U.S.-backed Syrian forces aiming to oust Islamic State from its Syrian stronghold Raqqa captured a ruined fortress on the edge of the city on Wednesday and a U.S. coalition official said the attack was set to accelerate. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes Arab and...

U.S.-backed fighters gained ground against ISIS in the streets of Raqqa Wednesday, their command said, a day after breaking into the extremist's Syrian bastion. The Syrian Democratic Forces have spent months advancing on the northern city and finally thrust into the eastern neighborhood of...

( The Guardian )- The UN’s top human rights official has marked the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories by calling for its quick end, insisting that such an outcome would benefit both sides. Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the Jordanian prince who heads the UN...

About 100,000 children are trapped in extremely dangerous conditions in the remaining Islamic State-held enclave in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the United Nations said on Monday. Children were being used as human shields by the insurgents or were caught in the crossfire of the battle,...