Jihadists spearheading a Sunni militant offensive in Iraq have declared an “Islamic caliphate” and ordered Muslims worldwide to pledge allegiance to their chief, in a spectacular bid to extend their authority.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant renamed itself simply the Islamic State (IS) and declared its shadowy frontman the leader of the world’s Muslims, in a clear challenge to al-Qaeda for control of the global jihadist movement.
Meanwhile, Iraqi forces yesterday pressed a counteroffensive against former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, one of a string of towns and cities overrun by IS-led fighters in a swift advance that left more than 1,000 people dead, displaced hundreds of thousands and piled pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Maliki’s bid for a third term in office has been battered by the offensive and he is no longer seen as the clear frontrunner when parliament reopens today following elections in April.
The Islamic State announced on Sunday it was establishing a caliphate — an Islamic form of government last seen under the Ottoman Empire — extending now from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala Province in eastern Iraq, the regions where it has fought against the regimes in power.
In an audio recording released online, the group declared its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi “the caliph” and “leader for Muslims everywhere.” Henceforth, the group said, he is to be known as “Caliph Ibrahim” — a reference to his real name.
Though the move may not have immediate significant impact on the ground, it is an indicator of the group’s confidence and marks a move against al-Qaeda in particular, analysts say.
The caliphate is “the biggest development in international jihad since September 11”, said Charles Lister of the Brookings Institution in Doha, referring to the al-Qaeda attacks on the US in 2001. “It could mark the birth of a new era of transnational jihadism ... and that poses a real danger to al-Qaeda and its leadership.”
Al-Baghdadi, thought to have been born in the Iraqi city of Samarra in 1971, is touted by the group as a battle-hardened tactician who fought US forces following the 2003 US-led invasion, and is now widely seen as rivaling al-Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri as the world’s most influential jihadist.
His group has drawn thousands of foreign fighters, attracted by a combination of Baghdadi’s own appeal, IS’ efforts to establish what it believes is an ideal Islamic state, and IS’ sophisticated propaganda apparatus, which publishes a wide variety of magazines and videos.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique