“When you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks…” (Qur’an 47:4)
Note how the Islamic State’s characterization of the Assad regime is entirely religious, not political.
Meanwhile, reports of the Islamic State’s imminent demise in Iraq and Syria may be premature. The U.S. presidential election is over, aside from attempts to steal it, and so now the forces arrayed against the Islamic State can safely go back to losing without significant loss to Obama and co. of what really matters to them: political capital.
“PHOTOS: ISIS Beheads ‘SAA Sympathizers’ After Recapturing Palmyra, Syria,” by S. J. Prince, Heavy, December 12, 2016:
While nearly all of the extremist organizations in Syria are Sunni, the Syrian government is run by Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite or “Nusayri Shia.” According to The Believe Project, Nusayri Shia doctrine developed in the mountains of Syria in the 9th century by Abu Shu’ayb Muhammad ibn Nusayr. ISIS derives its propagandistic name for the Assad from Nusayr as “Nusayris.” However, the term in modern times has come to be viewed as derogatory. Above, one of the “loyalists” is shown with his decapitated head on a spike.
“Islamic State may be losing ground, but its recapture of Palmyra in Syria shows it is still a threat,” by Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, December 12, 2016:
When the Syrian army, backed by relentless Russian airstrikes, beat back Islamic State from the ancient city of Palmyra early this year, it marked the first in a string of significant defeats against the extremist group in the country.
But that victory appeared to have been short-lived. On Sunday, almost nine months after the jihadists’ retreat, Islamic State overran Palmyra once more, the group and activists said. The advance raises questions about recent pronouncements of the group’s weakness — as well as Damascus’ ability to hold territories for which it has paid heavily in men and materiel.
It also suggests a doubling down on Syria by Islamic State and a return to the time before it proclaimed its “caliphate” in 2014. It had been all but defeated in Iraq then, but regrouped around the Syrian-Iraqi border before launching a blitz offensive that claimed a large swath of Iraqi and Syrian territory.
A statement released by Islamic State on social media Sunday said the “soldiers of the caliphate had secured their control over all of Palmyra city… after three days of violent clashes.”
It also issued a series of images showing its fighters with tanks, and pickups mounted with heavy guns, attacking what it said was the Jazal oil fields, northwest of Palmyra….