Why Do Victims In Islamic State Beheading Videos Look Calm Before Being Executed?

Washington Post: Why did victims in Islamic State beheading videos look so calm? They didn’t know it was real.

For all their stage-managed professionalism, the videos of killings released by the Islamic State have often left viewers confused about the exact circumstances of what was being shown in the video. Their videos of beheadings, for instance, do not show the act itself, which initially led some to speculate that they may have been faked.

More unnervingly, there was also the calm with which many hostages spoke to the camera. Why would hostages comply with Islamic State propaganda, if they knew that it would result in their death? Some even suggested that perhaps the hostages had struck a deal with their captors for a more humane death.

WNU Editor: The above SKY interview is disturbing in everywhere.

More News On Reports Detailing Why Victims In Islamic State Beheading Videos Look Calm Before Being Executed

IS Hostages Subjected To Execution Rehearsals -- SKY News
What We Have Learned From IS Defector 'Saleh' -- SKY News
Islamic State holds mock executions, then surprises hostages with real beheading -- Washington Times
Islamic State's mock executions: Why the victims in the beheading videos look so calm -- Sydney Morning Herald
Report: Islamic State hostages are forced to rehearse their own executions -- Washington Post
IS hostages forced to 'rehearse' for executions -- 7 News
Isis tricked victims into appearing calm with beheading rehearsals -- The Guardian
ISIS Hostages Calmed By Rehearsals And Guarantees Of Safety, Moments Before Murder -- Inquisitr
Isis: Jihadi John staged mock executions to calm hostages for camera reveals IS defector -- IBTimes

The Children Who Fight For The Islamic State (Video)

More Atrocities Form The Islamic State

Barbarity: Eight men were found hanging from their feet in the Iraqi city of Hawija in the militants' latest public display of death

Daily Mail: Welcome to Hell: ISIS hang bodies of 'soldiers' from entrance to the city where Syrian troops were paraded through streets in cages

* WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
* The gruesome scene believed to be from the northern-Iraqi city of Hawija
* One man pictured next to the bodies appears to be notorious ISIS fighter
* Abu al-Rahman has been seen alongside the heads of decapitated Syrians
* Caged Syrian soldiers were mercilessly paraded through that same city
* ISIS are preparing to move headquarters there from stronghold in Mosul
* US is currently training Iraqi soldiers to retake Iraq's second largest city

Eight dead bodies hang from a metal frame in the Iraq's Kirkuk province in Islamic State's latest public display of barbarity.

The gruesome images which emerged on social media show the men's limp bodies suspended from their feet off a tall structure in the town of Hawija.

WNU Editor: I am surprised that soldiers fighting against the Islamic State are still surrendering .... the Islamic State does not keep prisoners .... they execute them .... a fact that they keep on promoting in social media and elsewhere.

Iraq Government: Islamic State Has Destroyed The Ancient Assyrian City Of Nimrud

CNN: ISIS bulldozes ruins ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud, Iraqi TV says

(CNN)ISIS has again destroyed cultural treasures, this time bulldozing the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, state-run media said Thursday.

The extent of the destruction wasn't immediately revealed, according to Iraq's state broadcaster Iraqiya TV, which cited the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism.

Nimrud was a city in the Assyrian kingdom, which flourished between 900 B.C. and 612 B.C. The archaeological site is located south of Mosul in northern Iraq.

WNU Editor: 3,000 years of history .... gone.

More News On The Islamic State Destroying The Ancient Assyrian City Of Nimrud

Islamic State: Ancient Nimrud ruins 'bulldozed' in Iraq -- BBC
IS group ‘bulldozes’ ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud -- AFP
Baghdad Says IS Militants Bulldoze Ancient Assyrian Ruins Of Nimrud -- Radio Free Europe
Islamic State extremists bulldoze ancient Nimrud site near Mosul -- The Guardian
Islamic State Militants ‘Bulldoze’ Ancient Nimrud Archaeological Site -- WSJ
ISIS Attacks a Major Archaeological Site in Iraq -- New York Times
Islamic State bulldozes ancient city of Nimrud, Iraqi officials say -- UPI

New Islamic State Fatwa Now Allows Organ Transplantation From Non-Believers

Militant Islamist fighters parade on military vehicles along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. (Reuters)

Sputnik: New ISIL Sharia Rules Allow Organ Transplantation From Non-Believers

Islamic State (ISIL) Sharia rules allow the organ transplantation from non-believers, according to translated normative documents (fatwas) of Sunni Islamists.

