Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

Leader’s Death Is Another Blow for ISIS, but It’s Hardly the End

BEIRUT, Lebanon — For a man who sought to disappear, the leader of the Islamic State seemed to have done everything right. He hid out far from where his enemies expected. He never left the house, relying on trusted couriers to communicate with his far-flung underlings. He was the group’s only leader to never issue […]

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Neighbors Recall Night of Fear in Syria Raid That Killed ISIS Leader

ATMEH, Syria — The neighbors had never heard anything like it. The sudden roar of attack helicopters woke up the families living in a pastoral patch of northwestern Syria after midnight. They huddled in basements, storerooms and bedrooms. “What’s happening, Dad?” a neighbor, Abu Omar, recalled his son asking. A voice speaking Arabic blared from […]

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U.S. Allies Retake Control of Prison in Syria, Subduing ISIS Fighters

HASAKA, Syria — Kurdish-led forces regained full control of a prison in northeastern Syria on Sunday after a battle which spread to surrounding neighborhoods in the most intense urban combat involving American soldiers in Iraq or Syria since the self-declared ISIS caliphate fell in 2019. “We announce the end of the sweep campaign in al-Sinaa […]

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U.S. Woman Accused of Prominent Role in Islamic State

Witnesses said Ms. Fluke-Ekren taught classes for members of the battalion, and on one occasion, a young child of hers was seen holding a machine gun. More than 100 women and girls received training from her, one witness said. Ms. Fluke-Ekren had hoped to create a cadre of suicide bombers who could infiltrate enemies’ positions, […]

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ISIS Siege of Syria Prison Proves It’s Still a Threat

BEIRUT, Lebanon — One week after Islamic State fighters attacked a prison in northeastern Syria, where they have held out despite a heavy assault by a Kurdish-led militia backed by the United States, the terrorist organization published its version of what had gone down. In its official magazine, it mocked how many times in its […]

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Kurdish-Led Forces End Syria Prison Siege, Defeating ISIS Fighters

BEIRUT, Lebanon — After six days of deadly battles, the Kurdish-led militia that had been battling Islamic State fighters for control of a prison in northeastern Syria retook the facility on Wednesday, ending one of the most audacious attacks by the jihadist group since the collapse of its so-called caliphate nearly three years ago. Dozens […]

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Boys Held as Hostages by ISIS Worry Rights Activists

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The boys in the prison sleep in groups of about 15 in cells with no windows, according to aid workers. They get fresh air and see the sun during visits to a walled-in yard, but receive no visitors. They range in age from as young as 10 up to 18 and have […]

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As ISIS Resurges, US is Drawn Back Into the Fray

BAGHDAD, Iraq — An audacious attack on a prison housing thousands of former ISIS fighters in Syria. A series of strikes against military forces in neighboring Iraq. And a horrific video harking back to the grimmest days of the insurgency that showed the beheading of an Iraqi police officer. The evidence of a resurgence of […]

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As U.S. Strikes Syria Prison Held by ISIS, Young Detainees Are Caught in Crossfire

BAGHDAD — An American-backed militia that has waged four days of deadly battles to dislodge Islamic State fighters from a prison in northeast Syria warned on Sunday that the jihadists were using more than 600 boys detained in the complex as “human shields.” The United States has dispatched attack helicopters and carried out airstrikes on […]

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