# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Twitter has deleted more than 125,000 accounts linked to terrorists since mid-2015, the company announced, offering some of the most detailed insight yet of how Silicon Valley is collaborating with western governments in its fight against Islamic State.

The social media company is relying on a mix of human judgment and technology, developing teams of specialists in the US and Ireland that comb through thousands of suspect accounts.

Isis has also been linked to automated accounts, or "bots", that churn out extremist rhetoric. These automated accounts can sometimes be caught with tools normally used to fight spam.

"We condemn the use of Twitter to promote violent terrorism," the company said in a statement on 5 February. "This type of behavior, or any violent threats, is not permitted on our service."

Twitter and other tech companies have long policed their content for signs of Islamic extremism. Until recently they have not been willing to discuss the details of their policies or procedures, which have been viewed as controversial because of the complex and political nature of the judgments behind removing messages.

The procedures require Twitter's specialists to make tough calls on individual tweets and accounts, including to what degree a message is euphoric, controversial or extremist.

These efforts also create risks for the company, which has frequently defined itself as a home for free speech and open debate. In 2014, then-Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo said he had received death threats over Twitter's removal of Isis content.

But western politicians increasingly have applied pressure on US technology firms to become more of an active combatant in its fight against Islamic extremism. So far, Silicon Valley appears to be receptive.

Speaking in Davos last month at the World Economic Forum, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg suggested Isis could be quelled by posting anti-Isis content on Facebook. In a closed-door meeting last month in San Jose with US national security officials, she and other technology executives discussed the idea of using an algorithm to try and automatically flag Isis content.

Meanwhile, Google executives have discussed the idea of forcing Isis operatives off the public internet.

Twitter is free, international and allows anyone to sign up for an account and post what they please, which has made it an attractive recruiting tool for terrorists. In 2015, the US military killed a British national-turned-Isis-hacker Junaid Hussain partly because of how he used Twitter to plot attacks on the west.

In its statement Friday, Twitter said it has seen "an increase in account suspensions and this type of activity shifting off Twitter".

But the company pushed back against the growing idea that Silicon Valley can invent a formula to spot this traffic online automatically. "There is no 'magic algorithm' for identifying terrorist content on the internet," a spokesman said. "Global online platforms are forced to make challenging judgement calls based on very limited information and guidance."

At a forum in Palo Alto last month, a Facebook spokeswoman said much the same.

"I have been at Facebook for three months and I have yet to see that magical algorithm," said Anne Kornblut, the company's director of strategic communications, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News.
Topics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Twitter deletes 125,000 Isis accounts and expands anti-terror teams

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Twitter has deleted more than 125,000 accounts linked to terrorists since mid-2015, the company announced, offering some of the most detailed insight yet of how Silicon Valley is collaborating with western governments in its fight against Islamic State.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ISIS commander Abu Nabil thought to have been killed in Darnah, Libya

He was killed in the airstrike shortly after terror attacks began in Paris

May have featured in video where 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded

His death reduces ISIS's ability to recruit in Libya, a U.S. official said

For full coverage of the Islamic State attacks visit www.dailymail.co.uk/ISIS

A U.S. airstrike is believed to have killed one of ISIS's top commanders in Libya while the terror attacks in Paris were underway, a U.S. military spokesman said.

The operation to kill Iraqi national Abu Nabil in the eastern port city of Darnah was conceived before terrorists went on a rampage in the French capital, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

Nabil was a long term al-Qaeda fighter and could have been the man who threatened the West in the ISIS propaganda video in which 21 Coptic Christians were executed on a Libyan beach, Mr Cook added.

He said: 'Nabil's death will degrade ISIS' ability to meet the group's objectives in Libya, including recruiting new ISIS members, establishing bases in Libya and planning external attacks on the United States.

Mr Cook said the strike was the first U.S. raid against an ISIS leader in the country and demonstrates that the will 'go after ISIS leaders wherever they operate'.

Another U.S. official said the strike by an F-15 fighter jet took place shortly after the Paris terrorist attacks began, but had been planned for some time.

Today's report of Nabil's death is the second in several months. In July it was reported that Nabil had been captured by a rival Islamist group, who hanged him.

Reports emerged of him being walked through the streets of Darnah then hanged publicly to deter locals from abandoning local militant groups and pledging allegiance to ISIS.

Nabil is thought to have been sent to Libya by ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi earlier in the summer to try to negotiate an alliance with local terror cells.

Those reports of his death conflict with those of today's bombing raid, but information from Islamist-controlled areas often prove unreliable.

It came as Turkish military said they killed four suspected ISIS militants on the border with Syria.

State media said two cars containing ISIS soldiers drove towards an armoured military vehicle and opened fire.

The soldiers returned fire, killing four men inside one car. The other escaped.

The attack happened at an output near the border town of Oguzeli in Gaziantep province.

Turkey has stepped up its action against Syrian militants in recent days, partly because world leaders from the G20 countries are due in Antalya for an economic summit in the coming days.

David Cameron, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are all due at the summit, which starts Sunday.

French president Francois Hollande was due to attend, but pulled out after the terror attacks. He is sending his foreign and finance ministers instead.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Top ISIS leader' killed in American airstrike in Libya

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ISIS commander Abu Nabil thought to have been killed in Darnah, Libya He was killed in the airstrike shortly after terror attacks began in Paris May have featured in video where 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded His death reduces ISIS's ability to recruit in Libya, a U.S.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Three British special forces operatives have been injured in a firefight with Isis militants in Iraq.

The engagement took place during a covert reconnaissance operation near Isis-held Mosul, in the north of the country.

The soldiers, believed to be from the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) regiments, suffered bullet and fragmentation injuries, the Mirror said.

They are the first reported combat casualties of Britain's involvement in Iraq against Isis, known as Operation Shader.

While the Government does not comment on special forces operations, it is believed that the soldiers were part of a mission with German and American soldiers.

"The enemy were up to 30 strong and heavily armed," a 'highly placed source' told the Mirror. "An air strike was needed to resolve it."

The source also alleged that there was a "secret" war being waged against Isis.

Government ministers would "hide behind the claim they can't comment on special forces operations to avoid acknowledging Britain is at war," he told the Mirror.

"Publicly to acknowledge these heroic men were injured would be to admit the battle took place and they cannot do that because it is all being done off the radar."

"Politically no one has an appetite for open war against Isis so it's done in secret."

The UK's combat engagement as part of Operation Shader so far has been from the air. The RAF have flown over 340 missions, targeting Isis fighters, bases, combat vehicles, ammunition dumps, and communications and training facilities.

In December 2015 the number of British troops in Iraq was just 275 and The Independent reported that a visiting Common's defence committee complained about the small number of British troops and how far they were from the frontline.

Reuse content

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Three British SAS troops injured fighting up to 30 Isis militants

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Three British special forces operatives have been injured in a firefight with Isis militants in Iraq. The engagement took place during a covert reconnaissance operation near Isis-held Mosul, in the north of the country. The soldiers, believed to be from the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) regiments, suffered bullet and fragmentation injuries, the Mirror said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"A bunker-busting BETAB-500 air bomb dropped from a Sukhoi Su-34 bomber near Raqqa has eliminated the command post of one of the terror groups, together with an underground storage facility for explosives and munitions.

"These and other highly exact means of attack in recent days have been used to target objects of Islamic State terrorists.

"Command posts, stores of weapons and oil products, workshops where weapons of suicide bombers are made."

Meanwhile a terrorism expert revealed to Express.co.uk ISIS have vastly exaggerated their military strength and called on Western leaders to launch a co-ordinated fightback which would obliterate the hate group.

Dr Afzal Ashraf said ISIS has become its own worst enemy with its campaign of terror against the West, which has prompted an international backlash.

Vladimir Putin in pictures
Tue, December 13, 2016
Russin President Vladimir Putin in pictures

He said: "This mythical state will disappear in a matter of hours once the international community decides to act.

"It won't take very long at all to drive them, if not out of all of Iraq or Syria, then certainly the majority of their territories.

"They will hide in towns, but I would say do not to follow them as they would use innocent civilians as human shields."

David Cameron initially gave the Russian air strikes a cautious welcome and said the UK would need to look "very carefully" at Putin's operations.

Following the Paris terror attacks which killed at least 129 people, David Cameron said he was hoping to convince Parliament to support air strikes against ISIS.

He told the BBC: "I have always said I think that it is sensible that we should, ISIL [ISIS] don't recognise a border between Iraq and Syria and neither should we but I need to build the argument, I need to take it to parliament, I need to convince more people.

"We won't hold that vote unless we can see that parliament would endorse action because to fail on this would be damaging, it is not a question of damaging the government it is a question of not damaging our country and its reputation in the world."

He has already pledged to "beef up" the SAS and double the number of British drones to combat ISIS militants in an interview ahead of today's Conservative conference.

The Prime Minister said investment in special forces and surveillance was essential to meeting the terrorist threat facing the UK.

He revealed the UK will buy a fleet of 20 new Protector drones capable of targeting IS extremists in Iraq and Syria.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
End of ISIS? Putin 'sending 150,000 soldiers to Syria to WIPE OUT evil Islamic State'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"A bunker-busting BETAB-500 air bomb dropped from a Sukhoi Su-34 bomber near Raqqa has eliminated the command post of one of the terror groups, together with an underground storage facility for explosives and munitions. "These and other highly exact means of attack in recent days have been used to target objects of Islamic State terrorists.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the wake of the Paris bombings by ISIS, the United States has joined the world in expressing outrage and its determination to destroy the terrorist group. But with what actions should America -- and individual Americans -- respond?

The typical -- and natural -- approach is to attack ISIS militarily. This is justified and necessary. Those who subscribe to the ISIS worldview have an ideology anchored in the eighth century and seek to restore the caliphate they see as destroyed by Western enemies. They want to gain geography over which they can restore theocratic control as they prepare for an Armageddon with the West. To deny them land thus both shows the failure of their methods and denies them the legitimacy they seek from potential recruits. Their focus on violent jihad ignores the term's predominant meaning -- an inner struggle to follow in the ways of the Prophet Mohammad. Their butchery of all opponents, including Muslim "apostates," makes clear that the leaders of ISIS will not be stopped short of military defeat.

How to wage that military response is a separate question. What ISIS seeks -- and what we should avoid -- is a Western army whose presence would convince and radicalize more Muslims in the belief that there is a crusade aimed at Islam itself. Americans do not generally understand that they are often seen -- even by many peaceful Muslims -- as associated with colonialism and support of repressive regimes. It was the West after all, that launched the Crusades, carved up the Middle East after World War I, supported the dictatorship of the Shah of Iran, and most recently condoned the military overthrow of the democratically elected Muslim president of Egypt. There are sufficient opponents of ISIS among other predominantly Muslim nations. We should encourage and support them in carrying out the ground fight. It is in their interest, not just ours.

The Paris attacks also call for increased intelligence and security measures to deny ISIS its claim of "effectiveness" in killing innocents. But herein lies a triple threat for the United States. The first is that increased security will come at an extreme cost to civil liberty. The second is that it will come as discrimination against peaceful Muslims who live in this country. The third is that it will be used as a campaign tool by candidates seeking to be seen as tough on terror. Politicians of all parties should seek to unite America, not divide it by stoking fear and aiming for partisan advantage. Islamophobia has no place among the values of Americans. It is exactly the reaction that ISIS seeks: more hatred of Muslims equals more ISIS recruits.

But a response that confines itself to military and security measures -- the response that has dominated the American effort against terrorism for a decade and a half -- is too limited. We must think more deeply than that and act more systemically.

We must see ISIS for what it is -- a radical movement opposed by the vast majority of Muslims. We must support the many Muslim clerics and scholars, not just in the United States but across the world, who condemn terrorism and exhort their followers to follow the peaceful path of Islam. It would help greatly in this regard if the American media focused attention on such opposition to ISIS, which has included several major conferences of Islamic religious and academic leaders who have uniformly condemned terrorism. As long as the media limit their coverage to jihadist violence, the American people will continue to have a warped view about Islam and the world's Muslims.

We must also deny ISIS the funds it needs to maintain itself. Whether through black market oil sales, hawking stolen antiquities to willing middlemen who later sell them to Western collectors, drug trafficking, or other means, ISIS as a self-proclaimed state relies on money to support itself. Denying it money denies it power.

Further, we must deny ISIS easy access to the Internet. It is ironic that an anti-Western movement is using Western technology as a principal method of command, control, and competition for talent. We must also encourage more use of the Internet by peaceful Muslim groups to provide a counter-weight to radicalization efforts.

Most importantly, we must work with all countries in the region and our European allies to insist and support the provision of basic services -- health, food, shelter, security, jobs, civil justice -- in all territories reclaimed from ISIS or that it seeks to acquire. It is the failure of governments themselves -- such as in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria -- to provide these necessities of a peaceful life that leads people to condone ISIS and its promise to provide them.

Finally, America and Americans must rely on what Harvard University's Joseph Nye called "soft power." We must be a culture that the world -- including the world's Muslims -- sees as welcoming our Muslim citizens and immigrants and integrating them into society. Respect is an essential antidote to radicalization. Xenophobia has no place in an America that wants the world to believe it is a beacon of freedom, hope, and tolerance.

ISIS is a cancer in the world. It will take a coordinated serious of measures to defeat it. Like any disease, it will claim its victims but is conquerable in time. Like any disease, it will take patience and require mutual support among those who battle it. Simplistic slogans and short-sighted policies will not suffice. Like cancer, the cure will not be without cost - a cost that anti-tax Americans seem not willing to pay (or only willing to pass on to posterity).

America, like the cancer patient, is having its fortitude tested. If - more likely when - there is another terrorist attack on the homeland, a military response and security crackdown will take place. But we should be under no illusion, now or then, that such measures will be enough.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the wake of the Paris bombings by ISIS, the United States has joined the world in expressing outrage and its determination to destroy the terrorist group. But with what actions should America -- and individual Americans -- respond? The typical -- and natural -- approach is to attack ISIS militarily.

# data[].attributes.body
www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/04/saudi-arabia-ground-troops-syria-fight-isis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Beirut: The Islamic State's recent defeats on the battlefield signal that its once-vaunted militia army has been hobbled by worsening money problems, desertions and a dwindling pool of fighters, analysts and monitoring groups say.

U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab forces have seized significant amounts of territory from the extremist group in the parts of Iraq and Syria where it declared a caliphate in 2014. Those losses are linked to the group's struggles to pay fighters and recruit new ones to replace those who have deserted, defected to other militant groups or died on the battlefield, the analysts say.

"These issues suggest that as an entity that is determined to hold onto territory, the Islamic State is not sustainable," said Jacob Shapiro, an expert on the Islamic State who teaches politics at Princeton University.

Only a year ago, the Islamic State was seen as a juggernaut - rich, organized and fielding thousands of motivated fighters - that overran rival forces in Iraq and Syria with astonishing speed and brutality.

But in recent months, its momentum has been reversed.

U.S. military officials estimate that the group has lost as much as 40 percent of the territory it held in Iraq and as much as 20 percent in Syria. Kurdish and Arab forces, including Iraq's increasingly competent military, have advanced against the group with the help of airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition.

The air raids have damaged the Islamic State's oil infrastructure, a key revenue source, and the territorial setbacks have stripped the group of populations to tax and assets to seize, analysts say. All of this, they say, appears to have forced the group to reduce salaries and benefits for fighters.

Few expect a sudden defeat of the conservative Sunni group, known for its resilience and ability to surprise its opponents. It also will probably continue exploiting sectarian grievances that have helped it gain loyalty, albeit sometimes tenuous, from the largely Sunni populations under its control, an issue that has made it difficult to defeat the group.

Moreover, the suspension on Wednesday of U.N.-backed peace talks in Geneva to end the Syrian war may complicate international efforts to fight the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. The United States and Russia back opposing sides in the conflict but have nevertheless supported the talks because of concern that the fighting, which has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced millions, is empowering the Islamic State.

Yet there appears to be a rise in the number of Islamic State fighters who have deserted or, in the case of the Syrian conflict, defected to other militant groups, said Vera Mironova, an expert on armed groups in Syria and Iraq at Harvard University's Belfer Center. The salary and benefit cuts have caused "for-profit militants" in Syria to increasingly "look for better deals" with other armed factions, she said.

The group, she added, also is struggling to replenish ranks of its foreign fighters, who tend to be more ideologically driven but also die in relatively large numbers on the battlefield. Tighter border restrictions imposed by Turkey have slowed the flow of fighters into neighboring Syria, said Mironova, whose research has involved hundreds of interviews with militants who are fighting in Syria and Iraq.

"They're in big trouble," Mironova said, referring to the Islamic State's ability to fight.

Members of the Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently group, which monitors the Islamic State, say a rising number of foreign members of the militant group have requested help to flee Syria. The requests have been made secretly because the Islamic State regularly executes foreigners who attempt to escape, said a co-founder of the Syrian monitoring group, Mohammed Saleh, who like other members uses a nom de guerre because of threats from the militants.

"There are lots of these people who are desperately trying to flee, and not just from Raqqa," he said, referring to the city in eastern Syria that is the Islamic State's self-declared capital.

"Part of this is that these people are moving from vibrant cities like London or Paris. After a year of living in a place like Raqqa, they get tired of living without electricity and getting bombed all the time. They get bored, or they realize that the so-called caliphate is not what they were told it was."

Analysts speculate that the problems have compelled the group to adopt new tactics, such as carrying out attacks abroad. That includes the Paris assaults in November that killed 130 people.

Attacks abroad may be an attempt to sustain the group's narrative as always on the offense - which has been key for attracting potential militants. Even so, the Islamic State's media narrative has shifted from a triumphant one to having to explain why it is losing so much, said Nelly Lahoud, an expert on political Islam at the International Institute for Strategic Studies who studies the group's media.

"They overplayed their card at the beginning by describing their victories as a sign from God, a reward for their faith," she said.

In October, the Islamic State announced a month-long amnesty for deserters, according to documents obtained and translated by Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert on the Islamic State. He called the amnesty the "clearest sign" of the Islamic State's troubles waging war.

According to activists with Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, the Islamic State is also forcibly recruiting more teenage boys in Syria to fight for the group.

Analysts and monitoring groups say they have observed more reports of the Islamic State executing fighters who deserted during recent battles against Kurdish peshmerga fighters in Iraq's north and Iraqi forces in the city of Ramadi.

Reliance on such extreme measures "is a sure sign of low cohesion and a burned-out military force," said Shapiro of Princeton.

© 2016 The Washington Post

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ISIS Is No Longer So Formidable On The Battlefield

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Beirut: The Islamic State's recent defeats on the battlefield signal that its once-vaunted militia army has been hobbled by worsening money problems, desertions and a dwindling pool of fighters, analysts and monitoring groups say. U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab forces have seized significant amounts of territory from the extremist group in the parts of Iraq and Syria where it declared a caliphate in 2014.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
International reactions to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - Wikipedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On 9 April 2013, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said that the al-Nosra Front is a branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, he announced the merger of EII and Frente al-Nosra to form an Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Islamic State: International Response

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Encyclopedia of Jewish and Israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from anti-Semitism to Zionism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over the past few months, the Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot formerly known as ISIS, has mounted a brutal campaign in Syria and Iraq that has allowed it to expand its ranks and win large swaths of new territory. With the stated goal of establishing a Sunni caliphate -- or an Islamic state governed by a religious figurehead -- the insurgent group's fighting has taken a heavy toll on Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, as well as a number of minority groups, including Kurds and Christians.

While reports of the Islamic State carrying out mass executions, placing heads on fence posts and imposing harsh religious restrictions have sparked concern across the world, they haven't elicited military involvement until now. Over the weekend, U.S. warplanes began bombing Islamist fighters following an announcement by President Barack Obama that he had authorized airstrikes to prevent "genocide."

In light of the recent news, here's an update on the militant group by the numbers:

The number of square miles thought to be under Islamic State control, a stretch between Syria and Iraq that is roughly the size of Belgium. Other estimates suggest the Islamic State controls an area closer to 35,000 square miles, or roughly the size of Jordan.

The number of people killed in Iraq in June, according to government figures, making it the deadliest month since May 2007. Official figures report 1,393 civilians, 380 soldiers and 149 policemen among the dead. Another 2,610 people were wounded, the majority of them civilians.

Islamic militants parade in Baiji, Iraq, on July 29, 2014.

The number of militants now fighting with the Islamic State, according to a recent estimate by Dr. Hisham al-Hashimi, an expert on the group. Many former Iraqi Army soldiers have been forced to join and others have been recruited from around the region and beyond.

The number of nations with which the Islamic State has engaged in direct fighting. In an effort to expand its holdings, insurgents have attacked soldiers from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey this summer alone. The group is currently pursuing a large offensive against the Syrian Arab Army in the northeast of the country, snatching up large quantities of munitions from military bases.

The approximate value of the Islamic State's cash and assets, according to estimates from terrorism experts. In the midst of its most substantial campaign in June, Islamic State fighters captured the city of Mosul, looting hundreds of million of dollars from banks and acquiring hundreds more in military assets from the Iraqi Army.

The estimated daily revenue of the Islamic State, from its oil and gas resources alone. Fighters with the group have taken control of oil and gas fields across northern Iraq and Syria, and it "now controls a volume of resources and territory unmatched in the history of extremist organizations," according to Janine Davidson of the Council of Foreign Relations.

The number of high-profile jailbreaks carried out by Islamic State forces in the past several months, which led to the freeing of at least 1,500 insurgents, likely including leaders, bomb makers and other militants, according to reports. In an apparent response to these incidents and widespread brutality by Islamic State fighters, Human Rights Watch accused Shiite militia members and other Iraqi Army soldiers last month of having illegally executed at least 255 Sunni prisoners in at least five different massacres.

The number of openly practicing Christians thought to be left in the city of Mosul, where the Islamic State has made Christianity punishable by death. While it's impossible to know if Islamic State militants have actually chased every Christian out of the city, recent reports suggest that all remaining Christians had fled Mosul.

The number of civilians initially estimated to have been trapped on Mount Sinjar last week after the Islamic State captured the town of Sinjar, near the Kurdish region in northern Iraq, and drove people out of the surrounding areas. While at least 20,000 were reportedly rescued over the weekend by Kurdish rebels from neighboring Syria, the remaining Yazidis are still trapped.

A family with sick children takes shelter under a sheet as thousands of Iraqis who have fled recent fighting in the cities of Mosul and Tal Afar try to enter a temporary displacement camp.

The number of Yazidis killed so far by Islamic State fighters in northern Iraq. An Iraqi government minister told Reuters on Sunday that militants had buried some of the Yazidis alive, while they killed others in a mass execution.

The number of Yazidi women taken as slaves by the Islamic State, according to human rights minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Sudani said there are still concerns that many of the victims will be moved outside of the country, which would make it harder to rescue them. Recent reports also suggest that at least two women were publicly stoned to death by the Islamic State, one of whom faced the punishment for adultery.

