U.S. Secretary Of State Blinken Presses Allies To Repatriate Islamic State Fighters

 

 The Guardian: US pushes France and UK to take Isis fighters back from Iraq and Syria 

US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, says detention of former fighters in camps is untenable 

The continued detention of former Islamic State fighters in Iraqi and Syrian camps is untenable, and more of them must be repatriated to their home countries, the US secretary of state said at a summit of the international coalition against Isis, held in Rome. 

In remarks aimed primarily at France and the UK, Antony Blinken said: “This situation is simply untenable. It just can’t persist indefinitely. “The United States continues to urge countries – including coalition partners – to repatriate, rehabilitate and, where applicable, prosecute its citizens.” 

Read more ....  

Update #1: Blinken: 'Untenable' for 10000 IS fighters still to be held in Syria -- Reuters  

Update #2: 'This is untenable': US says foreign IS fighters need to be repatriated from Syria and Iraq -- Middle East Eye  

WNU Editor: There are about 10,000 ISIS fighters in detention camps. Good luck on repatriating, rehabilitating, and if possible, prosecuting these fighters.

The Global Coalition Against The Islamic State Meet In Rome

Euronews: Ensuring 'lasting defeat' of IS on agenda at Global Coalition summit 

The Global Coalition against the so-called Islamic State (IS) met on Monday to coordinate efforts to defeat the terror group. 

The summit in Rome is co-chaired by the Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi di Maio, and his American counterpart, Anthony Blinken, and will be attended by more than 80 international delegations. 

The meeting came just a day after the U.S. launched airstrikes against Iran-backed militias near the Iraq-Syria border. 

Ministers discussed how to coordinate efforts to ensure "a lasting defeat of Daesh (another name for IS)" as well as terror organisations affiliated to the group. 

According to the coalition, the ranks of IS are still filled with about 10,000 fighters spread across Syria and Iraq.  

Read more .... 

More News On The Global Coalition Against The Islamic State Meeting In Rome

US warns that Islamic State extremists still a world threat -- AP 

Germany, US warn of growing influence of 'Islamic State' -- DW  

Nations chart future steps against Islamic State extremists -- The Independent  

Blinken Urges US Allies to Keep Up Islamic State Fight -- VOA  

Blinken urges US allies not to drop their guard against Islamic State threats -- The Hill

Is ISIS About To Launch A New Wave Of Attacks In The Middle East?

The SUN: ISIS STRIKE BACK Ten thousand ISIS fighters poised for new wave of terror after bloodthirsty jihadis exploit Covid to rebuild 

TEN thousand ISIS fighters are poised to strike in northern Iraq after using the pandemic to rebuild their forces. 

The chilling warning has come from both the commander of Kurdish forces preparing to resist the maniacs' onslaught and the United Nations.

It comes as the RAF has also been called into action to strike at targets in Iraq. ISIS once controlled a vast swath of territory across Iraq and Syria, seized in terrifying offensive in 2014, culminating in its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declaring an Islamic Caliphate in a Mosul mosque. 

The bloodthirsty jihadis ruled with extreme brutality before a coalition of Kurdish forces backed by western airpower pushed them into their final pocket of territory in Baghouz, Syria in 2018. 

But since their apparent defeat, they have been slowly rebuilding, despite the death of Baghdadi at the hands of US special forces. 

Read more .... 

WNU editor: I am skeptical that there are 10,000 ISIS fighters. But the U.S. military is still seeing ISIS as a threat .... US sees fighting resurgent ISIS as priority, not guarding oil (Arab Weekly).

Obese ISIS Religious Leader Is Arrested In Iraq But He Is So Heavy He Had To Be Loaded Onto The Back Of A Truck

Latest photos for #ISIS Mufti. He was the strongest supporter of demolishing Mosul heritage. He used to give the Friday Sermon in my neighborhood. He cheered up in the very Friday after the blowing of Prophet Jonah Mosque in the early days of their invasion.
📷 Social media https://t.co/VWOCR4nmJE pic.twitter.com/zGYoVSuAaF

— Ali Y. Al-Baroodi (@AliBaroodi) January 16, 2020

Insider: An ISIS preacher captured in Iraq was apparently so overweight that police had to take him away in the back of a pickup truck

A well-known ISIS preacher was captured by Iraqi police, but he was apparently so overweight he had to be taken away in the back of a truck.
Shifa al-Nima was captured in the Mansour neighborhood of Mosul by the Nineveh police command, according to Iraqi police.
Police said he incited extremist ideology and pledged allegiance to ISIS during their control of Mosul.
Pictures posted to social media appear to show al-Nima being put in the back of a pickup truck by Iraqi forces.

