ISIS

Blast kills 200 in Baghdad

Blast kills 200 in Baghdad

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A car bomb exploded on a busy street in Baghdad’s Karrada district late on Saturday evening, BBC reports. The largely Shia area was busy with shoppers late at night because it is the holy month of Ramadan, when believers fast during sunlight hours. A second bomb also exploded at about midnight in a predominantly Shia area north of the capital, killing another five people. ISIS claimed credit for both attacks, making it the third attack attributed to the group this week, following attacks in Bangladesh and Turkey.

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Brussels enters third day of lockdown

Brussels enters third day of lockdown

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The Belgian capital of Brussels has entered its third day of lockdown Monday, with more than 1,000 security personnel deployed across the country. The lockdown marks three days of the highest terror alert and unprecedented measures that have closed down the city’s subways, schools and main stores, as the city tries to avoid attacks similar to the ones that caused devastating carnage in Paris.

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Life aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier fighting ISIS

Life aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier fighting ISIS

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Every day, the steam-powered catapult aboard this massive aircraft carrier flings American fighter jets into the sky, on missions to target the extremist Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt, whose homeport is San Diego, California, is a key element of the U.S.-led coalition targeting the militants. This island of steel in the Persian Gulf some 1,090-feet (330-meters) long is home to some 5,000 U.S. Navy airmen, sailors and Marine pilots, carrying some 70 aircraft involved in the fight against the extremists.

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Iraq faces major threat to stability with new conflict

Iraq faces major threat to stability with new conflict

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Sunni jihadist forces, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), launched a major offensive in northern Iraq on June 9, resulting in the capture of Iraq’s second largest city on June 10. Counter-attacks by Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga slowed the offensive, and Shiite Iraqis have been volunteering in large numbers to fight ISIS. The US and Iran have been discussing the situation, and might work together to support the Iraqi government.

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