Eurasia

Lebanon’s political crisis escalated this weekend, with hundreds of civilians wounded in running street battles against security forces. The chaos will increase the Lebanese Hezbollah’s temptation to lash out at Israel to unify the nation against a common enemy.

Officials piece together profile of Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi The new leader of Islamic State has been confirmed as Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi, according to officials from two intelligence services. He is one of the terror group’s founding members and has led the enslavement of Iraq’s …

The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service announced on Sunday that it had arrested of a senior member of the Islamic State in the western city of Fallujah after a terrorist attack by the group killed a soldier and wounded two others at an Iraqi army post in a town south of Kirkuk.

Shifa al-Nima was accused of ordering the destruction of heritage sites in Mosul. He was so fat that after being captured, he had to be put in the back of a truck, next to a mounted machine gun.

Escalating U.S.-Iran tensions mean Afghanistan, which shares a border with Iran, could be the next proxy battleground between Washington and Tehran, a clash that threatens to undermine the Trump administration’s pursuit of a peace deal with the Taliban and eventual drawdown of American troops.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Sunday that they killed a senior Iraqi Islamic State official in Deir al-Zor responsible for sleeper cell attacks against the SDF.

The first Singaporean to be charged with terrorism financing began his trial in a district court on Monday by admitting to giving S$450 (US$330) to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), but claimed trial for his actions because he did not recognise Singapore law.

An ex-member of al-Qaida affiliate Nusra Front has been sentenced to life in prison for involvement in a 2013 massacre of regime forces. Prosecutors have sought to jail war criminals who arrived in Germany as refugees.

ISIS is regrouping and is once more on the rise in the Middle East, King Abdullah of Jordan has warned.

Lebanon’s “parliament, government, president, and all of the other state institutions are nothing more than a façade for players directed by [Hassan] Nasrallah.”