The Syria Crisis

[AnimeFan188]

Jihadi Brides Swap Lives in West for Front Line With Syria Militants:

"The sixteen-year-old twins slipped out of their beds in the middle of the night,
grabbing passports and a few possessions. With that they were gone, hopping a
flight from Britain to Turkey and sparking fears they were lost to a troubling and
growing sisterhood: jihadi brides."

See:

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ira...itants-n150491

[SaintessHeart]

Shit just got real.

Lebanese soldier defects to al Qaeda in Syria: video

(Reuters) - A Lebanese soldier has defected to an al Qaeda group in neighboring Syria, in the first such incident, in protest at what he said was the injustice against Sunni Muslims in his country.

A Lebanese security source said the army considered the Sunni Muslim soldier a deserter but there was no official comment from the army, which groups soldiers from all sects.

Security sources said Atef Saadeddine, 23, went missing on Tuesday while on duty at a checkpoint near the Syrian border.

On Wednesday, Saadeddine appeared in a YouTube video, which showed him wearing his army uniform with the black flag of the al-Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, in the background and two guns propped up against a wall.

"I am the defected soldier Atef Saadeddine from the 8th division," he said, showing a military identification card with his picture on it, issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Defense.

The video ended with him embracing five masked armed men who all kissed his forehead as a welcome sign.

The Syrian civil war has aggravated deep-rooted sectarian tension in Lebanon, with Sunni Muslims supporting rebels against President Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah fighting alongside Assad's army.

Saadeddine said Sunnis were facing "harassment" by the army, which he accused of working under the command of Hezbollah, and carrying out arrests and raids at the group's request.

He accused Hezbollah of killing Sunni Muslims in Lebanon and Syria.

In the past months, there has been a rise in attacks by armed men believed to be Sunni militants against Lebanese army soldiers and checkpoints, killing several of them mainly in north and east Lebanon.

Congrats dumbass. You have got the Muslim world killing each other again for no apparent reason.

[Haak]

Defecting to Al Queda because you think your side is too extreme? Fuck me...

[Cruachan]

Please note the rebels the US has been funding enjoy eating the hearts of fallen enemies. I'm a vehement opponent of democracy and a big fan of Assad, was a fan of Gadaffi as well, but even democrats can agree that Assad is a much better leader than the militant extremists that want control.

Hmm, a strong autocratic socialist loved by the people...or religious fundamentalist bigots...tough choice.

[SaintessHeart]

Jubilant Iraqi forces break two-month siege of Amerli: officials

"Our goal is all the same to fight IS and repel terrorism," said a fighter from the Peace Brigades, an offshoot of cleric Muqtada Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.

Seriously?

[Fireminer]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Jubilant Iraqi forces break two-month siege of Amerli: officials



Seriously?

Classic Evil vs. More Evil, or more exactly: "My enemy and my enemy's enemy is the same" situation.

[SaintessHeart]

Spoiler for Previous:

Islamists in Iraq driving large-scale atrocities: U.N.

Russia had supplied arms to counter Islamic State in Iraq, including Sukhoi 25 strike aircraft, ambassador Alexey Borodavkin said.

Defence contractors on both sides are making use of this to test their effectiveness on the other sides' armanents it seems.

Sotloff family mourns, challenges Islamic State leader to debate

He grew up in the Miami area and studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. A spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry said on social media website Twitter that Sotloff also was an Israeli citizen.

'I don't want to be a jihadi... I want to come home': How dozens of British Muslims who went to Syria to join ISIS 'plead to return to UK after becoming disillusioned with the conflict'

British jihadis fighting in Syria want to come home after becoming disillusioned with the conflict, it emerged today.

In the last three years, more than 500 radicalised Britons are believed to have headed out to the war-torn country, where Islamist groups are fighting President Bashar Assad's forces.

But some of those who signed up to fight have now contacted authorities in Britain saying they have had enough of the war-zone and want to return home, it was reported today.

A man representing a group of 30 militants reportedly contacted King's College London's International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR), telling them his group want to come back.

The men, who went to the region in the hope of toppling President Assad, are reportedly unhappy at having to fight against other rebel factions.

According to The Times, the man told researchers: 'We came to fight the regime and instead we are involved in gang warfare. It's not what we came for but if we go back [to Britain] we will go to jail.'

The ICSR's Professor Peter Neumann told newspaper: 'The people we have been talking to... want to quit but feel trapped because all the Government is talking about is locking them up for 30 years.'

He believes as many as a fifth of British fighters in the country could be trying to find a way out of their current situation.

