Iraqi and Kurdish forces closing in on Mosul said on Tuesday they had secured some 20 villages on the outskirts of the city in the first day of an operation to retake what is Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq. With around 1.5 million people still living in Mosul, the...

The United Nations said on Tuesday that Russia's plan for a ceasefire will not mean any supplies get into besieged eastern Aleppo because Russia, Syria and other groups fighting in the city have not yet given guarantees of safety for aid workers. Syria's government would also need to...

(Bloomberg)- Vladimir Putin’s backing for the relentless air bombardment of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo has provoked some foreign governments to accuse Russia of carrying out indiscriminate attacks on civilians. The U.S. and some European Union countries including Germany are...

Iraqi forces and Kurdish troops have taken 19 villages on the first day of a major offensive to recapture the northern city of Mosul from Daesh militants.  The Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces launched a much-awaited operation late Sunday to retake Mosul – the last Daesh...