Salem-News.com Russia-syria-convoys articles Page 4

Will ISIS Create al-Sham Caliphate & Liberate Palestine?

Not What the Neocons Planned…

(Ein el Helwe Palestinian camp) - One need not be prescient to understand the unfolding “Jihadi Spring” is fueling the plans and perhaps destiny of ascendant Islamists in this region with the increasing help of in-country nationalists, including remnants of the Iraqi Baath Party.

This, according to more than a dozen ardent supporters of The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), known locally as DAASH whose representatives allowed this observer over the past six months to interview some of its supporters to discuss what they found inaccurate in a piece I wrote about DAASH actions in Raqqa, Syria.

Kerry: Iraq Will Only Survive if Leaders Come Together

Jordanian army sources said Jordan's troops had been put in a state of alert in recent days along the 112-mile border with Iraq, redeploying in some areas as part of steps to ward off "any potential or perceived security threats".

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday promised "intense and sustained" U.S. support for Iraq, but said the divided country would only survive if its leaders took urgent steps to bring it together.

Hours before Kerry arrived in Baghdad, Sunni tribes who have joined a militant takeover of northern Iraq seized the only legal crossing point with Jordan, security sources said.

Belgium Into World Cup Round of 16 With Win

Belgium’s innate commitment to attack was evident during the opening exchanges.

(RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil) - Belgium ensured a berth in the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup with a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Russia in Rio de Janeiro courtesy of another substitute goal, this time from Divock Origi.

With 120 seconds remaining of a Group H encounter that had largely failed to spark in front of an expectant home crowd, the 19-year-old combined with Eden Hazard, who raced to the by-line and pulled back for his younger colleague to thrash into the roof of the net.

Sources: Militants Capture 3 Western Iraqi Towns

On Sunday, Sunni militants led by ISIL expanded their grip to the towns of Rawa and Ana along the Euphrates River east of al-Qaim.

(ANBAR Iraq) - An al Qaeda splinter group thrust east from a newly-captured Iraqi-Syrian border post on Sunday, taking three towns in the western Anbar province in a push to evict Iraqi security forces from Sunni Muslim areas.

Militants Kill 30 Iraqi Troops; Seize Iraq-Syria Border Crossing

The capture of the Qaim border crossing deals a further blow to prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Sunni militants have seized an Iraqi crossing on the border with Syria after a daylong battle in which they killed some 30 Iraqi troops, security officials said on Saturday.

Police and army officials said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and allied militants seized the crossing near the border town of Qaim, about 200 miles west of Baghdad, after battling Iraqi troops all day Friday.

Arab Foreign Ministers to Meet to Discuss Iraq, ISIL

Oil prices have risen to the highest level this year over fears of the violence disrupting exports from OPEC member Iraq.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - The insurgent offensive that has threatened to dismember Iraq spread to the northwest of the country on Sunday, when Sunni militants launched a dawn raid on a town close to the Syrian border, clashing with police and government forces.

As the rapid advance south by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) towards Baghdad appeared to slow over the weekend, fierce fighting erupted in the town of Tal Afar 40 miles west of Mosul near the Syrian border.

Iraq Now Open to U.S Airstrikes Against ISIS Jihadists

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, which wants to establish an Islamic caliphate, or state, in the region.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - As radical Islamist militants surged through Iraq -- and threatened its capital -- U.S. President Barack Obama conceded the turbulent situation demanded significant assistance immediately and over the long-term for the Baghdad-based central government.

"It's going to need more help from us, and it's going to need more help from the international community," Obama said Thursday.

Syrians Head to The Polls Despite Bloody Civil War

President Assad still has control to run state television broadcast footage of people queuing to cast their votes in several cities.

(DAMASCUS, Syria) - Even though a bloody civil war rages on in Syria, the government held areas of the country have headed to the polls to choose their next President, which looks to remain the same.

While tens of thousands of people have died during the civil war, which is now three years old, government leaders have put in place a massive campaign to have the vote as a way to try and end the war.

Syrians Working to Preserve Jewish Cultural Heritage

A volunteer with the Sabra-Shatila Scholarship Program, Franklin Lamb is in Syria doing research.

(Jewish Quarter, DAMASCUS) - It’s always encouraging when one comes upon some inspiring human enterprise, here in Syria or elsewhere, that refutes the worn shibboleths and clichés about how this or that group, or this or that religion, hates others and won’t cease targeting them until they are destroyed and burning in Hell.

In Syria today there is much evidence to refute the claims, often politically motivated, that Jewish cultural heritage sites are being singled out for destruction by rabid anti-Semites.

Everybody`s Got Afghanistan Wrong

We find here a story of a bumbling oblivious and uncomprehending foreign occupation torturing and murdering a lot of its own strongest allies, shipping some of them off to Gitmo -- even shipping to Gitmo young boys whose only offense had been being the sexual assault victims of U.S. allies.

(WASHINGTON DC) - This goes deeper than the usual war lies.

We've had plenty of those. We weren't told the Taliban was willing to turn bin Laden over to a neutral nation to stand trial. We weren't told the Taliban was a reluctant tolerator of al Qaeda, and a completely distinct group. We weren't told the 911 attacks had also been planned in Germany and Maryland and various other places not marked for bombing.