( Middle Eats Eye )- The battle to take Raqqa, the Syrian capital of the Islamic state (IS) group, is almost over. But one of the main challenges that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) face after IS is not only the huge destruction but also how to expand their model of women's...

A senior Iranian military commander repeatedly warned Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq to withdraw from the oil city of Kirkuk or face an onslaught by Iraqi forces and allied Iranian-backed fighters, Kurdish officials briefed on the meetings said. Major-General Qassem Soleimani,...

The defeat of the Islamic State group in its  Syrian  bastion of Raqqa was a "historic" achievement, the US-backed force that led the months-long battle said at an official ceremony in the city on Friday. "We dedicate this historic victory to all humanity," said Talal Sello,...

Raqqa will be part of a decentralized federal Syria now the city has been freed from Islamic State, the U.S.-backed militias that captured it said on Friday, tying its future to Kurdish-led plans to set up autonomous regions in the north. The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces...