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Egypt arrests two Germans for Daesh affiliation, deports one

Egypt has arrested two German nationals on suspicion they tried to join a Daesh (ISIS) affiliate and deported one of them, Egyptian security sources said Friday. German media reported earlier this month that two Germans had gone missing after arriving separately in Egypt in December....

Turkish defense minister vows operation when time is right

Turkey's defense minister on Friday pledged to wage a campaign against a U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia, sharpening focus on a potential conflict the United States has sought to prevent. The comments from Hulusi Akar, on an unannounced visit to inspect troops stationed near the...

Car bomb blast kills at least 1 in Iraqi town of Al-Qaim: military statement

A car bomb blast killed at least one person and injured more than a dozen the Iraqi town of Al-Qaim on the Syrian border on Friday, a statement from Iraq's military said. The military said one person was killed, and 16 people were injured. A local senior police source put the number...

Israeli army continues Ramallah raids, sparking clashes

Israeli forces have continued conducting raids in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, triggering clashes with local Palestinians. On Thursday evening, the fifth consecutive day of raids, dozens of soldiers and at least eight military vehicles raided Ramallah’s Al-Masyoon...

Egypt deports German citizen over terror suspicions

Egyptian authorities say they have deported a German citizen of Egyptian origin who had been detained last month in Luxor airport carrying maps and a compass, raising suspicions he was plotting terrorism. Cairo airport officials said Friday that 18-year-old Isa El Sabbagh, from Giessen,...

Israel fighter jet sale to Croatia fails after US objections

Israel has failed to overcome U.S. objections to its plan to sell 12 used fighter jets to Croatia and the $500 million deal will likely be canceled, Croatia's defense minister said Thursday. Israel reached a tentative deal with Croatia in March for the sale of the upgraded F-16 Barak...

Iraq deploys special forces in Kirkuk amid Kurdish flag dispute

Iraqi special forces deployed Thursday in Kirkuk after the raising of the Kurdish flag over a political party headquarters revived tensions more than a year after Baghdad seized the disputed northern city. Iraq's counter-terrorism chief gave President Barham Saleh's Patriotic Union of...

Hamas leader's trip to Moscow on Jan. 15 cancelled: Ifax

A trip to Moscow next week by the leader of the Palestinian movement Hamas has been cancelled, Interfax news agency quoted the ambassador for the Palestinian Authority to Russia as saying Thursday. The Hamas leader had been expected to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei...

Pompeo meets Egypt's Sisi amid concern over US Mideast policy

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was holding talks with Egyptian leaders in Cairo Thursday as he continued a nine-nation Mideast tour aimed at reassuring America's Arab partners that the Trump administration is not walking away from the region. Amid confusion and concern over plans...

Iran says it will reciprocate after EU sanctions Iranians

Iran said Wednesday that it would reciprocate after the European Union added two Iranian individuals and an Iranian intelligence unit to the bloc's terrorist list. EU ministers agreed Tuesday to add the names to the list and freeze their assets, effective from Wednesday, as the...

Kirkuk governor asks army to step in after disturbances

The governor of Kirkuk on Wednesday asked the central government in Baghdad to send military reinforcements to the province after members of a Kurdish political party raised Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) flags at a rally. Late Tuesday, Iraqi security forces in Kirkuk dispersed a...

Trump’s Syria plans hit another wall after Erdogan snubs Bolton

Donald Trump’s national security adviser miscalculated if he thought he was going to dissuade Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from his planned offensive against U.S. allies in Syria. Erdogan rebuffed a meeting in Ankara on Tuesday with National Security Adviser John...

Israeli settlers destroy olive groves in West Bank

Israeli settlers on Tuesday destroyed 30 olive groves in the town of Yatta in the southern West Bank, according to a local activist. A group of settlers chopped down the trees east of Yatta, Ratib al-Jabour, coordinator of the Popular Resistance Committees in the city of Hebron,...

Israel's Netanyahu to make 'dramatic announcement'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will deliver a "dramatic announcement" set to coincide with the evening news broadcast. Netanyahu said in statement on Twitter Monday that he would broadcast a "special announcement to the press." The embattled prime minister's...

Israel launches further Hamas strikes after Gaza rocket fired

The Israeli army said Monday it had carried out further air raids against Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket being fired over its border. The Israeli air defense system intercepted the rocket which was fired overnight from the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave, the army...

Palestinian Authority pulls staff from Rafah border crossing

The Palestinian Authority said Sunday it was withdrawing staff from the Rafah border post with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip to protest against "brutal practices" by rival faction Hamas. "This decision comes in the light of recent developments and brutal practices of the de facto...

Mideast peace plan postponed: US envoy

U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman said on Sunday that his administration's plan for peace in the Middle East would be delayed. In statements he gave during a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, to Israel, Friedman said the...

Egypt's president to inaugurate Coptic Cathedral after bomb blast

Egypt’s president Sisi will inaugurate the country’s biggest cathedral on Coptic Christmas Eve Sunday, a day after a deadly bomb blast near a church in a country where jihadists have repeatedly targeted Christians. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday’s...