MOSCOW, March 4 (Sputnik) — Islamic State (ISIL) Sharia rules imposed on those living in ISIL-controlled areas now allow for organ transplantation from non-believers, the Jihadica portal, which publishes normative documents of Sunni Islamists translated from Arabic into English, reported.

In February, the IS Sharia Council allegedly headed by 30-year-old Bahrani scholar Turki al-Bin’ali issued a set of more than 70 official fatwas addressed to ISIL residents.

WNU Editor: It gets even better .... ISIL Trades in Kurds’ Bodies, Prices Start at $10,000 (Al-Manar).

A Look At Who Are The Foreign Fighters Who Have Flocked To Join The Islamic State

CNN: The names: Who has been recruited to ISIS from the West

(CNN)More than 20,000 foreigners have flocked to fight for ISIS, the radical Sunni group that controls portions of Iraq and Syria.

They hail from 90 countries, and an estimated 3,400 fighters come from Western states, according to Nicholas Rasmussen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

Those are the numbers -- estimates, of course.

But who is actually going? What are their names? What do they look like, where are they from and -- perhaps most importantly -- why are they going?

These are some of the individuals we know have traveled or tried to join ISIS.

WNU Editor: And it's growth continues .... The Islamic State: The beast keeps growing (USA Today).

Video Emerges Showing Islamic State Fighters Destroying 3,00 Year-Old Artifacts In Mass Destruction Of Iraqi Historical Antiquities

Daily Mail: ISIS thugs take a hammer to civilisation: Priceless 3,000-year-old artworks smashed to pieces in minutes as militants destroy Mosul museum

Extremists used power drills and sledgehammers to smash ancient items
They wrecked a series of 3,000-year-old statues at museum in Mosul, Iraq
One vandal says items being destroyed because they promoted idolatry
Comes after thugs destroyed thousands of books at Mosul Public Library

More News On Emerging Videos Showing Islamic State Fighters Destroying Iraq's Historical Artifacts

Islamic State 'destroys ancient Iraq statues in Mosul' -- BBC
New ISIS video shows militants smashing ancient Iraq artifacts -- New York Daily News/AP
IS Militants Smash Ancient Iraqi Artifacts To Dust In New Video -- Radio Free Europe
Islamic State video shows militants smashing priceless Iraq treasures -- The Telegraph
Islamic State Video Shows Militants Destroying Museum Artifacts in Iraq -- WSJ
Islamic State fighters destroy Iraq antiquities -- USA Today
ISIS Releases Video Showing Destruction of Priceless Artifacts -- Slate
ISIS destroys ancient artifacts in new video -- Mashable
ISIS Militants Storm Museum and Smash 3,000 Year Old Assyrian Sculptures on Video -- ArtNet

'Jihadi John' In ISIS Videos Identified

Reuters: 'Jihadi John' from Islamic State beheading videos unmasked as Londoner

(Reuters) - Investigators believe that the "Jihadi John" masked fighter who fronted Islamic State beheading videos is a British man named Mohammed Emwazi, two U.S. government sources said on Thursday.

He was born in Kuwait and comes from a prosperous family in London, where he grew up and graduated with a computer programming degree, according to the Washington Post.

In videos released by Islamic State (IS), the black-clad militant brandishing a knife and speaking with an English accent appears to have decapitated hostages including Americans, Britons and Syrians.

WNU Editor: He comes from a very affluent family .... so poverty is not the reason why he joined the Islamic State.

