Syrian Boy Beheaded For Missing Friday Prayers

The Islamic State (ISIS)- the barbarians of Islam- beheaded a teen in Aleppo province for missing Friday prayers. It appears that missing prayers is now considered apostasy, and therefore subject to execution.

The 16-year-old victim was arrested in the ISIS-held city of Jarablus north of Aleppo for missing Friday prayers at the mosque.

“The teenage boy, who faced charges of apostasy, was beheaded in front of a huge crowd in central Jarablus on Saturday,” local media activist Nasser Taljbini told ARA News.

The victim was accused by the Sharia Court of violating the Islamic law, and ordered his execution in public on charges of apostasy, the source reported.

“Before carrying out the execution, a Sharia official read a statement issued by the ISIS Sharia Court, vowing everyone who misses prayers at the mosque to face a similar punishment,” an eyewitness told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Source: ARA News

A Little Black Humor Regarding DAESH- Video Parody of the day

There have been a slew of young women trekking on over to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS aka DAESH), many as potential brides for the ISIS butchers fighting over there.

From the Tunis Tribune Facebook Page, here's a little black humor: a short cartoon parody video showing what probably happens to those foolish girls.

Just a little info and translation- at the end we hear a sexy French woman say:

"La Petite Robe Noir" (The little black dress)
"Ma nouvelle vie" (My new life)
DAESH

La Petite Robe Noir is a perfume by Guerlain.

Les Guignols de l'Info : « Ma nouvelle vie Daech »
Posted by Tunis Tribune on Tuesday, 31 March 2015

ISIS Female Jihadist Manifesto: Women Should Be Veiled and Hidden

The latest manifesto from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is aimed at females, who are allowed to marry at nine, since they are the "most pure" at that age, but definitely by 16 or 17, basically espouses the whole keep 'em barefoot and pregnant mentality.

... all women should consider motherhood the purpose of their existence, according to a manifesto attributed to an all-female branch of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

The Quilliam Foundation, a UK-based anti-terrorism think-tank, said the text states women should be hidden and veiled, stay at home and shun fashion boutiques and beauty salons as the work of the devil. Produced by the Al-Khanssaa Brigade, the manifesto reveals a more sober picture of what is expected of Muslim women than the accounts of Western female jihadists who have exaggerated their role on social media, the foundation, which translated the document into English, said. “Just as they have sexed up what it is to be a women living in the so-called caliphate, this document dresses it down.

Women, it is unambiguously stated, are homemakers and mothers,” the foundation said in concluding remarks to its translation. “The matters of adventure and excitement, themes most used by female Western recruiters trying to recruit young girls to IS, are the realm of men,” it added.

[snip]

The document, which first appeared last month in Arabic, sets out what is permitted in terms of education and work. From seven to nine, girls should learn religion, Quranic Arabic and science. From 10 to 12, there should be more studies relating to Islamic sharia law on marriage and divorce in addition to knitting and cooking.

The manifesto indicates that a girl’s education ends at the age of 15. It states that a woman may leave the house if she going to study theology, if she is a woman doctor or teacher and if it has been ruled by fatwa that she must fight jihad or holy war. 

The rest here, on Arab Times.

Jordanian Pilot Burned Alive By ISIS- Will Jordan Follow Through With Promise To Retaliate?

Up until now, all of the high profile ISIS video killings have been non-Muslims from the West, and then Japan, in the case of  47-year-old journalist Kenji Goto, and Haruna Yukawa, the man Goto went to save. Most have been innocent journalists. Beheaded. But now they've killed one of their own, Muslim Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh who was captured back in December.  No beheading this time.  The man was burned alive, in a cage, apparently on January the 3rd- which is why Jordan wanted to make sure that the pilot was still alive before they swapped 44-year-old female Iraqi terrorist Sajida al-Rishawi.

Sajida has been jailed in Jordan since 2005 after a failed suicide bombing at a hotel wedding celebration that killed at least 57 people and injured 90 more. It was a family affair, her husband managed to set his off.

Jordan had allegedly said that if al-Kaseasbeh was killed they would retaliate by killing Sajida and any other captured Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Now Jordan has reportedly stepped up its rhetoric by warning of its intent to retaliate if the negotiations end in bloodshed.

Elijah Magnier, chief international correspondent for Kuwait's Al Rai newspaper, told MailOnline: 'I have reliable contact in the Jordanian government who says a message has been passed to ISIS.

'It warns that if they kill the pilot they will implement the death sentences for Sajida and other ISIS prisoners as soon as possible.

'There are other prisoners in Jordan that ISIS would like to free.'

Okay, Jordan. Time to keep your promise.

Maybe this will propel Arab nations to finally get their butts in gear and do something about ISIS.

France 4 video coverage.

ISIS Executes Members Who Allegedly Planned Coup

It seems there's trouble in the Islamic State paradise, talk of coups and killings of dissidents, and defectors. Maybe they'll just kill each other off, and we'll be done with them.

In Raqqa, the seat of ISIS in Syria:

 Over the previous days, the city of Raqqa, in northeastern Syria, has seen several splits in the ranks of the Islamic State group (IS/ISIS), followed by arrest campaigns against a number of the group’s members.

The most prominent dissident name was Abu Talha al-Kuwaiti, the head of the al-Hisba security force of the group in the state of Raqqa, who fled with eight militants to an unknown destination, which led to imposing curfew in the city as well as carrying out raids and arrests.

Following the defection of al-Kuwaiti, the IS hardline group appointed Abu Huzaifa al-Balijiki as head of Hisba force in the state of Raqqa.

[Snip]

Military sources in Raqqa told ARA News that the escape of al-Kuwaiti was behind a big coup process led by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the IS alderman of Raqqa.

Al-Ansari, aka Abu Luqman, was reportedly fighting in the ranks of al-Nusra Front (Syria’s al-Qaeda branch) before joining the IS and being named as the governor of Raqqa.

“Two weeks ago, Abu Luqman was found dead, but the IS didn’t announce the news of his death or the conditions behind it,” a local source in Raqqa (who spoke on the condition of anonymity) said on Sunday.

The same source reported that al-Ansari (Abu Luqman) was earlier accused of coordinating with Abu Talha al-Kuwaiti to carry out a coup against the leadership of the IS group in eastern Syria.

More here.

One can only hope.

Study Finds Western ISIS Women Are Not Victims They Are As Driven As Male Counterparts

There are at least 550 foreign female jihadists who have made their way to Syria and Iraq, and according to a study these women are not victims, they are just as driven and dangerous as their male counterparts.

Western women who join Islamic State militants are driven by the same ideological passion as many male recruits and should be seen as potentially dangerous cheerleaders, not victims, experts said. A new study out on Wednesday said the estimated 550 women who have travelled to Iraq and Syria are expected to marry, keep house and bear children.

Despite being banned from fighting, the study found they were active propagandists for the cause. “The violent language and dedication to the cause is as strong as we find in some of the men,” said extremism expert Ross Frenett of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, who coauthored the new report. “The worry is that as ISIS (the IS group) loses ground, as everyone hopes it does, that more and more of these women will transfer from the domestic world they’re in now to a more violent one,” he told AFP.

Much has been written about young women going to become “jihadist brides”, but the prevailing narrative of wide-eyed recruits drawn by a sense of excitement belies the importance of their own faith and passions.

Although Frenett and co are monitoring a slew of female jihadists on social media, and there are a plenty- they chose only 12 women living in Syria and Iraq to focus on. They are from the U.K., Canada, France and the Netherlands.

Some of the women endorsed the bloody beheadings carried out by the militants — “I wish I did” it, one said after US journalist Steven Sotloff was killed — as well as railing against Western governments and the suffering of Muslims. “My best friend is my grenade ... It’s an American one too. May Allah allow me to kill their Kanzeer [pig] soldiers with their own weapons,” one said. Crucially, the women also provide advice and encouragement to other women thinking of joining. “They’re actively recruiting women and providing them with assistance advice and referrals to go to ISIS-held territory,” said Frenett.

So, better beware when those women claim they have had enough of ISIS and want to go home.

U.S. Terror Suspect's Niqab-Clad Mom Tells ISIS To "Leave Our Children Alone!"

Remember the Chicago 19-year-old- Mohammed Hamzah Khan - who was caught at the airport last October trying to make his way to Syria to fight with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, along with his 16-year-old bro and 17-year-old sister? Well, an inconsolable mama Khan is really upset at those ISIS dudes for brainwashing Muslim kids to join ISIS, especially after the "unspeakable acts of horror" in Paris last week. So upset, she felt the need to speak her mind- in the courthouse lobby, of course- right after her poor baby pleaded not guilty to attempting to aid and abet a foreign terrorist organization. The guy does face up to 15 years in prison, so a little anti-terrorist rhetoric is opportune.

Zarine Khan, standing next to her husband Shafi, had this to say:

"The venom spewed by these groups and the violence committed by them ... are completely at odds with our Islamic faith." "We condemn the brainwashing and recruiting of children through the use of social media and the Internet."

And this message for ISIS and its appointed Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:

"We have a message for ISIS, Mr. Baghdadi and his fellow social media recruiters," she said, raising her voice. "Leave our children alone!"

But this woman needs to take a good, hard look at herself and her bearded husband for the reasons why her three kids, all of whom lived at home, chose to run away to join join an Islamic terrorist group. She wears a niqab in a Western country. Not even a hijab. A niqab! It covers everything but her eyes. No effort to assimilate and integrate for these Indian-born immigrants and their U.S.-born kids. As devout as the parents are it's not surprising the kids could become so easily radicalized, if they weren't somehow radicalized at home. They claim they had no idea

Mohammed's attorney, Thomas Durkin, says the guy was radicalized online. The letter he left his parents is proof enough, along with the ISIS flag doodles. And his sister posted on her Twitter account @DeathIsVNear a smiley face and a heart in response to an ISIS propaganda video full of   beheadings.  Mohammed still aspires to live in an Islamic Caliphate. Were his parent's that stupid that they had no clue what was going on in their kids' lives?

In December 2014, The Washington Post had an interesting and thorough write-up about the wannabee terrorist siblings,.

Mohammed wasn't the only one who left a letter. The other two did as well.

Mohammed wrote:

“An Islamic State has been established and it is thus obligatory upon every able-bodied male and female to migrate there." “Muslims have been crushed under foot for too long. . . . This nation is openly against Islam and Muslims. . . . I do not want my progeny to be raised in a filthy environment like this.”

Where does a 19-year-old learn to hate the West? From uber religious parents.

Sis wrote:

 “Death is inevitable, and all of the times we enjoyed will not matter as we lay on our death beds. Death is an appointment, and we cannot delay or postpone, and what we did to prepare for our death is what will matter.”

The kids asked the parents to join them and to not tell the police.

When the FBI showed up at their door with a search warrant they were allegedly shocked and "stunned."  In an interview at Durkin's office one day, Zarine insisted:

“What they wrote in those letters is not from us." “Those are not our teachings. That’s not what we believe in. This didn’t even come from our family, friends, neighbors — nobody.”

You won't convince me that it didn't somehow start at home.

"We tried to be the best parents we could,” she said. “That’s all I can say — we tried our best. And they are good kids. This thing came out of the blue. We are still trying to figure it out.”

Tried their best? Obviously not. One child running off, I might believe it, but all three, there's something fundamentally wrong in the way they were raised. They even went to an Islamic school, who knows how they were indoctrinated there.

And then this:

Shafi Khan, who came to Chicago from India almost 30 years ago, and Zarine Khan, who followed her husband 20 years ago, said they consider themselves “average” Muslims, no more or less religious than any of their friends and neighbors in Bolingbrook, Ill., a suburb of about 73,000 people southwest of Chicago.

They try to pray five times a day but said they often don’t. Shafi Khan wears a bushy beard and a white knit skullcap, which he said is an attempt to follow the example of the prophet Muhammad. Zarine Khan covers her head and most of her face, which she considers a sign of modesty, not extreme piety.

Sorry Zarine, but the niqab is a sign of extreme piety and religious fundamentalism, not a sign of modesty.

The Washington Post article inadvertently, or maybe not, points out all the contradictions in how the kids were actually raised and how the parents claim they raised them. It's worth a read.

Younger bro and sis lucked out, they have not been charged, as of yet. They also have a three-year-old girl.

Sources: Al Arabiya, Chicago Sun Times

ISIS Kidnaps Downed Jordanian Pilot

Although a Jordanian military warplane was initially reported as having been downed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in northern Syria, it turns out it actually crashed.  They did, however, capture the pilot.

"During a mission Wednesday morning conducted by several Jordanian Air Force planes against hideouts of the ISIS terrorist organization in the Raqa region, one of the planes went down and the pilot was taken hostage" by ISIS, state news agency Petra quoted a source from the military's general staff as saying.

The official did not say why the plane went down, but both the militants and a monitoring group said it had been shot with an anti-aircraft missile.

“Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life,” the statement added.

The U.S. dismissed Wednesday the claim made by ISIS that it had shot down the F-16.

“Evidence clearly indicates that ISIL did not down the aircraft as the terrorist organization is claiming,” said U.S. Central Command, the body overseeing the coalition air war over Iraq and Syria. 

The U.N.'s Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the kidnapping, as if that means anything to ISIS.

“The secretary noted with concern the news of the downing of a Jordanian plane and of its pilot being taken prisoner,” a statement from the United Nations said.

“He calls on his captors to treat the pilot in accordance with international humanitarian laws.”

As if that will ever happen. More than likely, the pilot will eventually be killed, if the Jordanians don't give whatever it is ISIS might want in exchange.

ISIS has posted photos of the pilot, and his alleged identity: 1st Lt Maaz al-Kassasbeh, born May 29, 1988.

As for the jihadists' allegation that they downed the plane with a heat-seeking missile- they apparently do have some of those, taken from anti-Bashar al-Assad rebels.

Source: Al Arabiya

German Journalist Who Spent Time With ISIS Paints Bleak Picture

74-year-old German journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer was allowed to spend 10 days with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria jihadis in ISIS governed areas of Syria and Iraq, and he doesn't paint a very pretty picture, especially regarding the outcome of the war against the Islamic State (IS), at least the way we're handling it now.

After months of negotiations with the militants on internet telephony provider Skype, German journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer, 74, began his journey to ISIS-held territory through Turkey to the Iraq's second largest city of Mosul, which ISIS conquered in June.

Todenhöfer - who is planning to publish a summary entitled “10 days in the Islamic State” on Monday - claimed that the group is “much stronger and much more dangerous” than the West realizes.

During his time spent in ISIS-held territory, Todenhofer described to German news website Der Tz an atmosphere of “almost ecstatic enthusiasm that I have never encountered in any other warzone,” with “hundreds of willing [foreign] fighters” arriving every day.

The rest here.

Todenhöfer believes airstrikes are pretty much useless in defeating a very strong, determined and dangerous enemy of the Western world.

From his Facebook Page - after his 10 day visit to Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria, he came away with 7 troubling impressions (google translated from German and liberally edited, with comments, by yours truly).

 1) the West has dramatically UNDERESTIMATED the risk and threat of ISIS. IS fighters are much smarter and far more dangerous than our leaders give them credit for. In the 'Islamic State', there is an almost noise-like enthusiasm and confidence in victory as I have yet to experience in war zones. The IS fighters are convinced they can move mountains with their totalitarian beliefs and demonstrative brutality. In Mosul, less than 400 IS fighters fought 25,000 highly equipped Iraqi soldiers and militia. The IS has conquered in a few months, a territory that is larger than Great Britain. In comparison Al- Qaeda is a dwarf.

2.) THE INFLUX OF NEW FIGHTERS TO ISIS IS GROWING EVERY DAY. I spent two days in an IS training camp close to the Turkish border. On both days, each time, about 50 fighters from all over the world arrived. Not just young men, who had failed in their home countries. Many successful, enthusiastic young people from the United States, England, Sweden, Russia, France, Germany, etc. One had just passed his State exam a few weeks before and had been admitted to practice law in court. But he would rather fight in the 'Islamic State'.

3.) THE 'ISLAMIC STATE' SEEMS - AS FAR AS I CAN TELL AFTER 10 DAYS ASSESSMENT- LIKE OTHER TOTALITARIAN STATE FUNCTIONING COUNTRIES OF THE REGION. This is especially true in the area of internal security and the  social welfare sector- even if it doesn't meet our Western standards, and certainly not mine. The Sunni population in the Iraqi part of the 'Islamic State' now seems unopposed to the new State. Because they prefer it to the previously prevailing discrimination and oppression by the Maliki regime in Baghdad. However, only the Sunnis living in Mosul after the escape of all Christians, Shiites and Yazidis, and countless executions.

4.) THE GOAL OF ISIS IS NOT ONLY THE CONQUEST OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND EVENTUALLY THE REST OF THE WORLD, BUT THE LARGEST 'RELIGIOUS CLEANSING' IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. The IS wants- with the exception of the so-called religions of 'the book' (the "IS Islam", Judaism and Christianity) - to kill all non-believers and apostates and to enslave their women and children. All Shiites, Yazidi, Hindus, atheists and polytheists should die. Hundreds of millions of people are to be eliminated in the course of this religious 'cleaning'.
Also all moderate Muslims who believe in democracy, should be killed. Because they follow human laws over the laws of God from the standpoint of the IS. This also applies to - after a successful conquest - the democratically-minded Muslims in the Western world.

The only chance for  'infidels', to escape the death, is voluntary repentance and voluntary conversion to 'True Islam'. Represented by IS only. And only as long as their countries are not captured.
Jews and Christians are tolerated, but must pay a fixed tax of protection [jizya] of several hundred dollars per year. Muslims have to pay the Zakatsteuer [no translation for that], which may be lower for poor Muslims.

I don't need to stress that there was any agreement between me and the IS in any of these points. And that I have made that very clear countless times. [Not sure what he means by that]

5.) FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, ISIS IS A 1 PERCENT MOVEMENT WITH THE EFFECT OF A NUCLEAR TSUNAMI. The Islam IS is preaching, 99 percent of our world's 1.6 billion Muslims reject. As a Christian who has read the Quran several times, it does not make sense to me, what ISIS is teaching about Islam. I got to know above all a merciful Islam while reading the Koran. 113 of 114 Suras begin with the words: "In the name of Allah, the most gracious and most merciful". I felt none of this mercy with the IS.

6) BOMBS AND MISSILES WILL NOT DEFEAT IS. The city of Mosul, for example, is dominated by IS with about 5,000 fighters. To succeed, you would have to bomb the whole of Mosul and reduce it to rubble, which would kill tens of thousands of civilians. Bombings were and always are terrorist breeding programs in the Middle East. See IS! Also IS is the child of George W. Bush's international illegal Iraq war. [Right, blame Bush]

Only the moderate SUNNI Arabs can stop IS, not the West. They have done it once before in 2007. At the time they destroyed the 'Islamic State in the Iraq (ISI), the predecessor organization of the IS. But the former ISI was much weaker than the current IS. [Good luck getting the Arabs to take control] 

The moderate Iraqi Sunnis would oppose the IS but only if they were fully reintegrated into Iraqi society, after they were expelled by the US and Shiite Iraqis in 2003 during the war in Iraq. After that, it does not look at the time. [not sure what that means] Nevertheless, this is the only feasible solution to stop the IS.

In Syria, there are solutions. However, the West would have to correct its totally unrealistic assessment of the situation. It has quite simply gone too far in Syria.

7.) IN THE WEST THERE IS SPECULATION ABOUT TERROR THREATS BY RETURNEE IS FIGHTERS. I can not and will never exclude this risk. Within the 'Islamic State', however, returnees are considered losers "who have not made life in the 'Islamic State'". Therefore, they're probably not the main threat, even though there was a plot by a returnee in Brussels. A greater danger could come from IS sympathizers who have not yet travelled.

No one should down play terrorist threats in Germany. But one should not exaggerate either. After all, in Germany there has never been a German who was killed by Islamists. [not sure if that's true or not] But many German Muslims have been killed by German right-wing extremists. [not sure about that either] Groups such as Pegida provide the facts. The IS,  is interested in an escalation between Muslims and non-Muslims in Germany. The IS has confirmed to me several times.

From my point of view this is the biggest threat to world peace since the cold war. [And here's more blam George Bush] We now pay the price for the attack on Iraq by George W. Bush on Iraq, folly barely to none. 

He's lucky he returned home safe and sound with his head intact.

Life Is "Awesome" Claims Rocker Turned ISIS Recruiter Of Women

Remember 52-year-old Brit Muslim convert, former rocker-turned-jihadi wife Sally Jones, aka Sakinah Hussain? The woman who ran off to join her 20-year-old computer hacker-turned-jihadi hubby in Syria who said she wanted to behead Christians? Well, she's back in the news.

According to an investigative report by the British weekly, the Sunday Times, Jones/Hussain is now involved in recruiting women to travel to Syria to marry and bed all the hordes of jihadis fighting over there. Kind of like a Muslim matchmaker of sorts.  Guess there aren't enough sex slaves to satisfy the militants' lust.

Posing as a 17-year-old girl Aisha, Jones told her that her "sins would be forgotten."

“At the end of the day if you’re Muslim you gave to get out of ul kufr [the land of the disbelievers] to please Allah if you can [sic],” she unsuspectedly told the Sunday Times in a message.

They initially contacted Jones via Twitter, while she still had her account UmmHussainAlBritani 
@UmmHussain101.  As of now, it's suspended.

Aisha, according to the Times, expressed concerns over the true identity of a certain Abu Abbas al-Lubnani, a name provided by Jones who would set up the meeting in which Aisha would receive money to facilitate the travel of two girls to Turkey.

“U have [to] give the bros name to Western Union as the collector. Listen if he’s giving u money to help u make hijrah [holy migration] dw [don’t worry] sis. He needs ur passport pics to check u aint spys or police cos hed get in big trouble if u was so dw ok just meet his brother and get the money,” Jones told the Sunday Times reporters.

According to Jones, who said she did not know Lubnani, girls would often receive the money but would never travel.

Her remarks mirrored those of Lubnani who according to the Times said: “people send money to girls to make hijrah and they take the money but dont come my sis said.”

As for what life will be like living in the land of Sham? It's "awesome." If you like the subservient life.

“Women dont have careers sis under sharia law . . . We are wives we are expected to look after our men.”

"They look after u. U will never want for money again u live a good life here. U need to get married to get a house im just being honest with u but there are loads of men.”

Source Al Arabiya.

ISIS Executes 100 Foreign Jihadi Deserters In Raqqa Syria

It seems that some of the many foreign "Islamic State" fighters who have flocked to Syria are becoming disillusioned and deserting in droves. This is not sitting well with ISIS, so they're executing them. 100 in the latest round. That's 100 returning jihadis their home countries won't have to deal with.

An activist, who was identified by the newspaper as opposed to the Syrian regime and ISIS, confirmed to the FT the execution of the 100 foreign fighters attempting to flee Raqqa, the group’s de facto capital.

After being on the run for months, “frustration” began sweeping among the Islamist militants, the daily said.

Fighters sense a halt to ISIS’ military progress and are witnessing mounting casualties among their ranks, the report added.

“Morale isn’t falling – it’s hit the ground,” an opposition activist from ISIS-controlled areas of in Deir al-Zor told the newspaper.

Morale among the fighters was affected by the group’s shift toward governing areas it controls and because of U.S.-led air strikes halting their advances in Syria and Iraq.

“Local fighters are frustrated – they feel they’re doing most of the work and the dying … foreign fighters who thought they were on an adventure are now exhausted,” the opposition activist told the daily.

ISIS militants have taken desertion so seriously, they've created a military police force "to crack down on fighters who fail to report for duty.”

The activists said the ISIS “police” had raided the homes of several ISIS fighters and arrested many of them.

They also said ISIS militants reportedly need to carry identification documents to indicate if they are fighters and if they are allocated for a certain mission.

Hoping this will deter more foreign fighters from making the trek to Syria and Iraq, but I'm sure the allure of violence and sex slaves is  too strong. Better they're killed over there, I suppose.

More here.

230 People Found In Mass Grave In Syria- Killed By ISIS Jihadists

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights 230 members of the Shaitat tribe were discovered in a mass grave in the Deir Ezzor region of Syria, victims of the Islamic State. So far, since the summer, over 900 have been killed.

The Britain-based group said it had "learned from trusted sources that more than 230 bodies have been found in a mass grave in the desert near Al-Kashkiyeh in the east of Deir Ezzor".

The "vast majority" were civilians, many of them executed in cold blood after the tribe rose up against the Islamic State after it had driven out rival jihadists and rebels from the area.

[snip]

Hundreds more members of the Shaitat tribe are still missing, said the Observatory, which relies on a large network of activists, doctors and military sources on all sides of the Syrian conflict for its reports.

The tribespeople discovered the grave as they returned to their villages from months of displacement after losing their battle against IS.

They have been allowed to return only after agreeing to respect an IS-imposed curfew, as well as a prohibition on gatherings and weapons.

The rest here.

Returning Swiss ISIS Jihadist Gets Community Service No Jail

A Swiss convert to Islam who went to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), claims he was jailed over there when he changed his mind after two weeks training, and wound up back in Switzerland, has been given only 600 hours of community service. No prison for the dude, as per Attorney General Michael Lauber's ruling.

The 30-year-old recent convert to Islam, from the western Swiss canton of Vaud, had travelled to Syria late last year to join an ISIS training camp.

