(AP-Washington Post) The al-Qaeda splinter group that has seized a huge chunk of northern Iraq commands between 7,000 and 10,000 fighters, according to U.S. intelligence officials. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) used fast-moving pickup trucks mounted with machine guns to capture Mosul and Tikrit - two urban centers in the heartland of northern Iraq's oil industry. The group is led by an Iraqi militant known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. Al-Baghdadi's group also controls much of northern and eastern Syria from its stronghold of Raqqa, where its strict brand of Islamic law holds sway. Christians have to pay an Islamic tax for protection and people are executed in the main square.
2014-06-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive