( The Guardian )- The rush to Raqqa, Islamic State’s capital on the banks of the Euphrates in Syria, marks the beginning of a new and perilous phase in one of the world’s most dangerous battle zones. The capture of the capital of Isis’s self-declared caliphate would be partly symbolic –...

U.S.-backed forces are closing in on Islamic State in Raqqa, but local Syrians who have escaped the battlefield are worried about what comes after the fight. Dozens of them have volunteered to help rebuild the town once the militants have been defeated. The aim of organization they have...

Human Rights Watch on Wednesday accused Kurdish authorities of delaying thousands of Iraqi civilians fleeing from militant-held areas at checkpoints, in some cases within range of front lines. The New York-based rights group said the delays, some lasting weeks or months, were not only...

Israel would use all its strength from the start in any new war with Hezbollah, the chief of the Israeli air force said on Wednesday, sending a firm warning a decade after their last conflict. At the annual Herzliya security conference near Tel Aviv, Major-General Amir Eshel said qualitative...