(Reuters) - Iraq's most important Shi'ite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on Friday for greater professionalism and planning by government forces and allied militias in fighting Islamic State insurgents. Sistani, who speaks for millions of Iraqis and has a...

(Reuters) - The United States and its coalition allies staged eight air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq since early Thursday, the Combined Joint Task Force overseeing the operations said in a statement. One strike hit near the key Syrian border town of Kobani,...

 Islamic State has published a video purporting to show the beheading of three Kurdish peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq by militants who threatened to kill "dozens" more of those being held captive. The six-minute clip, which appeared timed to coincide with celebrations...

(Reuters) - After allowing the United States to use its air space to bomb Islamic State fighters for six months, the Syrian army appears to have imposed a "red line" by shooting down a U.S. drone over territory of critical importance to Damascus. The U.S. military has said it...