Despite US-led campaign, Islamic State rakes in oil earnings
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA The Islamic State rakes in up to $50 million a month from selling crude from oilfields under its control in Iraq and Syria, part…
QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
IS top command dominated by ex-officers in Saddam’s army
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA While attending the Iraqi army’s artillery school nearly 20 years ago, Ali Omran remembers one major well. An Islamic hard-liner, he once chided Omran…
An IS secret to success: Shock troops who fight to the death
By HAMZA HENDAWI, QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and BASSEM MROUE They are the Islamic State group’s elite shock troops. Fanatical and disciplined, they infiltrate cities of Iraq and Syria, unleash mayhem and…
Iran eclipses US as Iraq’s ally in fight against militants
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA In the eyes of most Iraqis, their country’s best ally in the war against the Islamic State group is not the United States and…