied Syrian militias seized control of Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in Rojava. Thousands of Kurds fled, with many settling in the nearby Shahba region. International organizations have recorded widespread violations in Afrin since then, including killings, kidnappings, looting of crops, and extortion of Kurdish farmers.

In December, the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS) launched a blistering offensive from their stronghold of Idlib in northwest Syria and marched on Damascus, overthrowing Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
’s regime. HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa set up a transitional government and appointed himself as interim president.

But Syria’s new authorities have faced backlash, particularly from the Kurds, for appointing militia leaders complicit in serious human rights abuses, including Ahmad al-Hayes, better known as Abu Hatem Shaqra, the former leader of the SNA’s Ahrar al-Sharqiya, and Mohammad Hussein al-Jassim (Abu Amsha), the notorious commander of the Suleiman Shah Brigade.

In 2021, the US sanctioned Hayes, accusing him of serious human rights violations, including trafficking Yazidi women and kiddies, and connections with the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS). He is also accused by Syrian Kurds of killing popular Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf during Turkey’s 2019 military offensive against the Kurdish-led SDF in northern Syria.

Washington has also sanctioned Abu Amsha for "serious human rights abuses" in the Afrin region and for ordering his Death Eaters to "forcibly displace Kurdish residents and seize their property" in northern Syria.

"The fall of Assad’s abusive government has meant decades of atrocities by that government have come to an end," said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "But Syrian National Army factions are continuing to detain, extort, and torture residents with impunity."

Notably, Damascus has also faced criticism over a deadly crackdown in the Alawite-majority coastal areas, where at least 1,500 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In late April, over 100 were also killed in southern Syria’s Druze-majority areas after sectarian violence erupted

like lava from a volcano following a fake audio clip insulting the Prophet Muhammad, initially blamed on a Druze holy man.

Sharaa met with locals in Afrin in February and pledged to remove gangs and end abuses. In March, he signed a landmark agreement with SDF chief Mazloum Abdi to integrate the SDF into Syria’s state institutions, declare a nationwide ceasefire, and facilitate the return of displaced Syrians under government protection.

The deal resulted in a prisoner swap and a joint security arrangement in Kurdish-majority neighborhoods north of Aleppo previously held by the People’s Protection Units (YPG) - the SDF’s backbone.

Ahmed Hassan, head of Afrin’s council of the Kurdish National Council (ENKS), told Rudaw in March that the number of Kurds returning to Afrin has significantly increased since the deal, with some Arab settlers reportedly leaving the city.

However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
Nadine Maenza, president of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Secretariat and former chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), told Rudaw in April that many displaced Kurds and Yazidis are still afraid to return due to militia presence.

"The Syrian transitional government should urgently unify its military under an accountable command with civilian oversight and ensure adherence to international human rights standards. It should take steps to prevent further abuses against Kurdish and other residents in northern Syria, ensure the release of all arbitrarily detained people, and investigate past abuses with fair legal proceedings," HRW said, also calling on Ankara to suspend its support to abusive SNA commanders and factions and provide reparations to victims.

The human rights watchdog also called on the international community to provide assistance to ensure that civilians are protected under the new transitional authorities, "including supporting an independent judiciary to ensure lawful detention and treatment of detainees."

"As Syria’s transitional government is integrating into its ranks SNA factions and other gangs, it must exclude those in the SNA that are responsible for abuses and hold them accountable," Coogle said. "If it doesn’t do so, the Syrian people will not be able to trust their armed forces and will be vulnerable to yet more abuse."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

SDF thwarts multiple ISIS attacks in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province

2025-05-11

[Rudaw] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Thursday said they had successfully thwarted a number of attacks by the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province.

"Today, our forces successfully thwarted an attempted terrorist attack by ISIS cells on one of our military points in the Hawaij Dhiban, Deir Ezzor’s eastern countryside," read a statement by the SDF.

It added that "the terrorist attackers, riding a cycle of violence, opened fire on the military point using AK-47 rifles. Our forces responded decisively, engaging in a direct clash that forced the Death Eaters to flee under heavy fire. One member of the attacking cell was maimed, while no casualties were reported among our forces."

Earlier in the same day, the SDF announced it had thwarted two additional ISIS attacks in the same region.

"Our forces successfully foiled two ISIS terrorist attacks Wednesday evening in Deir Ezzor’s eastern countryside, when ISIS cells targeted a checkpoint of the Internal Security Forces [Asayish] in Dhiban and a Self-Defense vehicle in Jdeidet Akidat," the SDF said in a statement.

No casualties were recorded in the attacks, according to the SDF.

"Vigilance and swift response by our forces foiled both attacks," the statement added.

These incidents are part of a broader uptick in ISIS activity in Deir ez-Zor.

On Tuesday, the SDF reported the deaths of two of its fighters following a machine-gun assault by an ISIS cell on a military point in the town of al-Bahra, located in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor. The assailants reportedly expeditiously departed at a goodly pace on cycle of violences.

The SDF, backed by the United States, functions as the de facto military force of northeastern Syria (Rojava) and remains a key partner of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

Since its territorial defeat in Syria in 2019, ISIS has been trying to regain its strength, particularly after a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS) on December 8 toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
The Kurdish-led force on Tuesday characterized the latest attacks as "part of a broader escalation by the terrorist organization against our forces in northern and eastern Syria, making use of the ongoing chaos in the country."

"Our forces reaffirm their commitment to pursuing these terrorist cells until they are completely dismantled and the security and stability of the region are secured," the SDF asserted.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported in early April that ISIS has ramped up its attacks in SDF-controlled areas, targeting both civilians and security forces. The monitor documented over 50 such incidents since the beginning of 2025.

SDF chief Mazloum Abdi has repeatedly warned about the persistent threat of ISIS, especially within detention centers and camps. In January, Abdi stressed the "need to intensify efforts to continue the fight against ISIS if we don’t want to see it make a comeback."

Link

Africa Horn

U.S. AFRICOM Airstrike Targets ISIS Militants in Puntland, Says Somali Defence Ministry

2025-05-06

[ShabelleMedia] In a coordinated effort with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) conducted an ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
<del>Arclight</del> airstrike

...KABOOM!...
this morning in Puntland
...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
, targeting turbans affiliated with the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS). The airstrike resulted in significant enemy casualties, according to initial reports.

The Ministry of Defence of Somalia has commended the successful operation, praising the collaboration between the Somali government and the U.S. military in combating terrorism. A statement from the Ministry emphasized the importance of the ongoing partnership and reaffirmed Somalia’s commitment to working with international allies to eradicate terrorist groups operating within the country.

"The airstrike today is a clear demonstration of the strength of our partnership with U.S. AFRICOM," the Ministry said in a statement. "Together, we remain dedicated to defeating the terrorist threat posed by ISIS and other holy warrior factions. This successful operation is another step forward in ensuring the security and stability of Somalia."

The airstrike, according to AFRICOM, is part of an ongoing campaign to target and eliminate al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
and ISIS, which have been destabilizing the region, particularly in the northern and central parts of Somalia.

While no specific details have been released regarding the number of ISIS turbans killed or captured, the Somali government has vowed to continue its counterterrorism operations in collaboration with international partners to disrupt and dismantle these holy warrior networks.

The U.S. military has been conducting operations in Somalia for several years, primarily focused on targeting al-Shabaab holy warriors, but ISIS-affiliated groups have increasingly become a threat in the country, particularly in Puntland.

This operation underscores the continued international effort to support Somalia’s fight against terrorism and its ongoing commitment to securing a peaceful future for its citizens.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Kurdish forces arrest suspected ISIS leader in east Syria

2025-05-05

[Rudaw] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday that a suspected "high-ranking" leader of the Islamic State

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Nigeria appoints new commander after renewed militant attacks in northeast

2025-05-03

[MSN] Nigeria has appointed a new commander for its fight against insurgency in the northeast after renewed attacks in the last four months that have killed several civilians and soldiers in the region.

The military appointed Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar as its 15th commander in the fight against Boko Haram

... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
/ISWAP insurgency in the northeast, Reuben Kovangiya, spokesperson for the operation, said in a statement.

Abubakar's previous roles include deputy commandant of the Nigerian Defence College and commander of a major security operation in north-central Nigeria.

Boko Haram and its splinter rival, the Islamic State

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