According to a 2011 report in Water Power magazine, this is the number of civilians who could die if the Mosul Dam, the largest dam in Iraq, stops working. Late last week, the Islamic State reportedly seized the dam, which lies on the Tigris River and provides power and water to Mosul and other parts of the region. It requires extensive engineering work to remain operational. It remains unclear what the Islamic State intends to do with it, but simply neglecting the required upkeep would potentially lead to large-scale structural failure.

The amount of water (in feet) that would roar toward the city of Mosul if the Islamic State decided to destroy the Mosul Dam, or if it were to suffer a catastrophic collapse for any other reason, according to a 2007 letter from U.S. generals stressing the need to secure the dam.

The estimated population of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. This number includes an unknown number of foreign workers, some of whom are American military personnel who were dispatched earlier this summer to aid Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in their resistance efforts against the Islamic State. On Saturday, American warplanes began launching airstrikes to help Kurdish forces fighting to defend Erbil.

The number of towns reclaimed by Kurdish forces on Sunday following U.S. airstrikes to protect the area from Islamic State militants.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
15 Shocking Numbers That Will Make You Pay Attention To What ISIS Is Doing In Iraq

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over the past few months, the Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot formerly known as ISIS, has mounted a brutal campaign in Syria and Iraq that has allowed it to expand its ranks and win large swaths of new territory.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As the US military strikes Isis in Iraq, President Bashar al-Assad's forces have significantly stepped up their own campaign against militant strongholds in Syria, carrying out dozens of air strikes against the Islamist group's headquarters in the past two days.

While the government in Damascus has long turned a blind eye to Isis's expansion in Syria - in some cases even facilitating its offensive against mainstream rebels - the group's rapid march on towns and villages in northern and eastern Syria is now threatening to overturn recent gains by government forces.

While militants from Isis, which calls itself Islamic State, have so far concentrated their attacks against the Western-backed fighters seeking to topple Assad, they have in the past month carried out a major onslaught against Syrian army facilities in north-eastern Syria, capturing and slaughtering hundreds of Syrian soldiers and pro-government militiamen in the process.

On Monday, Isis fighters were closing in on the last government-held army base in the north-eastern Raqqa province, the Tabqa air base, prompting at least 16 Syrian government air strikes in the area in an attempt to halt their advance.

In the northern city of Aleppo, there is a sense of impending defeat among mainstream rebels who were systematically routed by Islamic militants last week in towns and villages only a few miles north of the city. An Isis takeover of rebel-held parts of Aleppo also would be disastrous for Syrian government troops who have been gaining ground in the city in past months.

"I think they [the Syrian government] are finally realising that their Machiavellian strategy of working with the Isis group against the moderates did not work so well, and so they have started to fight it," said Andrew Tabler, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. But in hitting hard against Isis, Assad has another motive. His aerial bombardment of militant strongholds in Syria in a way mirrors the US military's air strikes against extremists across the border in Iraq.

Analysts say Assad's strikes aim at sending a message that he is on the same side as the Americans, reinforcing the Syrian government's longstanding claim that it is a partner in the fight against terrorism and a counterbalance to extremists. That comes after the US itself nearly bombed Syria after it blamed Assad's forces for a chemical weapons attack on rebel-held areas near Damascus last August.

"Assad would surely love to regain international acceptance via a 'war on terror' and maybe that is his long-term plan, in so far as he has one," the Syria analyst Aron Lund said.

Even while going against Isis in Iraq, American officials have shown little appetite for striking at the same militants in Syria.

Asked about Syrian government air strikes targeting the militants, the State Department's deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf rejected the notion that Washington and Damascus are "on the same page" in their fight against Isis as a common enemy.

"While we may be looking at some of the same targets, I think the fact... that the Assad regime has allowed Isis to flourish and grow in the way it has is really one of the main reasons they have grown so strong," she said.

Most of all, however, Assad can simply no longer afford to ignore the growing threat of Isis now that it has started attacking his own forces.

Since July, following its blitz in Iraq and after it declared a caliphate straddling the Iraq-Syria border, Isis fighters have gone after isolated government bases in northern and eastern Syria, killing and decapitating army commanders and pro-government militiamen.

The attacks started with an onslaught on the al-Shaer gas field in Homs province in which more than 270 Syrian soldiers, security guards and workers were killed. Last month, jihadists overran the sprawling Division 17 military base in Raqqa province, killing at least 85 soldiers. Two weeks later, Isis fighters seized the nearby Brigade 93 base after days of heavy fighting.

They now are closing in on Tabqa air base. Activists reported intense clashes between government troops and Isis fighters on Monday on the edge of the villages of Ajil and Khazna near Tabqa. The Raqqa Media Centre, an activist collective, said Isis captured four villages near the air base, including Ajil.

