Tag: Islamic State

More attacks on Christianity in Bangladesh

December 1, 2015 Bangladesh Bangladesh, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Rangpur

Bangladesh continues to see a rise in attacks and intimidation against those connected with Christianity, according to sources close to World Watch Monitor. On 25 November in southern Bangladesh, two young men viciously attacked Alok Sen, the general secretary of an interfaith committee that represents Christian, Hindu and Buddhist communities. . . . Read More

10 Assyrians released after ‘negotiations’

November 25, 2015 Syria Assyrians, Hasakah, Homs, Islamic State, Khabur, Qaryatain, Syria

The Islamic State has released 10 more Assyrians, from over 200 indigenous Christians it had snatched from their communities in north eastern Syria in February. The civilians, five men and five women, were released Tuesday evening, the Assyrian Human Rights Network (AHRN) reported. The released hostages, from Tel Shamiram, Tel Jazeera, . . . Read More

Attacks on Christians in Bangladesh escalate

November 24, 2015 Bangladesh Bangladesh, Dhaka, Islamic extremism, Islamic State

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the in Bangladesh on Fr. Piero Arolari, the Italian Catholic priest who survived being shot by three men on motorcycles as he cycled to work, . “Security detachments of soldiers of the caliphate in Bangladesh carried out some unique operations [including] … targeting the . . . Read More

Renovated church re-opens 30 miles from IS

November 23, 2015 Turkey Assyrians, Churches, Islamic State, Mardin, Protestants, Religious freedom, Turkey

The re-opening of an abandoned church in Mardin, SE Turkey, just 30 miles from Islamic State territory, is a symbol of “universal religious freedom”, worshippers were told at the renovated building’s dedication service on 7 November. Local politicians and leaders of all denominations were at the reopening ceremony “as a . . . Read More

Boko Haram ‘more deadly terror group’ in 2014 than IS

November 20, 2015 Adamawa, Bauchi, Boko Haram, Cameroon, Chad, Denmark, Education, Gombe, Hamas, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Israel, Kano, Lake Chad, London, Maiduguri, Middle East, Muhammadu Buhari, Niger, Nigeria, Paris, Quran, Terrorism, UN

Boko Haram was the world’s deadliest terror group in 2014, ahead of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, according to a report released on 18 Nov. by the Institute of Economics & Peace. It was responsible for 6,664 deaths in 2014, more than any other terrorist group in the world, according to the Global . . . Read More

Italian priest shot in Bangladesh

November 18, 2015 Bangladesh Bangladesh, Dhaka, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Jamaat-ul-Mujahedin Bangladesh, Luke Sarkar, Pabna, Rangpur

An Italian priest has been shot in Bangladesh, two months after another Italian was targeted in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. Fr. Piero Arolari, 57, suffered head injuries but is in a stable condition, reports AP. He was attacked by three men on motorcycles, as he cycled towards the mission hospital . . . Read More

Forces rally to defend Christian Syrian town from IS

November 16, 2015 Syria Assyrians, Homs, Islamic State, Qaryatain, Sadad, Syria

Efforts are being rallied to save one of the last remaining centres of indigenous Christian presence in the Levant against a renewed jihadi attack. Militants of the theologically-based “Islamic State” have come within 3 kilometres of the Syriac Orthodox town of Sadad in western Syria, the Assyrian International News Agency . . . Read More

Visiting a monastery in ISIS territory

November 10, 2015 Iraq Iraq, Islamic State, Kurds, Mosul, Nineveh Plains

An international aid worker has shared his experiences of visiting a monastery in what is technically regarded as IS-held territory within Iraq. His blog, ISIS Territory – Smoke on the Horizon, Song in the Chapel, describes the fear he felt leaving behind the last Kurdish checkpoint and his meetings with . . . Read More

Syrian priest describes time with ISIS

November 10, 2015 Syria Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Syria

Syrian priest Jacques Mourad, who was held by the Islamic State for nearly three months and threatened with execution, has spoken for the first time about his ordeal. Fr. Mourad was abducted from Qaryatain in May and escaped in October. In an interview with the BBC, he describes his kidnapping . . . Read More

37 Assyrian Christians released in Syria

November 9, 2015 Syria Assyrians, Hasakah, Islamic State, Jacques Mourad, Khabur, Qaryatain, Syria

The self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) has released another 37 Assyrian Christians kidnapped nine months ago in Syria, Assyrian sources said. The group, including men and women in their sixties and seventies, were among the 253 Christians snatched in IS attacks on Assyrian villages in northeastern Syria’s Hassaka province. Three thousand . . . Read More

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