Baghdad (AFP) – The leader of the Islamic State jihadist group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, purportedly ordered all Muslims to obey him in a video released Saturday on social media.

The hitherto elusive Baghdadi, who on June 29 proclaimed a “caliphate” straddling Syria and Iraq, made his appeal in a sermon delivered on Friday in the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
“I am the wali (leader) who presides over you, though I am not the best of you, so if you see that I am right, assist me,” he said, wearing a black turban and robe. (more…)

….when you realize that your badass jihadi boss owns a “Hello Kitty” notebook for his military battle plans:

Via Peoples Cube

You might have seen reports today about heightened concerns for airline travel.   Some media reports are discussing explosives that can be hidden from normal detection methods, or similar.
Here’s a snippet of a report from the AP wire – something about the way this report is worded spikes the spidey sense.  (The emphasis is mine):

WASHINGTON – Intelligence officials are concerned about a new al-Qaida effort to create a bomb that would go undetected through airport security, according to a counterterrorism official, prompting the U.S. to call for tighter security measures Wednesday at some foreign airports.

The counterterrorism official, who would not be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, declined to describe the kind of information that triggered this warning. (more…)

Note: President Obama says they are not “combat troops”.    So, what other kind of troops are there, other than “combat troops”?   What’s the mission if they are not there to provide security, carry weapons and shoot things?….  a division of #HashTag troops? 
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he’s sending about 200 more U.S. troops to Iraq to protect Americans and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
The announcement will bring to nearly 800 the total number of U.S. forces in and around Iraq to train local forces, secure the embassy and protect American interests.

Obama notified House and Senate leaders in a letter on Monday. Obama says the additions include security forces, rotary-wing aircraft, and support for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. (more…)

ISIS jihadists have declared the captured territories from Iraq’s Diyala province to Syria’s Aleppo a new Islamic State – a ‘caliphate.’ They removed ‘Iraq and the Levant’ from their name and urged other radical Sunni groups to pledge their allegiance.

ISIS announced that it should now be called ‘The Islamic State’ and declared its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as “the caliph” of the new state and “leader for Muslims everywhere,” the radical Sunni militant group said in an audio recording distributed online on Sunday.
This is the first time since the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 that a Caliph – which means a political successor to Prophet Muhammad – has been declared. The decision was made following the group’s Shura Council meeting on Sunday, according to ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.  (link)

HatTip Weasel Zippers – This is the same thing that happened in Egypt under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.
IRAQ – One of the last Christian strongholds in Iraq came under attack this week, and its last remaining citizens are making a desperate plea to the United States for help.
Until this week, Qaraqosh was a town where Christians from other parts of Iraq could find refuge. But late Wednesday night, ISIS rebels started shelling Qaraqosh, provoking a mass exodus on Thursday.
According to various reports, anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 citizens have fled. The Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Yohanna Petros Mouche, has remained behind with around 1,000 of the town’s inhabitants who do not have cars or other means of leaving. (more…)

This will throw a pickle in the grand scheme of Ketchup Kerry.  With al-Qaeda essentially conceding the more radical ISIL Army is the more powerful Islamist force – the Ideological alignment within Syria leaves barely a ‘smidgen’ of room for moderation.   Of course this merge begs the question how long will Russia stay de-facto aligned to Assad? 

SYRIA – A Syrian rebel group closely aligned with al Qaeda’s official central leadership has switched sides and is now supporting an ultra-violent offshoot, following the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’s blitzkrieg attack on Iraq, according to U.S. officials and reports from the region.
A local unit of the Al Nusra Front—the official rebel group of al Qaeda in Syria—agreed to back the ISIL on Wednesday.
The merger of one portion of al Nusra with ISIL is being viewed by government intelligence analysts and others as a troubling indicator that the inner battle between the two groups may be shifting in ISIL’s favor. (more…)

For *this* specific White House to make such a claim, against the visible history of their previous positions, one can only reasonably conclude the “Bathtub Principle” is being applied to the current al-Qaeda situation in Iraq.
This administration only feigns ignorance when feigning ignorance benefits their position and is part of their larger strategy.  “Wha,.. who… us”?  
WASHINGTON DC – Senior Obama administration officials’ closed-door briefing to senators Tuesday night revealed that the White House did not anticipate and was not prepared for the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), which has wreaked havoc in Iraq and seized many key cities in recent weeks.

Top State Department and Defense Department officials joined senators Tuesday evening for a briefing on the quickly developing chaos in Iraq and future U.S. plans for a response.
Sources familiar with the brief said that the administration officials repeated talking points issued over the past several days in both open and closed door meetings and had trouble communicating a concrete plan for response. (more…)

About 10 days ago we were discussing the following video:

We were going back and forth about whether those eight field artillery units were M198 (U.S. modern service), or Type59 (Iraqi army).
Unfortunately the answer comes today from Zero Hedge who has better pictures of the units during a recent ISIS parade in Mosul.

Definitely U.S. Military M198’s.   Unfortunately meaning they can hit Baghdad, or any other target, accurately from around 10 miles out.
(source)

IRAQ – In its march to Baghdad, ISIS seized the heavy weapons of a modern army. Now, the jihadists are attacking Iraq’s biggest air base – and could soon be able to attack from the sky.

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is threatening to take control of Balad Airbase, Iraq’s largest airfield and one of America’s most important military outposts during its occupation of the country.
Today, Balad still has plenty of vehicles and aircraft on the base that any terrorist group would covet, including Russian-made transport helicopters, surveillance planes, and a fleet of pickup trucks fitted with heavy machine guns. (more…)