ISIS: Everything You Need to Know (and a Bit More)

wyatt1 Sat Aug 09, 2014 8:32 am

The U.S. opposition to the Islamic State (a jihadi army formerly known as ISIS) finally came to a head last night after President Barack Obama ordered a series of air strikes against the group’s positions near Erbil in the Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq. The goal of this limited bombing campaign appears to be relieving Kurdish troops, helping the Yazidis, a besieged group of religious minorities, and protecting American citizens currently in Erbil.
The air strikes marked the first time the U.S. had taken direct action against ISIS, a hard-line Islamist movement that stretches back roughly a decade. Led by a charismatic former member of Al Qaeda named Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group has long been part of the rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. More recently, ISIS militants have taken over parts of northern and western Iraq and advanced to as close as 12 miles outside Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. In the process, ISIS has killed thousands and implemented a brutal form of medieval-style justice.

ISIS: Everything You Need to Know (and a Bit More) Everything-on-ISIS_011287165662

An Islamist fighter films his fellow militants on June 30 as they march in a parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province.
REUTERS
As ISIS has grown, Vocativ has followed it on the deep web, tracking its movements, its recruitment process, the people who stand against its fighters and the supporters who buy its gear. Here’s a closer look at America’s latest target.
COULD SAUDI ARABIA BE THE NEXT ISIS CONQUEST?
ISIS: WE ARE OPERATING IN GAZA
TRACKSUITS AND TRICYCLES: THE WEIRD WORLD OF ISIS-BRANDED MERCHANDISE
ISIS TRIES TO OUTWIT SOCIAL NETWORKS
DID “SUPERPOWER” TURKEY UNDERESTIMATE ISIS?
ISIS SEIZES U.S. WEAPONS IN IRAQ
KNIGHTS OF ANGER: BAGHDAD’S MILITIAS ARE READY FOR WAR WITH ISIS
CLAIMS OF DEATH, TORTURE AND ABUSE INSIDE ISIS PRISONS
GUN-TOTING TODDLER AN ISIS PROPAGANDA ICON
ISIS TO FIFA: CANCEL THE WORLD CUP OR WE’LL BOMB IT
KUWAITIS WORRY THAT THEY’RE NEXT IN LINE FOR AN ISIS INVASION
ISIS IS LITERALLY CRUCIFYING ITS ENEMIES
COULD BITCOIN FUND ISIS FIGHTERS?
ONE ISIS RECRUIT’S JOURNEY, AS TOLD THROUGH HIS FACEBOOK PAGE
NOW AVAILABLE IN THE ANDROID STORE: AN APP FOR TERRORISTS
THE MIDDLE EAST’S NEWEST KINGMAKERS FIGHT ISIS
MEET THE 75-YEAR-OLD JIHADI GRANDFATHER
I’VE BEEN A JIHADI FOR 40 YEARS
CAN THESE REGULAR DUDES DEFEND BAGHDAD FROM ISIS?
EXCLUSIVE: CONVERSATIONS WITH A SELF-PROFESSED JIHADI

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http://www.vocativ.com/world/iraq-world/isis-2/

Demented Scum.