3 detained Algerians with one-way tickets to Istanbul escape from moving plane in Rome and remain missing

Something very disturbing happened late Wednesday night at Rome's Fiumicino international airport (emphases mine):

Three Algerians forced open the emergency exit of an Alitalia passenger plane while it was heading for take-off at Rome’s Fiumicino airport, slid down the safety slides that were activated and escaped from the airport late on Wednesday night, an Alitalia spokesman said.

“When the plane was taxiing, in the preliminary stages of approaching the runway, these people forced open a door and slid down the slides that were activated, and then they escaped,” the Alitalia spokesman told The Local.

The three Algerians had departed from Algiers and were due to fly to Istanbul after a layover in Rome, the spokesman said.

They are still missing. They were among a group of Algerians on the Alitalia AZ702 flight who had been denied entry to Italy, according to media reports [more].

It is baffling to fathom how the three Algerians managed to open the door and escape the plane - after being refused entrance into the country - but even more baffling is the fact that they seemingly managed to escaped from the airport itself.

None of the news reports I have seen thus far indicate why the three men were refused entrance into Italy. One report provides a little background information about them:

The three men, aged 21, 24 and 27 were among 18 Algerians aboard the scheduled flight from Rome to Istanbul who were due to be deported.

One of the men had previously been deported from Italy and all three had entered Italy during a stopover in Rome on the outward flight from Algiers to Istanbul [more].

The incident is yet still more disturbing. The three men were part of a group of 18 Algerians and had one-way tickets to Istanbul. To my mind, everything indicates an involvement with the Islamic State.

The Islamic State has had a presence in Algeria for several months now. In September of 2014, Jund al-Khilafah - which has allegiance to the Islamic State - beheaded a French hiker the terrorist group had captured. In December of 2014, the Algerian announced it had killed the man behind the beheading.

 

A report issued in January of 2015 indicated that since October 2014 - in just four months - at least 250 Algerians joined the Islamic State as foreign fighters.

The Islamic State made threats against Italy and the Vatican City State in February 2015, which prompted both nations to go on high alert. In March of 2015, the Islamic State announced a list of cities across the world it wants to bring under the control of the caliphate. Among the list of cities was Rome. Last month, supporters of the Islamic State posted threatening photographs from within the city of Rome indicating they are "waiting for the zero hour." And earlier this week the government of Libya warned Italy that the Islamic State will be in Italy "in the coming weeks," arriving by way of migrant boats.

Long before all of this, though, in October of 2014, the Islamic State announced its greatest hopes for Rome with the cover of an issue of its magazine, Dabiq:

It is long past time to start taking the threats of the Islamic State seriously.

 

Please, pray for the conversion of those governing the Islamic State. Pray for the conversion of those working for the Islamic State. Pray for the conversion of those fighting for the Islamic State.

 

Pray, too, for those suffering persecution under the Islamic State. Pray for those whom the Islamic State has driven from their homes. Pray for those killed by the Islamic State.

 

Pray, too, for those who fight against the Islamic State. Pray for those who collect intelligence information about the activities of the Islamic State. Pray for those who must decide what course of action to take against the Islamic State.

 

Pray, too, for those who will suffer persecution under the Islamic State and who will live under its cruelty.

 

It may be that these three Algerians - and the fifteen others also refused entrance into Italy - have nothing at all to do with the Islamic State. I hope this is the case, but I fear it is otherwise.

DAILY UPDATES: Do you know what's happening with the ISIS?

N.B.: I have reordered the series of links below to keep the most current date at the top of the list. Hence forward, when I add links to previous dates I will not only preface the link with UPDATE but also with the date of the update. Please keep sharing this link to keep people informed and continue to pray for the Iraqi Christians.

N.B.: I have decided to continue this series of updates with a new post here.

3 October

• UPDATE (10-4-2014): Butler student threatened in latest ISIS beheading video
• Muslim Scholars vs. ISIS: Is the Open Letter to the Islamic State Really Enough?

30 September

• UPDATE (10-5-2014): Islamic State crisis: Heavy fighting on Iraq-Syria border
• Cardinal Parolin: UN must protect innocents from Islamic State

29 September

• UPDATE (9-30-2014): Iraq air strikes 'halt IS advance'

28 September

• UPDATE (9-30-2014): ISIS fighters now 'at the gates of Baghdad': Islamic militants fighting 'just one mile from Iraqi capital' despite days Western airstrike
• UPDATE (9-30-2014): There are dirty political games behind the Iraq conflict, says Chaldean Patriarch Sako

27 September

• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Iraq air strikes: RAF set to target Islamic State Militants
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): US-led air strikes hit IS on Syria's border with Turkey

26 September:

• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Spain and Morocco Arrest 9 on Suspicion of Terrorism
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Islamic State 'brand' gains ground among Asian Muslim militants
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): US air strikes in Syria 'destroy ISIS tanks'
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Nine Japanese said to have joined ISIS
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Turkey's policies changing as ISIL closes in on Kurds
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Muslims gather in Paris to denounce ISIS 'barbarism'
  
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Rally at Paris mosque against Herve Gourdel killers
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Hundreds of rescued Syrian refugees refuse to leave cruise ship which saved them from certain death as they demand to be taken to Italy instead of Cyprus
• 'More than 3,000' Europeans with ISIS

25 September

• UPDATE (9-28-2014): French, U.S. planes strike Islamic State, Britain to join coalition
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): "Dialogue cannot stop extremists"
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Muslim scholars present religious rebuttal to Islamic State
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Bratton, De Blasio Reassure New Yorkers They're Safe Following Alleged ISIS Subway Terror Plot
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Islamic State makes 3-6 mln dollars per day from oil revenue
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Canadian ISIL Member Says Attacks Coming to New York Soon
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): 1,000 Asians Extremists Are Waging Jihad in the Middle East, Says the Pentagon
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): ISIS Overruns Iraqi Army Base Near Baghdad, Executes 300 soldiers
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Islamists Dstroy 7th Century Church, Mosque in Tikrit, Iraq
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): ISIS bombs Iraq's oldest church
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): ISIL executes female Iraqi rights activist in Mosul
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Syria: Bishop says US air raids 'could worsen the situation'
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): The Imam Who Recently Told Sean Hannity 'Sharia Will Be Implemented In America' Is Arrested In Terror Raid 
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Islamic State airstrikes in Iraq 'would be legal' - No 10
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): U.S. Believes It Has ID'd Terrorist Seen in Islamic State Beheading Videos
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Iraqi PM: Plot to Attack US, Paris Subways 
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Nine men arrested in London raids, suspected of 'encouraging terrorism'
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Islamic State crisis: UN aims to stop jihadist recruits 

24 September

• UPDATE (9-28-2014): International group of Muslim scholars 'refute' Islamic State's Islamic case - while endorsing jihad, Sharia, caliphate
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Obama Praises Muslim Cleric Who Backed Fatwa on Killing of U.S. Soldiers
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Pax Christi leaders alarmed that airstrikes will aid ISIS recruiting
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Turks leave for 'family-friendly' IS group
  
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Air strikes won't disrupt Islamic State's real safe haven: social media
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Full text of President Obama's 2014 address to the United Nations General Assembly
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Muslim Scholars Release Open Letter To Islamic State Blasting Its Ideology
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): What is the Khorasan Group?
• UPDATE (9-24-2014): French President Confirms Hostage Beheading By Islamic State-Allied Extremists in Algeria
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): ISIL destroys landmark Armenian church in Syria
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Yazidi anger at Iraq's forgotten people
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Islamic State battle could take years, Pentagon says
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Airstrikes in Syria Hit Islamic State-Held Areas Near Turkey Border
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): New airstrikes in Syria and Iraq

23 September

• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Gov., Boston police: No reason to believe city part of 'jihad pipeline'
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): The Chaldean Patriarch to priests and religious who emigrated without permission: come back to serve those most in need
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Fleeing ISIS, Kurds Swarm Into Turkey 
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Source: Al-Qaeda group in Syria plotted attack against U.S. with explosive clothes 
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Syria: US begins air strikes on Islamic State targets
• UPDATE (9-23-2014): It's Time to Take the Islamic State Seriously

22 September

• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Iraqi Christians fly to new life in France after escaping Islamic State
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): German Muslims condemn Islamic State in nationwide day of prayer
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Children as Young as 13 Leaving Germany to Join ISIS Jihad
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Chinese militants get Islamic State 'terrorist training': Media
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Riots on Turkey's border with Syria as up to 200,000 Kurds are blocked from fleeing ISIS onslaught
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Turkey clamps down on Syria border after Kurdish unrest
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Among Us: Officials confirm American ISIS fighters have returned to United States
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Islamic State Issues New Declaration of War: 'Rely Upon Allah, and Kill Him in Any Manner'
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Americans in ISIS Have Returned to U.S.
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): ISIS thugs raping thousands to populate caliphate
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Jordan Struggles with a Flood of Iraqi Refugees
• UPDATE (9-26-2014): Avoiding old mistakes in the new game of Islamic politics 
• Jordan arrests 11 alleged Islamic State members over terrorist plot

21 September

• UPDATE (9-22-2014): Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers missing or stranded after attack on army camp

20 September

• UPDATE (9-22-2014): Australian Defence Force personnel advised to wear civvies due to terror threats
• UPDATE (9-21-2014): Canadian government begins invalidating passports of citizens who have left to join extremist groups
• UPDATE (9-21-2014): Belgium thwarts jihadist attacks, report
• UPDATE (9-21-2014): Syria crisis: 66,000 flee Islamic State into Turkey

19 September

• UPDATE (10-18-2014): One of Oldest Known Synagogues Seized by ISIS in Syria: Jihadists looting ancient archaeological sites, including 244 BCE synagogue, officials warn of 5,000 years of history being erased 
• UPDATE (10-15-2014): Students shaken as death threats made to nun at Maronite high school in Western Sydney
• UPDATE (9-30-2014): SPECIAL REPORT: Faith Under Siege - Iraq and Syria
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): Baghdad Bombings Suggests Islamic State Militants Have Advanced
• UPDATE (9-21-2014): Christianity in Iraq is finished
• UPDATE (9-21-2014): France launches first air strikes on IS in Iraq
• 'No ISIS threat against Italy': 'We will not participate in air strikes,' Italian minister says
• Dem Rep: 40 American ISIL Fighters Have Already Returned to the United States: These individuals under surveillance, 'being tracked' by the FBI
• Islamic State creates police force in northwest Iraq
• The Islamic roots of terrorism must be addressed
• Iraqi Church Leaders Present Appeal to UN Conference: Ask For Help Getting Refugees Out of Tents Before Winter 

18 September

• UPDATE (9-30-2014): Law enforcement bulletin warned of ISIS urging jihad attacks on US soil
• UPDATE (9-21-2014): 'ISIL minibus' dodges police raid in Istanbul
• UPDATE (9-21-2014): US Senate passes bill to authorize arms and training for Syrian rebels
• UPDATE (9-21-2014): #WEAREN: The Invisibility of Holy Land Christians
• Middle East Church Leaders: ISIS Ideology Must Be Strongly Condemned, Effectively Destroyed
• Iraq's Bishop Warduni: Our Christians preferred Christ to their homes
• Australia raids over 'Islamic State plot to behead"
• Islamic State: France ready to launch Iraq air strikes 
• Archbishop of Mosul: "Recognize genocide against Christians"

17 September

• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Muslim rebels in Philippines vow allegiance to ISIS
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): German Muslims invite all faiths to day of prayer against Islamic State 
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Mideast Christians urge Arabs lead the fight against Islamic State
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Kurdish Peshmerga free some Christian villages occupied by Jihadists
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): King Abdullah: "We'll do out utmost to protect Arab Christians and enhance their presence in the region"
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Middle East Church leaders to UN: Protect Us
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Syrian Forces Are Seen Stepping Up Attacks on Rebels as U.S. Sets Sights on ISIS
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Regensburg Vindicated
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Gulen condemns ISIL atrocities in ads in leading newspapers
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Kosovo 'imams held' in raids on Islamic State recruitment

16 September

• UPDATE (9-30-2014): 75% of Assyrians Return to Their Town in Northern Iraq
• UPDATE (9-28-2014): ISIS Orders All Christian, Shiite Business Assets to Be Delivered to the Islamic State
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Islamic State supporter warns of attacks against US
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): ISIS supporters urged to attack Times Square with pipe bombs 
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): ISIS Forums Share Bomb Instructions for Attacks on NYC, Las Vegas 
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Rochester [NY] man accused of supporting ISIS
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): ISIS Using Christian Homes as Factories for Explosive Devices
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Saudi Arabia's top clerics speak out against Islamic militancy
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): US general: Ground troops option if anti-IS strategy fails
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): IS Jihadists Down Syria Warplane Over Stronghold
• UPDATE (9-17-2014): Pope Rejects Extra Security on Trip Despite Potential ISIS Threat 
• UPDATE (9-17-2014): ISIL want to assassinate the Pope, says Iraq's ambassador to Vatican

15 September

• UPDATE (9-18-2014): ISIS Draws a Steady Stream of Recruits from Turkey
• UPDATE (9-16-2014): Islamic State crisis: World leaders pledge Iraq support

14 September

• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Hostage Alan Henning thought his work for Muslim charity would save him from ISIS
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Islamic State crisis: Australia to send 600 troops to UAE
• UPDATE (9-16-2014): The U.S. Is Building a Coalition for War with the Islamic State, But White House Can't Say Which Allies Will Actually Fight
• UPDATE (9-16-2014): ISIS should be called the 'Un-Islamic State': British Muslims call on David Cameron to stop spread of extremist propaganda
• Muslim Preacher Whips Out Machine Gun During Sermon to Make His Point About How to Secure 'Mohammed's Caliphate' 
• Arab states 'offer help air strikes' against Islamic State
• ISIS executes British aid worker David Haines; Cameron vows justice

13 September

• UPDATED (9-14-2014): ISIS Strikes Deal with Moderate Syrian Rebels: Reports
• Iran 'sending troops' to fight Islamic State in Iraq
• The Next War Against Global Jihadism: America is gathering allies for a long campaign against extremists in Iraq and Syria

12 September

• UPDATE (10-15-2014): Vatican calls out Islamic State/Boko Haram for 'contemporary slavery'
• UPDATE (9-14-2014): 3 numbers that explain why ISIS will be so hard to destroy
• UPDATE (9-13-2014): Eastern Christians meet with Obama, call for solidarity in the face of persecution
• Eastern Patriarchs Meet President Obama at the White House: First Meeting of Its Kind in History Underlines "Critical Moment" for Christians in the Middle East
• U.S. Congressional Hearing Held on Plight of Christians in Iraq and Syria: Experts Examine Extent of Genocide and Present Measures to Halt It
• Called from the Mountains: The women fighters who are taking on the Islamic State
• Christian leaders meet Obama, discuss concerns for Mideast Christians
• ISIS Forces Surge to as Many as 31,000
• The President's Speech: What Obama Gets Right - And Wrong - About ISIS
• Has Turkey woken up to Islamic State threat?
• Islamic State Fighter Estimate Triples - CIA
• Iraq - What future for Christians?
• Denmark: No imams want to join anti-Islamic State demonstration 

11 September

• UPDATE (9-12-2014): Kerry: U.S. not at war with Islamic State
• UPDATE (9-12-2014): CRS Video from Iraq Will Melt Your Heart: Watch, Pray, Share, & Give!
• UPDATE (9-12-2014): Hard Choices, Grim Future for Iraqi Christians
• ISIS threatening to execute Iraqi journalists
• Russia warns US against strikes on Islamic State in Syria

10 September

• UPDATE (9-12-2014): Will campaign against Islamic State unleash wave of repression?
• UPDATE (9-11-2014): Syrian Catholic priest says: Christians will return to the plain of Nineveh only when and if Mosul is freed
• UPDATE (9-11-2014): Pope to MidEast Christians: May the Lord Give You Courage
• UPDATE (9-11-2014): Islam, Violence, and the Nature of God: Where and why Catholics agree - and disagree - with Muslims
• Saudi Arabia's clerics condemn IS but preach intolerance

