The Iraqi army launched an operation on Saturday to take Qaraqosh, a Christian town near Mosul, the last major city stronghold of Islamic State in Iraq, the military said. Qaraqosh, about 20 kms (13 miles) southeast of Mosul, was emptied of its population in 2014, when Islamic State swept...

(The Daily Star)- A massive ISIS assault on targets in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk came to an end Saturday after a day and night of heavy clashes, as Iraqi forces launched a new advance southeast of the ISIS-held city of Mosul. Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police...

The dollar rose to its highest since early February against a basket of currencies on Friday as investors increased bets on higher U.S. interest rates, while a measure of world stocks posted its first weekly gain in four weeks despite some soft U.S. corporate results. On Wall Street, energy...

(The Daily Star)- A cease-fire to allow wounded civilians and rebels to leave besieged parts of Aleppo has been extended into the weekend by Russia, but hoped-for medical evacuations didn't materialize by Friday evening because of a lack of security guarantees, officials and residents said....