ISIL/ISIS General Discussion Thread

Solncepek wrote:

Islamic State is training militants from Russia in Afghanistan as part of its efforts to expand into Central Asia, a senior Russian diplomat told a security conference in Moscow. He added that US and UK passport holders are among the instructors.

“There are several camps operated by [Islamic State, previously ISIS/ISIL, in Afghanistan] that train people from Central Asia and some regions of Russia. They speak Russian there,” said Zamir Kabulov, President Putin’s special representative for Afghanistan.

He added that there is a wide national variety of instructors in those camps. There are Arabs, Pakistanis and even people with US and British citizenship, he said.

Russian intelligence estimates the number of militants in Afghanistan who have pledged allegiance to the Syria- and Iraq-based Islamic State, at 3,500, Kabulov said, and the number is rising.

“The rise of [Islamic State] in Afghanistan is a high-priority threat. Just think about it: [ISIS] showed up in Afghanistan for real just a year ago, and now it has 3,500 fighters plus supporters who may be recruited into the ranks of the militants,” he said.

Overall, there are some 50,000 fighters belonging to more than 4,000 militant groups in Afghanistan, said Army General Valery Gerasimov, who heads the Russian General Staff. He was addressing the same conference in Moscow, which is discussing the security situation in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban is by far the strongest militant movement in the country, with some 40,000 fighters in their ranks.

But their dominant position is being challenged by Islamic State, which sees Afghanistan as a recruiting ground, a source of income and a foothold for further expansion over Central Asia, reported Colonel General Igor Sergun, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Russia’s military intelligence agency.

“ISIL [a former name for Islamic State, along with ISIS] uses the worsening of the situation in Afghanistan to strengthen its position,” he said, adding that such development poses a real threat to Russia’s security.

“We estimate that ISIL gets new troops by bribing field commanders of Taliban, the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan and other radical religious organizations operating on Afghan territory,” Sergun said.

Russia believes that if Islamic State is allowed to grow in Afghanistan unchecked, the group could spread its influence north toward Russia and east to China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the general said. There the jihadists would be recruiting people from national minorities and local terrorist organizations.

The Afghan government in Kabul is unable to turn the tables on the militants, despite having superior weapons and numbers, Sergun said. He blamed poor planning skills of Afghan commanders and bad training of their troops for it.

On the other hand, Afghan tribal society resists ISIS’s ideology, which makes the terrorist group’s effort to gain support somewhat more difficult, the general said.

“The will to fight for ISIL in most cases comes from financial interest. But at the same time, the ISIL message is spreading quickly among the educated youth who have access to the internet and other media that is spreading the radical version of Islam,” Sergun warned.

Islamic State is targeting radical fighters in Afghanistan who are falling for ISIS propaganda, accusing Taliban leaders of abandoning the fight against the United States and the government in Kabul, Sergun reported. This year alone clashes between the Taliban and ISIS have claimed an estimated total of 900 lives on both sides, he added.

Stealthflanker wrote:So..we know that ISIS occupied numbers of Oil field and Oil refineries across Syria and Iraq.. and smuggling oil for revenue.

I wonder if there is any effort to block or sever this financial line ?

George1 wrote:

no because some countries are benefited buying oil from them in low prices..

Stealthflanker wrote:

George1 wrote:

no because some countries are benefited buying oil from them in low prices..

and these countries are ?

no wonder US and other Nation's attack seems to no avail... As long as there's still money flow... ISIS can still buy weapons and recruits troops.

If Russia got real commitment to kill ISIS... better cut down those financial line. Otherwise it would be a very long and exhaustive war for Russia.

Stealthflanker wrote:

George1 wrote:

no because some countries are benefited buying oil from them in low prices..

and these countries are ?

no wonder US and other Nation's attack seems to no avail... As long as there's still money flow... ISIS can still buy weapons and recruits troops.

If Russia got real commitment to kill ISIS... better cut down those financial line. Otherwise it would be a very long and exhaustive war for Russia.

Militarov wrote:

Apparently Turkey is major one, they smuggle oil in double hulled trucks, just to hide it from being too obvious and Turkish border guard and army do not really care they are letting them drive by.

Stealthflanker wrote:

Militarov wrote:

Apparently Turkey is major one, they smuggle oil in double hulled trucks, just to hide it from being too obvious and Turkish border guard and army do not really care they are letting them drive by.

Oh F.... So Turks Openly support FSA AND Indirectly support ISIS by buying their oil...

I wonder if US did anything to stop the flow of Illegal oil there..

Walther von Oldenburg wrote:Q: Why are there so many ex-Saddam officers in IS? Does the world offer too few ideologies that out of all possibilities they choose Jihadi Islamism? Couldn't they choose liberal democracy or even communism instead?

sheytanelkebir wrote:This question is interesting.

It all started in 1991 just after the Gulf War Saddam recoiled from the double whammy of the "arab world" fighting against Iraq in the Gulf War as well as the Southern Iraqi Shia uprising against his regime...

His solution?

Abandon "Pan Arabism" - since the arabs betrayed him
Abandon "Iraqi Nationalism" - Since the Shias betrayed him

The only thing left was "Sunni Islam".

Hence the birth of the "Faith Campaign" which raged throughout the 1990s until 2003.

Initially people thought it was a "superficial" campaign by Saddam... build mosques, add "allah akbar" to the flag, ban Bars (but not alcohol!) and impose death sentence on prostitution...

But it seems that whether it was planned, or by accident... a great number of Saddam's officers were drawn into this islamism... and after the fall of the regime in 2003 it was an easy "leap of faith" for them to get into wahhabism... Something that would have been "unthinkable" in the 1970s or 1980s.

magnumcromagnon wrote:Powerful, haunting, prophetic message from the Late Gaddaffi:

Cyberspec wrote:

magnumcromagnon wrote:Powerful, haunting, prophetic message from the Late Gaddaffi:

Some just have to learn the hard way...

Check this out...

Cocaine-crazed Saudi royal 'threatened to kill Los Angeles mansion staff who watched him being pleasured by male aide

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3281354/I-prince-want-Saudi-royal-Prince-Majed-bin-Abdullah-bin-Abdulaziz-Al-Saud-accused-cocaine-fueled-rage-threatened-kill-Los-Angeles-mansion-staff-watched-pleasured-male-aide.html#ixzz3pR4mh6wt