Islamic State

Retaliating For Killings, Egypt Launches Airstrikes Against ISIS In Libya

2:42pm February 16, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

On Sunday, the Islamic State released a video that purported to show the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians who had been kidnapped. Libya joined Egypt in the strikes.

Before ISIS attacked it, the northern Iraqi town of Snuny had a population of nearly 150,000 — a mix of Kurdish Muslims and Yazidis, who belong to a religious ethnic minority in this region. Only about 10,000 have returned after Kurdish fighters reclaim

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ISIS May Be Gone, But Life Has Yet To Return To Normal In Northern Iraq

12:49pm February 15, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

The remote town of Snuny was recently liberated from ISIS. But aside from Kurdish and Yazidi militia men, very few people have ventured back. There are no services, and the ISIS threat is still real.

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'Do Not Fear For Me': Remembering Kayla Mueller With Her Own Words

10:15am February 14, 2015

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon remembers Kayla Mueller by reading from a letter she sent her family in the spring of 2014. She died while being held captive by the group that calls itself the Islamic State.

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The temple of Sharfadin in Northern Iraq is 800 years old, and followers of the Yazidi religion consider it one of the most sacred sites in the world. Though ISIS tried to destroy it, a small group of Yazidi fighters kept the shrine standing.

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Outmanned And Outgunned, Fighters Defend Yazidi Shrine Against ISIS

9:08pm February 13, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

Led by a celebrated Yazidi fighter, a small band of Kurdish peshmerga survived a months-long ISIS onslaught. Unlike others in Syria and Iraq, this sacred place still stands, nearly unscathed.

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President Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, announces he has asked Congress for a war powers resolution against ISIS.

Obama: War Powers Resolution Does Not Signal New Ground War For U.S.

5:51pm February 11, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

President Obama defended a limited three-year resolution saying the country is not benefited "by being on a perpetual war footing."

Members of the family of Kayla Mueller, 26, have confirmed that their daughter has died. She had been held captive since being taken prisoner in 2013 while doing humanitarian work in Syria.

Family Confirms U.S. Hostage Kayla Mueller Dead

4:24pm February 10, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

In a statement, her family said they had received information the 26-year-old was dead. Mueller, who was captured in August 2013, was a prisoner of the self-described Islamic State when she died.

White House Says There's At Least One Other American Hostage Held In Syria

2:12pm February 10, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

White House spokesman Joshua Earnest would not say if the hostage was being held by the Islamic State, but he said that the U.S. was aware of at least one other American being held in Syria.

UAE To Resume Anti-ISIS Airstrikes 'In Solidarity With Jordan'

3:32pm February 07, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The United Arab Emirates had suspended sorties against the self-declared Islamic State over concerns that its pilots wouldn't be rescued if shot down.

Smoke rises behind an Islamic State flag after a Nov. 24, 2014, battle with Iraqi security forces in Diyala province.

World News

All-Female Jihadi Group Delivers Guide To Life Under Islamic State

4:37pm February 05, 2015

by Jackie Northam

A manifesto posted online by the al-Khanssaa Brigade paints an idyllic picture of life for women and says "there is no greater responsibility for a woman than being a wife to her husband."

ISIS Is Killing, Torturing, Using Children As Suicide Bombers, Says U.N. Report

2:55pm February 05, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said it's reviewed reports of the mass execution of boys and of beheadings, crucifixions and the burying of children alive.