Displaying items by tag: IS

Friday, 03 November 2017 11:44

IS fighters return from the battlefield

As IS control erodes in Iraq and Syria, about half the foreign fighters from the UK, Sweden, and Denmark have returned. IS kept detailed records of fighters, and captured computers and cell phones have helped those fighting IS to create a membership profile. Nearly 20,000 names have been shared with Interpol. It is highly likely that, as the territorial caliphate shrinks, its leadership will look to supporters overseas, including returnees, to keep the brand alive. Rory Stewart, a government minister, caused a stir when he said, ‘They are a serious danger to us, and unfortunately the only way of dealing with them will be, in almost every case, to kill them.’ Meanwhile, Max Hill QC, who advises the government on such matters, says that former IS fighters should be reintegrated into society. See:

Published in British Isles
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Friday, 01 September 2017 10:19

Philippines: IS propaganda video

The IS terrorist group has released a disturbing propaganda video in which its fighters are shown stamping on a bust of Jesus, desecrating religious statues, and ripping up photos of Pope Francis, before the church went up in flames. The video, filmed in the Philippines, features a narrator speaking with an American accent; he praises ‘the truthful soldiers of Mohammed’ who have infiltrated the city of Marawi. About 200,000 residents have been evacuated from the city since the start of the conflict in May, but several hundred - many of them Christians - are held captive inside the city. The video narrator claimed that the Philippine government tried to subjugate the Muslims and expel them from the land, and said IS soldiers freed inmates from the local jail and attacked local churches. He added that ‘the religion of the cross’ would be broken.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 21 July 2017 09:04

Iraq: harsh treatment of IS families

Nessrine Hamad, aged six, is covered with a painful rash and has tears in her eyes. ‘She has been like that for three days,’ her mother said. ‘It is because of the dirty water. Most of the children here have sores on their skin.’ Dozens of families accused of having relatives in IS have been forcibly displaced to Shahama camp by the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), under the control of the Iraqi army. The camp, located north of Tikrit, has been described by Human Rights Watch as ‘akin to an open-air prison’. They are prevented from coming and going freely, only allowed to leave via ambulance for medical emergencies, and even then some are rejected by the main hospital in Tikrit when staff discover they are from Shahama. Dirty water, food and medical shortages have made living conditions in the camp unbearable. People in the camp are also barred from having mobile phones.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 30 June 2017 14:20

Philippines: Christians as human shields

Rebel fighters in the Philippines are reportedly using dozens of Christians - including a priest - as human shields, amid an ongoing battle to retake Marawi City. The IS-linked Maute group is believed to be hiding behind 100 Christian hostages after President Duterte ordered intense bombing raids on the rebel zone. Abdullah Maute, one of the group’s leaders, said he would free Father Suganob in return for his parents, currently held by police. His request was refused by the president, who said that any bargaining with terrorists was ‘against government policy’. Most people fled from the city in May; those left have been forced to convert to Islam and be lackeys to the Mautes. The women and girls have become sex slaves and lost all dignity. The White House said, ‘These cowardly terrorists killed Philippine law enforcement officials and endangered the lives of innocent citizens. The US is a proud ally of the Philippines, and we will continue to work with them to address shared threats to the peace and security of our countries.’

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 01 June 2017 23:32

Escalating violence in the Philippines

The Maute group, an Islamic extremist group linked to IS, captured nine Christians, tied their hands together and shot them dead in Marawi city, according to the Mail Online. Images circulated online show the Christians lying dead face-down in the grass. Reports say villagers are too afraid to move the bodies because terrorists are still in the area. News of the murders comes just days after the same group captured a Catholic priest, Father Teresito Suganob, the church’s secretary, two working students, and a number of parishioners. The militants are holding their hostages at an undisclosed location. They also set fire to the cathedral in Marawi. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines urged the government to make the safety of the hostages top priority.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 05 May 2017 10:57

Iraq: dozens of enslaved Yazidis now free

Yazidis revere the Bible and Qu’ran; much of their centuries-old religion is oral. Thirty-six Yazidis are free after nearly three years’ captivity by IS. They are in UN centres in Dohuk, in Kurdish northern Iraq. It is unclear whether they escaped or were freed; the UN wouldn’t give more information to avoid jeopardising future releases. IS killed and enslaved thousands of Yazidis after seizing the Sinjar area in 2014. Kurdish forces regained control in 2015, but many Yazidis were held captive by IS elsewhere as the group took over large swathes of northern Iraq. The 36 survivors - men, women and children - are being reunited with family members and offered care and medical and psychological aid. The women and children are being cared for at dedicated service points, and will be referred for more specialised treatment. A spokesperson said, ‘What these women and girls have endured is unimaginable.’

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 21 April 2017 01:46

Syria: the diplomacy dilemma

Russia has invested politically and militarily into Syria; many believe their primary concern is less President Assad than the power and prestige of maintaining their position. Any plan to move Moscow from this stance needs to involve a face-saving mechanism that Putin could package as win-win internationally, and in Russia’s best interest domestically. Many strongly believe that if Assad were to go, the Syrian Christians would be history, and like Iraq and Libya before, Syria would descend into jihadist chaos. The BBC’s correspondent Robert Pigott said, ‘If he goes, IS and Al-Nusra will be fighting it out on the streets of Damascus’. Also, Assad is the leader of the Alawites. The Alawites are Shi’ite Muslims centred in Syria who have older beliefs that predate Islam. Unless the Syrian Alawites themselves make a change in their leadership they will back Assad. Any initiative that omits Syria’s Alawites will be a diplomatic failure and lead to more deaths.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 31 March 2017 11:02

Iraq: ‘wherever we go, we get bombed’

Exploring Mosul, RT news reporters have gathered more evidence in support of the Amnesty International report which accuses the US-led coalition and Iraqi government of indiscriminately bombing civilian homes along with IS targets. The debris of destroyed houses, schools and hospitals has turned the city into an urban graveyard. On Tuesday, with explosions and gunfire heard in the distance, RT's crew saw coalition jets heading to and from Mosul every 5–10 minutes. They heard chilling stories of how IS terrorists use civilians as human shields during airstrikes. The Iraqi government isn’t organising humanitarian corridors for civilians to leave Mosul, they’re urging them to stay inside. The perceived safety of their homes becomes their graves as bombs continue to rain down (although less intensively since a severe loss of civilian life which is being investigated).

Published in Worldwide

The fighting in Syria grows more complex as Turkey aims to interrupt the line of territory held by Kurdish forces along its border and the US works with the Kurds to prevent battle escalation and focus on IS. Pray for this tense situation where Turkish and US goals are in disagreement. Pray also for the third round of peace talks sponsored by Russia and Turkey that began on 14 March. In Iraq, the campaign to retake Mosul from IS progresses despite fierce resistance. Iraqi commanders are hopeful they can overcome IS within six months. Many civilians have been prevented from fleeing by IS, and horrific sites of mass burials have been uncovered in captured areas. Pray for the future for Mosul, for peace-building and reconstruction to be given as much thought as the current military campaign. The two-year conflict in Yemen has killed 7,700 people, including 1,500 children. The fallout is that over 18 million people need food aid.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 17 March 2017 10:18

Christian woman refuses IS conversion demand

Mariyam Petrayus, a blind Christian woman, was trapped under IS control in Mosul for over two years before she escaped. When IS took over territory in Iraq, it gave Christians and other religious minorities the option to convert to Islam, pay a large tax or die. Mariyam, who is now living in the Sewdinan displacement camp, recounted at least one instance in which an IS jihadist pressured her to convert to Islam. Mariyam, who is in her 50s, refused to deny Christ. ‘He told me, “Why don't you convert to Islam? Why are you Christian?” I told him that everyone is on their religion, and nobody leaves their religion.’ She also told the jihadi that she did not want to convert to Islam and be anything like him.

Published in Praise Reports
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