More News On Who Is 'Jihadi John'

‘Jihadi John’: Islamic State killer is identified as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi -- Washington Post
'Jihadi John': Reaction as militant named as Mohammed Emwazi -- BBC
Masked ISIS Executioner Is Identified -- Time
How did he slip through the net? Police and security services spoke to Jihadi John three times in one year and put him on a terror watch list before he fled to join ISIS -- Daily Mail
Muslim group: 'Jihadi John' resembles man who grew up in UK -- AP
‘Jihadi John’ From ISIS Videos Is Identified as Mohammed Emwazi of London -- NYT
Islamic State's 'Jihadi John' Identified by The Washington Post -- Bloomberg
Identity of ISIS terrorist known as 'Jihadi John' reportedly revealed -- FOX News
Media outlets identify 'Jihadi John' -- Al Jazeera
Islamic State: 'Jihadi John''s background typical yet distinct -- BBC
Islamic State: Profile of Mohammed Emwazi aka 'Jihadi John' -- BBC
'Jihadi John': Reaction as militant named as Mohammed Emwazi -- BBC

Islamic State Book Burnings Continue. Mosul Library Destroyed

Central Library of Mosul (Photo: courtesy of the Library Website)

Daily Mail: ISIS burn 10,000 books and more than 700 rare manuscripts as they destroy library in Mosul in latest attack on civilisation and culture

* Extremists used improvised explosive devices to blow up Mosul library
* Presumed destroyed are its significant collection of Iraqi newspapers
* Maps and books from the Ottoman Empire have also been burned
* Isis said it will kill anyone privately hoarding books or manuscripts


WNU Editor: This announcement from UNESCO sums it up perfectly .... UNESCO has called the destruction of libraries and books in Mosul 'one of the most devastating acts of destruction of library collections in human history.'

More News On The Destruction Of The Mosul Library

Isis burns thousands of rare books and manuscripts from Mosul's libraries -- The Independent
ISIS Reportedly Holding Public Book Burnings In Streets -- CBS/AP
IS group blows up one of oldest libraries in Iraq -- Ahram Online
ISIS burns more than 8,000 rare books in Mosul -- FOX News
ISIS burning (and looting?) priceless books -- CBS/AP
ISIS Burns 8000 Rare Books and Manuscripts in Mosul -- Fiscal Times
Islamic State destroys 8,000 rare books and ancient manuscripts in Iraq -- DNA Inida
ISIS Burns Mosul Library in Iraq, Destroys Thousands of Valuable Manuscripts and Books -- Global Voices Online
8,000 Books Burned by ISIS in Massive Iraqi Libricide -- ArtNet
ISIS burns Mosul library: Why terrorists target books -- Husna Haq, CSM

New Islamic State Video Shows Young Children Being Trained To Be Fighters

Radio Free Europe: New IS Video Shows Raqqa Training Camp For Young Children

A new video released by the Islamic State (IS) group shows a group of young children participating in a military training camp in Raqqa, Syria.

The nine-minute video, which was shared on social media on February 22, is titled Al Farouq Training Camp for Cubs, a term used by militants to describe young "jihadis" and which is a reference from the militants' use of the word "lions" to refer to themselves.

More News On The Newest Islamic State Video That Shows Young Children Being Trained To Be Fighters

Islamic State video shows child soldiers as young as five -- News.com.au
Rise of the mini-jihadis: ISIS releases chilling video showing children as young as FIVE being trained for battle in Syrian terror training camp for ‘cubs’ -- Daily Mail
ISIS‘ English-language schools teach jihadi children to ‘blend in’ -- New York Post
Islamic State video shows training of children as young as 5 -- Washington Times
ISIS Open English-Language Schools in Caliphate Capital -- Newsweek
ISIS seeks to attract more foreign fighters among its ranks in Syria by opening two English-speaking schools for their children -- Daily Mail
ISIS opens English-language schools in Syria’s Raqqa: report -- Al Arabiya
‘ISIS opening English-speaking schools disturbing. Will they teach twisted Islamic ideology?’ -- RT
ISIL Opens Two English-Language Schools in Raqqa -- Sputnik
Daesh opens English-language schools for foreign fighters' children -- Al Bawaba
Video: Inside An ISIS Training Camp For Boys -- Vocativ

