A tragic anniversary in Mosul

It was one year ago today that the world began to learn with horror that the Islamic State had marked the homes and businesses of Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul with the Arabic letter of ن. The letter was used as an abbreviation of the derogatory term Nazarene, by which many Muslims designate the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Today, however, most of the world seems to have forgotten this purposeful act toward genocide.

Last year was the first time in 1,600 years that no Christians were present in Mosul; they fled under the threat of death, abandoning their homes and everything they knew.

Let us not forget them. Let us not forget that we, too, are N.

UPDATED (again): After at least 3 threats from the Islamic State, Rome to increase anti-terror activities

The October 2014 magazine of the Islamic State

Now that the Islamic State has at least thrice threatened the city of Rome - first back in October 2014, again in November 2014, and more recently with the beheadings of the 21 Copts in Libya, just 200 nautical miles south of Italy - the Eternal City is preparing to step up its anti-terror operations in the principal tourism and political sites throughout the Italian capital:

Soldiers could be brought in this week to protect sensitive sites, including the Colosseum, Pantheon and Vatican Museums, Corriere della Sera said. Other monuments and museums, in addition to churches, may also be protected by the army.

The report also noted upped security outside embassies such as those of the US and Libya. A spokesperson for the Libyan embassy was unavailable to comment when contacted by The Local, while the US outpost said it would not discuss specific security measures.

“We regularly review our security stance in light of current events to ensure the safety of our American and locally employed staff,” the embassy said in a statement.

Italy’s defence and interior ministries were not immediately able to confirm the Corriere report, which comes after the government proposed 4,850 soldiers be brought onto the streets to protect citizens. The new anti-terrorism measures could also see increased jail terms for people who join extremist groups fighting abroad [more].

Frankly, on the one hand, I'm a little surprised such a move has not already been taken (only a little both because this is Italy and most governments still refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of the Islamic State), given the importance of Rome both in terms of culture and in the ideology of the Islamic State.

On the other hand, though, I'm very surprised such measures have not already been taken, especially given that two men were arrested in Rome in November 2014 who clearly seemed to be planning some sort of jihadist terror attack. 

Following the jihadist attack on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in France, I have noticed an increased presence of police and Carabinieri throughout the city, both on foot and in vehicles but it seems this may be purely coincidental because, as one report indicates:

Rome is reportedly still waiting for the extra 500 officers requested by the city's police chief Giuseppe Pecoraro in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack in France on 7 January, despite demands from the capital's mayor Ignazio Marino.

Rome's anti-terrorism taskforce is likely to call for reinforced security for the city's major monuments and churches, including the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Vatican Museums. Security has also been stepped up at the city's main train station Termini, shopping centres and Metro stations [more]. 

It may be that the number of police and Carabinieri deployed throughout the city has not actually increased, but only that I have been noticing them more. This is possible, but I do not think it the reality.

All of this is a clear and urgent reminder that We Are N. The days of ignoring the growing threat of the Islamic State, or of pretending that its adherents are psychologically unstable, or that the Islamic State is simply a "terror group" like any other, or that the Islamic State isn't really Islamic, or that the Islamic State only really threatens the Middle East (as if that could possibly justify apathy or inaction) must surely now come to an end.

Please, as you remember the Christians suffering greatly under the dominance of the Islamic State - and those suffering under Boko Haram in Nigeria - please remember those of also now in Rome.

UPDATE (February 17, 2015):

There is an increasing fear among some Italian politicians of an invasion by the Islamic State coming from Libya. These fears are not altogether unfounded:

Whether the time is right or not, there is no question that there is a palpable tension in Italy over the ISIS threat—Libya is just 109 miles away from the island of Lampedusa and 300 miles from Sicily—made worse by a 64 percent increase in illegal migrant arrivals by sea since last year.  In all of 2014, more than 170,000 people arrived from Libya and Turkey, the highest number ever recorded.   Last weekend, as the embassy staff made their way to Italy on a mercantile ship, 2,164 migrants left the same Libyan shores en route to Sicily.  The week before, more than 300 people were lost in the same seas as their rickety fishing boats capsized before rescuers could save them.

Anti-immigration politicians have argued for months that it would take little for jihadi fighters to infiltrate a migrant boat and effectively end up taxied into Italy by rescue ships and the Italian navy.  In a biting editorial in Il Giornale newspaper, owned by the Silvio Berlusconi family, Sergio Rame hypothesized that the recent influx was an attempt by terrorists to effectively “smoke out” the Italian navy into rescuing the migrants, in an attempt to lure the boats close to Libyan shores in order to launch an attack.  The Italian government, which supports the rescue of migrants fleeing war, dismissed the theory [more].

UPDATE (February 18, 2015, 11:00 a.m.):

The Foreign Minister of Italy, Paolo Gentiloni, warned this morning of an "evident risk" that the Islamic State could merge with Libyan militias.

Given that the Libyan Dawn - the same group that captured the airport at Tripoli last August and has been recruiting in the U.K. since that same time, and carried out its first airstrike yesterday and has already pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, this isn't some far off speculation.

Archbishop of Baghdad calls for fasting and prayer before Christmas, and no worldly celebrations

As we approach the celebration of the Lord's Birth with ever increasing anticipation in these days as the Church's prayers begin to shift from awaiting the Lord's advent on the Last Day to awaiting his advent at Bethlehem, the joyful memories of Christmases past and the hopeful expectation of the glories of this coming Christmas no doubt fill our hearts and minds.

Many homes and yards, businesses and streets, and, yes, even churches, already display the festivity of Christmas with garlands of evergreen, lights of different colors and hues, snowmen, statues, and Nativity sets. The ringing of bells and the singing of carols fill our ears and the taste of cookies, cakes, and pies fill our mouths.

On the one hand, this is as it should be. How can we not rejoice with our salvation so close at hand? Yet, on the other hand, there are many of our brothers and sisters who cannot share in our joy in this same way, and this is not because of poverty, but because of a continuing and increasing persecution.

A Nativity display set up in a refugee camp in Erbil, Iraq

His Beatitude Louis Raphael I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans (whose cathedral is in Baghdad, Iraq and whose faithful have been driven from the Nineveh Plain by the Islamic State), has called for a period of prayer and fasting leading up to the night of Christmas. As Asia News reports:

For this reason, he urges them to fast from Monday 22 December until night on 24 December, not touching food or drink until noon, as "in the days of Ba'utha". The Fast of Ba'utha commemorates what the prophet Jonah brought to the people of Nineveh for their conversion.

The reason for his appeal for a period of fasting is simple and straightforward: "We fast for the liberation of Mosul and the villages of the Nineveh plains, so that peace and security will return to these areas, and everyone will be able to return to his or her home, job and school."

What is more, His Beatitude has called upon all Christians "not to organize any kind of worldly celebration at Christmas or New Year, given such bitter circumstances, as a sign of solidarity with their displaced brothers and sisters who are going through indescribable suffering."

Even so, the Patriarch is not without hope: "We are certain that the birth of Christ, who shared our personal history and that of humanity, will listen to our prayers and will accept our fasting and realize our hope and desire to return to our homes and live our lives as normal as before." 

I cannot pretend to know what the Christians of Iraq and Syria are experiencing now that they have been driven from their homes. Nor can I can pretend to know what are other persecuted Christians are also experiencing now in Nigeria and Kenya and many other places. But as I will not be returning home this Christmas, I can experience something of their longing to be home to celebrate the Birth of the Savior.

I plan to take up the Patriarch's call and I urge you to do the same. Keep your Christmas celebrations subdued and remember to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters with your family and friends. Several months ago, Patriarch Sako composed this prayer which you might wish to use as you gather around your trees and tables:

Lord,
the plight of our country
is deep and the suffering of Christians
is severe and frightening.

Therefore, we ask you Lord
to spare our lives, and to grant us patience,
and courage to continue our witness of Christian values
with trust and hope.

Lord, peace is the foundation of life;
grant us the peace and stability that will enable us
to live with each other without fear and anxiety,
and with dignity and joy.

Glory be to you forever.

 To give you a better sense of the Iraqi Christians are enduring, have a look at these pictures from the refugee camp in Erbil.

November Daily ISIS News Updates

Previous Updates: October 2014 | April - November 2014

30 November 2014

• Islamic State has a 'dirty bomb,' says U.K. jihadi
• Red Bull drinking jihadists, hungry civilians, crucifixions and air strikes
• Does it matter if the Islamic State is 'self-declared'?
• Fighting intensifies in Syrian town of Kobane

29 November 2014

• UPDATE (12-01-2014): Hate cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad preaches killing of women and children on Facebook
• Belgian fighter admits that Islamic State is lacking manpower
• Kurds blame Turkey as suicide bombers hit Kobani
• Christian refugees in Turkey tell Pope, 'Don't forget about us!'
• Iraqis insist General Soleimani, not U.S., helps them crush ISIL
• Air strikes 'fail to weaken' Islamists

28 November 2014

• UPDATE (12-05-2014): 39 out of 40 kidnapped Indians were killed by ISIS, claim Bangledeshi workers
  
• UPDATE (12-01-2014): Minnesota imam looks at 'caliphate' through Islamic lens
• UPDATE (11-30-2014): Before Being Killed, Children Told ISIS: 'No, We Love Jesus'
• UPDATE (11-30-2014): India says no contact with men held by Islamic State in Iraq
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Vendors based in Syrian territories occupied by the Islamic State have reportedly adjusted their catering to suit the tastes of foreign militants
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Syrian bishop urges Pope Francis to raise arms supply issue in Turkey
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Austria arrests 13 suspected jihadi recruiters for Syria
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Police arrest 13 in raids on jihad recruiters
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Trial Against Alleged IS Recruiter Starts in Uzbekistan
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Pope backs anti-ISIS strikes, faces pressure on 'Islamophobia'

27 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Mosul residents: ISIS cuts phone lines in Iraq city

26 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Vatican foreign minister appeals for multilateral action to stop Islamic State
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): ISIS supports Ferguson protesters 
  
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): British brothers jailed for training at Syria terror camp
• Bulgarian Imam, Six others charged over support for ISIS group
• Two arrested at Heathrow over Syria terror offenses
• Syrian airstrikes kill dozens in Raqqa

25 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Mosul: Video shows Islamic State blowing about Sacred Heart convent
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Jihadists raze Catholic convent in Mosul
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): Sunni vs. Shi'ite: Why the U.S. plan to save Iraq is doomed to fail
• UPDATE (11-29-2014): ISIS Developing 'Colonies' in Middle East as it Gains Credibility Among Jihadists
• UPDATE (11-26-2014): More than 100 Canadians have offered to join Kurds in fight against ISIS
• UPDATE (11-26-2014): Iraq airstrikes are critical in the shifting battle for Ramadi
• UPDATE (11-26-2014): ISIS, Broken in Iraq, Emerges in Saudi Arabia
• UPDATE (11-26-2014): Raqqa airstrikes 'kill dozens'
• UPDATE (11-26-2014): Two Minneapolis men charged with conspiring to support Islamic State
• UPDATE (11-26-2014): Islamic State imposes a reign of fear in Iraqi hospitals
• IS militants blow up convent in city of Mosul
• UN says IS got up to $US45m in ransoms

24 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-25-2014): ISIS blows up ancient church in Mosul
• UPDATE (11-25-2014): ISIS have sleeper cells in the UK and will unleash war on Europe
• UPDATE (11-25-2014): Children of the Jihad: ISIS Behead Kurdish Children; Train Kazakh Children to Fight

23 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-26-2014): Iraqi forces say retake two towns from Islamic State
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): Muslim MP: 2,000 Britons fighting for Islamic State
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): US air strikes in Syria driving anti-Assad groups to support ISIS
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): The Clear Banner: Belgian Fighters in Syria and Iraq
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): Islamic State Breaks Another Church Cross

22 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-24-2014): Islamic State's death cult claims responsibility for Numan Haider's knife attack on police
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): Islamic State graffiti found on Druze memorial

20 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-24-2014): Patriarch of Baghdad to Muslim leaders: Unbefitting silence on the Islamic State, a Nazism in the name of Islam
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): Chaldean leader condemns Muslims' failure to counteract ISIS
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): After 100 days, 'dire situations' for refugees
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): Islamic State reportedly buying silver, gold as it prepares to issue currency
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): The Banality of the Islamic State: How ISIS Corporatized Terror

19 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-24-2014): Muslim, Christian, Jewish leaders unit to condemn jihadi violence
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): French ISIS Fighters Urged Muslims at Home to Carry Out Terrorist Attacks in France
• UPDATE (11-22-2014): Could US Cultural Protection Czar Stop Rampant ISIS Looting?
• UPDATE (11-20-2014): Knights of Columbus Sends $2.2 million to Iraq, Syria refugees
• Second French jihadist seen in video
• ISIS Leader Al-Baghdadi Calls for an 'Explosive Jihad' Against Jews, Christians, Atheists and Saudi Arabia
• Patriarch Sako: Muslims, not outside forces, should resolve Mideast conflicts

18 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-24-2014): ISIS has enough weapons to carry on fighting for two years, UN warns
• UPDATE (11-24-2014): Jordan queen says fight against IS key to saving Islam
• UDPATE (11-22-2014): ISIS comes to Libya
• Islamic State burns Bibles, orders Christians to pay tax
• First Mass Held in Telskuf, Nineveh Since Christians Were Forced Out By ISIS

17 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-18-2014): Virginia woman accused of attempting to aid Islamic State
• UPDATE (11-18-2014): Why Islamic State chose town of Dabiq for propaganda

16 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-17-2014): As winter looms, Syrian refugees now fear 'dire' shortfalls in aid
• Graphic Video Purports to Show Islamic State Beheading of U.S. Aid Worker Peter Kassig
• US hostage Kassig 'killed by ISIS'

15 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-16-2014): Iraq Shocker: Sunni Tribe invites Shiite Militias into al-Anbar to fend off ISIL massacres
• ISIS beheading, stoning and crucifying Syrian residents, UN report says
• Iraq 'expels IS militants from a major oil refinery'

14 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-16-2014): The Islamic State's Archipelago of Provinces
• UPDATE (11-16-2014): ISIS Announces Coin Designs for the Caliphate's Coinage. Why Do Two of Them Look Rather, Um, Familiar?
• UPDATE (11-16-2014): Can Islamic State keep control of Mosul?
• UPDATE (11-15-2014): Islamic State says it'll mint its own coins
• UPDATE (11-15-2014): Indian origin jihadist skips bail, flees UK for Islamic State
• ISIS: 'You won't stop our advance on Rome'
• Iraq needs 80,000 good troops to retake lost territory:  US general
• The Islamic State's Gold Dinar
• ISIS to introduce its own currency, the Islamic dinar
• Islamic State plans for its own currency
• UN says Islamic State imposing rule of terror in Syria
• Boy, 15, speaks of his ordeal as Islamic State hostage
• Iraq troops 'push Islamic State from oil town of Baiji'

13 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-17-2014): Pro-ISIS Salafists Are Robbing German Churches
• UPDATE (11-16-2014): ISIS and al-Qaeda agree 'to end fighting and join against their opponents'
• UPDATE (11-16-2014): Iraqi Christians Guard Village Around the Clock Hoping to Prevent ISIS Return
• UPDATE (11-15-2014): ISIS chief said to call for 'volcanoes of jihad,' after reports he was hurt in IS strike
• UPDATE (11-15-2014): Iraqi Christian militia patrols village retaken from Islamic State group, vows to hold ground
• UPDATE (11-15-2014): Bosnia police arrest 11 suspected of involvement in Syria, Iraq wars
• UPDATE (11-14-2014): David Cameron: I will ban British jihadists who fight for ISIL inSyria and Iraq for two years
• UPDATE (11-14-2014): Sources: Obama seeks new Syria strategy review to deal with ISIS, al-Assad
• UPDATE (11-14-2014): 'Syria Kurds sever ISIL supply route to Kobani'
• UPDATE (11-14-2014): Islamic State: 'Baghdadi message' issued by jihadists
• UPDATE (11-14-2014): Syrian Orthodox Church: international protection for Christians in the Nineveh Plain is needed

12 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-15-2014): Food, blankets and hope - nuns risk lives to serve Syrian refugees
• UPDATE (11-13-2014): ISIS Richest Terrorist Group, Hamas Comes In Second
• German police arrest suspected IS supporters, raid properties

11 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-12-2014): Friday sermon by Israel-based Islamic supremacist Raed Salah: Jerusalem will be capital of global caliphate
• UPDATE (11-12-2014): Intel memo shows NYC ax attacker's online obsession with radical Islam
• Two detained after Italian police find ISIS flag

10 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-13-2014): Monstrous 'press agent' for Islamic State who created beheading videos is former rapper
• UPDATE (11-12-2014): Shopkeepers Selling Cigarettes in Mosul Under ISIS Face 80 Lashes
• UPDATE (11-11-2014): Can Islamic State survive without Baghdadi?
• Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric says graft in army helped Islamic State
• Islamic State: Egyptian militants pledge loyalty
• Why it Isn't that Important Whether ISIL Leader Was Killed

9 November 2014

• How a Libyan City Joined the Islamic State Group
• Obama signals 'new phase' against Islamic State in Iraq
• Iraq troops 'seize Baiji oil refinery town centre' from IS

7 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-9-2014): 'ISIS Sees Turkey as Its Ally': Former Islamic State Member Reveals Turkish Army Cooperation
• UPDATE (11-9-2014): Extremist Cleric: Give Me My Passport and Let Me Join ISIS
• UPDATE (11-8-2014): Unlikely Cavalry: Iraq's Sunni Tribes Split on ISIL, Pursue Own Feuds
• UPDATE (11-8-2014): Obama authorizes 1,500 more troops for Iraq
• UPDATE (11-8-2014): Iran and the Anti-Islamic State Coalition

6 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-8-2014): The 13-year-old on 'righteous path'

5 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-9-2014): ISIS Fighter Defends Massacres Because Muhammed 'Slaughtered 700 People'
• UPDATE (11-6-2014): Shocking: ISIS Official 'Slave' Price List Shows Yazidi, Christian Girls Aged '1 to 9' Being Sold for $172
• Inside Kobane: Eyewitness account in besieged Kurdish city
• Vatican Official: Western nations must stop the Syrian war
• Diary of Life in Mosul

4 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-12-2014): Senior Saudi Salafi Cleric: 'ISIS is a true product of Salafism'
• UPDATE (11-9-2014): Egypt's Islamist Militant Group Swears Allegiance to IS: Reports

3 November 2014

• UPDATE (11-5-2014): ISIS 'to set up Islamic Caliphate in Sinai'
  
• UPDATE (11-5-2014): Yazidis Face Genocide by ISIS After U.S. Turns Away
• UPDATE (11-4-2014): Canadian airstrikes hit ISIS construction equipment in Iraq
• UPDATE (11-4-2014): University Instructor: U.S. Troops Worse than the Islamic State

2 November 2014

• Maori Muslim backs Islamic State
• Islamic State steps up Sunni Iraqi tribal killings
• ISIS Extremists Line Up and Execute 50: Iraqi officials

1 November 2014

• German official warns about 1,000 supporters of Islamic terror in the country
• DFAT warns Australians teaching overseas could be attacked by ISIS
• Islamic State militants kill 50 from Iraqi Anbar tribe
• UK travelers warned of increased global terror threat

ISIS Updates - October 2014

Given the great length of my original post containing daily updates on the activities of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq, I thought it might be good to being a new post of ongoing daily updates here. I expect to do this each month.

31 October 2014

• UPDATE (11-2-2014): Islamic State Announces Beheadings for All Who Insult Allah
• UPDATE (11-2-2014): Nigeria bus station hit by triple bomb blasts, 8 killed
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): Three Iraqis arrested in Switzerland, suspected of planning attack
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): Syria: Christ's followers caught between Assad and the Caliphate
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): Vatican official visits to access humanitarian needs
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): ISIS costumes for Halloween
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces 'cross into Kobane'
• Iraqi Christians Seek Shelter in Jordan After IS Threats
• Aleppo 'at risk' after FSA fighters were sent to Kobane: Commander

30 October 2014

• UPDATE (01-21-15): ISIS's Atrocities Against Women and Religious Minorities: Senate Human Rights Caucus Field Hearing Highlights ISIS's Threat to Chicago and National Security
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): Airstrikes against Islamic State do not seem to have affected flow of fighters to Syria
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): Islamic State 'terror schools': Children as young as five trained to fight and kill
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): ISIS wants to spread Ebola: security chief
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): One in seven young Britons has sympathy with ISIS cause
• Iraq's Christian paramilitaries split in IS fight
• Iraqi Christian refugees in Kurdistan - 'their tears have run dry'
• Salisbury [North Carolina] man pleads guilty to trying to aid [ISIS] terrorist group

29 October 2014

• Islamic State fights Syrian army for gas field, kills 30 - Monitor

28 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-29-2014): Tribal leader: ISIS calls elite of Syria to Mosul after losing control of the city
• UPDATE (10-29-2014): Most Arab states share ISIS' ideology. They're trying to have it both ways
• Peshmerga fighters head to Turkey
• Letter from Archbishop of Mosul: Thank you for your aid, supporting the plight of refugees
• U.S. urges Arab banks to choke ISIS funding
• Syrian Christians, building cemeteries instead of schools
• Australian teenager appears in new ISIS video
• Nusra front rebels attack Idlib

27 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-28-2014): Pentagon: ISIS campaign costing $8.3M per day
• UPDATE (10-28-2014): ISIL jihadists seen with new advanced anti-aircraft missile
• UPDATE (10-28-2014): Car bombings in Iraq kill at least 38 people
• UPDATE (10-28-2014): John Cantlie: Islamic State hostage in 'Kobane' video

24 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-26-2014): Lebanon tells Syrian refugees 'to return' or go elsewhere
• UPDATE (10-26-2014): ISIS finds success in luring Canadians
• UPDATE (10-26-2014): Ex-CIA Case Officer: 'The West is Under Attack from Islamic State-Inspired Radicals'
• UPDATE (10-26-2014): US to investigate claims IS used 'chemical weapons' in Iraq
• UPDATE (10-25-2014): As ISIS approached, a seminarian took the Blessed Sacrament from the church and fled
• UPDATE (10-25-2014): Afghan newspaper's 'blasphemy' causes protests after rebuking ISIS and Islam
• FSA sends forces to help Kurdish fighters in Kobane
• Diary of Life in Mosul
• Yazidis Say They Are Trapped in New ISIS Siege on Iraqi Mountain

23 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-31-2014): Petition for Persecuted Christians in Iraq is Presented at United Nations
• UPDATE (10-25-2014): ISIS Militants Capture Village in Iraq's Anbar from Sunni Tribe
• UPDATE (10-25-2014): FBI warns media: Journalists 'desirable targets' for ISIL
• UPDATE (10-24-2014): Canada Attacks Follow Al-Qaida, IS Instructions to a Tee
  
• UPDATE (10-24-2014): Islamic State Militants Seize Iraq Village, Press Assault on Yazidis
• UPDATE (10-24-2014): Chaldean patriarch suspends 12 monks, priests
• 'Don't abandon us' - Church in Mosul no longer exists
• Islamic State Sympathizers Cheer Canada Shooting

22 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-31-2014): ISIS Sex Slaves: Yazidi Woman Begs West to Bomb Brothel Where She Is Raped Over 30 Times A Day
• UPDATE (10-24-2014): Amid insurgency, Iraqi priest is guardian angel of ancient manuscripts
• Syria Says Shoots down Two of Three 'IS Warplanes'
• Pentagon confirms Islamic State captured bundle of supplies meant for Kurds
• Iran Proposes Axis against ISIL to Iraqi PM Abadi as alternative to US coalition
• US probes 'stray Syria air drop' in IS video

