Shortly after a long-awaited offensive began, Kurdish troops have taken control of at least parts of Sinjar. The town was once home to abbot 100,000 Yazidi Kurds but has been largely abandoned. Pockets os resistance remain and there are likely large numbers of booby traps.
ISIL opted not to fight in Sinjar, possibly because they realize that to do so they;d have to concentrate troops, which would then be hit hard by airpower.
US bombers fly near disputed Chinese island
Two American B-52s flew near the artificial islands built by China. This come close after a US warship passed nearby. The US is signaling China that it does not control the South China Sea. Unfortunately, US allies in the region, who are far kore affected by Chinese assertiveness than the US is, are cheering from the sidelines, if not the upper deck toward the back.
ISIL claims responsibility for Beirut blast
Two bombs tore through a Shia part of Beirut yesterday. ISIL is attacking Hisbollah for its support of the Assad government in Syria. The aim is likely to incite sectarian fighting inside Lebanon. However, the Lebanese, having endured several sectarian wars, have refrained from such a response. Hats off to the people of Lebanon who have maintained peace amid sectarian war all around them.
Bomb blast in southern Thailand
Southern Thailand is home to a restive Muslim population – and to a small Islamist militant movement. Some of them are aligned with al Qaeda.