9 September

• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Daily Jihad: Obama's 'Vetted' Free Syrian Army Joining Forces With Islamic State Terror Group 
• UPDATE (9-18-2014): Egypt's Grand Mufti: ISIS not part of Islam
• UPDATE (9-12-2014): ISIS Beheads a Moroccan Islamic Preacher Over Spying Charges
• UPDATE (9-11-2014): AQIM defectors raise fears of IS branch in North Africa
• UPDATE (9-10-2014): For some Iraqi Christians, returning to homeland is not an option
• UPDATE (9-10-2014): French imams to use pulpit against Islamic State
• UPDATE (9-10-2014): Syria crisis: Blast kills of leader of Ahrar al-Sham group
• Pope Francis to visit Turkey, Iraq border
• After Syria and Iraq, Islamic State makes inroads in South Asia
• New report of forced conversions, looting in northern Iraq
• The Islamic State May Have a New Target in Mind - And It's Not A Political or National Icon

8 September

• UPDATE (9-16-2014): The Structure of the Islamic State (including a plan to spread from Spain to China over the next five years)
• UPDATE (9-14-2014): ISIS tie to Boston mosque 'massive FBI failure': 'Politically correct refusal to confront the ideological underpinnings'
• UPDATE (9-10-2014): Egypt's Grand Mufti: ISIS not part of Islam
• UPDATE (9-9-2014): Bishop Scicluna backs call for every parish to host a family of persecuted Christians: Couple donates month's salary after recent appeal
• UPDATE (9-9-2014): Video: Top ten Qur'an verses to help you understand the Islamic State
• Well-Armed Turkey Aided Rise of Islamic State: Yet NATO Promises to Defend Ankara From Extremists
• Interview: Imam Discusses Islamic State's Recruitment of European Muslims
• Iraq 'clears' IS from key dam area after US strikes
• Italian Bishop: Muslims Must Condemn Islamist Violence or Leave Italy
• Jihadists detain 43 members of UN Peacekeeping forces
• Head of Egypt's Al-Azhar: ISIS jihadists are 'criminals'
• Homeland Security Bulletin: Islamic State Can Attack U.S. Overseas with 'Little to No Warning'
• A sister writes from Iraq: 'The sisters and priests are a sign of hope among the people'

7 September

• UPDATE (9-8-2014): What about those Muslims who condemn the Islamic State violence?
• UPDATE (9-8-2014): The children with AK-47s who defied IS
• UPDATE (9-8-2014): The Culture That is at the Mercy of the Islamic State: Ancient stone tables, monasteries, chants: record of civilization may be disappearing
• UPDATE (9-8-2014): Top Saudi Cleric Urges Muslims to Fight ISIS Jihadists
• UPDATE (9-8-2014): Report: Islamic State may have taken anti-tank weapons from Syrian rebels
• Abu Qatada condemns reporter killings by Islamic State
• Obama on 'Meet the Press': U.S. to 'start going on some offense' against Islamic State
• US strikes Islamic State militants at Iraq's Haditha Dam

6 September

• UPDATE (9-9-2014): Jewish museum shooting suspect 'is Islamic State torturer'
• UPDATE (9-7-2014): IS 'beheads second Lebanese soldier'
  
• UPDATE (9-7-2014): As Iraqi Christians in U.S. Watch ISIS Advance, They See 'Slow-Motion Genocide'
• Paprocki: Do not dismiss despair, cries of Iraqi Christians
• Irish Christians show solidarity to brothers and sisters in Iraq

5 September

• UPDATE (9-26-2014): How Many Americans in ISIS? No One Knows
• UPDATE (9-12-2014): ISIS recruitment moves from online networks to British mosques
• UPDATE (9-9-2014): IS executes Syrian youth after anti-jihadist protest, says watcher
• UPDATE (9-6-2014): Obama: We will defeat ISIS like we did al-Qaeda
• UPDATE (9-6-2014): Obama outlines strategy to 'ultimately destroy' Islamic State
• UPDATE (9-6-2014): A Day in the Life: Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
• UPDATE (9-6-2014): Holy See calls for action in Iraq, and UN sends a mission
• UPDATE (9-6-2014): Obama: You can't contain ISIS, you have to dismantle them
• UPDATE (9-6-2014): Why Do People Join ISIS? The Psychology of a Terrorist
• UPDATE (9-6-2014): The Islamic State Eyes Expansion and Recruitment in India
• Iraq envoy: Francis' call for action against ISIS was critical

4 September

• UPDATE (9-9-2014): American computer wiz running brutally effective ISIS social media campaign: College-educated son of top Boston doctor is on FBI Most Wanted list
• UPDATE (9-8-2014): DHS's Elibiary Resigns from Post
• UPDATE (9-7-2014): Why Aren't Muslim Nations Rising Against ISIS?
• UPDATE (9-6-2014): Military Experts: With ISIS in El Paso, Ft. Bliss in Danger of Terrorist Attack
• UPDATE (9-5-2014): Archaeologists Train 'Monuments Men' to Save Syria's Past
• UPDATE (9-5-2014): Ten Things You Need to Know About ISIS
• UPDATE (9-5-2014): Iraq air strikes 'kill senior Islamic State members'
• Coalition Hosting Week of Prayer and Fasting to Stop ISIS: Week Begins with Event at DC's National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
• What is this? The Daily Beast rolls on with 'bedroom' jihad updates
• Patriarch Sako: One Month Since Their Displacement, Iraqi Christians Are 'Becoming Extinct': Chaldean Catholic Church Leader Also Calls For 'Decisive Steps' At Home and Abroad
• Inside the Mind of an ISIS Fighter
• Patriarch Sako: Global threat of IS demands global response
• Biggest threat to Christians 'since Holocaust'
• We will not be cowed by barbaric killers
• Cameron and Obama vow to 'confront' Islamic State

3 September

• UPDATE (9-5-2014): Escaping Death in Northern Iraq: Video Feature: Surviving an ISIS Massacre [includes graphic images]
• UPDATE (9-4-2014): NBC Talks to American Who Tried to Join Islamic State: 'I Just Consider Myself to Be a Practicing Muslim'
• UPDATE (9-4-2014): ISIS Carrying Out Ethnic Cleansing on 'Historic Scale'
• UPDATE (9-4-2014): Responding to ISIL - Nigel Baker
• UPDATE (9-4-2014): For Mosul archbishop, Islamist beheadings and barbarism stem from fear for their military defeats
• UPDATE (9-4-2014): UK paying experts to build Islamic State war crimes case
• UPDATE (9-4-2014): In Erbil, 'They have no where to turn but the Church'
• ISIS executes 770 Iraqi troops, reports Human Rights Watch
• Four Pinocchios: Spinning Obama's reference to Islamic State as 'JV' team
• White House Misleads Big Time in Explaining Obama's 'JV' Comment About ISIS
• A glimpse inside the crisis nuns are confronting in Iraq: "There is nothing promising at all"
• Christian parents tell of horror after ISIS kidnap their 3-year-old daughter
• Biden: U.S. to pursue ISIS 'to the gates of hell'
• Networks Ignore Report That Obama Was Briefed on ISIS Going Back 'at Least a Year'
• Prince Charles Writes to Patriarch Sako, Condemns 'Barbaric Persecution'
• Prince Charles supports Iraqi Christians facing 'diabolic evil'
• U.S. Bishops: Special Collection for the persecuted minorities in the Middle East
• 'You Are In the Heart of the Church,' Pope Tells Iraqi Christians: Expresses Closeness to the Persecuted, Says They Are Witnesses to Church's Strength 
• Pope Francis: the mother Church embraces persecuted Iraqis
• US Cardinal urges solidarity with Iraqi Christians

2 September

• UPDATE (9-3-2014): ISIS' Cruelty Toward Women Gets Scant Attention
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): The hundred thousand faces of suffering of the Iraqi Christians
• UPDATE (9-3-2-14): Iran's Military Advisers Helped Lift Seige of Amerli
  
• UPDATE (9-3-2014): Obama Approves 350 More Troops to Iraq: 'These Additional Forces Will Not Serve in a Combat Role'
• UPDATE (9-3-2014): Former CIA Operative's Chilling Warning About the Islamic State: 'ISIS Is Here'
• UPDATE (9-3-2014): Source: Obama given detailed intelligence for a year about rise of ISIS
• UPDATE (9-3-2014): U.S. Rescues Turkmen, Christians Still Waiting
• UPDATE (9-3-2014): King of Saudi Arabia Warns ISIS Could Reach U.S. in 2 Months
• Is ISIS Bankrolling Terrorist Activities with Stolen Antiquities?
• Patriarch Rais: Islamists Are Enormous Threat, Taking Religion Back to the Stone Age
• Maronite Abp: Islamic State atrocities are a wake up call to action
• Tortured to death, Iraqi Christian hailed as martyr
• ISIS will spread if not stopped now, warns Maronite prelate
• Islamic State kills U.S. hostage
• Afghan militants Hezb-e-Islami 'may join Islamic State'
• Following a dangerous path toward radicalization in Syria
• Islamic State accused of Ethnic Cleansing by Amnesty International
• ISIS Publication Aims to Lure Recruits; Justifies Atrocities by Citing Mohammed

1 September

• UPDATE (9-8-2014): Grave crimes committed on 'unimaginable scale' in Iraq, UN Human Rights Council told
• UPDATE (9-5-2014): Send Hope to Iraqi Refugees
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): Do the Qur'an and Islamic law forbid terrorism?
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): Why the Left Can't Cope With Islam
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): Syria: Evidence of Islamic State Cluster Munition Use
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): Holy See to U.N.: Take 'Concrete Steps' to Stop Persecution in Iraq
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): UN: Atrocities Taking Place in Iraq on 'Unimaginable Scale' 
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): Why the silence on Christian elimination?

31 August

• UPDATE (9-2-2014): US planes drop aid and strike IS positions near Iraq's Amerli
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): Iraqi forces 'reach besieged Amerli'
  
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): While ISIS destroys, Hamilton man battles to preserve historic texts: Team conserving photos of an ancient inscriptions, buildings that no longer exist
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): ISIS terror threat: Leading British Muslims issue fatwah condemning terror group

30 August

• Saudi king warns West will be jihadists' next target
• Iraq forces begin Amerli move against Islamic State
• Pope Calls Iraqi Priest to Express His Closeness to Persecuted Christians
• Islamic State Has 'Increased Interest' in Exploiting Southern U.S. Border for Attack: Local Law Enforcement Bulletin
• Report: ISIS selling Yazidi women in Syria 

29 August

• UPDATE (9-6-2014): Exposure to routine brutality turns Mosul against Islamic State
• UPDATE (9-2-2014): Potential Splits between Islamic State and other militant groups in Syria
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): John Kerry: The Threat of ISIS Demands a Global Coalition
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Patriarch Sako inists on the right of return of displaced Christians to their homes, farms
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Answering a Muslim Apologist
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Must-see video: Cardinal Wuerl's powerful plea on Iraq (text here)
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Online posts show ISIS eyeing Mexican border, says law enforcement bulletin
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Iraqi refugees working to help each other survive
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Iraqi Refugees Recount Their Experiences: Some Christians Fleeing ISIS Have Found Refuge in Jordan
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): ISIS took everything they had - now Iraqi Christians find refuge in Jordan 
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Britain Raises Terror Threat Level to 'Severe'
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): PM David Cameron Calls ISIS 'a greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before'
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Imminent Terrorist Attack Warning By Feds on US Border
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Weep for slaughtered Christians, not for dialogue with Islam
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): ISIS Reportedly Advancing on Christian City in Syria
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Obama's 'no strategy' gaffe reveals political truth
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): A Lesson in Priorities
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): At least 81 nationalities are fighting in Syria

28 August

• UPDATE (9-10-2014): Regensburg Revisited: Faith, Reason, and the Islamic State
• UPDATE (9-4-2014): Forgotten Yazidis still trapped on Mt Sinjar
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): ISIS wants 'Lady Al Qaeda' release
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Rape and Sexual Slavery Inside an ISIS Prison
• Card Vegliò: action is needed to defend minorities in Iraq
• Scholars: Boko Haram caliphate claim may be inspired by ISIS
• Middle East patriarchs meet diplomats, call for wiping out terrorists
• Iraqi prelate holds US responsible for plight of Christians
• Syrian Bishop calls for international peace force for Syria
• German Bishops on Middle East: nations must act to prevent genocide
• Islamic State's control of Syrian territory marked by crucifixions, amputations
• Franciscan leader: 'the Middle East is in flames'
• Prioress of Dominican Sisters in Iraq chronicles ISIS takeover, expresses fears and frustrations 

27 August

• UPDATE (9-9-2014): 16% of French Citizens Support ISIS, Poll Finds
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Iraqi Christian Village: From Sanctuary to Ghost Town in 2 Months
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Life Under ISIS: Public Beheadings on Fridays, Bodies Displayed for Days
• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Iraqi Christians Weigh Taking Up Arms Against the Islamic State
• King of Bahrain Offers to Help 200 Christian Families from Mosul
• UPDATE (8-28-2014): Hezbollah calls for resistance against IS
• UPDATE (8-28-2014): U.S. Officials Say 'Significant Increase' in Jihadi Chatter Ahead of 9/11 Anniversary 
• UPDATE (8-28-2014): Prof's Chilling Warning: Islamic State Will Carry Out 'Mass Slaughter' in the U.S. If Not Stopped 
• UPDATE (8-28-2014): Military Skill and Terrorist Technique Fueled Success of ISIS
• UPDATE (8-28-2014): In Islamist-Ruled Mosul, Resentment of Militants Grows
• UPDATE (8-28-2014): Syriac patriarch calls Islamic State's actions 'attempted genocide' 
• UPDATE (8-28-2014): Historic visit of 5 patriarchs to Iraq's persecuted Christians: full text of remarks

26 August

• UPDATE (8-30-2014): The reluctance to talk about the link between beheadings and Islam
• Iraq, Nigeria: Abp Tomasi - stop persecution by Islamic extremists
• Islamic State Demands Millions in Ransom for 26-Year-Old American Woman  
• Mosul Foretold
• Iraqi Patriarch appeals to world: do not remain indifferent to our suffering
• Syrian Bishop calls for international peace force for Syria

25 August

• UPDATE (9-2-2014): Patriarch Sako Calls For 'Real Communion' With Suffering Iraqis: Criticizes International Community, Muslim Leaders for Ineffective Action
• UPDATE (8-26-2014): Latin Patriarchate Appeals for Donations on Behalf of Iraqi Christians
• UPDATE (8-26-2014): Benedict XVI: Pope as Prophet
• UPDATE (8-26-2014): Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti denounces Islamic State group as 'un-Islamic'
• UPDATE (8-26-2014): One Iraq villager's refusal to convert triggered Islamic State mass killings
• UPDATE (8-26-2014): Parolin: "The events in Iraq are not a clash between Islam and Christianity"  
• UPDATE (2-27-2014): Metro Detroit Muslim leaders denounce ISIS as 'crazy criminals'

24 August

• UPDATE (8-26-2014): Islamic State militants capture major Syrian air base

23 August

• UPDATE (8-26-2014): In wake of James Foley's beheading, can we finally say the I-word?
• Walk to Mass for Iraqi Christians
• UN warns of possible Amerli 'massacre'

22 August

• Does an Islamic state run on 'ideology,' 'theology,' or both?
• Faith of Iraqi Christians called unbreakable, despite persecution
• WH Advisor: Islamic State Militants 'Absolutely' Committed Terrorist Attack Against US by Beheading Journalist James Foley
• White House: Islamic State Has 'Gained Capacity' in Recent Months
• UPDATE (8-26-2014): August 21 Report on North Iraq - 5 Refugees Dying Per Day

21 August

• Pope Meets with His Personal Envoy to Iraq 
• Cardinal tells pope about the hopes and trials of the displaced in Iraq
• Saudi Arabia's Highest Religious Authority Condemns Islamic State  
• Islamic State a "Direct Threat" to the U.S., Top GOP Rep. Says 
• Obama claims ISIL speaks for no religion. Then what's the "I" in "ISIL" stand for?
• Patriarchs ask international community to protect Iraqi Christians
• UPDATE (8-22-2014): Photo implies ISIS threat to Chicago  
• UPDATE (8-28-2014): Veils, Gloves, and Violence: New extremist rules see women disappear from Mosul's streets

20 August

• UPDATE (8-21-2014): Pope Benedict was right about Islam at Regensburg. The world owes him an apology
• UPDATE (8-21-2014): Jewish leader: indifference to slaughter of Christians is 'obscene'
• UPDATE (8-21-2014): Barzani: ready to arm Christians volunteers
• UPDATE (8-21-2014): Some Iraqi refugees 'at great risk' of death
• UPDATE (8-21-2014): ISIS in America

19 August

• Pope Backs Multilateral Efforts to Stop 'Unjust Aggression' in Iraq
• New report of Islamic State atrocities
• U.N. Sends Aid to Half a Million Fleeing Violence in Iraq
• 'Chilling Sign' Seen Behind CNN's Jake Tapper During Ferguson Protests
• Archbishop of Mosul: "I have lost my Diocese to Islam - You in the West will also become victims of Muslims"
• Fears growing for Yazidi women held by ISIS: Up to 1,500 may have been captured and are being forced to become the wives of fighters or face imprisonment or death
• Yazidis tormented by fears for women and girls kidnapped by ISIS Jihadists
• Yazidis haunted by cries for help as militants bury victims alive
• Who Will Stand Up for the Christians?
• ISIS Executes American Photojournalist Who Has Been Missing Since 2012 In Most Horrific Way
• Who Will Stop ISIS? 
• Islamic State Beheads Kidnapped American James Wright Foley as "Message to America"
• Iraqi bishop warns that West will suffer from Islamism
• UPDATE (8-21-2014): ISIS, Evil & the Crisis of Moral Relativism

18 August

• Christian plight, it is now time for a diplomacy of the truth
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): What you can do for Dominican Sisters in Iraq
• UPDATE (8-19-2014) Mosul Dam: Why the battle for water matters 
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): Iraq Crisis: Mosul dam recaptured from militants
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): ISIS Sells Them, Female Kurds Fighting
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): Apparently the Pope Is Tougher On ISIS Than America's Commander-In-Chief
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): Pope offers cautious yellow light for US airstrikes in Iraq
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): Pope approves military action in Iraq, but not unilateral US bombing
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): Cardinal, patriarch call for international action to liberate Iraq
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): Aid to the Church in Need delegation visits Christian refugees in Iraq
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): Pope's envoy, Chaldean Patriarch beg international help for Christians
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): CNEWA Rushes Aid to Displaced Iraqi Families
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): ISIS Threatens American Again: 'We Will Drown All of You in Blood'

August 17:

• Kurdish forces 'recapture part of Mosul dam'

August 16:

• Iraq Crisis: Cameron Warns of Possible IS Threat to UK
• PM: Our generational struggle against a poisonous ideology
• Fears grow in Baghdad that US is abandoning the city to its fate

August 15:

• UPDATE (8-16-2014): As ISIS nears, is it game over for Syria's opposition in Aleppo?
• UPDATE (8-16-2014): Syrian Christians facing extinction: 'A tragedy of historic proportions'
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): Where ISIS Persecution Has Spread & Why
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): Senior Chaldean Official: Islamists Have Been Planning to Empty Iraq of Christians for Years

August 14:

• The Urgent Need of the Refugees
• Western leaders press governments to help Iraqi minorities  
• Aid to the Church in Need-USA launches $1M Campaign

August 13:

• Pope to U.N. Secretary General: International action to stop Iraq violence 
• Patriarch pleads with US, EU, Arab League: clear Jihadists from Nineveh Plain
• Muslim Leaders Join in Condemnation of ISIS
• What is ISIS?
• Ecumenical Patriarch: Persecutions in Iraq Unjustifiable Before Both God and Humankind
• UPDATE (8-14-2014): 'Muslim extremists' hand out leaflets on Oxford Street
• UPDATE (8-14-2014): Pontifical Council Cor Unum Statement on Iraq: "These programs that have been initiated by the local Church, especially through Caritas Iraq, have reached at least 4,000 households."
• UPDATE (8-15-2014): Kirsten Powers: Obama's inattention to Iraqi Christians 
• UPDATE (8-16-2014): Appeal of Patriach Sako to save the Nineveh Plain from the Jihadists
• UPDATE (8-17-2014): Vatican official calls for military protection of Iraqi Christians 

August 12:

• The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue: no religion can justify such barbarity 
• Germany: Some Christian refugees face threats from Muslims
• Chaldean Patriarch meets with leading Shiite cleric
• Vatican calls on Muslim leaders to condemn Islamic State
• Iraqi Christians 'dying in crowded refugee camps'
• Cardinal Wuerl's letter to priests of Archdiocese of Washington on Iraq crisis
• Aceh, the operative base for the Islamic Caliphate in Asia, through recruitment and indoctrination
• Knights of Columbus commits $1 million to help Christians threatened with extinction in Iraq
• RAF aid drops in Iraq: thousands remain stranded on 'death valley'
• What Prayers Shall I Say Now?
• UPDATE (8-13-2014): Knights of Columbus will match donations to aid persecuted Iraqis
• UPDATE (8-13-2014):The ISIS Threat to the United States, in Six Sentences
• UPDATE (8-14-2014): Iraqi Christians 'dying in crowded refugee camps'
• UPDATE (8-19-2014): The European bishops to the United Nations: stop the cycle of violence in Iraq 

August 11:

• Papal Envoy: "The Pope wanted to be there with the people in person"
• Christian patriarchs denounce silence on persecution in Mideast 
• Patriarch Sako: Refugee Situation Escalating, U.S. Military Action Disappointing
• Catholic Iraqi refugees in Lebanon recall horror of militant attacks
• Explaining the Vatican's surprising pro-US line on Iraq
• As ISIS Terrorists Bury Women & Children Alive, Obama Lies that Ending Iraq War 'Wasn't His Idea'
• Forgetting the Christians: Can Christians Ever Be the Victims of Genocide? 
• UPDATE: Iraqi Christians beginning to die in hot, crowded camps, witnesses say
• UPDATE: FactChecker: Is ISIS Beheading Children in Iraq?
• UPDATE (8/12/2014): A Plea on Behalf of Victims of Barbarism in Iraq
• UPDATE (8/12/2014): 15 Shocking Numbers That Will Make You Pay Attention To What ISIS Is Doing In Iraq
• UPDATE: (8-13-2014): ISIS Supporters Rally in Germany

August 10:

• Toppling ISIS & the Tyranny of Guilt
• Nuncio to Iraq: Iraqi Christians give great faith witness
• UPDATE: U.S. Actions in Iraq Fueled Rise of a Rebel: Baghdadi of ISIS Pushes an Islamist Crusade
• UPDATE: Archbishop of Westminster: events in Iraq are akin to genocide
• UPDATE: Islamic State Torches 1,200 Rare Christian Manuscripts
• UPDATE: ISIS terrorists cut five-year-old boy in half, bury women and children in mass graves 
• UPDATE: Patriarch Sako's Letter: The Alarming Situation of the Refugees Warns a Disaster More Dreadful
• UPDATE: Obama Golfs for FIVE HOURS as US Evacuates Embassy Staff from Baghdad Chaos
• UPDATE (8-13-2014): Holy War Arrives in Germany

August 9:

• ISIS militants send threatening Twitter messages to U.S. warning of retaliation over Iraq air strikes
• "I'd Like to Join ISIS and Kill with Them": Children Volunteer for Jihad
• UPDATE: Adopt a Christian in Mosul - I just did!
• UPDATE: Three Big Networks Avoid Calling ISIS 'Terrorists'; Label them 'Rebels' and 'Militants'

August 8:

• UPDATE (9-5-2014): The West Lacks One Essential Tool to Defeat ISIS
• ISIS overtakes Iraq's largest Christian city
• ISIS Jihadist flag in East London ripped down by Nun
• ISIS captures key Syria army base
• ISIS' brutality caught on video
• ISIL to U.S.: "We will raise the flag of Allah over the White House"
• Creating camps for 80,000 Christian refugees
• Patriarch of Iraq YELLS at the world: "Where are you?"
• White House official on Obama earlier this year calling ISIS junior varsity
• Archbishop Tomasi calls for assistance, protection for Iraqi Christians 
• Why ISIL is worse than al-Qaeda—and any other terrorist group that came before 
• UPDATE: Anglican Vicar of Baghdad: 'Child I baptized cut in half by ISIS'
• UPDATE: The story of a Chaldean priest who was forced to flee Qaraqosh
• UPDATE: Child Beheadings, Forced Conversion: A 'Christian Holocaust' Is Happening Before Our Eyes
• UPDATE:Muslim Terrorists Beheading Christian Children
• UPDATE: Iraq: ISIS Terrorists Still Killing Christians, Beheading Children
• UPDATE: Iraqi Christians' Bloody Summer
• UPDATE: Priest from Nineveh: 'Christianity is finished in Iraq'
• UPDATE: Religious leaders say ISIS persecution of Iraqi Christians has become genocide
• UPDATE: Iraq crisis: The streets of Erbil's newly Christian suburb are now full of helpless people
• UPDATE (8-13-2014): Who are the religious and ethnic groups under threat from ISIS?  
• UPDATE (8-13-2014): "Adopt a Christian from Mosul" to respond directly to Iraq's emergency

August 7:

• On ISIS and the Fearsome Rhyming of History: Connecting ISIS and Hitler 
• ISIS has conquered all Christian villages around Mosul 
• The Islamic State’s bloody campaign to exterminate minorities: ‘Even Genghis Khan didn’t do this’
• UPDATE: Bishop Pates asks Bishops, Parishes to Offer Special Prayer on August 17 for Peace in Iraq
• UPDATE: 'Caliphate' expels Christians from the Nineveh Plain 
• UPDATE: Islamic State pulls down church crosses in northern Iraq as 200,000 flee
• UPDATE: 200,000 Assyrians Have Fled the Nineveh Plain in the Last 24 Hours
• UPDATE: At least 100,000 Iraqi Christians forced to flee ISIS advance
• UPDATE: Leader: ISIS is 'Systematically Beheading Children' in Christian genocide

August 6: 

• ‘They Would Not Convert’: Priest Describes Seeing Horrific Photo of an ISIS Attack on an Iraqi Christian Family That Was ‘too Awful to Show Anybody'
• Christian Leader: ISIS beheading children

July 25:

• UPDATE: Two of the world's top Muslim leaders condemn attacks on Iraqi Christians

July 24:

• UPDATE: Bishop of Baghdad: Why Is the World Silent?

July 21:

• An urgent message from Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako
• UPDATE (8-14-2014): Muslim Scholars condemn deportation of Christians from Mosul 

July 20:

• ISIS burns 1,800-year-old church in Mosul

July 2:

• UPDATE (9-11-2014): Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb backs ISIS

June 27:

• UPDATE (9-5-2014): 30,000 Indians volunteer to fight in Iraq to defend Shia shrines

June 19:

• UPDATE: Rebels' Fast Strike in Iraq Was Years in the Making
• ISIS in Mosul Marks Christian Homes, Patriarch Issues Urgent Appeal

June 17

• UPDATE (8-30-2014): Terrorism Experts Warn: Leader of ISIS Has His Eyes on New York City

May 6:

• Christians "Crucified Again" for refusing Islam

April 30:

• UPDATE (8-12-2014): Islamic Extremists Now Crucifying People in Syria - and Tweeting out Pictures