Members of Daesh group parading in a street in Libya's coastal city of Sirte, which lies 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli. AFP
Members of Daesh group parading in a street in Libya's coastal city of Sirte, which lies 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli. AFP

2014 - The rise of Daesh

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Updated 19 April 2025
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2014 - The rise of Daesh

2014 - The rise of Daesh
  • The terrorist organization changed the terms of the debate on extremism 

LONDON: In June 2014, I was part of the team that launched a new think tank looking at religious extremism. Our patron, the former British prime minister, Tony Blair, had long been concerned that the ideological element of extremist groups was being overlooked and needed more policy-focused research. 

That month, Daesh raced through northern Iraq, routing government troops and capturing a vast amount of territory and materials that would strengthen its new position. On June 29, in the central mosque in Mosul, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the group’s leader, declared himself to be caliph of a new caliphate. 

The world was fascinated and horrified. Most people had never heard of Daesh or were unaware of its links to Al-Qaeda in Iraq during the Iraq War. How had this group come out of nowhere to conquer the north of Iraq, in addition to its territories in Syria? The interest was such that an article I published on our think tank’s website, explaining where the group had come from, was for a while the top result in Google searches. 

For extremists and their sympathizers around the world, this was the moment for which they had been waiting and fighting for many years. Here at last, they thought, was a leader and a group capable of delivering on what it promised. 

How we wrote it




Arab News reported the militant group’s announcement of the establishment of a “caliphate.”

Extremists flocked to Daesh in droves. Estimates at the height of the group’s power put the number of foreign fighters who joined its Iraqi and Syrian core at 40,000, with a flow at its peak of up to 2,000 a month. The majority of these foreign fighters were from the Middle East and North Africa, but they included a large number from the West, and South and Southeast Asia as well. 

Throughout modern history, in every kind of social or political movement, new kinds of organizations have emerged that changed the terms of the debate. Al-Qaeda did that with the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Daesh did the same in 2014. 

The use of propaganda by Daesh probably received the most international focus, including the way it showcased of acts of extreme violence, such as the 2015 immolation of Muath Al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot, and the beheadings of soldiers, journalists and aid workers. 

The group produced slick videos and professionally edited magazines. It created vast networks on social media, playing a game of cat and mouse with the law enforcement agencies and tech companies that attempted to suppress them. 

Efforts to counter Daesh sought to emulate the group’s own tactics, but with very limited success because the majority of these efforts seemed unable to grasp the fact that the production of slick videos was not the point, but merely a mechanism for communicating a message: the caliphate that so many frustrated extremists had longed for was supposedly back. 

Another aspect in which a total change of tactics was in evidence was Daesh’s approach to governance. Other transnational terrorist groups had attempted governance, notably Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in the aftermath of 2011. And other extremist groups of various ideological stripes had tried it on a large scale, including the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Key Dates

  • 1

    Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the leader of Daesh, proclaims the establishment of a caliphate stretching from Aleppo in Syria to Diyala in Iraq.

    Timeline Image June 29, 2014

  • 2

    Daesh posts photos and videos showing beheadings of dozens of captured Syrian soldiers, American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, US aid worker Peter Kassig and British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines.

    Timeline Image July to Nov. 2014

  • 3

    US forms Global Coalition Against Daesh.

    Timeline Image Sept. 2014

  • 4

    Daesh murders 163 people and destroys historic Great Mosque of Al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraq, and monuments at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Palmyra in Syria.

    Timeline Image June to Dec. 2017

  • 5

    US Special Forces track Al-Baghdadi to a hideout in northern Syria, where he kills himself and 3 children by detonating a suicide vest. He is succeeded as leader by Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi.

    Timeline Image Oct. 26, 2019

  • 6

    Abu Al-Hussein Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi takes over as leader after his predecessor’s death.

  • 7

    Abu Hafs Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi appointed the 5th, and current, leader of the group.

    Timeline Image Aug. 2023

But Daesh was the first group with an explicitly transnational ideology (it sought to establish a global caliphate) to attempt governance at scale. It sent out calls to doctors and teachers; it announced the launch of a currency, with great fanfare; it encouraged those who traveled to its territory to burn their passports. 

This relates to the third way in which a total change was evident in how this group operated, and the reason why extremists all over the world continue to carry out attacks in its name. 

Daesh’s actions in 2014 had sent out a message across the Islamist world: “We deliver.” For decades, various groups had claimed to seek the establishment of a caliphate. Most observers laughed at this fantasy and instead focused on how the West, in their eyes, might avoid provoking such groups. 

But the actions of Daesh granted it a legitimacy in the eyes of its ideological sympathizers. Fighters from other extremist groups in Syria and Iraq defected to it; the leaders of these groups were mere warlords in comparison to the leadership of Daesh. Groups in several countries, from Nigeria to the Philippines, swore allegiance. And across the Middle East and North Africa, Daesh cells claimed to be expanding its jurisdiction. 




Daesh militants gather at undisclosed location in Iraq's Nineveh province after taking over the Iraqi city of Tikrit, the second provincial capital to fall in two days. AFP

Despite the deaths of successive leaders and loss of its territories, allegiance to the Daesh ideology persists. In Nigeria, the Sinai, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere around the globe, people still claim to be acting in the name of the supposed “caliphate.” 

Such is the power of ideology. When we focus only on personalities, propaganda or territory, we risk missing the most important aspect. It was not Al-Baghdadi’s charismatic personality that drew people to him who had never met him and hardly ever heard him speak, and convinced them to pledge allegiance. If slickly produced films were enough, the world would be rushing to pledge allegiance to Peter Jackson. If territories were the key, support for Daesh would have dried up on the banks of the Euphrates. 

All of these things are certainly important but it is the very idea of the caliphate, and the means through which to achieve it, that holds Daesh’s supporters together.

  • Peter Welby is a priest in the Church of England. Previously, he was a consultant on religion and global affairs, specializing in the Arab world, and the managing editor of a think tank on religious extremism, the Centre on Religion and Geopolitics.  


Pacers take 2-0 lead over Knicks as Pascal Siakam scores 39 points in 114-109 victory

Pacers take 2-0 lead over Knicks as Pascal Siakam scores 39 points in 114-109 victory
Updated 1 min 29 sec ago
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Pacers take 2-0 lead over Knicks as Pascal Siakam scores 39 points in 114-109 victory

Pacers take 2-0 lead over Knicks as Pascal Siakam scores 39 points in 114-109 victory
  • Myles Turner added 16 points and Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who head home halfway to their second trip to the NBA Finals
  • No team has lost the first two games at home and come back to win a series in the conference finals

NEW YORK: Pascal Siakam scored a playoff career-high 39 points, and the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 114-109 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Myles Turner added 16 points and Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who head home halfway to their second trip to the NBA Finals. They lost to the Lakers in 2000 in their only shot at the title.

Game 3 is Sunday in Indiana, though the Pacers might prefer to keep it right where it is. They have won six straight road games since falling at Milwaukee in Game 3 of the first round.

Siakam finished 15 for 23 from the field on a night nobody else on the high-scoring Pacers had more than five baskets.

“Special game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “In the first half he was the guy that got us going and got us through some difficult stretches.”

Jalen Brunson had 36 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, who need a quick turnaround or their first appearance in the conference finals in 25 years will be a brief one. They defended much better after their crushing collapse in a 138-135 overtime loss in Game 1, but couldn’t find enough scoring to come back after a bad start to the fourth quarter.

Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks, but Towns played just 28 minutes as coach Tom Thibodeau went longer with backup Mitchell Robinson, a much better defender who grabbed nine rebounds.

No team has lost the first two games at home and come back to win a series in the conference finals.

“Going into the fourth quarter it’s a tie ballgame. We’ve just got to make better plays, more winning plays,” Thibodeau said.

It was tied at 81 after three, before the Pacers opened the fourth with a 13-4 run to move ahead 94-85 on Siakam’s 3-pointer with 9:17 remaining. They would quickly push the margin back to around there every time the Knicks got any momentum, and it was 110-100 after another basket by Siakam with 2:45 to play.

The Knicks scored nine straight to make it 110-109 on Josh Hart’s basket with 14 seconds to go. Aaron Nesmith made two free throws for the Pacers, Brunson was well off on a 3-point attempt and Turner finished it out with two free throws.

