U.S.-backed Syrian forces aiming to oust Islamic State from its Syrian stronghold Raqqa captured a ruined fortress on the edge of the city on Wednesday and a U.S. coalition official said the attack was set to accelerate. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes Arab and...

British police carried out a controlled explosion Wednesday near the construction site for the new US embassy building in London after being called to a report of two unattended vehicles. The Metropolitan Police later announced that the incident had ended and was not related to terrorism....

Anti-Muslim crimes in the British capital have increased fivefold since the London Bridge terror attack, Mayor Sadiq Khan said Wednesday, warning that police would take a "zero-tolerance approach". "Provisional statistics for 6 June show a 40 percent increase in racist incidents, compared to...

 Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region has called a referendum on independence to be held on Sept. 25, an official said on Wednesday, moving ahead with a plan for full statehood that is likely to be opposed by Baghdad. Hemin Hawrami, assistant to Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, tweeted: "big...