DEVELOPMENTS
— Two car bombings in Iraq killed at least 38 people Monday, authorities said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Jurf al-Sakhar, 30 miles south of Baghdad, but the bombing bore all the hallmarks of an attack by the Islamic State group.
— Experts in Pakistan's insurgency say they expect hundreds of radical Islamists to join Islamic State as a result of the military's campaign in the country's North Waziristan region. As the military takes control of what had been insurgent-dominated areas, the militants who had thrived there are looking for a new group with which to affiliate. Many are expected to choose Islamic State.
— A British chemistry teacher accused of supporting the Islamic State group faced jail after he pleaded guilty Monday to terrorism charges. Jamshed Javeed admitted to two counts of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts.
News services
The Islamic State group that has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria and declared a self-styled caliphate, or Islamic empire, embraces social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube.
Hollywood-style film clips and other elements of its media campaign boost the group’s credibility among disaffected but plugged-in young Muslims and helps it promote its conquests, inspire sympathizers and attract new recruits.
Speaking at a gathering of anti-Islamic State coalition partners in the oil-rich Gulf nation of Kuwait, retired U.S. Gen. John Allen said it is up to all members of the alliance to “clearly, forcefully and consistently” reject the group’s ideology and offer alternatives to it.
Allen, who is tasked with coordinating the U.S.-led coalition, characterized the fight in the communications sphere as a crucial element of an overall strategy that also includes confronting the group militarily and attempting to cut off its finances.
“It is only when we contest ISIL’s presence online, deny the legitimacy of the message it sends to vulnerable young people and expose ISIL for the un-Islamic cult of violence it really is … that ISIL will truly be defeated,” he said, using an alternate acronym for the group.
The Islamic State group produces online magazines and polished propaganda videos that make use of multiple camera angles, computer graphics and sophisticated editing techniques.
One video released by its Al-Furqan media arm earlier this year included aerial footage apparently shot from a drone over the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which it now holds. In another twist, the group cast a British journalist it holds, John Cantlie, as a sort of talk-show host speaking in a series of videos about the group.
Allen was joined in Kuwait by Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel, who told reporters that an “information coalition” is needed to complement the military campaign.
“Whatever we do collectively on the battlefield needs to be amplified on the information battlefield,” Stengel said.
The United States and its allies have carried out hundreds of airstrikes against the Islamic State group since August.
Washington is also trying to find ways to choke off the group’s finances, which are estimated to include earnings of about $1 million a day from black market oil sales alone. The group also makes money from extortion rackets and other criminal enterprises.
While the group is not believed to rely heavily on outside donations, American officials have urged Kuwait and Qatar in particular to do more to stop private fundraising for extremists.
“We need to work with all of our partners in the region to close down formal and informal sources of support,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said during a visit to Cairo on Monday.
Sulaiman al-Jarallah, undersecretary at the Kuwati Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Monday his country is fighting terrorist financing and has created a special task force to combat the problem.
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