Thousands of Iraqis have fled an Daesh (ISIS)-held town west of Mosul as Iraqi and coalition warplanes step up strikes ahead of a ground offensive to drive out the militants. Tal Afar and the surrounding area is one of the last pockets of Daesh-held territory in Iraq after victory was...

( The Guardian )- Islamic State closed the doors of Raqqa, its de facto capital in Syria, to civilians and blocked their escape from the city more than a year ago. Then some of their fighters began taking money from civilians in return for allowing them to leave – up to $800 per person. Many...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Syrian desert, also known as Badiya, has been witnessing a military incursion by Syrian regime and supporting militias in conjunction with fierce Syrian-Jordanian border battles. The regime seeks to control large areas linking it with Iraq and Jordan, especially as the...

( New York Times )- After surviving a siege by Syrian forces, Firas al-Rahim and his family were removed from a rebel-held area of Homs province in central Syria and taken to an impoverished territory in the northwest. But since Mr. Rahim, his wife and their four children arrived in Idlib...