21 October 2014

• UPDATE (12-07-2014): Egyptian Human Rights Activist Ahmad Harqan: ISIS Is Doing what the Prophet Muhammad Did
• UPDATE (11-1-2014): Michele Bachmann given security detail over ISIL threat
• UPDATE (10-22-2014): New Freedoms in Tunisia Drive Support for ISIS
• UPDATE (10-22-2014): Slick, agile, and modern - the IS media machine
• UPDATE (10-22-2014): David Petraeus: 'People Saw ISIS Coming'
• UPDATE (10-22-2014): ISIS releases video clip showing Syrian woman stoned to death by group of men, including her father
• UPDATE (10-22-2014): Teen girls from Denver arrested in Germany were trying to join ISIS, U.S. officials say
• Fresh fighting in key Syrian town of Kobane

20 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-22-2014): ISIS Takes Over Two Towns on Mount Sinjar, Yazidis Please for US Coalition to Save Them
• UPDATE (10-22-2014): Archbishop Laham: 4 thousand displaced Iraqi Christians all want to emigrate to the West
• UPDATE (10-21-2014): 200,000 activists tell Europe: Stand up for persecuted Christians
• Chaldean Abp: a Mideast without Christians?
• Turkey to let Iraq Kurds join Kobane fight
• Israeli aid to Iraq helps Christians persecuted by Islamic State
• Kobane: US drops arms and aid to Kurds battling IS

19 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-23-2014): Syria tribal revolt against Islamic State ignored, fueling resentment
• UPDATE (10-22-2014): Victims of ISIS: Non-western journalists who don't make the headlines
• UPDATE (10-20-2014): U.S. Humanitarian Aid Going to ISIS
• UPDATE (10-20-2014): Islamic State foiled in attempt to kidnap Syrian rebel leader in Turkey
• UPDATE (10-20-2014): An examination of how some define the word 'jihad'

18 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-20-2014): Lebanon pulled into war with Islamic State group
• Slavery in Islam: To have and to hold: Jihadists boast of selling captive women as concubines

17 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-21-2014): Priests race to save manuscripts from jihadists in Iraq
• UPDATE (10-20-2014): ISIS fighters 'crucify' 17-year-old boy in Syria
• UPDATE (10-19-2014): Former Iraqi pilots train Islamic State fighters to fly MiG jets
• UPDATE (10-19-2014): British police officers targeted by alleged ISIL terrorists
• ISIS Militants in Syrian Border Town Begin To Retreat After a Monthlong Battle

16 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-18-2014): NC Man Pleads Guilty In Terrorism Case
• UPDATE (10-18-2014): ISIS targets Baghdad with wave of car bombs and mortar attacks killing 150
• UPDATE (10-18-2014): A church in Qaraqosh bombed by the anti-Caliphate coalition
• UPDATE (10-17-2014): Islamic State desecrates Christian monastery
• UPDATE (10-17-2014): We Won't Be Your Trojan Horse: Sunni Muslim Militias Decide They Won't Fight With IS - or The US Alliance
• UPDATE (10-17-2014): Life In Mosul Under Extremists: Iraqis Cooking With Clay Ovens And Home-Made Heaters
• UPDATE (10-17-2014): Iraq Is Cutting Off Electricity From Regions Held By ISIS
• UPDATE (10-17-2014): 'We will chop off the heads … of whoever you may bring': ISIS terrorists from Europe spew hate in video
• Baron von Boeselager: 'It's a tragedy that thousands of years of Christian culture are being destroyed'
• Islamic State 'being driven out of Syria's Kobane'

15 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-16-2014): Trinidad says 'several' citizens aid Islamic group
• UPDATE (10-16-2014): At War Against ISIS, Iraqi Premier Is Facing Battles Closer to Home
• Has ISIS looted chemical weapons from former Iraqi nerve agent factory that US failed to destroy? UN told 2,500 rockets containing deadly Sarin are in the hands of the jihadist
• The rise of IS in North Africa
• US intensifies airstrikes in Kobane
• The Battle for Baghdad has begun 

14 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-16-2014): Istanbul Rattled By Signs of Islamic State Support
• UPDATE (10-15-2014): The Secret Casualties of Iraq's Abandoned Chemical Weapons
• UPDATE (10-15-2014): National Union of Students refuses to condemn ISIS terrorists because it's 'Islamophobic'
• UPDATE (10-15-2014): Six arrested by counter-terror police: Three men and three women from Portsmouth, Farnborough and Greenwich arrested on terror charges in relation to conflict in Syria
• UPDATE (10-15-2014): Six top TTP commanders announce allegiance to Islamic State's Baghdadi
• UPDATE (10-15-2014): In Kurdish Iraq, Christian refugees are preparing for winter
• UPDATE (10-15-2014): Feds warn of possible ISIS-inspired attacks on police, government officials, media
• UPDATE (10-15-2014): Islamic State militants kill two Iraq journalists
• UPDATE (10-15-2014): White House insists anti-Islamic State strategy is on track, despite setbacks on the ground
• Mideast crisis widens as Turkey bombs Kurdish militants
• Turkish jets bombard Kurdish positions: First air strikes since start of peace talks comes as Kurdish anger grows over perceived government inaction against ISIS
• Latest ISIS offensive displaces thousands of civilians in Iraq
• Islamic State crisis: Kurds 'recapture key Kobane hill'
• Vatican to UN: Middle East minorities need our protection
• Chilling Report Reveals Weapons the Islamic State May Have That is a 'Matter of the Gravest Concern'

