Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Abdelhamid Abaaoud killed, but his travels worry intel experts
European and U.S. intelligence officials expressed alarm that the supposed architect of the deadly Paris attacks last week was able to slip so easily back and forth between Syria and the heart of Western Europe, even as French officials confirmed Thursday that the Islamic State terrorist Abdelhamid Abaaoud had been killed in a raid in a Paris suburb. Published November 19, 2015
Vladimir Putin’s help in Islamic State fight seen likely to come with strings attached
Western sanctions and international outrage over the invasion of Ukraine were supposed to leave Russian President Vladimir Putin isolated and weakened on the world stage, but that was before the surge of international attacks by the Islamic State found President Obama and other Western leaders suddenly in need of Moscow's help. Published November 18, 2015
France, Russia join forces, strike ISIS targets in Syria
France and Russia engaged in unprecedented joint strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on Tuesday, the latest in a flurry of diplomatic and military fallout from the deadly terrorist strikes in Paris last week. Published November 17, 2015
Abdelhamid Abaaoud: Questions surround supposed Paris assault mastermind
The Belgian man of Moroccan descent fingered by French authorities as the mastermind of the Paris attacks is believed to be operating from Syria with the Islamic State, but U.S. officials say his ties to the terror group's leaders are unclear and that other jihadis, based in Europe, likely also played central roles in plotting the attacks. Published November 16, 2015
John Brennan, CIA chief, issues comments on ISIS harsher than Obama’s
Taking a noticeably darker tone than President Obama, CIA Director John O. Brennan warned Monday that the Paris terrorist attacks were not "a one-off event" and that intelligence officials anticipate the Islamic State has other sophisticated plots "in the pipeline." Published November 16, 2015
Paris terror attacks: Islamic State’s sophistication shakes Western leaders
The Paris terrorist attacks featured three separate teams backed by a support network stretching across several European nations -- bearing a level of operational sophistication and capability that Islamist terrorists have not shown in the West in the decade or so since al Qaeda's four-plane Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. and the four-bomb London transport attacks of 2005. Published November 15, 2015
Paris attacks show high level of sophistication, was kept secret
The coordinated Paris attacks required a level of operational sophistication that Islamic extremist terrorists have not shown in Europe since the London suicide attacks in 2005 when four separate bombs, detonated in quick succession, targeted civilians on mass transit in the British capital. Published November 14, 2015
John Kerry: Syria talks shrouded in uncertainty
Secretary of State John F. Kerry says the Obama administration will not step back from its demand that the Assad regime relinquish power in Syria, but he simply does not know whether Russia and Iran -- the regime's top backers -- will accept the mandate. Published November 12, 2015
Obama administration maintains hope for ‘Sunni Awakening 2.0’ in Islamic State fight
The Obama administration admits its push for a "Sunni Awakening 2.0" to break the Islamic State's grip on Iraq's western Anbar province has gone more slowly than hoped, but officials say they're not giving up on the effort. Published November 10, 2015
Aung San Suu Kyi’s party wins Myanmar elections, makes history
Vote tallying was still going on Monday night, but Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition leaders were claiming an overwhelming victory in the nation's historic elections -- a development likely to expand opportunities for trade and diplomacy with the U.S., as concerns persist over the Southeast Asian nation's human rights record. Published November 9, 2015
Obama pushes military frustration to highest level in decades
Key lawmakers from both parties say frustration with the White House among the top military officers is at its highest level in decades, the product of President Obama's cautious approach to the wars in Syria and Iraq and an indecisive inner circle of White House advisers who, critics say, have iced the Pentagon out of the policymaking process. Published November 5, 2015
Russian jet crash in Egypt likely caused by bomb, U.S. and British officials say
Officials in the U.S. and Britain said Wednesday that it was likely a bomb that took down the Russian passenger jet Saturday on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, as the Islamic State again took credit for the crash, which killed more than 200 people. Published November 4, 2015
U.S. says 90 percent of Russian strikes hitting Syria’s moderate opposition
While Moscow asserts that its military campaign in Syria is aggressively targeting the Islamic State, a top U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that as much as 90 percent of strikes carried out by the Russian fighter jets over the past month have actually hit moderate opposition rebels groups in the war-torn nation. Published November 4, 2015
Kurds seek supplies for peshmerga winter fight against Islamic State
Kurdish peshmerga fighters who have proved the most effective force against the Islamic State have not been paid for the past three months and badly need winter gear and ammunition if they are to hold ground seized from the extremists over the past year, a top Kurdish intelligence official said Tuesday. Published November 3, 2015
James Clapper: Islamic State may have taken down Russian plane in Egypt
America's top spy said Monday there is not yet any "direct evidence" that terrorists took down the Russian charter flight over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, but he would not rule out the possibility that the Islamic State -- also known as ISIL -- has the capability to shoot a plane out of the sky in the region. Published November 2, 2015
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party re-secures majority in Turkish vote
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's nationalist and Islamist political party pulled off a stunning victory in the nation's snap election Sunday, winning enough seats to again secure dominance over parliament just five months after losing its long-held majority. Published November 1, 2015
Iran responsible for deadly rocket attack on Camp Liberty in Iraq, dissidents say
An Iranian dissident group said more than 20 of its members in Iraq were killed Thursday when a barrage of Iranian-made rockets slammed into a former U.S. military base near Baghdad where Iraqi authorities have kept the dissidents in a state of semi-captivity for years. Published October 29, 2015
Recep Tayyip Erdogan determined to retain power regardless of Turkey election results
Turkey's second general election in five months is unlikely to resolve the nation's deep political crisis, as observers say President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is doubling down on the heavy-handed tactics that have kept him in power for the past 12 years even if his ruling party fails again Sunday to secure a majority. Published October 28, 2015
Iran to attend Syria talks in Vienna
Iran will be at the table for the first time as diplomats from the United States and other world powers gather in Vienna Thursday for new talks aimed at ending Syria's civil war, marking the end of a long effort by Washington to freeze out Iran because of Tehran's support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Published October 28, 2015
Iran confirms it will attend Syria peace talks among world powers
Iranian state television reported on Wednesday that the nation's top diplomat will participate for the first time in Syrian peace talks carried out between world powers -- including the U.S. -- in Vienna, Austria. Published October 28, 2015