ISIS, ISIL (Syria & Iraq)

House grudgingly approves arms for Syrian rebels. Diane Foley: 'I got an email from ISIS'. ISIS, ISIL or the Islamic State? ISIS is translation of the acronym in Arabic for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-ShamU.S. officials, the U.N., some media use ISIL: Islamic State in Iraq and the LevantJihadist group prefers "the Islamic State" or just "the State" (CNN) -- Is it ISIL, ISIS or Islamic State?

Whatever you call the jihadist group known for killing dozens of people at a time, carrying out public executions, beheadings, crucifixions and other brutal acts, there is no denying they have captured the world's attention. New York Times: A survivor's retelling of ISIS massacre. Your video will begin momentarily.

Ali Hussein Kadhim recounts ISIS massacre in New York TimesHe tells Times he survived by feigning deathISIS uses brutality as calling card, often purposely capturing atrocities on video (CNN) -- Ali Hussein Kadhim was not supposed to live to tell his story or that of the hundreds of other Iraqi soldiers and Shiites who were massacred in June by ISIS militants in Tikrit. But on the execution line that day the bullet destined for him whizzed past his head and he fell forward feigning to be fatally wounded. Kadhim lived to tell his story to the New York Times, which produced a gripping video offering a rare survivor's retelling of one of countless massacres carried out by the brutal Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. "It took 23 days from the day of the massacre until he was reunited with his family," Adam Ellick, a senior video journalist for the New York Times, told CNN Thursday.

New U.S. warplanes, drones strike ISIL 04.09.14 (2 videos) Al Qaeda battles ISIS for global jihadist leadership. Your video will begin momentarily.

ISIS was expelled from al Qaeda in February Analyst: ISIS' traipse through Iraq represents an ideological blow to al QaedaThere are still plenty of places where al Qaeda supporters are active (CNN) -- One man more interested than most in what President Barack Obama will have to say in his address to the nation Wednesday night is al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. US Will Bomb ISIS In Syria: Where The Military Will Strike [MAP] President Barack Obama said Wednesday night that the U.S. would fight the Islamic State from the air.

The militant group, also known as ISIS and ISIL, has taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq and "in acts of barbarism," is responsible for the beheadings of U.S. journalists James Foley and Stephen Sotloff. "If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region -- including to the United States," Obama said. "In a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. Washington Risks Falling for Syria's ISIS Strategy, Again. The CIA estimates there are now as many as 31,000 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq murdering and enslaving anyone who opposes them — a death cult obsessed with publishing its own brutality online, such as the latest beheading video of British aid worker David Cawthorne Haines.

News analysis But the White House is vowing to fight, declaring the United States is now at war with ISIS and will build an international coalition to crush the group. So far, the most enthusiastic response has come from the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad. It’s hardly surprising. In fact, it follows a consistent Syrian tactic of using Islamic militants to create instability — and then relying on the U.S. to destroy them. Washington fell for it once, and may do so again. April 2003 In April 2003, the Middle East looked very different from today. Saddam, back then the Arab world’s most notorious strongman, was on the run. ISIS: British connection to the beheadings (Opinion)

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ISIS executioner, tall man with London accent, has beheaded a third man, a UK aid workerPeter Bergen says British officials believe they know the identity of the killerA UK estimate puts the number of Westerners fighting in Syria at more than 2,600Bergen: UK officials not releasing the name of the killer "for operational reasons" Westerners in Syria fight top concerns at forum. Annual Aspen Security Conference brings together top national security figuresDiscussion tends to trend toward current eventsTSA administrator says improvised explosives more of a concern than shoot-downsThere might be a less-publicized reason that 2009 underwear bomb didn't detonate Aspen, Colorado (CNN) -- Concerns about westerners joining the fight in Syria dominated the annual Aspen National Security Forum with top U.S. government officials equating the threat from the stalemated Syrian civil war to that posed by al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate.

Michael Vickers, the Pentagon's undersecretary for intelligence, said there are now believed to be thousands of western passport holders, many with easy visa access to enter the United States, who are among foreign fighters in Syria. California man arrested, said he wanted to join ISIS. Syrian MiG-21 is almost hit by a 57mm shell. How ISIS forced Twitter to grow up - Video - Technology.