The US military carried out an attack on the al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabab in Somalia on Monday, even as US-supported rebel factions in Syria battled the Islamic State (IS, formally ISIS) terror militia for control of supply lines north of Aleppo. Elsewhere, outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki gave a firebrand speech on Monday in which he promised to turn Iraq into “a big grave” for IS forces in the wake of an Iraqi National Army victory in breaking the siege of Amirli, a Shi’ite town north of Baghdad. However, the main credit for the victory might be owed to Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias and US airstrikes, leading some analysts to fear the deepening sectarian nature of the conflict which is already motivating many Sunni tribes in Iraq and Syria to make common cause with IS even if they are uncomfortable with its ideology. Read More