The man, whose name was not given, told the broadcaster he had been indoctrinated over the Internet.

“I was new to Islam... The videos I saw and the discussions I had online made me feel like I had to go there,” he said.

After two weeks in the training camp however, he asked to leave, only to be jailed by the militant group, which held him for 54 days, RTS reported.

The man, who has been cooperating with authorities and claims to have cut all ties with the jihadist group, was sentenced under a Swiss law against taking part in criminal organizations and under a military law against fighting for a foreign army, according to the report.

No mention of how he wound up back in Switzerland. How long he remained in Syria after the 54 days in jail.

Hope they keep tabs on the guy.

French Jihadists Want To Go Home Because Their iPods Don't Work

French ISIS jihadists are getting tired of Syria because their iPods are no longer working, or because they're being forced to perform menial tasks rather than getting some action, or because they don't know how to fight and are being sent to the front lines.

Or so they say.

"I'm fed up. My iPod doesn't work any more here. I have to come back," wrote one Frenchman, complaining about his mission to fight in Syria.

A series of letters from foreign militants seen by Le Figaro newspaper have given a rare glimpse into the lives of the fighters unhappy with their situation, with some begging for advice on how to return home.

Others are unhappy with the duties they have been given to carry out.

"I've basically done nothing except hand out clothes and food," wrote one, who wants to return from Aleppo, according to Le Figaro. "I also help clean weapons and transport dead bodies from the front. Winter's arrived here. It's begun to get really hard."

Another wrote: "I'm fed up. They make me do the washing up."

And another letter revealed how one man is being sent to the frontline, despite his apparent objection.

"They want to send me to the front, but I don't know how to fight."

It could be true- these Western-raised scumbags might be fed up- or it could be a ruse to be allowed to return to France so they can raise hell from the comfort of their homes. 100 have already gone back 76 of those are spending time in jail. There are still 376 or so jihadists from France in Syria.

So their i-Pods don't work. Well, boohoo.  Too bad. If they're not killed in Syria, they should all be jailed upon return.

More here.

ISIS Jihadists Eat Pancakes?

Apparently Islamic State of Iraq and Syria jihadists have time to nosh on pancakes when they're not out there beheading or crucifying innocent people.  Maybe they get a big stack 'o pancakes before they blow themselves up. But jihadi brides now have a recipe for flapjacks to feed to their terrorist hubbies in order to “extend the energy and power of the Mujahideen (fighters).”

The recipe, which can be found online, was posted by al-Zawra- a faction of ISIS which helps “prepare sisters for the battlefield for jihadists.”  Al-Zawra also shares handy tips on how to be a good jihadi bride.

 " [it] uses social media to guide wives of ISIS militants in domestic work such as sewing and cooking, medical first aid, Islam, Sharia law and weaponry."

The recipe, according to Al Arabiya:

One egg
One cup of milk
One tablespoon of oil
One cup of flour
Four tablespoons of sugar
and 4 teaspoons of salt.

Really? 4 teaspoons of salt? Maybe they'll all die from high blood pressure.

They're to be served for breakfast or dinner with honey.

Source: Al Arabiya

Jihadi Poetry- ISIS Jihadists Embrace Their Artistic Side

Some Western Islamic State jihadists fancy themselves poets, and are posting their drek on social media sites. Take Brit Abuqaqa Britani: after being banned by Ask.fm (a bizarre social networking site where he used the moniker "greenbirdexpress") he has taken his stuff to Twitter, where he goes by Abuqaqa Britani Afro.

Abuqaqa (rhymes with a synonym for shit) longs for martyrdom. I told him I hope he gets his wish. Soon. No response. Yet.

One of his so-called poems:

They got planes but Allah is higherShaheed ["martyr"] dead don't be a lier [sic]He just sold his soul and Allah is the buyerFor the kafir ["infidels"] it's hellfire

And apparently it's not just the Brits embracing their artistic side, jihadists from the North Caucuses are also into "jihadi poetry"

Indeed, North Caucasian "jihadi poetry" is so popular that there is a group, Poeziya Dzhikhada ["Poetry of Jihad"] dedicated to it on the Russian social network VKontakte. Poems, some written by jihadis in Russian prisons, are shared via the VKontakte group and also on sites run by Chechen militants in Syria.

