Jonathan Rugman
It began as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda barely 18 months ago. Now Islamic State are more successful than Al-Qaeda ever were, with over 10,000 men under their command – and a self -declared caliphate in which to fight.
Kylie Morris
Scan the statements and pronouncements from American politicians of all stripes today, and you’ll see how the murder of Steven J Sotloff has spurred the political world here into rhetoric, if not action.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby deplores the lack of a global strategy from world leaders for what he said could not be understood as a local problem.
Jonathan Rugman
The timing of the release of the latest Islamic State video, showing Steven Sotloff’s murder, suggests the lives of other western hostages could be at risk.
Kylie Morris
Obama admitted ‘we don’t have a strategy yet’, which is why there was no need to put anything before congress, or bring the American people into the debate. He didn’t want to put the cart in front of the horse.
Matt Frei
The authorities think that America has spawned several dozen jihadis as opposed to Britain’s several hundred. This is because America has a totally different relationship to its ethnic minorities.
The gruesome video of the murder of journalist James Foley by Islamic State militants is a terrorist publication say UK police, and those viewing or sharing it risk prosecution.
Lindsey Hilsum
Nothing is happening by chance. If we characterise militants from Islamic State as simply barbaric and savage we are failing to understand their strategy or the extent of the danger they pose.
Jonathan Rugman
The Sinjar mountain range is over 45 miles long. Are the Americans saying that the refugees are not spread out any more but have been moved into a concentrated area where they can be counted?
Jonathan Rugman
So far today I have only seen one Iraqi helicopter take off; the others were deployed on bombing missions against IS jihadists. Instead of being loaded with water, they were armed with rockets.
Lindsey Hilsum
There are so many different power blocs and interest groups in Iraq and Syria that it is almost impossible to predict where events might lead.
Lindsey Hilsum
As long as Nouri al Maliki refuses to step down, the Iraqi government is doing no governing at all, let alone getting a grip on the military disaster to the north.
Kylie Morris
US President Barack Obama authorizes targeted air strikes in Iraq to prevent an ‘act of genocide’ against some 40,000 religious minorities trapped in a remote mountain area.
Lindsey Hilsum
Europeans may think WWI is history, but people in the Arab world are still living with the fury and violence the conflict caused.
As the news channels focused on violence in Gaza and the tragedy of MH17, what else happened? Channel 4 News finds out.