Thousands of people are starting to return to formerly rebel-held east Aleppo despite freezing weather and destruction "beyond imagination", a top U.N. official told Reuters from the Syrian city. In the last couple of days around 2,200 families have returned to the Hanano housing district,...

Reporting by Abdulsalam Haj Bakri (Zaman Al Wasl)- The year of 2016 was the hardest on the coastal cities of Syria compared to previous years since the beginning of the Syrian revolution.  Difficulties varied from lack of security and wide spread of Shabiha mercenary groups who had done...

Islamic State attacked an Iraqi police checkpoint near the southern city of Najaf on Sunday, killing seven policemen as government forces in the north made more gains against the militants in Mosul, their last major stronghold in the country. The Najaf attack, which involved gunmen and a...

Two elite Iraqi units linked up in Mosul on Saturday and will form a joint front to advance westward against the Islamic State group, officers said. The Rapid Response Division reached the northern edge of Al-Intisar neighbourhood, while the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) advanced to the...