At the peak of ISIL’s military momentum in 2014, the Iraqi city of Haditha was in the middle of it all. From its northwestern tip, ISIL had seized areas that stretched to Aleppo. The group’s territorial depth east of the city extended to the Jordanian border. The militants also seized Tikrit,...

Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria and would not interfere in either country, the head of the Turkish Armed Forces said Sunday. “We want to prevent the attacks and threat of Daesh to ensure security on the border and to protect people from terrorism,” Gen. Hulusi...

 Millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims beating their chests in mourning thronged the Iraqi city of Karbala Sunday under the protection of thousands of members of the security forces. The Arbaeen pilgrimage is one of the world's largest religious events and is seen as a major potential...

President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted on Sunday as saying that Turkey did not need to join the European Union "at all costs" and could instead become part of a security bloc dominated by China, Russia and Central Asian nations. NATO member Turkey's prospects of joining the EU look more remote...

Violence subsided Sunday in Yemen, a day after the beginning of a 48-hour ceasefire declared by the pro-government Arab coalition battling rebel fighters for almost 20 months. An AFP correspondent in Sanaa said there had not been any air strikes in the rebel-held capital by warplanes of the...

A top Iraqi commander said on Sunday that troops were continuing to advance toward the center of Mosul, pushing back ISIS fighters, but hindered by sniper fire and suicide bombings as well as concern over the safety of civilians. Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi told The Associated Press that his...

One Turkish soldier was martyred in a Daesh attack in northern Syria on Saturday.  Three soldiers were wounded, one critically, when Daesh bombed Turkish troops near the city of Al-Bab, north of Aleppo. The wounded were taken to a hospital in Turkey's border province of Gaziantep,...

Mounting civilian casualties from fighting in eastern Mosul between Iraqi forces and ISIS are overwhelming the capacity of the government and international aid groups, the United Nations said on Saturday. Nearly 200 wounded civilians and military personnel were transferred to hospital last...

A pro-government militia announced Saturday it was cutting off roads connecting Syria with Iraq’s predominantly Turkmen city of Tal Afar, currently held by Daesh. The al-Hashd al-Shaabi Shia militia said in a written statement that it had cut off most supply roads between Syria and Tal Afar,...

(The Daily Star)- A Saudi delegation is expected to arrive in Beirut at the beginning of next week to meet with senior officials after the recent political breakthrough in the country, local media reported Saturday. Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz will dispatch Emir of Mecca Prince Khaled...

(Daily Star)- Iraq's exports from the Kirkuk oil field through an export pipeline to Turkey have dropped because of power outages, an official at state-run North Oil Co. said Saturday. Export are currently running at 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), compared with 133,000 bpd in October, the...

A senior military commander says Iraqi troops are facing stiff resistance from ISIS militants as they push deeper into eastern Mosul. Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi of the Iraqi special forces says his troops moved early Saturday morning into the Muharabeen and Ulama neighborhoods after fully...

A Saudi-led military coalition will start a 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen's war at noon (0900 GMT) on Saturday in the latest effort to end a conflict that has displaced millions and caused a worsening humanitarian disaster. The coalition has been fighting Houthi rebels and forces loyal to...

Iraqi forces have found another suspected mass grave containing the remains of ISIS victims in territory recaptured from the extremists near Mosul, AFP journalists reported Friday. An AFP team visited the isolated site that was recaptured recently by elite interior ministry forces down a...

A US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance on Friday fought fiercely to drive ISIS from a hilltop north of the extremists' de facto Syrian capital of Raqqa. The fighting took place as a senior official with the Syrian Democratic Forces told AFP that US-led coalition forces had not only provided...

Iraqi officers say troops are advancing cautiously into eastern districts of Mosul where they face stiff resistance from ISIS militants. Airstrikes, automatic fire and artillery were heard from dawn and one soldier was reported killed in clashes. Civilians, some of them wounded, could be...

Turkey reopened an important border gate with Syria on Thursday, two days after an outbreak of fighting across the frontier. The Oncupinar crossing point in the southeastern province of Kilis is open again, the local provincial governor told Anadolu Agency. On Nov. 14 Turkey temporarily...

 New visa fees will not deter investment in Saudi Arabia, which is easing procedures for foreign business, the commerce minister said Thursday, countering concerns by foreign critics. Majed al-Qasabi "confirms the charges for entry visas will not affect the flow of foreign investments...

(The Daily Star)- A suicide bomber detonated a car laden with explosives at a wedding in a Sunni town west of Baghdad Thursday, killing 12 and wounding 35, police sources said. The attack appeared to have targeted Sunni provincial officials opposed to ISIS who were attending the wedding in...

Iraq's premier and its Kurdish regional chief were publicly at odds Thursday over territorial control after the recapture of Mosul, even with the battle for the city far from over. The war against ISIS to recapture Mosul, the extremists' last main stronghold in Iraq, has seen the autonomous...