Life Under IS Rule In Raqqa Was 'Hell...Horrible,' British Mother Says
A British mother standing trial in the UK accused of taking her toddler to Syria to join the IS group has described life in IS-controlled Syria as "hell" and "horrible," according to local media reports.
Tareena Shakil allegedly spent three months beginning October 2014 in IS's stronghold of Raqqa.
Photographs allegedly show Shakil posing with an AK-47 assault rifle. A senior security analyst reportedly told the court that only women from IS's all-female al-Khansa brigade were allowed access to weapons in IS-controlled areas.
Russia To Seek Extradition Of Citizen Arrested In Turkey Over IS Ties
Russia intends to pursue the extradition of a Russian national from Tatarstan, Aydar Suleymanov, who was arrested in Turkey on suspicion of having links to the IS group, a source "familiar with the situation" has told Interfax.
The source said that Russia was negotiating with Turkey via Interpol over Suleymanov, who is on an international wanted list.
Russia Accuses Western Media Of 'Stove Piping' Over Russian Air Strikes In Syria (Again)
Russia's Defense Ministry has -- yet again -- accused the Western media of "stove piping," or presenting information without context, with regard to Russian air strikes in Syria.
Western media, according to Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashekov, were acting on behalf of "so-called Syrian rights defenders" who live in Western countries.
"The first stove piping about the alleged victims of Russian air strikes appeared on social media and on independent Western media from the very start of the operation in Syria," said Konashenkov at a press briefing earlier today in Moscow.
"The sending of the claims of these fake rights defenders, about whom no one had heard before IS militants overran Syrian territory, is being carried out by the same foreign media outlets."
The most active of these rights defenders, according to Konashenkov, is the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
"In actual fact, this is just one man named Asam Ali Suleyman, who came to Britain in 2000 after serving several prison terms in Syria," Konashenkov said.
Ironically, anti-Assad activists have also slammed SOHR, accusing it of having ties to the Syrian government.
Dutch Ex-Soldier Arrested On Suspicion Of Killing IS Militants In Syria
Police in the Netherlands have arrested a former Dutch soldier on suspicion of killing IS militants while fighting as a volunteer alongside a Kurdish militia in Syria.
The man, 47, was detained in Arnhem on January 13 but later released after agreeing to surrender his passport. Prosecutors say that killing IS militants could lead to murder charges.
Foreign fighters from a number of Western countries have traveled to Syria to join the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in their fight against the IS group, causing concern.
Russia's Defense Ministry Video Purports To Show Aid Air Drop To Deir Al-Zor
Russia's Defense Ministry have shared a video that purports to show a Russian cargo plane parachuting humanitarian aid into Deir al-Zor city.
Thousands of civilians are besieged in Deir al-Zor by the IS group.
According to the pro-government news site Al Masdar News, after IS captured the city of Palmyra last year, IS cut off supply lines to the city and troops and residents are reliant on supplies flown in by helicopter; IS has also launched attacks on the Deir al-Zor air base.
Jakarta Attack Raises Concern About IS Social Media Use -- White House
The White House has said that the attack by the IS group on Indonesia's capital of Jakarta raises concerns about the militant group's use of social media and about foreign fighters.
Istanbul Bomber Reportedly Planned New Year's Eve Attack
The Saudi-born Syrian who killed 10 German tourists in a suicide bombing in Istanbul on January 12 had planned a major attack on New Year's Eve celebrations in the city, according to two senior Turkish officials who spoke to Reuters.
The bomber, Nabil Fadli, had changed his plans after his plot was foiled.
Fadli was born in Saudi Arabia in 1988. He fought alongside IS in Syria and was at one point captured and tortured, possibly by a Syrian Kurdish militia. Fadli entered Turkey last month.
This ends our live blogging of the crisis surrounding Islamic State for January 15. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.
An attack by IS militants on the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor on January 16 has left at least 85 civilians and 50 government troops dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group and Syrian state media.
State news agency SANA said that IS had carried out a "massacre" in the north-western suburb of al-Balighia, killing "around 300 civilians, most of them women, children and elderly people."
Local media later reported that the IS attack had been repelled.
A second British IS militant has reportedly been identified in the latest IS killing video, according to the British media.
Mohammed Reza Haque, 35, a former bodyguard, has been identified as one of five masked men shown in the latest video from the terrorist group, which was released two weeks ago, the Mail on Sunday claimed.