Greater Middle East
ISIS burns cannabis, snorts coke?
As ISIS burns the cannabis fields of northern Syria, Kurdish fighters at Kobani claim that ISIS forces besieging the town are snorting cocaine to keep their spirits up.
Tag: ISIS
Greater Middle East
Kurdish forces claim victory at Kobani
Kurdish forces at Kobani announced that the town is now under their full control, with ISIS militants driven out of all neighborhoods. The claim was confirmed by the Pentagon.
Greater Middle East
Lebanon’s hashish valley arms against ISIS
The Bekaa Valley's cannabis farmers, who armed to resist Lebanese army eradication efforts, now say they are ready to resist any ISIS incursion into their fastness.
Iraq
Kurdish forces open new front against Assad
Fighting broke out between Assad regime troops and Kurdish forces in Syria's divided northern city of Hassakeh, signalling an end to a pact established to keep ISIS at bay.
Europe
#JeSuisCharlie hypocrisy goes off the charts
Under the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie, an attack on free speech is being used to justify further attacks on free speech… in the paradoxical name of protecting free speech.
Iraq
US media betray Kobani defenders
US media accounts of gains against ISIS at Kobani play up the role of US air-strikes and depreciate that of Kurdish fighters—or even deny the success at Kobani entirely.
Planet Watch
Behind oil slump: shale boom or geopolitics?
Experts tell us the North American shale oil boom is responsible for low prices despite Middle East unrest. But the price slump serves Western aims of weakening Russia and Iran.
Iraq
Kurdish forces press gains against ISIS
Kurdish forces made further gains against ISIS at Kobani in the final days of 2014, while the Peshmerga are preparing an offensive to drive the jihadis from Kurdish lands in Iraq.
Greater Middle East
Syria: new rebel alliance in besieged Aleppo
With regime bombardment intensifying, Syrian rebel factions in Aleppo announced a new "Shamiyya Front"—a further consolidation of "moderate" Islamist forces.
Europe
‘Car Intifada’ comes to France?
An outbreak of motorist attacks on pedestrians in France is spun exclusively in terms of Islamist extremism, leaving out the critical factor of car culture.
Iraq
Peshmerga complete liberation of Mount Sinjar
Backed by US air-strikes, Peshmerga forces liberated the last remaninig Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar. But the Yazidis' home town of Sinjar remains occupied by ISIS.
Iraq
Iraq: US ground troops battle ISIS
US ground troops fought their first direct battle against ISIS as the jihadists launched an attack on a base in Anbar that housed mixed US, Iraqi and tribal forces.