The “Islamic state” Since the dramatic proclamation a month ago of the Islamic State, replacing ISIS/ISIL, its control over Sunni eastern Syria and western Iraq has been consolidated but it has not attempted further expansion, for example refraining from attacking Kurdistan.
The Islamic State (ex-ISIL); the outlook Note by WAND: WAND will be taking a short vacation, and will not appear in the coming week, nor part of the following week. We expect to resume on 24 or 25 July.
The Islamic State: Saudi reaction The newly proclaimed Islamic State is a threat to all the neighbours of Syria and Iraq in varying degrees.
Caliph Ibrahim ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) has renamed itself “the Islamic State”, and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been appointed its Caliph.
Inside ISIL ISIL has seized a border post at al-Qaim (where the Euphrates flows from Syria into Iraq), important for its supply lines to Syria, and some small towns further down the Euphrates.
Syria/Iraq The consequences of the establishment of control of Eastern Syria and Western Iraq by ISIL/ISIS (also referred to by its Arabic name Da’ish) are still unclear, with commentators differing widely.
Iraq after Mosul Since our posting of 11 June following the fall of Mosul to ISIL/ISIS (there is a useful BBC profile of ISIL at link) the move to Tikrit and towards Baghdad has continued, but perhaps the most important single event has been that Kurdish forces,
ISIL takes Mosul First we thank British former foreign service officer David Handley for a comment on our posting yesterday on Egypt:
