Free Republic

Kurdish fighters in the Syrian town of Hassakeh have been involved in fierce fighting with Isil jihadists including Chechens. A Christian militia formed to protect the community as Syria falls apart is fighting its first major battle against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), attacking across a front in the north-east of the country before being driven back again in a fierce counter-blow. Christian groups said they were checking a report that up to 200 civilians had been kidnapped by Isil jihadists in the fighting and were being held as hostages. A number of fighters from the militia,...

The Russian leader of an international Christian group that worked with some of the children slain by Islamic terrorists in Beslan says he was overwhelmed by the grief "hanging in the air" of the North Ossetian town in the wake of the massacre. Valentin Vasilizhenko, national director of Russian Ministries' "Association for Spiritual Renewal," described the atmosphere as he drove into Beslan from a nearby airport with other colleagues. "I could sense the anguish, sorrow, and grief that was just hanging in the air. It was so thick. We just couldn't drive," he said. "We had to get out of...