A well-known ISIS preacher was captured by police forces in Iraq on Thursday, but he was so overweight he had to be carried away in the back of a truck.

Police in Iraq posted a tweet on Thursday announcing that Shifa al-Nima was captured in the Mansour neighborhood in Mosul by the Nineveh police command.

Recent photos that appear to show extremely overweight of al-Nima started to circulate on Twitter, including one that shows him slumped in the back of what appears to be a police pickup after his arrest

Insider has not been able to independently verify that the pictures show al-Nima or the moment of his capture.

Read more ....

Update #1: He must be on a FAT-wa: Obese ISIS religious leader is arrested in Iraq and is so heavy he has to be loaded onto back of truck (Daily Mail)
Update #2: Iraq: Obese Daesh mufti who called for rape and genocide caught (Middle East Monitor)

WNU Editor: You just cannot make this stuff up.

How Did A Private School Girl From Sussex Die Fighting ISIS In Syria?

Dirk Campbell holding a portrait of his daughter Anna, with International YPJ soldiers

Daily Mail: How did a private school girl from Sussex die fighting ISIS in Syria? Her Seventies rock star father flew out to investigate - and found the haunting story of her final weeks in a secret diary

* Anna Campbell was killed by an air strike at the age of 26 in March last year
* She is the only British woman to have died alongside Kurdish forces in Syria
* Anna: The Woman Who Went To Fight Isis is on BBC2 at 9.30pm on Wednesday

Four young women in dusty, sweat-soaked fatigues hold AK-47 rifles high above their heads beneath the fierce Middle Eastern sun.

They are in training, desperate to join the Kurdish defence force and its famous female fighting units which are attempting to drive back the forces of Isis that swept across Syria and Iraq.

As Dirk Campbell watches the figures moving across the screen in the militia group’s shaky footage, one young fighter stands out.

She is noticeably taller than the others, with paler skin and short blonde hair. She is also unmistakably his daughter, Anna.

Read more ....

Update: 'I'M READY TO FIGHT' Secret diary reveals how Brit Anna Campbell, 26, went from private school girl to being killed fighting against ISIS in Syria (The SUN).

WNU Editor: The documentary "l Anna: The Woman Who Went To Fight Isis" will be on BBC2 at 9.30pm on Wednesday, July 3.

ISIS Fighters Hope Their Confessions Will Spare Them From A Death Sentence

Alexander Kotey (left) and El Shafee Elsheikh (right) pictured at an SDF location in northern Syria.

CNN: One of the ISIS 'Beatles' says he's sorry. Will confessions save these fighters from death row?

(CNN) Two of the remaining members of the British ISIS cell known as "the Beatles" have confessed their part in the ransoming of Western hostages in a rare interview that showed them broken and pleading for news of their fate. One of the fighters also offered an unprecedented apology for his actions with the group.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh have been held in northern Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for more than a year, and they recently consented to speak to CNN through a cameraman in their jail and a correspondent by remote video link from London.

Their comments come amid a raft of activity by foreign governments and the SDF to resolve the destination of hundreds of Western ISIS fighters held in overcrowded Syrian prisons, including the transfer of a dozen French fighters to Iraq where they were sentenced to death in May.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: These people committed war crimes that scream for justice. Their crimes were committed in the Middle East, and that is where they should face punishment.

How Many People Died In The Last Stronghold Of ISIS?

More than 6,500 civilians have fled Baghouz, the Islamic State (IS) group’s final enclave in eastern Syria, since Tuesday. Among them were some 200 IS fighters, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia currently facing down the militant group (AFP)

Daily Beast: The Obliteration of Baghouz: How Many People Died in the Last Stronghold of ISIS?

It is clear the U.S.-led coalition vastly underestimated the number of civilians trapped with ISIS in its last Syrian redoubt.

Their images are by now well known: the thousands of women and children who emerged from ISIS’s last stronghold, now housed in the al Hol detention camp in Northwest Syria. According to Kurdish forces, these are the wives and children of foreign fighters, and their future hangs in the balance.

Yet out of the town of al Baghouz from which they staggered—a town which the U.S.-led Coalition effectively destroyed—also came an estimated 60,000 Iraqi and Syrian women and children, survivors of the last battle of a five year air and ground campaign to obliterate the so-called Islamic State as a territorial entity.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: There will be an investigation and accounting one day, but not today. When the fighting has stopped and Syria is stable and rebuilt, that is probably when a more thorough investigation and report will be made on what happened in the Baghouz.

Mass Surrender Of ISIS Fighters Caught On Tape

The longest line of #ISIS armed from different nationalities surrenders to Syrian democratic forces #SDF in #Baghouz #Syria https://t.co/FJxEm8tRzU pic.twitter.com/AZqxlgyfiu

— MOHAMMED HASSAN (@MHJournalist) March 18, 2019

WNU Editor: This is what defeat looks like.

U.S. Led Coalition Battling ISIS Has Admitted That At Least 1,257 Civilians Have Been Killed In Air Strikes Since 2014

SDF forces announced on March 23 they had fully captured the Islamic State group's last bastion in eastern Syria and declared the total elimination of the ISIS territory. AFP

The National: Anti-ISIS coalition admits 1,257 civilians killed since 2014

The coalition's Operation Inherent Resolve has reclaimed all ISIS territory.

The US-led coalition battling ISIS in Syria and Iraq admitted on Thursday that at least 1,257 civilians had been killed in air strikes since Operation Inherent Resolve began in 2014.

The international coalition said it had conducted 34,038 strikes between August 2014 and the end of February this year.

"At least 1,257 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve," it said.

The coalition also announced that it had received 147 reports of possible civilian casualties and reviewed only one, in February, which it found to be credible.

That report refers to a September 13, 2017 bombing on a munitions factory near Rawa, Iraq. Two civilians were wounded, the coalition said.

Read more ....

Update: US-led coalition: 1,257 civilians killed in anti-IS strikes (FOX News/AP)

WNU Editor:  No one knows for sure on how many civilians have died.

Did U.S. Intelligence Fail In Estimating The Number Of ISIS Fighters During Their Final Stand In The Eastern Syrian Town Of Baghouz?

Men are detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces after coming out from last Islamic State pocket, near the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, March 1. REUTERS/Rodi Said

Military Times: Low aim or intel failure? ISIS’ last stand shows the difficulty in estimating enemy manpower

It has been difficult to find a credible number for the Islamic State group’s total troop strength ever since it emerged, and speculation has ranged widely.

The CIA estimated in September 2014 that ISIS could muster up to 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria.

Either that estimate was really low or the network of fighters grew considerably because the estimated enemy killed-in-action far out-paced ISIS’ total strength over the next three years.

During that time frame, the U.S.-led Inherent Resolve coalition killed “60,000 to 70,000″ ISIS followers, Gen. Raymond Thomas, who helms U.S. Special Operations Command, said in July 2017.

But by July 2018, Inherent Resolve said it estimated “ISIS manpower” at once again between 28,600 and 31,600 in Iraq and Syria.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I have been following this conflict since the beginning, and even I was surprised by the large number of civilians and fighters that streamed out of the eastern Syrian town of Baghouz at the end. As to the question .... was this an intelligence failure? The answer is .... definitely.

Inside The Last Scrap Of The ISIS 'Caliphate'

© Screenshot / Ruptly

Daily Mail: Inside the last scrap of the ISIS 'caliphate': Corpses and booby traps litter the ground in battle-scarred terrain that has finally been reclaimed by US-backed forces

* Corpses, booby traps and explosives belts were strewn across Baghouz, eastern Syria, after the brutal siege
* IS desperately sent their wives and daughters to fight as air strikes rained down on the remote village
* Haunting images show the rubble of their last citadel where they had been forced to live underground
* US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared victory on Saturday after months of battling at the fort

Corpses and booby traps litter the last field of battle-scarred terrain that has finally been reclaimed from ISIS by US-backed forces.

Islamic State deployed suicide bombers, snipers, rockets and female fighters as they did everything in their power to desperately cling to Baghouz, eastern Syria.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared victory over the jihadists on Saturday in the remote village, after reducing their once terrifying proto-state to a ghostly riverside camp.

Bullet-riddled trucks, burnt out cars, sheets from tents used to cover their underground dwellings and rusted Kalashnikovs were the sorry remains of the once proud 'caliphate.'

Read more ....

