The clandestine programme represents a significant escalation of the CIA's involvement in the war in Syria, enlisting the agency's powerful Counterterrorism Centre.

German troops involved in a coalition training mission in Iraq have reported that Isis (Islamic State) fighters have used chemical weapons on a Kurdish militia.

Homegrown extremists will not be concerned a kill list the so-called Islamic State purportedly published is riddled with dated or public information, a security analyst says.

The New Zealander's father said his son had no connection to any military group and he could not understand why the name was listed.

The father of the New Zealander on the Isis "kill list" says "he's holding up as well as can be expected but obviously he's looking over his shoulder".

A suspected female Isis suicide bomber set off an explosion near a cultural centre hosting youth activists in a Turkish border town, leaving 30 dead and scores injured.

Britain must accept that "sooner or later" ground troops and tanks will have to be sent into combat to overcome Isis a former chief of the Armed Forces has said.

Unless we allow borders to reform naturally this Sunni time bomb will blow unpredictably benefitting ISIS, writes Ron Mark.

A British schoolgirl who fled to Syria to join Islamic State (Isis) has reportedly married a notorious Australian-born jihadist who threatened to carry out attacks in Britain.

Nicknaming Isis (Islamic State) terrorist Mohammed Emwazi "Jihadi John" is an insult to the memory of John Lennon, Yoko Ono has said.

Kiwi armed forces are following the lead of the British, French and Americans by referring to the barbaric terrorist group as "Daesh" - an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Militants from Isis (Islamic State) are feared to have begun destruction of Syria's Roman city of Palmyra as the head of Unesco warned of "cultural cleansing" by the extremist group.

The United States has blocked attempts by its Middle East allies to fly heavy weapons directly to the Kurds fighting Isis jihadists in Iraq.

Counter-terrorism teams launched raids in three Turkish cities yesterday, seizing firearms and arresting suspected Isis militants.

Jihadists warned "Christians" to avoid Tunisia for their summer holidays seven weeks before last weekend's attack, one of several warning signs missed.

Iraqi soldiers have graduated from the New Zealand and Australian Defence Force training at Taji Military Camp to join the fight against Isis.

Isis jihadists have threatened "a calamity for kuffars" over the fasting month of Ramadan, and released a gruesome video of unorthodox execution methods.

Isis jihadists have planted mines around the ancient ruins in Syria's Palmyra, prompting fears for the Unesco World Heritage site.

Terrorist force using every method at its disposal to fund its struggle, writes Indira Lakshmanan.

The group's 23,000 followers on Twitter include diplomats, journalists and Pentagon officials. More than 39,000 people have "liked" its Facebook page.

A special team - appalled by the way cultural history is being looted by Isis - is fighting back, tracking down priceless treasures and the racketeers who threaten them.

Like other Western nations, Australia has been grappling with the challenge of how to deal with radicalised Muslims who travel to Iraq or Syria to fight with Isis, writes Kathy Marks.

Despite denials by Prime Minister John Key, there are growing signs that advances by Isis fighters will raise the risks facing Kiwi troops in Iraq, writes Robert G. Patman.

At least a dozen young women have fled Melbourne to live under Isis in war-torn Syria.

The Islamic State is more than a way of finding a husband for those who sidestep authority to join it.

The news that Islamic State (Isis) fighters have advanced to within 100km of Camp Taji where New Zealand's 143 military advisers are based wasn't the only bulletin from the war zone.

The uneasy international alliance against Isis (Islamic State) descended into acrimony yesterday as allies traded accusations over what led to the fall of Ramadi.

NZ's contingent of military training specialists have barely arrived and the folly of this military (mis)adventure is already becoming apparent, writes Armstrong.