Frequent topics in North Caucasian poems about jihad include militants' bravery on the battlefield, death (particularly death on the battlefield), and the need to defend women from the "infidels."

So was Osama Bin Laden.

Go figure.

More on RFE/RL

Dutch Mother Rescues Jihadist Daughter From ISIS

So, Monique, this Dutch mum, treks on over to Raqqa, Syria, to retrieve her Muslim convert daughter Aicha after she traveled there to join ISIS. Aicha allegedly changed her mind, but can you really trust a radicalised Muslim?  I certainly wouldn't.

Both daughter and mum were arrested in Turkey because daughter has no passport.  Mum could also face criminal charges upon her return to Holland, since "provision of assistance" to terrorists is a crime.

Story on Telegraph UK.  

The Kurds of Rojava- Syria's Other Revolution Few Have Heard Of

Documentary filmmaker Mehran Bozorgnia and producer and narrator Darius Bazargan's latest video for BBC's Our World shows a fascinating effort in northern Syria to create a multi-ethnic mini-state by Kurds. It's called Rojava- and includes mainly Kurdish areas near Aleppo, Kobane and Qamishli.

A "representative democracy based on equality, pluralism and self-sufficiency"- where all religions co-exist peacefully, and women have equal rights- is being cobbled together by a bunch of left-wing Kurdish radicals.

These are the people fighting ISIS.

Communism is a flawed system, but if they can make it work, and somehow stabilize that region, God speed.

Tougher Rules For Western Recruits Joining ISIS

According to the newspaper Asharq Alawsat, the Islamic State is afraid of infiltrators from Western intelligence agencies, so they plan on making it a tad harder for Western and foreign jihadists to join their ranks. I wonder if part of that decision had to with the fact that several Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels allegedly infiltrated an ISIS camp, and posing as cooks, poisoned about a dozen ISIS militants. 

But it definitely won't be as easy as it has been in the past.

Western recruits can no longer just show up at the Syrian border and join IS, according to the report. Instead, they need to present proof of identity and a character reference from "at least one sheikh known to [Islamic State] leadership," Islamist leaders in London told Asharq Alawsat.

According to the report, British jihadis already in Syria are providing character references for new recruits.

Outside the United Kingdom, another group, Sharia4Belgium (currently on trial in Belgium on charges of enlisting young men to fight in Syria) is providing endorsements for Islamic State recruits.

No references? They'll run a security check on the recruit.

They also have a bunch of new rules and regulations on how to behave, for those traveling to Syria for the first time, so they don't stand out, including:

Don't dress too conservatively.
No religious books.

However, some of the old rules haven't changed:

Don't tell friends and family.

And then you have jihadists giving advice via Ask.fm forum.

One British Islamic State militant, who calls himself Abu Fariss, answers questions from potential new recruits via his Ask.fm account.

New recruits should bring "warm clothes, good boots, gloves etc" to Syria, he advises.

And regarding character references, Abu Fariss has this to say to one would-be jihadist:

"Aki [brother], I would like to migrate to [IS], will you be my tazkiya [character reference]," he is asked.

"I won't be your tazkiya, however I can help bring you in and [IS] will sort you out. Giving tazkiya is a very big thing," Abu Fariss replies.

Fariss will also chat with wannabees on a private chat service called Kik, when it comes to "sensitive issues" like how to deal with parents when they find out he joined a terrorist group.

"I am scared. I knw my pqrents will be in deep pain and sorrow wht should i do," the potential recruit asked.

Abu Fariss  had this to say about his own experience:

"Some understand, some think what I'm doing is wrong but support my intention...some think I'n completely misguided. You cant always please everyone, so why not please the one worthy of it, Allah."

Source: RFE/RL

Canadian/Israeli Joins Kurds To Fight ISIS In Syria

Another foreigner has joined the Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in northern Syria.  This one is female.

A Canadian-born woman who emigrated to Israel and served in its military has joined Kurdish militants fighting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgents in northern Syria, Israel Radio reported on Monday.

The Canadian foreign affairs ministry would only say, “We are aware of reports that a Canadian individual has joined Kurdish forces.”

The Israel Radio report, which identified the woman as 31 years old and a resident of Tel Aviv, said she had contacted Kurdish fighters over the Internet before traveling through Iraq to train at one of their camps on the Syrian border.

“They are our brothers. They are good people. They love life, a lot like us, really,” she told the radio station.

God speed.

Source: Al Arabiya