Iraqi forces said they faced tough resistance Monday from Daesh (ISIS) fighters driven out of the city of Tal Afar to a small town where they had "nothing to lose" by fighting to the end. An advance by the Iraqi army and Shi'ite paramilitary groups into al-'Ayadiya was being slowed by...

The battle to oust Islamic State from its stronghold in the Syrian city of Raqqa should end within two months, a top-ranking Kurdish commander told Reuters, but said she expects the fighting to intensify. Nowruz Ahmed sits on the military council of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces...

By Tim Ramadan ( The Guardian )- Around three months have passed since the Syrian Democratic Forces launched a military operation to wrest back control of Raqqa from Islamic State. These forces are backed directly by the US-led international coalition, and they have so far succeeded in...

( The Guardian )- Iraqi forces have retaken almost all of Tal Afar, Islamic State’s stronghold in the north-west of the country, the military has said. Fighting was ongoing in al-Ayadiya, a small area just outside the city. Iraqi forces were waiting to retake the city’s surrounding areas...