The 50th playoff meeting between the rivals — the Pacers lead 28-22, all since 1993 — more closely resembled their defensive battles of the 1990s than the shootout of two nights earlier. The Knicks led that one by 14 with 2:45 to play before the Pacers caught them on Haliburton’s jumper as time expired and won it in OT.

This time, Indiana raced to a 19-9 lead, but the Knicks quickly caught them when Robinson and Deuce McBride entered and the game remained within a single-digit margin nearly the entire rest of the night.


Beyond ceasefire, India and Pakistan battle on in digital trenches

Beyond ceasefire, India and Pakistan battle on in digital trenches
Updated 13 min 24 sec ago
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Beyond ceasefire, India and Pakistan battle on in digital trenches

Beyond ceasefire, India and Pakistan battle on in digital trenches
  • Both states continue to push competing narratives after the four-day military standoff, which ended on May 10 with a US-brokered truce
  • Digital rights experts note how it is often laced with hate, targeting vulnerable communities like Muslims in India and Hindus in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: As Indian and Pakistani guns fell silent after trading fire for days this month, the war over facts and fiction is far from over and fierce battle rages on social media as to who won, who distorted the truth, and which version of events should be trusted.

As both states continue to push competing narratives, experts warn that misinformation, censorship and AI-generated propaganda have turned digital platforms into battlegrounds, with real-world consequences for peace, truth and regional stability.

The four-day military standoff, which ended on May 10 with a US-brokered ceasefire, resulted from an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people last month. India accused Pakistan of backing the assault, a charge Islamabad has consistently denied.

While the truce between the nuclear-armed archfoes has since held, digital rights experts have sounded alarm over the parallel information war, which continues based on disinformation, censorship and propaganda on both sides, threatening the ceasefire between both nations.

Asad Baig, who heads the Media Matters for Democracy not-for-profit that works on media literacy and digital democracy, noted that broadcast media played a central role in spreading falsehoods during the India-Pakistan standoff to cater to an online audience hungry for “sensational content.”

“Disinformation was overwhelmingly spread from the Indian side,” Baig told Arab News. “Media was playing to a polarized, online audience. Conflict became content, and content became currency in the monetization game.”

A man clicks a picture of a billboard featuring Pakistan's Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir (C), Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf (R), and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu, along a road in Peshawar on May 15, 2025. (AFP/File)

Several mainstream media outlets, mostly in India, flooded the public with fake news, doctored visuals and sensationalist coverage, fueling mass anxiety and misinformation, according to fact-checkers and experts, who say the role of media at this critical geopolitical juncture undermined journalistic integrity and misled citizens.

“I think this is a perfect example of the media becoming a tool of propaganda in the hands of a state,” said prominent digital rights activist Usama Khilji, calling on those at the helm of television and digital media outlets to independently verify state claims using tools like satellite imagery or on-ground sources.

In Pakistan, X, previously known as Twitter, had been banned since February 2024, with digital rights groups and global organizations calling the blockade a “blatant violation” of civic liberties and a threat to democratic freedoms.

But on May 7, as Pakistan’s responded to India’s missile strikes on its territory that began the conflict, the platform was suddenly restored, allowing users to access it without a VPN that allows them to bypass such restrictions by masking their location. The platform has remained accessible since.

“We were [previously] told that X is banned because of national security threats,” Khilji told Arab News, praising the government’s “strategic move” to let the world hear Pakistan’s side of the story during this month’s conflict.

“But when we actually got a major national security threat in terms of literal war, X was unblocked.”

Indian authorities meanwhile blocked more than 8,000 X, YouTube and Instagram accounts belonging to news outlets as well as Pakistani celebrities, journalists and influencers.

“When only one narrative is allowed to dominate, it creates echo chambers that breed confusion, fuel conflict, and dangerously suppress the truth,” Khilji explained.

VIRTUAL WAR

Minutes after India attacked Pakistan with missiles on May 7, Pakistan released a video to journalists via WhatsApp that showed multiple blasts hitting an unknown location purportedly in Pakistan. However, the video later turned out to be of Israeli bombardment of Gaza and was retracted.

A woman wearing a T-shirt featuring ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’ checks her mobile phone near a market area in Ludhiana on May 17, 2025. (AFP/File)

On May 8, Indian news outlets played a video in which a Pakistani military spokesperson admitted to the downing of two of their Chinese-made JF-17 fighter jets. X users later pointed out that the video was AI-generated.

Throughout the standoff both mainstream and digital media outlets found themselves in the eye of the storm, with many official and verified accounts sharing and then retracting false information. The use of AI-generated videos and even video game simulations misrepresented battlefield scenarios in real time and amplified confusion at a critical moment.

Insights from experts paint a disturbing picture of how information warfare is becoming inseparable from conventional conflict. From deliberate state narratives to irresponsible media and rampant misinformation on social platforms, the truth itself is becoming a casualty of war.

AFP Digital Verification Correspondent Rimal Farrukh describes how false information was often laced with hate speech, targeting vulnerable communities like Muslims in India and Hindus in Pakistan.

“We saw dehumanizing language, misleading visuals, and recycled war footage, often from unrelated conflicts like Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Gaza, used to stoke fear and deepen biases,” she told Arab News.


Arsenal seek to defy the odds against mighty Barcelona in women’s Champions League final

Arsenal seek to defy the odds against mighty Barcelona in women’s Champions League final
Updated 54 min 51 sec ago
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Arsenal seek to defy the odds against mighty Barcelona in women’s Champions League final

Arsenal seek to defy the odds against mighty Barcelona in women’s Champions League final
  • Manager Renee Slegers believes her disciplined side can triumph over the Catalan giants of women’s football, who are the strong favorites to win their fourth European title
  • Alessia Russo: They (Barca) are a really good football team, but we are here to win

LISBON: Arsenal will bid to defy the odds against Barcelona in Saturday’s women’s Champions League final in Lisbon, aiming to secure their second title with courage and underrated defiance.

Manager Renee Slegers believes her disciplined side can triumph over the Catalan giants of women’s football, who are the strong favorites to win their fourth European title.

“We want to show courage tomorrow. We respect Barca as a team. They are a really good football team, so we are humble, but we are here to win,” she told reporters on Friday.

“We have to find ways to win, and I am confident that the momentum of the game will shift. It’s important that we deal with every moment really well. We need courage and discipline, and we need to be switched on. If we do all those things well, we can perform well. We believe in our ability tomorrow.”

Arsenal forward Alessia Russo echoed Slegers’ sentiments.

“We want to show courage tomorrow. We respect Barca as a team,” she said. “They are a really good football team, but we are here to win. We have to find ways to win, and I am confident that, if we handle all situations well and stay focused, we can perform well.

“Belief is something we have spoken about a lot as a team this season. We have found lots of different ways to win. It’s been a season full of highs and lows, but we’ve learnt a lot,” the former Chelsea and Manchester United striker added.

Veteran midfielder Kim Little, who played in the 2007 final victory against Sweden’s Umea, looked back in time when asked about Arsenal’s first meeting with Barca in Europe’s top club competition during the 2012–13 season, when the London team won 7–0 on aggregate.

“It’s incredible for me to still be at the club. We came out on top,” Little said. “After 2007 and everything the club has achieved since then, leading the team on this occasion is so special.”
 


Pakistan to export female beauticians to Saudi Arabia — state media

Pakistan to export female beauticians to Saudi Arabia — state media
Updated 24 May 2025
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Pakistan to export female beauticians to Saudi Arabia — state media

Pakistan to export female beauticians to Saudi Arabia — state media
  • Hairdressers, makeup and nail artists under the age of 40 are required, OEC says
  • Pakistan has long maintained a strong labor export relationship with the Kingdom

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) will send skilled female beauticians to Saudi Arabia in response to a demand from a private firm in the Kingdom, state media reported on Friday, outlining the qualifications required for applicants.

The initiative comes as part of Pakistan’s long-standing labor export relationship with Saudi Arabia, which remains the top destination for Pakistani workers and contributes over $700 million in monthly remittances to the South Asian country.

Pakistan regularly sends skilled labor to Gulf nations, including medical professionals, engineers and technicians. The latest move targets the beauty and personal care sector.

“Overseas Employment Corporation, an attached department of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, will export skilled workers (female beauticians) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said.

It informed a Saudi firm is seeking beauticians for various roles, including senior hairdresser, nail technician (gel and acrylic), eyelash specialist, makeup artist, waxing and bleaching specialist and wig technician.

