Surviving hostage relates ordeal in Islamic State captivity
March 31, 2022 GMTALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Federico Motka's abductors greeted him in English after he and his colleagues were kidnapped near a refugee camp on the Turkish border: “Welcome to Syria, you mutt.”
For the Italian aid worker, it was the beginning of 14 months of brutality at the hands of the Islamic State.
IS leader stayed hidden as he rebuilt his group from defeat
February 3, 2022 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The leader of the Islamic State group, killed in a U.S. raid overnight in northwest Syria, was a veteran insider and top ideologue of the extremist movement, believed to have played a key role in one of its most horrific atrocities: the enslavement of thousands of women from Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority.
Iraq says it has arrested top leader in Islamic State group
October 11, 2021 GMTBAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq said on Monday it has detained a top leader of the Islamic State group and a longtime al-Qaida operative in a cross-border operation.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi tweeted the news, identifying the man as Sami Jasim, who oversees the Islamic State group’s financial operations and served as the deputy leader of IS under the late Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Turkish police say top Islamic State group figure captured
May 2, 2021 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — A close aide of killed Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been caught in Istanbul, police said Sunday...
The Latest: Trump meets troops involved in al-Baghdadi raid
October 30, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the presidential campaign (all times local):
Painting honors slain Arizona aid worker
October 8, 2020 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Republican leaders joined the family of Kayla Mueller Thursday to unveil a painting honoring the humanitarian worker from Prescott who was kidnapped in Syria, held captive and killed...
Building a genocide case for IS crimes against Yazidis
May 21, 2020 GMTQASR AL-MIHRAB, Iraq (AP) — It was clear he was in charge when he entered the wedding hall-turned-slave pen in the Iraqi city of Mosul, where dozens of Yazidi women and girls huddled on the floor, newly abducted by Islamic State militants.
Conan the dog gets hero’s welcome at White House after raid
November 25, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military dog that played a starring role in the raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi seemed oblivious to the praise that President Donald Trump heaped on it Monday at the White House...
Erdogan: Turkey captures slain IS leader al-Baghdadi’s wife
November 6, 2019 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has captured a wife of the slain leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday...
Turkey says it captured slain IS leader’s sister in Syria
November 5, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Turkey captured the elder sister of the slain leader of the Islamic State group in northwestern Syria on Monday, according to a senior Turkish official, who called the arrest an intelligence "gold mine...
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
November 1, 2019 GMTA roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media...
Trump claim to Syrian oil raises many questions
November 1, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — By claiming a right to Syria's oil, President Donald Trump has added more complexity — as well as additional U...
Early and pricey: Trump’s World Series ad an expensive pitch
October 31, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's campaign delivered a brushback pitch during the final game of the World Series with an in-your-face national TV ad more than a year before the 2020 election...
Islamic State group announces successor to al-Baghdadi
October 31, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group declared a new leader Thursday after it confirmed the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi days earlier in a U...
Pentagon releases new details on al-Baghdadi raid
October 31, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The general who oversaw the U.S. raid on Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi provided the most detailed account yet of the operation and said the U...
2020 Democrats commend troops, not Trump, for Syria raid
October 28, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidates are heaping praise on U.S. military forces who pulled off the
IS victims see satisfaction but no closure in leader’s death
October 28, 2019 GMTPARIS (AP) — For Georges Salines, whose 28-year-old daughter Lola was killed when Islamic extremists went on a bloody rampage in Paris in 2015, the death of the man who inspired the attack brought a welcome "sense of satisfaction...
Wounded dog back on job after tracking Islamic State leader
October 28, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — A military working dog that was wounded while tracking down the head of the Islamic State is back on duty...
The Latest: UN chief says remember victims of terrorism
October 28, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on developments following President Donald Trump's announcement that U.S. forces in Syria killed the Islamic State group's leader (all times local):
The tip, the raid, the reveal: The takedown of al-Baghdadi
October 28, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The helicopters flew low and fast into the night, ferrying U.S. special forces to a compound where Full Coverage: Islamic State group
Islamic State still poses a threat after al-Baghdadi’s death
October 28, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Eliminating the Islamic State group's elusive leader gives President Donald Trump a new argument for leaving Syria, but the U...
Analysis: With ISIS death, Trump touts much-needed triumph
October 28, 2019 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gave President Donald Trump an undeniable national security triumph and also a much-needed political victory at the most precarious moment of his presidency...
Trump draws boos when introduced to crowd at World Series
October 28, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's low-profile appearance Sunday night at Game 5 of the World Series came at a high-profile moment of his presidency...
AP FACT CHECK: Trump claims on extremists, impeachment
October 28, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump fabricated a tale about foreshadowing Osama bin Laden's 9/11 attack and warning against a war in Iraq before it happened in a weekend of exaggerated boasts and faulty assertions about the U...
AP FACT CHECK: Trump spins tales on bin Laden, Iraq war
October 28, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump falsely boasted that he predicted Osama bin Laden's 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and inaccurately asserted he had always opposed the war in Iraq WASHINGTON (AP) — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi , the shadowy leader of the Full Coverage: SyriaTrump says US forces cornered IS leader in dead-end tunnel
October 27, 2019 GMT
Islamic State leader leaves a legacy of terror
October 27, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi sought to establish a new Islamic "caliphate" across Syria and Iraq, but he might be remembered more as the ruthlessly calculating militant leader of the Islamic State group who brought terror to the heart of Europe and set up a short-lived organization so extreme that it was shunned even by al-Qaida...
Timeline of the rise and fall of the Islamic State group
October 27, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group erupted from the chaos of conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and it swiftly did what no other militant organization had done before: conquer a giant stretch of territory and declare itself a "caliphate...
The Latest: Macron warns leader’s death not end of IS group
October 27, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the death of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a U.S...
Al-Baghdadi’s death a blow, but IS has survived other losses
October 27, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi marks the demise of one of the most brutally effective jihadist leaders of modern times — a man who commanded tens of thousands of fighters from around the world, carved out a territorial caliphate in the Middle East and refined a horrific ideology that survives him...
Islamic State leader leaves a legacy of terror
October 27, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi sought to establish an Islamic "caliphate" across Syria and Iraq, but he might be remembered more as the ruthlessly calculating leader of the Islamic State group who brought terror to the heart of Europe and set up WASHINGTON (AP) — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world's most wanted man, is believed dead after being targeted by a U...US official: IS leader believed dead in US military assault
October 27, 2019 GMT
Turkish invasion raises fears of Islamic State prison break
October 11, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — In the sprawling al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, Islamic State wives and widows have set up special courts, stabbed to death at least two people accused of apostasy and wielded knives and pistols in clashes with their Kurdish guards...
On Yom Kippur, remembering Mosul’s rich and diverse past
October 7, 2019 GMT(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts...
IS leader outlines path forward for his group post-caliphate
May 1, 2019 GMTCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — No longer burdened by territory and administration, Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi outlined the new path forward for his group: Widen your reach, connect with far-flung militant groups and exhaust your enemies with a "war of attrition...
In video message, IS chief emulates other hunted leaders
April 30, 2019 GMTThey make threats from their hideaway lairs and celebrate mass attacks. The ending isn't scripted for these hunted men with horrifying death tolls on their hands...
IS leader appears in video for first time in 5 years
April 30, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The shadowy leader of the Islamic State group claimed to appear for the first time in five years in a video released by the extremist group's propaganda arm on Monday, acknowledging defeat in the group's last stronghold in Syria but vowing a "long battle" ahead...
Islamic State leader: Sri Lanka attack was revenge for Syria
April 29, 2019 GMTBATTICALOA, Sri Lanka (AP) — The leader of the Islamic State group praised the Easter suicide bombings that killed more than 250 people in Sri Lanka in a video released Monday, calling on militants to be a "thorn" against their enemies in his first filmed appearance in nearly five years...
The Latest: Islamic State leader says attack was revenge
April 29, 2019 GMTAMPARA, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Latest on the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka (all times local):
IS loses all territory but its shadowy leader still at large
March 23, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group has lost all the territory it once controlled in Iraq and Syria, but its shadowy leader and self-proclaimed "caliph" is still at large...
Timeline of the rise and fall of the Islamic State group
March 23, 2019 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq's conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a "caliphate...
AP FACT CHECK: Trump prematurely declares victory over IS
December 20, 2018 GMTBAGHDAD (AP) — President Donald Trump is declaring victory over the Islamic State group in Syria, but the militants remain a deadly force, and U...
IS reclusive leader rallies followers in purported new audio
September 28, 2017 GMTCAIRO (AP) — The leader of the Islamic State group urged followers to burn their enemies everywhere and target "media centers of the infidels," according to an audio recording released Thursday that the extremists said was by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi...
AP News Guide: The Islamic State after Mosul
July 10, 2017 GMTBAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's announcement of victory in Mosul effectively shatters the Islamic State group's self-styled caliphate. But a complete territorial defeat will take many more months, and the extremists will likely pose a threat in Iraq, Syria and beyond for years to come.
Iraqi PM congratulates troops on ‘big victory’ in Mosul
July 5, 2017 GMTMOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Iraq's prime minister on Tuesday congratulated his fighters on "the big victory in Mosul" — even as fighting with Islamic State militants continued in Mosul's Old City neighborhood where Iraqi forces are about 250 meters from the Tigris River and facing increasingly fierce resistance...
Iraqis: IS blew up mosque in ‘formal declaration of defeat’
June 23, 2017 GMTMOSUL, Iraq (AP) — With their control of Mosul slipping away, Islamic State militants decided to send a message of defiance: They blew up the 12th century al-Nuri Mosque, along with its famous leaning minaret...
Prosecutor: Paris attacker asked family to see him as martyr
June 22, 2017 GMTPARIS (AP) — The Frenchman killed when he drove a car packed with arms and explosives into a Paris police convoy in a failed attack had pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State group and asked his family to remember him as a martyr, France's anti-terrorism prosecutor said Thursday.
Uncertainty over Islamic State leader’s fate after airstrike
June 16, 2017 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Uncertainty and confusion surrounded the fate of the head of the Islamic State group Friday as Russia announced it may have killed him in an airstrike targeting a meeting of IS leaders just outside the group's self-declared capital in Syria, but U...
Key moments in Russia’s campaign, involvement in Syrian war
June 16, 2017 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Russia's announcement that the Islamic State group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been killed in a Russian airstrike in Syria in late May — if confirmed — would be a huge military coup for Moscow as a key player in Syria's civil war and strengthen its hand in future peace talks...
Islamic State group leader rallies his fighters in Mosul
November 3, 2016 GMTIRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The shadowy leader of the Islamic State group has released a new message urging his followers to keep up the fight for Mosul as they defend the city against a major offensive aimed at routing the militants from their last urban stronghold in Iraq...