13 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-15-2014): Bishop Thomas Paprocki: Confronting the Genocide of Christians in the Middle East
• UPDATE (10-14-2014): Chechens lead way in ISIL war for dominance
• UPDATE (10-14-2014): Patriarch Younan: help Iraq/Syria's Christian, stop violent rhetoric
• UPDATE (10-14-2014): Thousands of Yazidi women sold as sex slaves 'for theological reasons,' says ISIL
• UPDATE (10-14-2014): ISIS seizes military base near Baghdad as bombings in Iraqi capital kill at least 30
  
• UPDATE (10-14-2014): Germany has a serious ISIS problem
• 180,000 flee IS advance in Anbar, UN says
• Iraqi city falls to ISIL as army withdraws: ISIL '100 percent control' Hit in Anbar, says police colonel, after troops are relocated to reinforce nearby airbase
• Turkey 'allows Syria rebel training'
• ISIS magazine shows flag flying in Vatican: Militants' press calls for war against Rome, Catholic Church
• ISIS Magazine Dabiq Threatens 'Rome Crusaders' Flying Islamic State Flag at Vatican on Front Cover
• Turkey 'to let US use bases' against Islamic State

12 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-13-2014): ISIS states its justification for the enslavement of women
• UPDATE (10-13-2014): Battle for Kobane: Turkey pressed to let weapons through to Kurdish fighters
• Terror experts fear 'World War Three' if Kobane falls to Islamic State
• War against ISIS: US strategy in tatters as militants march on

11 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-12-2014): Americans abroad at 'high risk' of ISIS kidnappings, terrorist attacks, U.S. warns
• UPDATE (10-12-2014): Archbishop of Mosul: Christian families 'desperate', solidarity of synod important
  
• UPDATE (10-12-2014): Turkey Arrests 274 Kobane Refugees Fleeing from Islamic State
• UPDATE (10-12-2014): Kobani: time running out for hundreds of besieged civilians
• UPDATE (10-12-2014): Syria: Kobane siege death toll 'passes 500'
  
• UPDATE (10-12-2014): Germany Probes Over 200 Accused of Backing Terrorism: Report
• Kobane: Islamic State battles to encircle Syrian Kurds
• Iraq appeals for help in Anbar against Islamic State

10 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-20-2014): An Overview of Chinese Fighters and Anti-Chinese Militant Groups in Syria and Iraq
• UPDATE (10-17-2014): Silence about Islamic Persecution in the West
• UPDATE (10-13-2014): Syria: Father Hanna to be tried by Islamic court
• UPDATE (10-12-2014): Security services monitoring 'thousands' of terrorism suspects in London, says Boris Johnson
• UPDATE (10-11-2014): ISIS threatens to kill Twitter employees for suspending terrorists' accounts - CEO
• UPDATE (10-11-2014): Moderate Muslims and Cafeteria Catholics: The notion that Islam is a religion of peace is becoming less credible by the day
• UPDATE (10-11-2014): The Islamic State's First Colony in Libya
• UPDATE (10-11-2014): The Islamic State's Oil Network
• ISIS within 8 miles of Baghdad armed with MANPADs
• Thousands 'will most likely be massacred,' U.N. warns, as fighters push into Kobani
• Up to 700 trapped in Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane, UN says

9 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-15-2014): The Islamic State's Anbar Offensive and Abu Umar al-Shishani
• UPDATE (10-11-2014): Islamic State Grooms Chechen Fighters Against Putin
• UPDATE (10-11-2014): Does Obama Need 'Time' to Defeat or Forget ISIS?
• UPDATE (10-10-2014): Syria's Christians and the 'New Order' declared by the jihadists
• UPDATE (10-10-2014): 'Our youngest martyr yet' - ISIL boasts about death of 10-year-old
• For the Middle East, war is the main 'family issue'
• Four women abducted along with Father Hanna have been released
• Patriarch Laham Responds to Kidnapping of Franciscan Friar in Syria
• Arab bishops back use of 'proportionate force' to protect minorities
• Biden says it's a priority to assist Iraq's persecuted Christians
• Six miles from ISIS: A shockingly brave priest returns to Iraq
• Turkey action in Syria 'unrealistic'
• Kobane: US and UK warn of air strike limitations