He claimed less-hardened jihadists could be used to show would-be recruits that the reality of battle may not match the image presented by ISIS propaganda.

At least 40 of the estimated 250 Britons to have already returned from the region have been arrested and are now facing trial on terrorism charges.

Labour leader Ed Miliband has suggested a mandatory programme of de-radicalisation for people involved on the fringes of radical groups like ISIS.

But the government has been reluctant to support any scheme which could allow wrongdoers to escape punishment for their crimes.

News of waning morale among British jihadis came after terrorism experts said social media posts show many Westerners who took up arms are 'immature'.

After studying what fighters had posted online, Professor Greg Barton, from the Global Terrorism Research Centre at Monash University, told Daily Mail Australia: 'We're dealing with young men doing foolish things, driven by peer pressure and a desire for affirmation.

'I think it's generally true from (their) social media posts that what we see reflects a fairly juvenile mentality.'

Yesterday, a fighter who defected from ISIS said the British militant seen in recent execution videos - who is known as 'Jihadi John' - was chosen to carry out the task to make other Westerners feel 'part of cause'.

The man told CNN: 'It is possible that the goal was to project the image that a European or a Western person executed an American so that they can showcase their Western members and appeal to others outside Syria.'

Led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS - which comes from the Arabic word 'al-Sham', meaning Levant, Syria or Damascus - has overrun large areas of Syria and Iraq.

In June, it seized control of Mosul, Fallujah and Tikrit in northern Iraq in a series of deadly military offensives.

Although its exact size is unclear, the extremist group is believed to include thousands of fighters and is highly fanatical, often killing Shia Muslims and Christians.

This week, the group released a video of U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff being beheaded, calling the execution retaliation for U.S. air strikes.

The footage also featured British aid worker David Haines, 44, who was captured by militants near Atmeh refugee camp in Syria and has been threatened with beheading.

David Cameron, who is coming under growing pressure to unleash a military response, said Britain would use 'everything we have in our armoury' to squeeze ISIS out of existence.

But yesterday, he told fellow Nato leaders not to pay ransoms for hostages as it only increases kidnappings and funds further terrorism.

The Prime Minister is now preparing to personally brief a member of the Haines family on the latest developments in the case.

Oh. Hahahaha. Damn kids, why don't you join the FFL instead?

[risingstar3110]

They could be a good propaganda tools through. So pardon them in exchange of them ... hmm... write an even grimier story about ISIS could benefit in long run

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

They could be a good propaganda tools through. So pardon them in exchange of them ... hmm... write an even grimier story about ISIS could benefit in long run

It is the innate hatred that might come back in them - that is the problem. Even deradicalised jihadis still pose a threat to their own countries.

I say we make them swallow GPS transponders, send them back, and home in cruise missiles on wherever they are.

[AnimeFan188]

Pentagon: US, partners begin airstrikes in Syria:

"The U.S. and five Arab countries launched airstrikes Monday night on Islamic State
group targets in Syria, expanding a military campaign into a country whose
three-year civil war has given the brutal militant group a safe haven.

Using a mix of manned aircraft - fighter jets and bombers - plus Tomahawk cruise
missiles, the strikes were part of the expanded military campaign that President
Barack Obama authorized nearly two weeks ago in order to disrupt and destroy the
Islamic State militants, who have slaughtered thousands of people, beheaded
Westerners - including two American journalists - and captured large swaths of Syria
and northern and western Iraq."

See:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

[SaintessHeart]

US MARINE JOINS KURDISH FORCES TO FIGHT ISIS

Not he first time in history I guess. I remember the Americans signed for the FFL before US officially joined the Brits and French in the trenches. And there is also the Arab Israeli conflict......

[scififan]

https://twitter.com/kurdistannews24/...22367241478144

According to above the link, three dead IS(not Infinite Stratos) soliders are found to be Turkish intelligence officers. Some posters are defending these officers only infiltrate IS. They receive several sarcastic feedback on those agents still having IDs with them. It sounds as Russian volunteers in Ukrainin conflict all over again. The situation is hardly comprehensible. There are no black and white operation, but there are grey operations.

[SaintessHeart]

Who killed them and how are they killed?

[AnimeFan188]

Islamic State turns to captured women, kids for battlefield blood transfusions:

"“They forced the Yazidi girls to donate blood to ISIS wounded fighters. Which God
allows these acts?” said Hamshe, a 19-year-old captive who escaped after she was
held for 28 days, The Mail reported."

See:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ds-battlefiel/


================================================


United Nations investigates claim of ISIS organ theft:

"The United Nations is looking into claims that ISIS -- already considered the
wealthiest terrorist group on record -- may be harvesting organs from slain
civilians and gaining financial benefits by trafficking the body parts, officials said
Wednesday."

See:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/18/middle...vesting-claim/

[AnimeFan188]

Syria claims shooting down of US drone over Latakia:

"The Syrian military says it has shot down a US drone near the city of Latakia, a
stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad in north-west Syria."

See:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31932233


=============


Pentagon investigating drone lost over Syria:

"The Pentagon is investigating the loss of control of one of its drones flying over
Syria, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

The announcement comes after Syria's state-run news agency claimed the Syrian
military shot down a U.S. drone."

See:

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/op...ing-lost-drone

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Haak

Defecting to Al Queda because you think your side is too extreme? Fuck me...

Looking at those articles above, I can further relate to Soran (aka. Setsuna from Gundam 00) wanting out from being a “jihadist” even when he’s still a brainwashed child soldier at the time . Considering Gundam 00 was set in future AD, the Middle East organization where little-Setsuna joined might be as bad (if not worse) than ISIS that we have now (I mean, joining the club by killing your parents, really?). What kind of genuine jihadist will do those atrocities done by ISIS? Looking back, all those (future) Middle-East conflicts portrayed in Gundam 00 become more and more relevant. What’s next? A female muslim leader like Marina Ismail in the near future?

Too bad our world doesn't have Celestial Being and their Gundams :P

[SaintessHeart]

American fighting with Kurds killed in Islamic State battle

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — An American fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group in Syria has been killed in battle, authorities said Wednesday, making him likely the first U.S. citizen to die fighting alongside them against the extremists.

Keith Broomfield, who was from Massachusetts, died June 3 in a battle in a Syrian village named Qentere, near the border town Kobani, said Nasser Haji, an official with a group of Kurdish fighters known as the YPG. Broomfield had joined the YPG on Feb. 24 under the nom de guerre Gelhat Raman, said Haji, who didn't elaborate on the circumstances of his death.

U.S. Department of State spokesman Jeff Rathke confirmed Broomfield's death but declined to provide any details about the circumstances. He said the U.S. was providing consular assistance to his family.

A friend of Broomfield, Joel O'Toole, said Broomfield went to Syria a few months ago to fight after becoming inspired by something he saw on television.

"I think it's incredible," O'Toole told WHDH-TV. "It says a lot for someone to be motivated to get behind a cause like that and do something."

A man who answered the door at a home in Bolton, Massachusetts, listed as owned by Broomfield's family said the family would not be commenting. No one answered the door at a family-operated business, Broomfield Laboratories, in the town.

The fight against the Islamic State group has attracted dozens of Westerners, including Iraq war veterans who have made their way back to the Middle East to join Kurdish fighters, who have been most successful against the extremist group.

Many are spurred on by Kurdish social media campaigners and a sense of duty rooted in the 2003 U.S.-led military invasion of Iraq, where Islamic State fighters recently have rolled back gains U.S. troops had made. And while the U.S. and its coalition allies bomb the extremists from the air, Kurds say they hope more Westerners will join them on the ground to fight.

Previously, a British citizen, an Australian and a German woman were killed fighting with the Kurds.

Backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria have successfully pushed back Islamic State group militants from Kobani and scores of nearby villages. More recently, they have closed in on the Islamic State-held town of Tal Abyad, near the Turkish border. The town is the Islamic State group's main access point to Turkey from Raqqa, the group's de facto capital in Syria.

Honestly I don't understand you Americans. What the heck are you all fighting for there?

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

American fighting with Kurds killed in Islamic State battle



Honestly I don't understand you Americans. What the heck are you all fighting for there?

Sort of like the Eagle Squadrons or the Flying Tigers I guess.

[AnimeFan188]

Syria Is a Fiction: Welcome to the Iranian Empire:

"What is happening with the once powerful Syrian army, built to be a strategic
match to Israel's army? What are the implications for the Alawite community; and
above all, how is Iran connected with all that?"

See:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jos...b_7552702.html


===================================


A Syrian Attack Jet Went Down In Flames Near Two Contentious Borders:

"It appears that the Syrian Air Force has lost another of its prized Su-24 Fencer
swing-wing attack jets. Some incredible photos and video popped up today
showing the shattered aircraft falling to the ground while streaming flames,
though there is no word yet on the status of the pilot."

See:

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/syr...der-1710682618

[SaintessHeart]

An interesting read about the other end of the spectrum regarding foreign fighters' radicalism :

Losing Their Religion