Update #1:US-backed Kurdish fighters clear explosives in village retaken from ISIS -- Military Times/AP
Update #2:With The Collapse Of The ISIS 'Caliphate,' A Camera Lens Lingers On Those Left Behind -- NPR

WNU Editor: The last days for the ISIS were not pretty .... Suicide bombers, rockets: the last days of the IS 'caliphate' (AFP).

Foreign ISIS Women Are Isolated For Assaulting 'Infidel' Refugees At The al-Hol Displacement Camp In North-East Syria

A woman looks through a chain linked fence at al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate. Foreign ISIS women at the camp have been attacking other women for not complying with the so-called caliphate's laws

Daily Mail: 'They say we are infidels for showing our faces': Refugee women are attacked by ISIS brides at Syrian camp for failing to follow caliphate's doctrine

* As ISIS nears defeat women and children have fled to al-Hol displacement camp
* But foreign jihadis have been fenced off from Syrians and Iraqis by camp guards
* They threw stones at other occupants and even their children have made threats
* Countries must decide what to do with returning fighters still loyal to ISIS
* There are 62,000 people living at al-Hol - far over capacity and supplies are low

Foreign ISIS women have tried to assault others they deem 'infidels' for defying the caliphate at the camp where they are being held in northeast Syria - even as the jihadists are facing territorial defeat.

'They yell at us that we are infidels for showing our faces,' said a Syrian woman at al-Hol camp, where women and children were transferred from the ISIS final bastion in eastern Syria. 'They tried to hit us.'

'The foreigners throw stones. They swear at the Syrians or Iraqis and at the camp officials. Even the kids make threats,' said a security official at the camp.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: 62,000 in this one displacement camp with little food and water. 90% of the population being women and children. Can anyone say humanitarian disaster.

More News On Foreign ISIS Women Being Isolated For Assaulting 'Infidel' Refugees At The al-Hol Dispalcement Camp In North-East Syria

‘There will be blood up to your knees’: Islamic State brides in Syria vow to seek vengeance -- News.com.au
Foreign Daesh Brides Isolated for Assaulting 'Infidel' Refugees at Syrian Camp -- Spuntik
ISIS jihadi brides attack refugees at Syrian camp for 'defying the caliphate' -- Daily Star

ISIS Fighters Flee Syria To Enter Iraq

Islamic state members walk in the last besieged neighborhood in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, February 18. At the height of its power four years ago, Islamic State held about a third of both Iraq and Syria in a self-proclaimed caliphate. REUTERS/Rodi Said

CNN: ISIS fighters have been fleeing from Syria into Iraq, perhaps with millions of dollars in tow

(CNN)More than 1,000 ISIS fighters have likely fled from Syria into the mountains and deserts of western Iraq in the past six months, and they may have up to $200 million in cash with them, according to a US military official familiar with situation.

ISIS fighters have continued to flee even as the final fighting has unfolded in the group's last stronghold in southeastern Syria. Some of the last fighters are also believed to be former members of al Qaeda in Iraq, according to a second official.

The assessments and estimates of ISIS' strength come in the finals days of the physical caliphate, the officials said.

Earlier this month, Gen. Joseph Votel, the four-star general in charge of US military operations in the Middle East, estimated there were 20,000 to 30,000 ISIS fighters remaining -- which lines up with a UN estimate from August. A US Defense Department report from the summer estimated there are between 15,500 and 17,100 ISIS militants in Iraq and another 14,000 in Syria.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: All the experts and analysts are saying the same thing. ISIS is getting ready to fight another day .... From Syria, IS slips into Iraq to fight another day (AP). I hope they are wrong, and this analysis is correct .... Without territory or new recruits, Islamic State is in its death throes (Jason Burke, The Guardian).

Last Islamic State Fighters Refuse To Surrender In Syria

BBC: IS 'trapping 200 families' in last bastion in Syria

The UN has expressed concern about the fate of some 200 families reportedly trapped in the last tiny area of Syria still held by the Islamic State group.

Human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said they were apparently being prevented from leaving by IS militants.

They were also being subjected to intense bombardment by US-led coalition and allied Syrian forces, she added.

On Tuesday evening, dozens of lorries reportedly arrived on the outskirts of the IS enclave to evacuate civilians.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Surrounded with no hope but escape .... these last remaining ISIS fighters must represent the worse in this movement.