New Map Shows The Terrifying Rise Of The Islamic State

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Growth of terror: Since its formation as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in 2013 - it has conquered regions of Iraq, Syria and recently Libya - while building support among marginalised Muslims in Turkey, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt's Sinai Province, Afghanistan, Tunisia and Algeria

Daily Mail: The terrifying rise of ISIS: Map that shows how terror group's tentacles now reach from Algeria to Afghanistan

* ISIS began as Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2004 and militants had just 1,000 soldiers, but it has grown to more than 30,000
* Reach of ISIS now spans Middle East and northern Africa, with only the Mediterranean sea separating from Europe
* Terrorist groups around the world now pledging allegiance to Islamic State as groups seize destabilised countries
* Experts say ISIS' control in Libya could create potential 'disaster scenario' and coalition airstrikes are fueling the militants' manipulative propaganda
* ISIS has 31,500 loyal fighters according to CIA but estimates place this far higher at around 200,000 militants

WNU Editor: And the worrying part is that they do not want to slow down.

Private donors From The Gulf Oil States Continue To Help Bankroll The Islamic State

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Patrick Cockburn, The Independent: Private donors from Gulf oil states helping to bankroll salaries of up to 100,000 Isis fighters

Exclusive: In Irbil, Patrick Cockburn hears from a Kurdish official how Gulf oil cash is shoring up the terrorists, and why this, with a divided enemy, suggests a long war ahead

Islamic State is still receiving significant financial support from Arab sympathisers outside Iraq and Syria, enabling it to expand its war effort, says a senior Kurdish official.

The US has being trying to stop such private donors in the Gulf oil states sending to Islamic State (Isis) funds that help pay the salaries of fighters who may number well over 100,000.

WNU Editor: The Islamic State also has other sources of income to sustain its war effort .... How ISIS is funded by black-market oil trading, illegal drugs and internet cafes (Daily Mail)

The Islamic State Bans Drum Kits

Daily Mail: Now Libya’s ISIS extremist attack music as they burn ‘un-Islamic’ drums in the desert

* Group published pictures of fighters watching a pyre of drums burning
* Release statement claiming destroyed because instruments are 'unIslamic'
* Images are the latest move in a propaganda war fought by ISIS in Libya
* Came back into the international spotlight after beheading 21 Christians
* Have also released pictures boasting about its fleet of vehicles

Update: ISIS Burns Musical Instruments: Islamic State Fighters In Libya Call Drums ‘Un-Islamic’ -- IBTimes

WNU Editor: As I have said before .... nothing about this group surprises me anymore.

Is The Islamic State Harvesting Organs For Money?

Daily Mail: UN urged to investigate ISIS's bloody trade in human organs after Iraqi ambassador reveals doctors are being executed for not harvesting body parts

* Iraqi ambassador says corpses are being found with missing body parts
* Victims have been found in mass graves close to ISIS stronghold Mosul
* Mohamed Alhakim says doctors are killed if they refuse to harvest organs
* Horrifying trade in human organs is boosting ISIS' $2 million-a-day income

WNU Editor: There is no proof that they are doing this .... but then again .... nothing about this group surprises me anymore.

More News On Reports That The Islamic State Is Harvesting Organs For Money

United Nations investigates claim of ISIS organ theft -- CNN
ISIS Accused Of Harvesting Human Organs To Finance Reign Of Terror -- AP
Daesh could be trafficking human organs in Iraq: UN envoy -- Al Bawaba
ISIS is suspected of selling human organs for money in Iraq -- New York Daily News
Iraq's UN Ambassador Accuses Islamic State of Harvesting Organs -- Vice

How Many Fighters Are In The Islamic State Army?

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, War On The Rocks: How Many Fighters Does the Islamic State Really Have?

Estimates of the number of fighters in the ranks of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are extraordinarily wide-ranging. On the low end of things, CNN’s Barbara Starr recently reported that “U.S. intelligence estimates that ISIL has a total force of somewhere between 9,000 to 18,000 fighters.” In late 2014, the CIA’s estimate of ISIL’s numbers was slightly higher, as its analysts assessed that the group had between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters between its Iraq and Syria holdings.

Previous Post: U.S. Intelligence: Thousands Of Foreign Fighters Continue To Flock To Syria And Iraq To Join The Islamic State

WNU Editor: I do not know how many fighters there are in the Islamic State .... but I do know this. In the past year Hezbollah, Free Syrian Army, the Syrian army, the Kurdish army, the Iraqi army, Iranian advisers and volunteers, a U.S. led coalition that has conducted thousands of air strikes .... all of these organizations have launched multiple attacks targeting the Islamic State .... but the Islamic state is still standing, they are still waging war, and they are consolidating their territories. A rag-tag groups of guys who decided to get together a wage Jihad .... I doubt it. There is more to this story than what we know.

U.S. Intelligence: Thousands Of Foreign Fighters Continue To Flock To Syria And Iraq To Join The Islamic State

Smoke rises from behind an Islamic State flag in Sadiya, Iraq. On Wednesday, U.S. counterterrorism officials plan to tell a U.S. House committee that the number of foreign fighters traveling to Syria to join that country’s civil war is increasing despite months of bombardment. Photo: Reuters

Reuters: Foreign fighters still flowing to Syria, U.S. intelligence says

(Reuters) - The number of foreign fighters traveling to join the Islamic State or rival militant groups in Syria is continuing to grow, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official will tell a congressional hearing on Wednesday.

WNU Editor: This is probably the largest convergence of Islamist terrorists that the world has ever seen .... and it is not slowing down.

More News On Foreign Fighters Continuing To Travel To Iraq And Syria To Join The Islamic State

20,000 foreign fighters flock to Syria, Iraq -- AP
20,000 foreign fighters head to Syria: US -- AFP
More Foreign Fighters Traveling to Syria to Join Civil War -- Wall Street Journal
150 Americans joined flood of 20K Islamic State recruits, intelligence officials say -- Washington Times
Foreigners Continue to Join Islamic State, Similar Groups, US Says -- VOA

Foreign Recruits To The Islamic State Are Given A Choice: Fight Or Die

AP: Foreign Recruits a Choice: Fight or Die

WNU Editor: They are still gaining foreign recruits, and for the local Sunni populations in Syria and Iraq their options are even more limited .... join the Islamic State or cooperate with the Shiite dominated governments in Damascus and Baghdad who have shown themselves to be just as brutal as the Islamic State.

Islamic State Takes Credit For UN Food Distribution Program

Images showed people gathered around and picking up boxes of food aid marked with the black and white flag of ISIS. (Photo courtesy: Twitter)

Reuters: WFP alarmed by pictures of ISIS logos on its Syria food parcels

WNU Editor: The sad thing is that this PR move on the part of the Islamic State is very effective. And while they like to show-off that they are distributing food .... you have to wonder how much of this food aid is being used by the Islamic State fighters themselves.

More News on Reports That The Islamic State Is Taking Credit For The UN Food Distribution Program

U.N. ‘alarmed’ by photos of is labels on its Syria food aid -- Al Arabiya/AFP
UN Alarmed By Islamic State Logo On Food Parcels -- Radio Free Europe
Islamic State: UN alarmed by 'IS logo' on food aid -- BBC
UN alarmed by 'IS logo' on WFP food aid -- IANS
UN Worried as ISIS Distributes 'Stolen' WFP Food Parcels with Islamic State Labels -- IBTimes
Photos suggest ISIS rebranding U.N. food aid -- Al Arabiya

The Islamic State And Al Qaeda Are Now Focusing On 'Soft Targets'

FOX News: Terrorists' 'soft-target' strategy puts anyone -- and everyone -- in danger

WNU Editor: These terror groups have always focused on 'soft targets' .... nothing new here.

Is The Islamic State Facing A 'Manpower Shortage'?

ISIS fighters have made significant territorial gains in Iraq and Syria, but military experts say the group is losing soldiers in battle and is having trouble replacing them.

Andre Mayer, CBC News: ISIS getting 'desperate,' struggling to replenish fighters

WNU Editor: For an organization that is suppose to be suffering a manpower shortage .... it has certainly not stopped them from gaining new recruits and escalating their attacks in both Iraq and Syria.