The required qualifications include a minimum of three years’ experience and an age limit of under 40 years.

APP said the firm will offer senior beauticians a monthly salary of 3,000 Saudi Riyals or approximately $800.

Employees will also receive free shared accommodation with furnishings and air conditioning, food allowance, and round-trip airfare, along with surface transport within Saudi Arabia if needed.

The news report said applications must be submitted via the OEC website by June 8.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy robust economic, defense and cultural ties.

The Kingdom hosts over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and remains the largest source of remittances to Pakistan, a crucial lifeline for the country’s cash-strapped economy.


McTominay and Lukaku goals lead Napoli to Serie A title and Conte’s ‘most unexpected’ trophy

McTominay and Lukaku goals lead Napoli to Serie A title and Conte’s ‘most unexpected’ trophy
Updated 24 May 2025
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McTominay and Lukaku goals lead Napoli to Serie A title and Conte’s ‘most unexpected’ trophy

McTominay and Lukaku goals lead Napoli to Serie A title and Conte’s ‘most unexpected’ trophy
  • Napoli finished Serie A one point ahead of Inter

ROME: The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli its second Serie A title in three years on Friday.
Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari.
Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams.
“Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.”
Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won at Juventus and one at Inter Milan — not to mention a Premier League title at Chelsea — Conte said it was “the most unexpected, the most difficult, and the most stimulating in terms of the challenge.”
Conte also noted how he had to try and convince players to stay when he arrived last June.
Napoli needed only to do the same or better than defending champion Inter in the final round of matches, so Inter’s 2-0 win at 10-man Como wasn’t enough for the Nerazzurri.
Napoli finished Serie A one point ahead of Inter.
The southern squad’s fourth Serie A title overall capped an impressive turnaround after the Partenopei finished 10th during a dismal title defense last season.
“The one two years ago was one we were  for months, whereas this week we had so much anxiety, we couldn’t wait to get on the field and win this in front of our fans,” said winger Matteo Politano, who provided the cross for McTominay’s goal.
Diego Maradona led Napoli to its first two titles in 1987 and 1990. The 2023 team led by Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia clinched with five rounds to spare.
Inter was heading toward the title until McTominay went airborne to redirect a pass from Politano in the 42nd minute for his 12th goal this season after transferring from Manchester United.
“For me to come and experience this, it’s a dream,” McTominay said.
Lukaku, who was signed from Chelsea in August, controlled a long vertical pass and dribbled by two defenders before scoring in the 51st. It was his 14th goal along with his league-leading 10 assists.
Conte watched the match from the tribune after getting sent off last weekend. But he went down to the pitch at the final whistle and embraced Lukaku, with whom he also won Serie A at Inter in 2021.
McTominay dropped to the pitch in tears when the match finished. Minutes later he was honored as Serie A player of the season.
Napoli players held up signs that read “Again” featuring a “4” for the team’s fourth title.
Napoli fans began cheering and singing hours before kickoff at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and erupted in celebration at the final whistle — including at jumbo screens that were set up in several of the city’s central piazzas.
Cagliari was already sure of avoiding relegation but goalkeeper Alen Sherri was inspired at the start, denying Napoli on multiple occasions early on.
While Napoli won by 16 points two years ago under Luciano Spalletti, this season was a duel with Inter virtually all season. It was also unexpected after Napoli went through three coaches last season – Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona.
But Conte constructed the best defense in Serie A, and brought in Lukaku and McTominay to play alongside holdovers from the 2023 team like captain Di Lorenzo, goalkeeper Alex Meret and midfielder Stanislav Lobotka.
Di Lorenzo matched Maradona by captaining Napoli to two titles.
It also helped that Napoli did not play in Europe this season — keeping the team fresher for Serie A.
Inter rested its starters
Defender Stefan de Vrij scored 20 minutes in for Inter, redirecting a corner kick with a bouncing header.
Como was reduced to 10 men when goalkeeper Pepe Reina was sent off at the end of the first half for a foul on Mehdi Taremi. It was Reina’s final game before retiring.
Joaquín Correa added another for Inter after the break in almost the same moment that Lukaku scored for Napoli.
Inter, which is also preparing for the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in eight days, rested most of its usual starters, including top strikers Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.