More News On The Last Islamic State Fighters Refusing To Surrender In Syria

Two hundred families trapped by Islamic State in Syria, U.N. says -- Reuters
Tense Standoff Spells Endgame for ISIS Militants in Syria -- Military.com/AP
IS Fighters Refusing to Leave Last Syrian Stronghold -- VOA
The last 300 ISIS fighters REFUSE to surrender and surround themselves with human shields -- Daily Mail
Efforts to evacuate civilians from IS area in Syria resume -- ABC News
A desperate struggle for survival inside the last corner of the Islamic State -- The Washington Post

ISIS Militants Besieged In Their Last Syrian Stronghold Are Requesting Safe Passage To Rebel-Held Idlib Province

Syrian Democratic Forces and U.S. troops are seen during a patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria Nov. 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said/Files

The Hill: ISIS militants refuse surrender, attempt to negotiate exit

Hundreds of militants fighting for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are refusing to surrender in the Syrian village of Baghouz despite being surrounded by U.S.-aligned Syrian forces.

The Associated Press reports that militants in the village are surrounded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) troops, but are refusing to surrender and are requesting passage to the rebel-held Idlib province in the northwestern part of the country.

Read more ....

Update #1: Besieged IS militants refuse to surrender, ask for an exit (FOX News/AP)
Update #2: More Than 300 ISIS Militants Refuse To Surrender To US-Backed Syrian Forces, Try To Negotiate Exit (Daily Caller)

WNU Editor: It must be tempting for the SDF to make a deal, and have these militants go to Idlib province where in the end they will the Syrian government's problem. My prediction. They will make a deal.

The Last Bastion Of The Islamic State In Syria Is About To Fall

Reuters: Islamic State's 'caliphate' on brink of defeat in Syria

NEAR BAGHOUZ, Syria (Reuters) - U.S.-backed fighters in Syria are poised to capture Islamic State’s last, tiny enclave on the Euphrates, the battle commander said on Saturday, bringing its self-declared caliphate to the brink of total defeat.

Jiya Furat said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had cornered the remaining militants in a neighborhood of Baghouz village near the Iraqi border, under fire from all sides.

“In the coming few days, in a very short time, we will spread the good tidings to the world of the military end of Daesh,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

He was speaking after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday there would be “great announcements” about Syria over the next 24 hours.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The presence of large number of civilians has probably stalled the last push, but the end is near.

More News On The Last Bastion Of The Islamic State In Syria About To Fall

ISIS now controls just 700 square meters in Syria, says SDF -- CNN
Isis caliphate 'reduced to just 700 square metres' as US-backed forces close in on last enclave in Syria -- The Independent
Last Defenders of Islamic State's Caliphate Surrounded -- VOA
US-backed forces fighting Isil to declare victory 'in a very short time' -- The Telegraph
US-backed militia vows to 'end' ISIL in eastern Syria -- Al Jazeera
Push on last IS enclave blunted by discovery of civilians -- AP
Islamic State: 'Thousands of civilians' still trapped in Baghuz -- BBC
Islamic State Making Last Stand Behind Women, Children -- VOA
SAS commandos join final battle to destroy ISIS as ‘lots of British women’ flee war zone -- Daily Star

With The End Of The War Against ISIS In Syria Nearing The End, Fighters Face Women Suicide Bombers

A picture taken from inside a car shows US-led coalition vehicles driving through the Syrian village of Baghouz on January 26, 2019 (AFP Photo/DELIL SOULEIMAN)

AFP: Near IS holdout, Syrian fighters face women suicide bombers

Baghouz (Syria) (AFP) - Driving towards the frontline of what remains of the Islamic State group's self-declared "caliphate" in eastern Syria, US-backed fighters pass huge craters from air strikes and buildings reduced to rubble.

Backed by air strikes of the US-led coalition, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are battling to expel IS from a few hamlets in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

But cornered in a final remote pocket of territory near the Iraqi border, the jihadists are staging a fierce fightback, hiding in tunnels and deploying suicide bombers -- including women.

Listening to Egyptian diva Umm Kulthum, SDF fighters drive along a desert road towards a string of villages retaken in recent weeks from the jihadists.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The end of any war is never pretty.

ISIS Commander Tries Shooting Combat Propaganda But Is Left For Dead After He Gets Shot (Update)

After President Trump's withdrawal announcement, the SDF have made tremendous progress against Islamic State in Syria. We've added subtitles to this earlier SDF released video of an IS commander's bodycam footage, which gives *some* insight into their failure to hold ground. pic.twitter.com/vDDAJQW2lH

— Quentin Sommerville (@sommervilletv) January 6, 2019

Task & Purpose: ISIS Commander Tries Shooting Combat Propaganda. Then His 'Brothers' Leave Him For Dead After He Gets Shot

An ISIS commander tried to record helmet-camera footage that probably would've made for a great propaganda video if his unit's attack was successful, but instead, he recorded himself getting smoked as his supposed "brothers" left him behind.

It's must-see TV, so grab the popcorn.

BBC Middle East Correspondent Quentin Sommerville recently posted the video on Twitter after President Donald Trump announced U.S. troops would leave Syria. Although the video is a bit old, the version from Sommerville now has subtitles, and, well, it's rather hilarious to watch.

In the video, which happens from the commander's perspective, you can see him screaming at his own guys to keep attacking, before he eventually tries to get them to go back into a vehicle and get the hell out of there.

"Come on get in the vehicle what's wrong with you?!" he screams to the other fighters. "GET MOUNTED!"

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This is definitely a must see video.

United Nations Report: Islamic State Left 200 Mass Graves In Iraq

New @UN report highlights the legacy of #ISIL’s relentless campaign of terror and violence and victims’ calls for truth and justice ➡️ At least 200 mass graves discovered in #Iraq.

Learn more: https://t.co/o2dd0kKWom@UNIraq #StandUp4HumanRights pic.twitter.com/HeqwajidH3

— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) November 6, 2018

CNN: 200 mass graves of thousands of ISIS victims found

(CNN)More than 200 mass graves containing the remains of thousands of victims have been found in areas formerly controlled by ISIS, a United Nations report revealed Tuesday.

Both the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) documented 202 grave sites in total, but anticipate more will be discovered in the coming months and years.

The grave sites, which may contain up to 12,000 bodies, were found in the northern and western Iraqi provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din and Anbar.

Read more ....

More News On Today's United Nations Report That The Islamic State Left 200 Mass Graves In Iraq

ISIS left behind 202 mass graves in Iraq, UN says -- CBC/AP
IS left 200 mass graves in Iraq - UN -- BBC
200 mass graves containing the remains of 12,000 ISIS victims are discovered in Iraq - with women, children and the disabled among the dead -- Daily Mail
Thousands Of Bodies Of Islamic State Victims Found In Mass Graves In Iraq, UN Says -- Reuters
ISIS Left More Than 200 Mass Graves in Iraq, U.N. Says -- The New York Times
Islamic State Dumped At Least 6,000 Bodies In Mass Graves In Iraq, U.N. Says -- NPR
Islamic State left at least 200 mass graves in Iraq, United Nations report says -- SKY News
More than 200 mass graves discovered in Iraq: UN report -- Al Jazeera

Islamic State Gunmen Kill At Least 60 U.S.-Backed Fighters In Eastern Syria

Deadly attack came week after 35 Islamic State fighters were killed by US-backed forces (AFP)

Middle East Eye: Islamic State group 'kills 68 US-backed fighters in eastern Syria'

IS fighters have been taking advantage of sandstorms to stage attacks, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

The Islamic State (IS) group killed 68 US-backed fighters near Syria's Hajin, an eastern IS holdout on the Iraqi border, an activist group said on Saturday.

IS late on Friday used suicide bombers as part of a counter-attack against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who have been fighting the group with US backing, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights said.

According to the Observatory, IS has been taking advantage of recurring sandstorms in the eastern countryside of the Deir Ezzor province in recent weeks to carry out deadly strikes against the SDF.

Read more ....

More News On Islamic State Gunmen Kill At Least 60 U.S.-Backed Fighters In Eastern Syria

ISIS gunmen kill at least 40 U.S.-backed fighters in eastern Syria -- CBS/AP
IS repels US-backed forces from east Syria holdout: monitor -- AFP
Dozens Dead in Eastern Syria After Clashes with Islamic State -- The New York Times
Islamic State pushes back US-backed SDF fighters in eastern Syria -- Middle East Eye
ISIS Gunmen Kill 40 US-backed Fighters in Eastern Syria -- Military.com/Canadian Press
Daesh Kills 60 SDF Militants in Surprise Attack East of Euphrates River -- Sputnik
Daesh Surprise Attack Ousts US-Backed SDF Forces From Eastern Syria - Reports -- Sputnik