For years, trains ferried millions of dollars in phosphate past Nouredine Ezzidine's Tunisian town, where young men like him idle their days in cafes over cigarettes and coffee, desperate for work. After seven years with no job, the mechanics graduate had had enough. He joined protesters who...

(The Guardian)- Islamic State’s doctrine of survival is based on a simple notion: defeat on the battlefield must always leave behind the seeds for a comeback. Whether the operation to retake Mosul will be the beginning of the end for Isis or the beginning of a new cycle hinges largely on...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Islamic State forces have shuffled the cards once more by withdrawing from significant positions in Aleppo’s countryside, namely the infantry school, Tel Shaeir, and the al-Maslimyet cement factory on Saturday evening.  The withdrawal happened quietly and...

Iraqi troops and security forces advanced towards Mosul from the south and southeast of the city on Sunday, Iraqi officials said, backed by air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition as they edged closer to the Islamic State stronghold. A military statement said the army's ninth...