(Reuters) - After Iraqi sniper Ali al-Tulaibawi returned from his training on the battlefields of Syria his commander sent him on a months-long mission to shoot Islamic State militants from the towers of Iraq's biggest oil refinery. Tulaibawi says he is one of the 150 Shi'ite...

Reporting by Faris Al Rifai; Translation by Yusra Ahmed (Zaman Al Wasl)- Activists from al-Raqqa, who live in Turkey, have founded an educational house to be a station for activists and social bodies for inside and outside Syrians from all...

(Reuters) - Israel and the Palestinians have pledged to take concrete steps to calm tensions around Jerusalem's holiest site, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday after talks in the Jordanian capital. Violence has flared in recent weeks over the compound, revered...

(Reuters) - New Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made his first state visit to neighboring Pakistan on Friday, kicking off a two-day trip aimed at rebuilding damaged ties and eradicating suspicions between the two countries. Relations have been harmed by regular accusations from...

(Reuters) - British nationals who become foreign fighters abroad could be prevented from returning home under tough new laws to deal with jihadists fighting in conflicts like Iraq and Syria , British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday. A new counter-terrorism bill...

(Reuters) - The top U.S. general told lawmakers on Thursday he would consider sending American military advisers to accompany Iraqi troops if they advance against Islamic State militants in the difficult terrain near Mosul and the Iraqi border with Syria . Army General...

(Reuters) - FIFA appeared to be in limbo on Thursday as a long-awaited report on the turbulent bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was criticized by its own investigator while the soccer world watched on in a mixture of bewilderment and anger. The dramatic twist...

By Al Hussein Al Shishakli ISTANBUL (Zaman Al Wasl) - A new bloc within the Syrian National Coalition to be announced soon, with aim to revive the national role of the key opposition group to serve the people and the revolution, source told Zaman...

(Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s was cited by Western powers as one of the justifications for the 2003 invasion that toppled him. Once again, the perilous situation of the Kurds -- this time attacked by Islamic...

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called for attacks against the rulers of Saudi Arabia in a speech purported to be in his name on Thursday, saying his self-declared caliphate was expanding there and in four other Arab countries....

PARIS (Reuters) - France will decide in the coming weeks whether to send fighter jets to Jordan to strike Islamic State militants in Iraq in an effort to increase the number of missions and reduce the cost, the army spokesman and officials said on Thursday....

BEIRUT (Reuters) - With moderate rebels facing defeat by al Qaeda in Syria's north, groups holding a corner of the south are seeking a higher profile and more help, as the last Western-backed forces holding out against both President Bashar al-Assad and the jihadists....

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama wants his advisers to review the administration's Syria policy after determining it may not be possible to defeat Islamic State militants without removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, CNN reported on Wednesday. Citing senior U.S....

(Reuters) - Bombs exploded near the Egyptian and United Arab Emirates embassies in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on Thursday though there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage in the attacks. The blasts followed a series of car bombs on Wednesday mainly in...

The U.S. military will hold a planning conference involving foreign nations beginning Thursday with the aim of strategizing against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, or ISIL. "This gathering of military planners from more than 30 nations is historic in many ways," said Gen....

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu expressed deep concern on Wednesday for the Syrian city Aleppo, which has been battered by Assad regime bombing. "The world is just watching this atrocity as it did when Damascus and Hama came under...

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(Reuters) - Syria's neighbors Lebanon, Turkey , Jordan and Iraq are cutting back sharply on the number of Syrians they allow onto their soil as they can no longer cope with the influx of refugees, two prominent humanitarian agencies said on Thursday. The number of refugees...

(Reuters) - Despite nearly a year of negotiations, Iran and six major powers are unlikely to meet a Nov. 24 deadline to reach a final deal to lift international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, officials say. Western and Iranian officials...

(Reuters) - Israel said on Wednesday it would not cooperate with a United Nations Human Rights Council investigation into this year's Gaza war because its findings were "pre-determined". The U.N. panel, due to make its first report by March, is meant to look into the conduct of...