8 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-13-2014): Jimmy Carter criticizes President Obama's ISIS strategy
• UPDATE (10-9-2014): JW Confirms: 4 ISIS Terrorists Arrested in Texas in Last 36 Hours
• UPDATE (10-9-2014): DOD won't recommend U.S. ground troops to save Kobani, warns other towns may fall
• UPDATE (10-9-2014): 11 Rules For Journalists Covering ISIS, Issued by ISIS
• UPDATE (10-9-2014): Extremists in Mosul sell off confiscated [stolen] real estate
• UPDATE (10-9-2014): The Franciscan priest kidnapped after he had appealed to the Islamic Court
• UPDATE (10-9-2014): Nuncio: international community has duty to stop Islamic State
• UPDATE (10-9-2014): Chaldean patriarch calls on Muslims to denounce violence against Christians
• Kobane: IS and Syria Kurds in fierce gun battles
• Western fear of angering Turkey leaves besieged Kurdish town at mercy of Islamic State
• Canada's parliament approves anti-Islamic State air strikes

7 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-9-2014): 'Too late' for Syrian border town as air strikes fail: analysts 
• UPDATE (10-9-2014): FBI investigating Islamic State graffiti around D.C.: report
• UPDATE (10-8-2014): In Babylon, Iraqis shield ancient symbols of identity from Islamic State
• UPDATE (10-8-2014): Turkey says Syria town about to fall as Islamic State advances
• UPDATE (10-8-2014): UN concerned over safety of civilians as ISIL intensifies offensive in Syrian border town
• UPDATE (10-8-2014): Strategic Syrian Border Town 'Is About to Fall' to Islamic State Militants
• UPDATE (10-8-2014): The Fight for Kobane: The Turkish government vowed to prevent the town from falling into the hands of the Islamic State but has yet to take any decisive action
• Chaldean Bishop Blasts Iraqi Government, Muslim Leaders: 'Our People Have Been Abandoned'
• Why did the US help the Kurds in Iraq but leave ISIS to massacre them in Syria?
• Parish priest, 20 Christians kidnapped in Syria
• Praying the Rosary is our secret weapon against ISIS
• Anglican Bishop: 'Most Look to Rome to Stem Tide of Islamic Militancy'

6 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-7-2014): Slaughter Is Feared as ISIS Nears Turkish Border
• UPDATE (10-7-2014): Iraq: Bishop says, 'Our people have been abandoned'
• UPDATE (10-7-2014): Iraq's battles need sense of resolve
• UPDATE (10-7-2014): Islamic State Draws Closer to Baghdad: Apostolic Nuncios Appeal for More Action, in Accordance With International Law, to Stop Unjust Aggressor
• UPDATE (10-7-2014): On Christians and the Open Letter to the Islamic State
• Kobane: Civilians flee IS street-to-street fighting
• Christians in the Middle East: the Church cannot remain silent before the persecution of her children
• Alan Henning murder: Aid worker's brother calls for 'troops on the ground'
• Trojan horse: ISIS militants come to Europe disguised as refugees, US intel sources claim

5 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-6-2014): ISIS' Ammunition Is Shown to Have Origins in U.S. and China
• UPDATE (10-6-2014): Islamic State Militants Publicly Execute Six Iraqi Soldiers, Continue Advance Amid U.S.-Led Airstrikes
• UPDATE (10-6-2014): Jihadists from UK stuck in Turkey after deserting ISIS
• UPDATE (10-6-2014): Islamic State withstands bombing campaign, plots Baghdad invasion: Airstrikes slow terrorists' advances, but coalition forces unable to retake territory

4 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-7-2014): What the Pope can do for Middle East Christians
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): Video: Islamic State group beheads British hostage
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): White House Confirms ISIS Is Holding A Former US Army Ranger Hostage
• UPDATE (10-5-201): Pakistani Taliban declares allegiance to Islamic State and global jihad
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): 'I believe in hopeless causes': American ISIS captive Peter Kassig described how he felt a calling to help wounded Syrian refugees - just one year before he was captured by Islamic militants and became a Muslimhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2780511/ISIS-captive-Peter-Kassig-calls-hopeless-romantic-idealist-revealing-hopes-dreams-2012-profile.html
• UPDATE  (10-5-2014): Apostolic nuncios calls for end to war in Middle East

3 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-9-2014): Statement of the Conference of Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions (CELRA)
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): Islamic State is committing 'staggering' crimes in Iraq - U.N. report
  
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): 'If you want to kill us for our faith then we are prepared to die here and now'
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): Report: ISIS Puts Literal Price Tags on Abducted Girls
  
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): Persecution of Christians Highlights What Unites Us, Pope Tells Assyrian Patriarch
  
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): Antiquities Lost, Casualties of War: In Iraq and Syria, Trying to Protect a Heritage at Risk
  
• 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?

2 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-15-2014): Northern Iraq: 2,000 Years of Christianity Wiped Out By ISIS
• UPDATE (10-7-2014): Pro-ISIS graffiti in a girl school in Saudi capital stirs controversy
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): Meeting of Apostolic Nuncios from Middle East Underway at Vatican

1 October 2014

• UPDATE (10-5-2014): Islamic State Beheads Seven Men, Three Women in Syria: Human Rights Group
• UPDATE (10-5-2014): ISIS Takes a Kurdish Village in Syria as Car Bomb Kills Dozens in Homs