Pentagon scrambles on Syria exit amid withdrawal outrage
Military leaders were scrambling Thursday to devise a swift but safe departure of troops from Syria, as outraged lawmakers appealed to President Donald Trump to reverse an abrupt withdrawal order that rattled Washington’s allies and was a key factor in the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis later in the day.
Trump pulling all US troops from Syria, declaring IS defeat
President Donald Trump is pulling all 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria, officials announced Wednesday as the president suddenly declared victory over the Islamic State, contradicting his own experts’ assessments and sparking surprise and outrage from his party’s lawmakers who called his action rash and dangerous.
US decries Islamic State ‘genocide’ of Christians, others
The Trump administration denounced the Islamic State group on Tuesday for carrying out “genocide” against Christians and other religious minorities in areas under its control.
Istanbul gunman captured after more than 2 weeks on run
Turkish police captured the gunman who carried out the deadly New Year’s nightclub attack in Istanbul, with officials saying today that he’s an Uzbekistan national who trained in Afghanistan and confessed to the massacre.
US warns of possible attacks on churches, holiday gatherings
Federal authorities warned law enforcement authorities across the nation Friday that Islamic State sympathizers are continuing to call for attacks on churches and other holiday gathering sites.
Australia police: Christmas Day bomb plot foiled, 5 detained
Police in Australia have detained five men suspected of planning a series of Christmas Day attacks using explosives, knives and a gun in the heart of the country’s second-largest city, officials said today.
Starkville man gets 8 years for supporting ISIS
A Mississippi man who once tried to join the Islamic State group credited arresting FBI agents with saving his life as he was sentenced to eight years in prison Wednesday, telling a federal judge he didn’t then understand what the Islamic State represented.
Young sentenced to 12 years for attempting to join ISIS
OXFORD–Jaelyn Delshaun Young was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and 15 years of supervised release in federal court on Thursday for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.
Trump accuses Obama of being the ‘founder of ISIS’
Donald Trump accused President Barack Obama on Wednesday of founding the Islamic State group that is wreaking havoc from the Middle East to European cities.
FBI: Transit officer 1st lawman charged under US terror law
Prosecutors brought the first-ever federal terrorism charges against a law enforcement officer in the U.S., alleging Wednesday that a patrol officer with the D.C. region’s transit police bought about $250 worth of gift cards for someone he thought was working with the Islamic State group.
Aug. sentencing for couple who planned to join Islamic State
A federal judge has scheduled sentencing next month for a Mississippi couple who pleaded guilty to planning to travel to Syria and join the Islamic State group.
McCain: Obama ‘directly responsible’ for Orlando shooting
Republican Sen. John McCain said Thursday that President Barack Obama is “directly responsible” for the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, because of the rise of the Islamic State group on the president’s watch.
US combat death in Iraq reflects intensifying war
The combat death of a U.S. Navy SEAL who was advising Kurdish forces in Iraq coincides with a gradually deepening American role in fighting a resilient Islamic State, even as the Iraqis struggle to muster the military and political strength to defeat the militants.
Islamic State claims deadly bombings in Brussels
Islamic extremists struck Tuesday in the heart of Europe, killing at least 34 people and wounding scores of others in back-to-back bombings of the Brussels airport and subway that again laid bare the continent’s vulnerability to suicide squads.
Kerry nearing decision on whether IS atrocities are genocide
The Obama administration is nearing a decision on whether to formally declare that Islamic State group atrocities against religious minorities, including Christians, constitute “genocide.”
IS frees Syrian Christians held since 2015 for ransom
The Islamic State group on Monday released the last of some 230 Assyrian Christians kidnapped a year ago in Syria after the receiving millions of dollars in ransom, Christian officials said.
IS faces budget crunch, killing perks and slashing salaries
Faced with a cash shortage in its so-called caliphate, the Islamic State group has slashed salaries across the region, asked Raqqa residents to pay utility bills in black market American dollars, and is now releasing detainees for a price of $500 a person.
Intelligence officials: IS determined to strike US this year
Leaders of the Islamic State are determined to strike targets in the United States this year, senior U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday, telling lawmakers that a small group of violent extremists will attempt to overcome the logistical challenges of mounting such an attack.
Oldest Christian monastery in Iraq razed by Islamic State militants
The Obama Administration and the Vatican condemned the Islamic State group Wednesday for razing Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery, a 1,400-year-old structure that survived assaults by nature and man for centuries before it was deliberately destroyed by extremists.
June trial date set for alleged IS supporters
Two people arrested in August on suspicion of supporting the Islamic State will appear in federal court this summer, court documents show.