NEWS – Page 29 – odiaspora.org

Nusra Front Splits From Al-Qaeda and Renames Itself

31 July 2016

The Nusra Front, one of the strongest radical Islamist groups in Syria, announced Thursday that it was splitting from its global sponsor Al-Qaeda and rebranding itself in a bid to prevent it being targeted as an extremist group by the U.S.-led coalition and Russian air […]

Naim Qassem: solution to presidency is clear, known

31 July 2016

NNA – Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Thursday during a graduation ceremony in Batoul “as for the selection of the President of the Republic, the road to the presidential solution is clear and well known. If a political solution for […]

Aleppo residents begin escape from besieged neighborhoods via safe passage – local media

31 July 2016

The first group of residents trapped in eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city before the civil war, have begun their escape through a humanitarian corridor created with Russia’s help, Al Mayadeen TV has reported. Leaflets with directions to the four safe passages out of […]

Truck bomb blast kills dozens in northeast Syria city

31 July 2016

Termed as the deadliest attack of its kind in the Syrian city, the truck bomb blast by Islamic state claimed nearly 50 lives. A large truck bomb blast claimed by Islamic State killed nearly 50 people and wounded scores more in the northeastern Syrian city […]

German police raid Islamic ‘hotbed’ as 15yo detained for allegedly planning terror attack

31 July 2016

Around 400 German police conducted raids at a mosque and eight apartments in a “hotbed” of radical Islam near Hannover. It came as police near Stuttgart arrested a 15-year-old who they believe was planning a mass shooting. Trends Global terrorism The raids took place in […]

WSJ Editorial Writer Sohrab Ahmari Is Converting to Catholicism

30 July 2016

Sohrab Ahmari, Editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, announced on Twitter that he is converting to Catholicism. His tweet read: “#IAmJacquesHamel: In fact, this is the right moment to announce that I’m converting to Roman Catholicism.” The hashtag “IAmJacquesHamel” refers to the French priest […]

British SDF fighter: ISIS to blame for death of civilians in Manbij

30 July 2016

MANBIJ – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are facing difficulties in fighting militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria’s border city of Manbij “because ISIS is killing civilians”, the British volunteer Macer Gifford told ARA News. “The biggest challenge the SDF has found is […]

German Mood Is Shaken as Attacks Show Vulnerability to ISIS

30 July 2016

BERLIN — After a week bookended by terrorist attacks, Germans are now clear that they, too, are targets of the Islamic State, leaving them longing for the sense of order that is their pride and bedrock of success. The attacks started with an ax-wielding teenager […]

For Syrians in Lebanon, School Is ‘Like A Miracle’

27 July 2016

A quarter of a million Syrian children are growing up in Lebanon without an education. We look at the obstacle course they have to cross to get into the classroom. Ahmad was 13 years old, but he looked nine. He swaggered through the schoolyard like […]

Soldiers Calm French Nerves, but Are Paying a Steep Price

25 July 2016

Day in and day out for the past 18 months, two or three French soldiers have been posted by the doors of a small synagogue on the Rue St.-Lazare in central Paris, where they have become as much of a fixture as the bar on […]

String of Attacks in Europe Fuels a Summer of Anxiety

25 July 2016

Nearly every day seems to bring a new horror to the streets of Western Europe, leaving innocent men, women and children dead or broken, fueling political and social tensions and creating what some are already calling the summer of anxiety. Death and injury have been […]

As ISIS Loosens Grip, U.S. and Iraq Prepare for Grinding Insurgency 152

25 July 2016

The Islamic State’s latest suicide attack in Baghdad, which killed nearly 330 people, foreshadows a long and bloody insurgency, according to American diplomats and commanders, as the group reverts to its guerrilla roots because its territory is shrinking in Iraq and Syria. Already, officials say, […]