Hizbullah’s armed involvement in the Syrian conflict since mid-2013 took a new twist this week with reports that Israeli warplanes had bombed targets in territory held by the Syrian government near Damascus on 7 December 2014
The participation of young Saudis in the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts is neither surprising nor an historical accident, writes Madawi Al-Rasheed.
After recent attacks on Saudi Shiites by jihadis returning home from the war in Syria, Paul Aarts asks whether Islamic State’s sectarian war might spill over into Saudi Arabia.
Michael Gunter and Nahro Zagros explain the origins of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), how they have ruthlessly explored the weaknesses of the Syrian and Iraqi states, and why they are proving so difficult to challenge.
Christopher Davidson looks beyond the headlines to ask: what are the broader implications of the attack on Kobane?
Islamic State’s extreme violence cannot be explained away as ‘socially determined’ behaviour. Part of the motivation is the allure of killing itself, writes Simon Cottee.
Turkey is notably reluctant to join a military campaign against ISIS. In fact, Ankara’s ambiguity towards the radical Islamist group has deep political as well as historical roots.
Al-Baghdadi, Caliph of ‘Islamic State’, may benefit from the Gaza impasse – a danger to Israelis and Palestinians alike, writes Jean-Pierre Filiu.
With no mainstream media channel through which to communicate, Islamic State uses extreme acts of violence in order to attract global attention online, writes Lina Khatib.
Was the seizure of Tabaqa Airbase by Islamic State just a part of their overall expansion, or was there another motive at play?
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