company:islamic state

Début de l’offensive du régime et de ses alliés au nord d’Alep, visant l’encerclement d’Alep. Selon Reuters, avec l’appui de l’aviation russe.
Offensive annoncée comme une revanche suite à l’offensive rebello-alQaïdesque dans le sud d’Alep : ▻http://seenthis.net/messages/479263
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-aleppo-idUSKCN0XB1IH?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNew

Syria’s army backed by Russian warplanes launched an assault north of Aleppo on Thursday, threatening to block a vital rebel route into the city in fighting that has cast new clouds over Geneva peace talks.
Syria’s recent upsurge in fighting, particularly around the northern city of Aleppo, has proven the most acute challenge yet to a cessation of hostilities deal agreed in February and soured an already bleak mood as opposing sides gather in Geneva. [...]
In Aleppo, government forces and their allies were focused on the area around Handarat Camp, overlooking an important access point held by rebels into the city, which is split into zones held by the government and opposition.[...]
“The escalation started at night. The area is of great importance. If the regime advances, this will tighten the grip on Aleppo,” said Abdullah Othman, head of the politburo of the Levant Front rebel group.
Fighting near Aleppo has been escalating for two weeks, mostly to the south of the city where government forces backed by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other militias have been waging fierce battles with rebels including Nusra Front fighters.
The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and Islamic State groups are not included in the cessation of hostilities agreement.
Speaking in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the rebels of breaching the truce to reconquer lost ground. “The opposition is trying to recover what they lost,” he said.

Une carte :

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgA14rKWwAAP2oK.jpg

Exploiting Disorder: al-Qaeda and the Islamic State - International Crisis Group
▻http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/global/exploiting-disorder-al-qaeda-and-the-islamic-state.aspx

The Islamic State (IS), al-Qaeda-linked groups, Boko Haram and other extremist movements are protagonists in today’s deadliest crises, complicating efforts to end them. They have exploited wars, state collapse and geopolitical upheaval in the Middle East, gained new footholds in Africa and pose an evolving threat elsewhere. Reversing their gains requires avoiding the mistakes that enabled their rise. This means distinguishing between groups with different goals; using force more judiciously; ousting militants only with a viable plan for what comes next; and looking to open lines of communication, even with hardliners. Vital, too, is to de-escalate the crises they feed off and prevent others erupting, by nudging leaders toward dialogue, inclusion and reform and reacting sensibly to terrorist attacks. Most important is that action against “violent extremism” not distract from or deepen graver threats, notably escalating major- and regional-power rivalries.

Ankara retire une partie de ses troupes stationnées près de Mossoul :
▻http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35091674

Turkey is withdrawing some of its troops stationed at a base in Iraq, the country’s state-run news agency says.
Anadolu quoted military officials as saying a 10- or 12-vehicle convoy had left Bashiqa camp and was moving north.
Turkey has deployed troops near the city of Mosul, which is controlled by the jihadist group Islamic State, since 2014 to train Iraqi Kurdish forces.
But the arrival of 150 personnel earlier this month was heavily criticised by the Iraqi government.
Baghdad said the deployment had been carried out without consultation and violated national sovereignty and international law.
[...]
But on Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu’s office said it had decided to reorganise its military personnel at Bashiqa following talks with Iraqi officials.
Monday’s troop movement was part of the “new arrangement”, a Turkish military source told the Reuters news agency.
It is unclear whether the withdrawn troops are returning to Turkey or will remain in Iraq.

ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape
►http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html

The systematic rape of women and girls from the Yazidi religious minority has become deeply enmeshed in the organization and the radical theology of the Islamic State in the year since the group announced it was reviving slavery as an institution. Interviews with 21 women and girls who recently escaped the Islamic State, as well as an examination of the group’s official communications, illuminate how the practice has been enshrined in the group’s core tenets.

The trade in Yazidi women and girls has created a persistent infrastructure, with a network of warehouses where the victims are held, viewing rooms where they are inspected and marketed, and a dedicated fleet of buses used to transport them.

A total of 5,270 Yazidis were abducted last year, and at least 3,144 are still being held, according to community leaders. To handle them, the Islamic State has developed a detailed bureaucracy of sex slavery, including sales contracts notarized by the ISIS-run Islamic courts. And the practice has become an established recruiting tool to lure men from deeply conservative Muslim societies, where casual sex is taboo and dating is forbidden.

Enfin, un article qui pointe le fait que l’esclavage sexuel est, comme l’argent, un motif très direct pour attirer les volontaires. Le développement d’une espèce de gloubiboulga théologico-malsain pour emballer les comportements de sociopathes violents est intéressant.

(En revanche, pas fana du principe d’opposer sur ce point « les sociétés musulmanes profondément conservatrices ». La culture du viol est omniprésente dans les sociétés occidentales, et rémunérer les combattants et mercenaires en les autorisant à violer les femmes n’est absolument pas une caractéristique des sociétés « musulmanes et conservatrices ».)

M of A - NYT Commits Orange Jumpsuit Trademark Infringement
▻http://www.moonofalabama.org/2015/02/nyt-commits-orange-jumpsuit-trademark-infringement.html

Un des étranges trous de mémoire du #New_York_Times

A New York Times piece about new Islamic State offshots infringes on the U.S. military’s trademark of using orange jumpsuit when torturing prisoners by assigning that trademark to the Islamic State:

A publication released by the central group last week included a photograph of fighters in Libya with its affiliate there parading 20 Egyptian Christian captives in the Islamic State’s trademark orange jumpsuits, indicating at least a degree of communication.

This is like saying the Statue of Liberty is a trademark of the Islamic State because some of its propaganda videos depicts the Statue as falling down.

It is obvious that the orange jumpsuit trademark is fully owned by the U.S. military and has been used by it for at least a decade now. Here is some photographic proof.

http://www.moonofalabama.org/images4/jumpsuit1.jpg

Free Syrian Army confirms new chief
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/fsa-confirms-new-chief

http://english.al-akhbar.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/4cols/leading_images/341174-01-08.jpg

A picture taken on March 1, 2014 shows rebel fighters inspecting the wreckage of a Syrian army helicopter after al-Qaeda-linked group Islamic State of Iraq and #syria allegedly destroyed it when they left the Meng Military Airport, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, to prevent other opposition groups to take it over. (Photo: AFP - Mohammed al-Khatib) A picture taken on March 1, 2014 shows rebel fighters inspecting the wreckage of a Syrian army helicopter after al-Qaeda-linked group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria allegedly destroyed it when they left the Meng Military Airport, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, to prevent other opposition groups to take it over. (Photo: AFP - Mohammed al-Khatib)

The so-called Free (...)

#FSA #Top_News

Al-Qaeda in Iraq announces merger with Syrian rebel group
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/al-qaeda-iraq-announces-merger-syrian-rebel-group

Al-Qaeda’s branch in Iraq said it has merged with Syria’s Islamist Jabhat al-Nusra, a move that is likely to trigger renewed fears among its international backers.

A website linked to Jabhat al-Nusra confirmed on Tuesday the merger with the Islamic State of Iraq. The leader of latter group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, first made the announcement in a 21-minute audio statement posted on militant websites late Monday.

The claims of the merger could not be independently confirmed.