Pentagon says it has formally completed withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

Twelve years after US mission against IS began, Trump hails ‘great day for America’ and calls Iraq war ‘a quagmire’…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/30/pentagon-formal-withdrawal-troops-iraq

 

Trump escalates feud with Ilhan Omar, appears to suggest she is linked to ISIS - POLITICO

Omar, 43, is a Somalian-born Muslim and the first Somali American elected to Congress. She and her family fled the country when she was 8 years old and, after spending four years in a Kenyan refugee camp, the family moved to America. She became a U.S. citizen in 2000...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/03/trump-ilhan-omar-isis-00762273 

 

Why has Trump ordered strikes in Nigeria and what has it got to do with the persecution of Christians?

Parts of the US right have for years been amplifying claims that Christians face violence in Nigeria, a notion the US president has helped to encourage…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/26/nigeria-why-did-trump-order-us-strikes-bomb-attack-isis-christians

 

ISIS has an army in waiting — and Trump's next move could decide whether it rises again

Speaking in the Oval Office this month, Trump hinted that he was thinking about withdrawing the 2,000 U.S. troops that remain in Syria, many from elite units that are still fighting ISIS alongside SDF and preventing its resurgence. 

"Syria's its own mess," he said. "They don't need us involved." 

Asked about the prospect of a full withdrawal before Trump spoke, Hanan said that "it would be a disaster," and that the security vacuum left in the region might allow for a resurgence of ISIS...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/isis-islamic-state-syria-prisons-al-hol-camp-trump-assad-hts-rcna188710

 

New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says - The New York Times

The president said he had been briefed on the New Orleans attacker's posts by federal investigators, who were looking into his possible ties to the Islamic State. In some of the videos, the suspect had "pledged allegiance to ISIS" and appeared to be driving, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity...

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/01/us/new-orleans-vehicle-crash 

 

Feds arrest Idaho teen before he attacked churches in name of ISIS - The Washington Post

"Thanks to the investigative efforts of the FBI, the defendant was taken into custody before he could act, and he is now charged with attempting to support ISIS's mission of terror and violence," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/04/09/mercurio-idaho-church-isis-islamic-state/

Rocked by Deadly Terror Attack, Kremlin Amps Up Disinformation Machine - The New York Times

The bloody terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow had barely subsided before Russia launched a disinformation campaign suggesting that Ukraine and the West were somehow behind it, pushing a version of events molded to fit the Kremlin war narrative and downplay a significant security failure. 

 President Vladimir V. Putin has hinted several times that Kyiv and Washington played a part, and the latest to join the chorus was Aleksandr Bortnikov, the director of the Federal Security Service, the top security agency in Russia. On Tuesday he said, without offering any evidence, that the assault "was prepared by both radical Islamists themselves and, naturally, facilitated by Western special services."…

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/26/world/europe/russia-terror-attack-ukraine.html

Journalist says U.S. air war against ISIS killed countless civilians in Syria (Terry Gross; Fresh Air podcast)

New York Times reporter Dave Philipps says a top-secret special ops unit disregarded official protocols to pick targets for airstrikes, resulting in the death of thousands of farmers and families.

Interview: 

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/13/1072735380/journalist-says-u-s-air-war-against-isis-killed-countless-civilians-in-syria
 

In Afghanistan, Islamic State is seeking to exploit divisions within the Taliban

Tension was already high between leaders in the south and networks in the north and east – then came the Kabul bombing…

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/31/afghanistan-islamic-state-divisions-taliban-kabul-bombing-kabul-bombing

The lessons we should learn from Afghanistan (Pod Save the World podcast)

Tommy and Ben cover the latest news from Afghanistan, including an update on the evacuation efforts, the threat from ISIS, the coming US political fight over refugees, the media coverage of the war and what lessons they hope that the country will learn from it. They also explain why the Vice President’s trip to Asia was temporarily delayed by reports of “Havana Syndrome” in Vietnam, and discuss updates on the earthquake in Haiti. Then Tommy is joined by Ali Latifi, Al Jazeera English’s online correspondent in Kabul, to discuss what life is like in Kabul a little more than a week after the Taliban takeover.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-tbrh7-fb560d7

US strikes IS target in Afghanistan and warns of airport threat

Drone strike carried out east of Kabul as Pentagon warns of further 'specific, credible' threats against airport…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/27/us-airstrike-islamic-state-pentagon-kabul-attack

Here’s how the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan could affect al-Qaeda and the Islamic State - The Washington Post

… The Islamic State, a more extreme rival, also retains a presence in Afghanistan. The Taliban is likely to try to root it out, experts said — but the Islamic State, too, could benefit from a security vacuum as the Taliban tries to consolidate power...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/23/taliban-isis-alqaeda-faq/

‘They will never let go’: Isis fighters regroup in the heart of Iraq | Iraq | The Guardian

Iraqi special forces hunt Isis in lowlands south of Kirkuk, where the militants keep on the move, seeking to regain territorial control…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/11/isis-fighters-regroup-in-the-heart-of-iraq

US soldier arrested after alleged plot to attack NYC landmark - ABC News

 An active duty American soldier is in federal custody Tuesday after he allegedly plotted with someone he thought was a member of ISIS to attack a landmark in New York City and fellow troops overseas, according to a law enforcement official...

https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-soldier-arrested-alleged-plot-attack-nyc-landmark/story

ISIS attacks surge in Africa even as Trump boasts of a ‘100-percent’ defeated caliphate - The Washington Post

...The resurgence threatens to undermine one facet of President Trump's reelection pitch to voters: his oft-repeated claim of victory over the Islamic State...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/islamic-state-attacks-surging-africa/2020/10/18/2e16140e-1079-11eb-8a35-237ef1eb2ef7_story.html

UN: Over 10,000 Islamic State fighters active in Iraq, Syria - ABC News

More than 10,000 Islamic State fighters are estimated to remain active in Iraq and Syria two years after the militant group’s defeat, and their attacks have significantly increased this year, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief said Monday. Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that Islamic State fighters move freely “in small cells between the two countries.” https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/10000-islamic-state-fighters-active-iraq-syria-72579975

Iraq says U.S.-led coalition has resumed operations against ISIS - The Washington Post

Joint operations were suspended after President Trump ordered the killing of a top Iranian military commander in Baghdad.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraq-says-us-led-coalition-has-resumed-operations-against-isis/2020/01/30/10fa2d62-437c-11ea-99c7-1dfd4241a2fe_story.html

U.S. Troops Restart Joint Anti-ISIS Operations With Iraqis

The U.S. military resumed its joint operations with Iraq on Wednesday—less than two weeks after Iraq’s parliament voted to expel all American forces from the country. There was a 10-day pause in operations following President Trump’s decision to assassinate Iran Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-troops-restart-joint-anti-isis-operations-with-iraqis

Proclaiming Trump victorious in Iran is shortsighted and premature - The Washington Post

Trump must begin serious negotiations with the Islamic republic.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/proclaiming-trump-victorious-in-iran-is-shortsighted-and-premature/2020/01/08/e2eee1a0-3238-11ea-91fd-82d4e04a3fac_story.html

Europeans shift troops from Iraq, warn fight against Islamic State is imperiled because of U.S. actions - The Washington Post

Islamic State and other militants "would be the only winners" of a U.S.-Iran conflict, British foreign secretary says.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europeans-shift-troops-from-iraq-warn-fight-against-islamic-state-is-imperiled-because-of-us-actions-on-iran/2020/01/07/e2b25a00-3157-11ea-971b-43bec3ff9860_story.html