"They will stop at nothing. If things continue the same way it's only a matter of time before the Isis seizes Aleppo," said Abu Thabet, an Aleppo rebel commander. He said the jihadists were now looking to take the rebel stronghold of Marea, to be followed by the Bab al-Salam border crossing with Turkey, which would be a major prize and source of money.

Oubai Shahbandar, a Washington-based senior strategist for the Western-backed opposition Syrian National Coalition group, called Assad's air strikes against Isis superficial, saying the Western-backed rebels were the only force truly confronting the jihadists. He also shrugged off any suggestion that Assad and the West share a common enemy in Isis.

"The choice for the West is clear," he said. "Assad turned Syria into a springboard for terror, while the opposition leads the anti-Isis resistance."

Reuse content

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Syria conflict: President Assad finally turns on Isis as government

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As the US military strikes Isis in Iraq, President Bashar al-Assad's forces have significantly stepped up their own campaign against militant strongholds in Syria, carrying out dozens of air strikes against the Islamist group's headquarters in the past two days.

# data[].attributes.body
www.cnn.com/2015/12/17/world/mapping-isis-attacks-around-the-world/

# data[].attributes.body
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xBEaeGeN5Q

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Confronting the Islamic State militants - LA Times

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Islam is a religion, and like any other faith, it is internally diverse. Islamism, by contrast, is the desire to impose a single version of Islam on an entire society. Islamism is not Islam, but it is an offshoot of Islam. It is Muslim theocracy.

In much the same way, jihad is a traditional Muslim idea connoting struggle-sometimes a personal spiritual struggle, sometimes a struggle against an external enemy. Jihadism, however, is something else entirely: It is the doctrine of using force to spread Islamism.

...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Islam is a religion, and like any other faith, it is internally diverse. Islamism, by contrast, is the desire to impose a single version of Islam on an entire society. Islamism is not Islam, but it is an offshoot of Islam. It is Muslim theocracy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Daesh (also known as ISIL, Islamic State, or ISIS) is a terrorist group. The UK is playing a leading role in the Global Coalition - a unified body of 74 partners committed to degrading and defeating Daesh through military action ; tackling Daesh's finances; preventing the flow of foreign terrorist fighters; supporting stabilisation efforts ; and degrading Daesh's poisonous and false narrative.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Tech companies are resorting to increasingly peculiar measures to look like they're taking action against ISIS. The latest: Google will show anti-terrorism links to people who search for extremist content.

Google executive Anthony House told The Telegraph that the company is running two pilot programs to introduce counter-programming when people search for extremist content. "One is to make sure these types of views are more discoverable," he said. "The other is to make sure when people put potentially damaging search terms into our search engine they also find these counter narratives."

So how will this change how the search engine works? Google isn't hiding all results related to terrorism. It'll just front-load some "don't do violence!" ads.

"We offer Google AdWords Grants to NGOs so that meaningful counterspeech ads can be surfaced in response to search queries like 'join ISIS'" a Google spokesperson told Gizmodo, perhaps gunning to win some sort of internal bet about how many buzzwords they could pack into a canned response.

This is a bizarre policy, for a number of reasons. First of all, it's not clear which search terms will prompt the counter-programming beyond "join ISIS." Would typing something more ambiguous like "hot ISIS teens" or "Daesh good?" cause the same response? Is this only for people who want to join the Islamic State, or does Google do the same for wannabes of less trendy terrorist organizations?

Also, is Google taking special note of people who are repeatedly searching for tips on how to be terrorists? Is it giving that information to authorities?

I've asked Google these questions, but the only reply I got back was that canned jargon-soup.

I also asked Google if it has any mechanisms to distinguish people doing research (LIKE ME!!! I'M NOT A TERRORIST!) and people planning a crime-because I tested this concept using House's example.

It does not appear that I'm part of the program:

This program is very similar to another Google initiative, which shows suicide hotline results when people Google suicide. (Try it, you'll see what I mean.) But there's one crucial difference that makes this version of search-result meddling deeply disturbing. When someone commits suicide, they're objectively dead. The definition isn't up for debate. "Radicalism" is a far more nebulous and subjective concept than "being dead."

The "join ISIS" example Google gave centered on the Islamic State, but what if the company expands this pilot program? What other groups would qualify? Google's decision to allow organizations to alter ads* on search results to prevent people from aligning themselves with a group-no matter how odious the group is-is blatantly political. It's a precedent-setting maneuver that permits the company to tailor its results based on perceptions of users' ideologies. It's a leap that underlines Google's willingness to guess its users' intentions when they search for something-and shows that Google is willing to guess its users' intentions to commit crimes when they search for something.

I swear I'm not a terrorist though.

Update 10:22pm: A Google spokesperson provided an updated statement:"What was referenced is a pilot Google AdWords Grants program that's in the works right now with a handful of eligible non-profit organizations. The program enables NGOs to place counter-radicalization ads against search queries of their choosing."

*This statement originally implied that Google altered its search results directly. I changed the wording to clarify that Google allowed partner organizations to alter the ads on search results.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Google Now Shows 'Don't Do Jihad' Ad Results to ISIS Wannabes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tech companies are resorting to increasingly peculiar measures to look like they're taking action against ISIS. The latest: Google will show anti-terrorism links to people who search for extremist content. Google executive Anthony House told The Telegraph that the company is running two pilot programs to introduce counter-programming when people search for extremist content.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Reacting to episodes of brutality displayed by the group calling itself the Islamic State, or ISIS, Barack Obama said this at a White House summit on Countering Violent Extremism:

"We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam ... They try to portray themselves as religious leaders, holy warriors in defense of Islam. We must never accept the premise that they put forward because it is a lie. Nor should we grant these terrorists the religious legitimacy that they seek. They are not religious leaders. They are terrorists."

This is not the first time Obama has tried to delegitimize the Islamic State by denying its religious credentials. He repeatedly drives a wedge between Islam and ISIS by portraying the former as a "religion of peace" in contrast to the latter, whose brutal beheadings, immolations, and mass shootings - along with successful recruiting efforts and territory grabs through Syria, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere - have been widely publicized to the horror of onlooking Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

"What ISIS Really Wants," a long, revealing article by Graeme Wood published in the March 2015 issue of The Atlantic takes issue with part of Obama's position regarding the Islamic State. Yes, Wood agrees, " Muslims can reject the Islamic State; nearly all do." And it is comforting, he writes, that "[m]any mainstream Muslim organizations have gone so far as to say the Islamic State is, in fact, un-Islamic. " It is a relief that "the vast majority of Muslims have zero interest in replacing Hollywood movies with public executions as evening entertainment."

But to say that most Muslims oppose the tactics and aims of ISIS is not to say, Wood warns, that ISIS is just a bunch of thugs with Kalashnikovs. It is dangerous to misconstrue the group as al-Qaeda's "JV team," as Obama a year ago, or as a group that recruits desperate teens and turns them into mindless jihadis. "The reality," writes Wood, "is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic."

"Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam."

Far from using Islam as a mere facade for bloodlust, Wood found, the Islamic State's interpretations of Koranic teachings are fundamental to its mission. The beheadings, immolations, and the rest are very much religiously inspired. A professor at Princeton, Bernard Haykel, told Wood that "the ranks of the Islamic State are deeply infused with religious vigor.":

"Koranic quotations are ubiquitous. 'Even the foot soldiers spout this stuff constantly,' Haykel said. 'They mug for their cameras and repeat their basic doctrines in formulaic fashion, and they do it all the time.' He regards the claim that the Islamic State has distorted the texts of Islam as preposterous, sustainable only through willful ignorance. 'People want to absolve Islam,' he said. 'It's this "Islam is a religion of peace" mantra. As if there is such a thing as "Islam"! It's what Muslims do, and how they interpret their texts ... And these guys have just as much legitimacy as anyone else.' "

Some on the left are criticizing Wood for falling "prey to an inaccurate trope all too common in many Western circles: that ISIS is an inevitable product of Islam, mainly because the Qur'an and other Islamic texts contain passages that support its horrific acts." This contention, by Jack Jenkins at Think Progress, paints Wood as a journalist who has been duped by ISIS propaganda. Worse, Jenkins writes, Wood's article and pieces like it "inadvertently validate ISIS' voice" by giving a stamp of approval to its literal readings of Koranic verses instructing Muslims to kill in the name of religion.

These criticisms are only partially on the mark. It is one thing to say that ISIS' religious ideology has "just as much legitimacy as anyone else's." That is pure postmodern trash; there are better and worse interpretations of faith traditions, and it is conceding way too much to give "behead and burn" the same credence as mainstream interpretations of Islam according to which people treat each other with respect and honor.

But Jenkins' critique misses Wood's more basic point that ISIS is dead serious about what it perceives as its Islamic mission to re-establish the caliphate and bring on the End of Days. We may despise and revile the ISIS ideology, but it is no milquetoast set of ideas and principles. The leaders of the Islamic State are literally gunning to win a messianic battle, and the rest of the world will find it hard to resist them if it misunderstands their mission.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reacting to episodes of brutality displayed by the group calling itself the Islamic State, or ISIS, Barack Obama said this at a White House summit on Countering Violent Extremism: "We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam ...

# data[].attributes.body
Left, Liberal

# data[].attributes.body
Centrist, Center

# data[].attributes.body
Right, Traditional