Green: Mainstreem Syrian rebels; Red: Assad regime; Pink: Iraqi government; Yellow: Kurds, Grey: ISIS

BusinessInsider: Michael Kelley; The Arab Spring has become the Jihadi Spring  as Libya devolved into lawlessness, Egypt reverted to military dictatorship, and the uprising in Syria turned into a sectarian civil war that’s engulfing Iraq.

On Sunday, the extremist ISIS militants who are leading the Sunni insurgency in Iraq announced the creation of the Islamic State (IS), or "Caliphate," with its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi "the Caliph" and "leader for Muslims everywhere." IS is well-funded (largely from extrotion and selling oil  and has become attractive for extremists across the globe who want to join global jihad. The group is also savage, crucifying rival Syrian rebels and chopping off the hands of thieves. Researcher Charles Lister told Reuters that the establishment of the Caliphate "is likely the most significant development in international jihadism since 9/11." The announcement is seen as a direct challenge to al-Qaeda as the world’s premier jihadist organization.

Sheikh Ali Hatem al-Suleimani, the head of the powerful Dulaimi tribe that has been in open revolt against the Shia-dominated government of Nouri al-Maliki since last year, told the Globe and Mail that the IS "terrorists" make up no more than 10% of the insurgency and that their role in the uprising had been exaggerated by “social media, Facebook and Twitter.”  “We are postponing our fight with [IS] until later. After Maliki is gone, [IS] will not be a big problem for us,” al-Suleimani told reporters. “Now is not the time to fight [IS], it’s the time to fight Maliki.”

  Some 10,000 people fled this week from predominantly Christian communities in Qaraqosh, Iraq, a neighboring city to Mosul where members of the militant group, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have reportedly overrun and are now viciously attacking Christians who fail to pay a poll tax.   "Community leaders say the residents of […]

  He was a calm man,” Ghada Sadek Abela recalled of her father, “not that talkative.”   Many Lebanese consider Pierre Sadek (1938-2013) a pioneer of caricature and cartooning in this country. His drawings have long been a staple in such newspapers as Al-Nahr, Al-Amal and Al-Diyar, and frequently have made appearances on several local […]

  Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Thursday the necessity to implement peace and dialogue, saying that the country is facing an immense challenge that requires the unity of the Lebanese. “We should fortify the coexistence culture that should include mutual respect and knowledge,” al-Rahi said during the opening of the Antiochian Conference.   The Patriarch […]

  BEIRUT: General Security has released the photo of a terrorist it says distributed explosive belts to the would-be bombers found Wednesday night at a Beirut hotel. In a statement late Thursday, General Security identified the suspect as Monzer al-Hasan, who hails from the northern province of Akkar. It said Hasan, 24, also holds Swedish nationality. The statement […]

    Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday held a meeting in Bkirki with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly and the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.   The meeting was held following an invitation from the patriarch. “The Patriarch underlined to us his concern about the continuing inability […]

  A man blew himself up at a hotel in the Beirut area of Raouche on Wednesday as General Security members stormed his room. TV footage showed broken windows and flames shooting from the third and fourth floors of the Duroy Hotel, located in Raouche, close to the sea. According to Lebanese Red Cross director George Kettaneh, […]

  Lebanese authorities have deported a Frenchman, who was planning to head to Syria to carry out a suicide bombing there, As Safir daily reported on Tuesday.   The man, who was not identified, was arrested at Rafik Hariri International Airport a few weeks ago by Lebanese security forces after receiving a tip from a […]

  The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised citizens not to travel to Lebanon at this time due to current events and unstable security conditions. Hamad Mohammad Al Junaibi, UAE’s Charge D’Affaires in Lebanon, urged Emiratis who are in Lebanon at present to leave the country immediately and to coordinate with the UAE embassy […]

  An Egyptian judge on Monday sentenced three journalists for the Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera to between seven and 10 years in prison on terrorism-related charges, stunning their supporters and raising an immediate outcry from human rights advocates and foreign governments. The harsh sentence came only a day after U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry […]