Salem-News.com Isil articles

Regional, World Powers on Alert After ISIL Declares New Islamic State

The move, at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, follows a three-week drive for territory by ISIL militants and allies among Iraqi's Sunni Muslim minority.

(TIKRIT, Iraq) - Iraqi troops battled to dislodge an al Qaeda splinter group from the city of Tikrit on Monday after its leader was declared caliph of a new Islamic state in lands seized this month across a swathe of Iraq and Syria.

Alarming regional and world powers, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed universal authority, declaring its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was now caliph of the Muslim world - a mediaeval title last widely recognized in the Ottoman sultan deposed 90 years ago after World War One.

ISIS, Iraqi Army Battle for Control of Tikrit

Insurgents, led by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), were reported to have shot down a helicopter and captured the pilot.

(TIKRIT, Iraq) - Aircraft have struck at rebel positions and clashes have broken out in various parts of the city, witnesses and officials have said.

Troops had reportedly pulled back to the nearby town of Dijla as Saturday's initial offensive met stiff resistance. The city of Tikrit was captured by Sunni rebels on June 11 as they swept across large parts of northern Iraq.

Militants Seize Iraqi Air Bases, Oilfields as U.S. Forces Arrive

Baghdad is racing against time as the insurgents consolidate their grip on Sunni provinces.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Militants attacked one of Iraq's largest air bases and seized control of several small oilfields on Wednesday as U.S. special forces troops and intelligence analysts arrived to help Iraqi security forces counter a mounting Sunni insurgency.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is fighting for his job and is under international pressure to create a more inclusive government, said he supported starting the process of forming a new cabinet within a week.

Syrian Warplanes Kill 57 Civilians in Attack in Northern Iraq

In recent weeks, ISIS has taken over swaths of Iraq in its attempt to create an Islamic state stretching from Syria to Iraq.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - At least 57 Iraqi civilians were killed and more than 120 others were wounded by what local officials say were Syrian warplanes that struck several parts of Anbar province Tuesday.

Sabah Karkhout, the head of Iraq’s Anbar provincial council, told CNN that the attacks struck markets and fuel stations in areas such as Rutba, al-Walid and Qaim.

UN Says Over 1,000 Killed in Iraq in June

Abductions continue to be reported in the northern provinces and in Baghdad.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - More than 1,000 people, mainly civilians, have been killed and roughly the same number injured in fighting and other violence in Iraq in June as Sunni militants swept through the north, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Victims include a number of confirmed summary executions committed by forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant -- ISIL -- and prisoners killed by retreating Iraqi forces.

Kerry: Iraq Will Only Survive if Leaders Come Together

Jordanian army sources said Jordan's troops had been put in a state of alert in recent days along the 112-mile border with Iraq, redeploying in some areas as part of steps to ward off "any potential or perceived security threats".

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday promised "intense and sustained" U.S. support for Iraq, but said the divided country would only survive if its leaders took urgent steps to bring it together.

Hours before Kerry arrived in Baghdad, Sunni tribes who have joined a militant takeover of northern Iraq seized the only legal crossing point with Jordan, security sources said.

Sources: Militants Capture 3 Western Iraqi Towns

On Sunday, Sunni militants led by ISIL expanded their grip to the towns of Rawa and Ana along the Euphrates River east of al-Qaim.

(ANBAR Iraq) - An al Qaeda splinter group thrust east from a newly-captured Iraqi-Syrian border post on Sunday, taking three towns in the western Anbar province in a push to evict Iraqi security forces from Sunni Muslim areas.

U.S. Does Not Rule Out Working With Iran to End Violence in Iraq

ISIL fighters captured the mainly ethnic Turkmen city of Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq overnight after heavy fighting on Sunday.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - The United States is contemplating talks with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government in its battle with Sunni Islamist insurgents who routed Baghdad's army and seized the north of the country in the past week.

The stunning onslaught by militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant threatens to dismember Iraq and unleash all-out sectarian warfare across a crescent of the Middle East.

Arab Foreign Ministers to Meet to Discuss Iraq, ISIL

Oil prices have risen to the highest level this year over fears of the violence disrupting exports from OPEC member Iraq.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - The insurgent offensive that has threatened to dismember Iraq spread to the northwest of the country on Sunday, when Sunni militants launched a dawn raid on a town close to the Syrian border, clashing with police and government forces.

As the rapid advance south by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) towards Baghdad appeared to slow over the weekend, fierce fighting erupted in the town of Tal Afar 40 miles west of Mosul near the Syrian border.