In the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's war to carve out an Islamic caliphate from its two namesake countries, there's a counter-war being waged by Twitter user @wikibaghdady, reports The Daily Beast's Jacob Siegel. The "mysterious Twitter account is trying to stop ISIS's rise to power by spilling the terror group's secrets online," he writes. Siegel cautions that the account should be taken seriously but with skepticism, and is probably written by someone (or someones) in Syria. Then Siegel plays detective:
Whoever @wikibaghdady is, two things about him are clear: He's a fellow Islamist who has a beef with ISIS, and he's someone close to the group, providing the kind of details that only come from intimacy. That doesn't make him some kind of hero, but if snitches had to be saints, the NYPD would shut down tomorrow. Wikibaghdady isn't outing secrets to curb ISIS's wanton slaughter. He's a fellow jihadi playing dirty politics against members of his own cohort. [Daily Beast]
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffsspeed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
'The program long ago ceased to be temporary help'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying reportspeed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red SeaSpeed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
-
Houthi rebels claim Red Sea ship attacksspeed read Iran-backed Yemeni group vows to escalate aggression towards Israel-linked vessels in revenge for Gaza war
-
Israel plans next phase of Gaza war as first hostages releasedSpeed read After four-day ceasefire 'we will not stop' until destruction of Hamas, says Israel
-
Mob storms Russian airport 'looking for Jews'Speed Read Plane from Israel surrounded by rioters chanting antisemitic slogans after landing in Russia's Dagestan region
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs saySpeed Read
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?Speed Read
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign portSpeed Read
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'Speed Read
