Iraqi special forces charged into the Mosul battle Thursday with a pre-dawn advance on a nearby town held by the Islamic State group, a key part of a multi-pronged assault on eastern approaches to the besieged city. The addition of the elite troops, also known as counterterrorism forces,...

  French President Francois Hollande said in Berlin summit he has the impression after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin that a pause in fighting in Aleppo may be extended. Russia has promised an eight-hour halt in fighting on Thursday in the besieged city. Hollande said early...

A U.N.-mediated truce to the war in Yemen went into effect a minute before midnight on Wednesday, hours after Saudi-led air strikes hit military bases in the capital Sanaa and rival militias battled near the border with the kingdom. The coalition led by Saudi Arabia said in a statement it...

(The Daily Star)- Iraqi forces prepared to retake the country's largest Christian town from ISIS Wednesday, a key milestone in their progress towards the extremists' main hub of Mosul. News of the move to recapture Qaraqosh sparked jubilation among Christians who had fled the town, with...