Islamic State

VOA

The Islamic State burst onto the world stage in 2014, capturing vast stretches of Iraq and Syria, brutally and publicly killing Western prisoners, and declaring itself a new pan-Islamic caliphate. President Obama announced an American effort to roll back and eventual defeat the Islamic State, and enlisted an international coalition of Arab and Western powers to accomplish that goal. This effort has, in turn, raised a host of new questions: about effectiveness and commitment, about international law, about presidential authority, about the interpretive limits of an out-of-date domestic authorization for the use of force, and about the general viability of American policy in the region.

Latest in Islamic State

Foreign Fighters

Justice Department Charges Two Islamic State Members for Executing Americans

The Justice Department charged two men—Alexanda Amon Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh—with eight counts in connection to a series of hostage takings and executions in Syria. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia charged the former British nationals with conspiracy to commit hostage taking resulting in death, hostage taking resulting in death, conspiracy to murder United States citizens outside of the United States, along with two material support charges.

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