ISIS captive Tomislav Salopek is believed to have been beheaded, the SITE Intelligence Group said today, citing an apparent image of the hostage posted online.
Salopek, a Croatian national, was reported kidnapped on July 22 in the area of Cairo, Egypt. CNN could not independently confirm the authenticity of the image, and Croatian and Egyptian officials have not confirmed Salopek's death.
In a video distributed online August 5, a group claiming to be ISIS' branch in the Sinai Peninsula threatened to kill Salopek if Egypt didn't release female Muslim prisoners in 48 hours. Ref. CNN
Iraq: ISIS kills 23 Iraqi soldiers, allied fighters in Anbar: officials:
Iraqi military and police officials say 17 soldiers and six allied Sunni fighters have been killed in an attack by ISIS militants in the turbulent Anbar province west of Baghdad.They said Sunday's attack took place in the rural district of Jaramshah north of Anbar's provincial capital, Ramadi. Ref. Source 1e
SAS squad kill ISIS "Mastermind" In daring raid in Iraq:
The eight-man SAS squad tracked the jihadi fanatic for days before calling in an air strike. Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali was one of Islamic State's most senior officials and used to be a colonel in Saddam Hussein's Army. Ref. Source 8l
How the Islamic State is exploiting Asian unrest to recruit fighters:
Intelligence sources in Ankara estimate at least 1,500 recruits from Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) and Xinjiang (A Uighur autonomous region of northwest China) are already fighting for IS in Syria and Iraq. Ref. Source 1k
IS making 'significant progress' in Syria's Aleppo region: France:
In parliament, Jean-Yves Le Drian pointed to "The very significant progress of Daesh (IS) in Syria at this very moment," As he defended France's decision to conduct surveillance flights over Syria with a view to carrying out air strikes. Ref. Source 1u