ISIL fighter from Virginia asks Kurdish captors to stop filming

ISIL fighter from Virginia asks Kurdish captors to stop filming

Special to WorldTribune.com Kurdish peshmerga forces posted video of a camera-shy American fighter for Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) who was captured near the Iraqi town of Sinjar. Upon his capture, the man identified as 27-year-old Muhammad Jamal Amin, originally from Virginia, is said to have voluntarily defected from ISIL. He claimed to have […]

U.S. embassy urges evacuation from Mosul as dam catastrophe looms

U.S. embassy urges evacuation from Mosul as dam catastrophe looms

Special to WorldTribune.com The U.S. embassy in Iraq has recommended the evacuation of Mosul out of fear that the Mosul Dam is near collapse. “Out of an abundance of caution, we would like to underscore that prompt evacuation offers the most effective tool to save lives of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis living in the […]

Italy sending 450 troops to protect engineers, unstable Mosul Dam from ISIL

Italy sending 450 troops to protect engineers, unstable Mosul Dam from ISIL

Special to WorldTribune.com Italy is deploying 450 soldiers to protect Iraq’s vital Mosul Dam from Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). The dam is 30 miles from the city of Mosul, which ISIL controls. Officials fear a catastrophe for local populations and farmland should the dam fall into disrepair or be sabotaged by the terrorist […]

Yazidi singer forms ‘Sun Girls’ battalion to fight ISIL: ‘They have no humanity’

Yazidi singer forms ‘Sun Girls’ battalion to fight ISIL: ‘They have no humanity’

Special to WorldTribune.com A Yazidi folk singer has formed an all-female fighting unit which aims to take revenge on Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) terrorists who executed, raped and drove thousands of Yazidis from their homes. The “Sun Girls” battalion was formed by 30-year-old Yazidi singer Xate Shingali, who was given permission by […]

U.S. confirms ISIL chemical weapons strike using precursor components

U.S. confirms ISIL chemical weapons strike using precursor components

Special to WorldTribune.com Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) used mustard gas in an attack in Hasakah, Syria, U.S. investigators have confirmed. The U.S. is still investigating the amount and sophistication of how the agent was delivered, according to a CNN report. Investigators are also examining samples from an ISIL attack this past week […]

ISIL’s Al Baghdadi flees Iraq for Syria as U.S. steps up air strikes

ISIL’s Al Baghdadi flees Iraq for Syria as U.S. steps up air strikes

Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — The commander of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant was said to have fled Iraq amid U.S. air strikes on Kurdistan. Officials said ISIL commander Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi left his headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul around Aug. 10. They said Al Baghdadi, a nomme de guerre, […]

Central Command confirms ISIL operating U.S. armored personnel carriers in Iraq

Central Command confirms ISIL operating U.S. armored personnel carriers in Iraq

Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The United States has acknowledged that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was operating an advanced armored personnel carrier captured in Iraq. U.S. Central Command cited the Mine Resistant-Ambush Protected vehicle, manufactured by Oshkosh Defense and deemed the leading wheeled armored platform for the U.S. military in Afghanistan and […]

Kurdish fighters face down ISIS army with U.S. help

Kurdish fighters face down ISIS army with U.S. help

Special to WorldTribune.com By Brian M. Downing, LIGNET.com Since the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria stormed into Iraq and teamed up with some of the most vicious remnants of Saddam Hussein’s forces they have met with almost no opposition, with one exception: the Kurdish fighters. Kurdish warriors have a long and well deserved reputation […]

ISIL takes on Kurdistan, captures key towns, oil field

ISIL takes on Kurdistan, captures key towns, oil field

Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has launched an offensive against Iraq’s northern autonomous region of Kurdistan. ISIL has been battling forces sponsored by the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. On Aug. 3, ISIL captured two Kurdish towns and a crude oil field in what was termed a […]