Islamic State restructures regional branches in Syria, Iraq
New York, July 24 : The Islamic State (IS) has made changes to the way it refers to its regional branches in Syria and Iraq, in a likely indication that the outfit has made internal structural changes after losing territory in 2017.
The Islamic State dropped the term "Wilayah", meaning official branch or "province", to refer to areas within Syria and Iraq which had previously held the status of separate "provinces" -- such as Damascus, Raqqa, Kirkuk and northern Baghdad, BBC citing SITI reported.
The term "Wilayah" is now being used to describe the larger territories of Syria and Iraq -- the "Wilayah of Sham (Syria)" and the "Wilayah of Iraq", regional designations that the IS had not used before.
The changes were first spotted in the latest edition of the group's weekly Arabic-language newspaper al-Naba on July 20. But there was no fanfare and the IS made no announcement of the changes.
Since then, claims of attacks within Syria and Iraq have been attributed to "Wilayah of Sham" or "Wilayah of Iraq".
In a video released by the IS in July 2016, the group set out the administrative structure of what it termed as caliphate. It said the Wilayat (plural of Wilayah) were established following the group's expansion in order to "create effective ways to administer and supervise its territory".
The report said that the latest changes to the official status of the regions reflected a restructuring following territorial setbacks in 2017, with each of the regions within Syria and Iraq no longer requiring its own governor or ministry offices.
It was not clear whether countries such as Libya, Yemen or Saudi Arabia underwent a similar restructuring process.
The group did, however, continue to refer to its Egypt branch as the "Wilayah of Sinai" and for the first time described its affiliate in Southeast Asia as a Wilayah -- effectively upgrading its status, possibly as compensation for the downgrading of regions in Syria and Iraq.
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Fan tries to die by suicide over Nikhil Kumaraswamy's bypoll loss
Bengaluru: Channapatna JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who lost the byelection to C.P. Yogeshwar of Congress, on Sunday consoled a fan who reportedly attempted to end his life and requested him not to repeat such acts.
Manjunath, fondly called Abhi, had even penned a letter before taking the dangerous step. Nikhil, who called on Manjunath at the latter’s home in Kudloor in Channapatna, expressed shock and sadness over the incident.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy reassured Manjunath, expressing his support during the difficult time. He told him that he was deeply troubled to learn of this incident and emphasised that he would stand by him. Nikhil also promised to offer assistance in any way he could, including helping him secure employment opportunities in the future, as reported by the Deccan Herald.
He also reminded Manjunath of the importance of his children’s well-being, urging him to focus on their future. “Please, look at the faces of your growing children. Even I have a three-year-old son. The children are young, let us take care of their future also. I will arrange some job opportunities for you. I might not be an MLA but this is a challenge. I will get you employed,” he said.
Nikhil told media persons that he is extremely hurt more by Manjunath’s attempt to die than by his loss in the election. “At 7:30 a.m., we got a message that in Valetoopu, Manjunath had consumed poison yesterday. In Channapatna, our workers and leaders have built this party with zeal. Let the admiration be there in your hearts but if it crosses the line, your families get hurt and we get very pained by it,” he was quoted as saying by the publication.
Speaking of his byelection loss, Nikhil reiterated that the JD(S) had got its traditional votes, but that the votes of a particular community went against the party.
“Deve Gowda gave reservation to a community. We tried our last attempt to take that community into confidence. But they conveyed to us that they do not require us. In future, we will take other communities into confidence,” he remarked in a veiled reference to Muslims.
Nikhil lost the election by a margin of 25,413 votes to Congress candidate C.P. Yogeshwar.
