“I think sending our men to fight in Syria was the right decision… Al-Qaida has had a lot of practice in street fighting. If our guys hadn’t gotten the experience in Syria, al-Qaida and ISIS could have taken Baghdad.”“The Fearsome Iraqi Militia Vowing to Vanquish ISIS,” BBC, July 7, 2014, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28199741.

Pledging support for ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:
“We pledge to obey him on anything which our hearts desire or not and to value him more than anyone else. We will not take any emir (leader) other than him unless we see in him any obvious act of disbelief that could be questioned by Allah in the hereafter.”Michelle FlorCruz, “Philippine Terror Group Abu Sayyaf May Be Using ISIS Link For Own Agenda,” International Business Times, September 25, 2014, http://www.ibtimes.com/philippine-terror-group-abu-sayyaf-may-be-using-isis-link-own-agenda-1695156.

“If we get arrested, the police will point their guns at us from the back and maybe from the front. If we can get even one of their weapons, we can shoot them. They will probably kill us but we will be martyrs automatically and receive Allah’s blessings.”“Criminal Complaint,” United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, April 1, 2015, https://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/velentzas-complaint.pdf.

“In the event of an irrational attack by the U.S., America’s military bases will not be safe from our missiles, whether in Bahrain or at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.”Lisa Daftari, “US Military Base within Iranian Striking Distance, Official Warns,” Fox News, June 10, 2014, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/10/us-military-base-within-iranian-striking-distance-official-warns/.

“[In Mosul] children played with sticks, pretending these were weapons they would use to fight heretics and unbelievers.”Robyn Creswell and Bernard Haykel, “Battle Lines: Want to understand the jihadis? Read their poety,” New Yorker, June 8, 2015, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/08/battle-lines-jihad-creswell-and-haykel.

The IRGC “stands atop the world, given its hundreds of martyrdom-seeking battalions and hundreds of highly trained combat battalions.”Ariel Ben Solomon, “Iranian Commander Says Readying Launch of Air Defense System More Advanced than Russian S-300,” Jerusalem Post, June 1, 2014, http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Iran-Islamic-Republic-has-air-defense-system-more-advanced-than-Russian-s-300-355014.

“I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah. I will sell them off and marry them off.”Aminu Abubakar, Josh Levs, “'I will sell them,' Boko Haram leader says of kidnapped Nigerian girls,” CNN, May 6, 2014, http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/05/world/africa/nigeria-abducted-girls/.

“In the past two decades, Iran has had an outstanding stance on Palestine, Israel and the resistance.” Ibrahim Humeidi, “Islamic Jihad Leader Discusses Iran, Reconcilitation,” Al-Monitor, May 22, 2014, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulseen/politics/2014/05/palestine-syria-iran-islamic-jihad-interview-reconciliation.html.

“This is one of the Israeli enemy’s concerns. It looks at Syria and Iran … and sees that they are giving all the help they can to the resistance.”“Hezbollah Can Still Deter Israel, Terror Chief Warns,” AFP, May 25, 2014, accessed August 4, 2014, http://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-can-still-deter-israel-terror-chief-warns/.

“To those that are defending Iraq in Syria, because they are fighting there the enemies of Iraq, I tell you all. [C]ongratulations for having the honor to fight there. Congratulations for making history.”Sheha Shankar, “Bomb Explodes At An Election Rally For Asaib Ahl al-Haq Group In Baghdad, Iraq, Kills 33 people,” International Business Times, April 26, 2014, http://www.ibtimes.com/bomb-explodes-election-rally-asaib-ahl-al-haq-group-baghdadiraq-kills-33-people-1576797.