Politics

ISIS reportedly launched an attack on an Iraqi army base near Ramadi, just days after the city was recaptured by government troops. A military spokesman said suicide car bombers and fighters wearing explosive belts took part in the attack which killed three Iraqi soldiers and wonded 17 others on Friday. WMTV reports: Even though Iraqi forces have managed to drive ISIS jihadists out of the center of Ramadi, local tribal leaders said this week that ISIS still controls as much as 25% of the city, and significant pockets of ISIS resistance remain.

While we wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s possible to find a “silver lining” in the San Bernardino massacre, the fact that Tashfeen Malik’s connection to Saudi Arabia has focused the world’s attention on Riyadh’s role in promoting Sunni extremism means the tragedy will at least serve a kind of utilitarian purpose. 

President Obama has announced plans to take unilateral action on gun control in the U.S., saying that he intends to use his executive powers as president, bypassing Congress who he says have failed to address the problem.  Experts have warned that Obama’s drastic actions could cause civil unrest amongst much of the country. BBC News reports: But Mr Obama told Americans that he had received too many letters from parents, and teachers, and children, to sit around and do nothing. “We know that we can’t stop every act of violence,” the president said. “But what if we tried to stop even one?

A top Iranian official has threatened the U.S. with the development of ballistic missiles with a range of 5,000 kilometers after new sanctions were imposed on Iran.  Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said that if America presses ahead with its sanctions against Iran the country will take it “as a slap to our country”. Rt.com reports: “The US will regret its behavior and realize that such actions cause no benefit,” Rezaei stressed. Rezaei also thanked Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani for his quick response to US threats.

The Ministry of Defense have accused tat the Obama administration of ignoring the systematic genocide of Kurds in Turkey by President Erdogan’s brutal regime.  A report circulating the Kremlin warns that Turkey is close to breaking into a civil war, and that the Kurdish people are being slaughtered en masse in a style similar to Nazi Germany.