Iraq
Multiple forces hit ISIS on all fronts
US, Iraqi, Kurdish, Turkish and Syrian rebel forces are closing the ring around ISIS—but in an uneasy alliance, with little plan for the future of seized territories.
Tag: ISIS
South Asia
Pakistan: deadly ISIS attack on Sufi shrine
An ISIS suicide attack on a Sufi shrine killed at least 75 worshippers and wounded dozens more—the deadliest in a string of blasts across Pakistan this week.
Syria
Syria: Idlib between jihadis and imperial air-raids
Idlib governorate, where evacuees from Aleppo were forced to flee, is dominated by jihadist factions that both threaten secularists and draw air-strikes from the US and Russia alike.
Syria
Bashar Assad: Trump’s Syria policy is ‘promising’
Dictator Bashar Assad told reporters he found Trump’s stance on Syria to be “promising,” and broached inviting in US troops to fight ISIS in a “rapprochement” with Russia.
Afghanistan
US general in Afghanistan calls for more troops
The US commander in Afghanistan told lawmakers he needs several thousand more troops to break "a stalemate" with the Taliban and other insurgents.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan: civilian casualties at new record high
According to the annual report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, civilian casualties in Afghanistan for 2016 reached a new record high since the US invasion of 2001.
Iraq
Can Assad (and Putin) reconquer all Syria?
Trump dramatically steps up US air-strikes along the Syrian border in Iraq, as Russia pitches the Kurds and Syrian rebels on a peace deal that will allow Assad to remain in power.
Afghanistan
Afghan government losing territory to insurgency
The Afghan government controls less than 60% of the country's territory, with security forces retreating from many areas last year, a US oversight agency reports.
Syria
Syria: first joint US-Russian air-strikes?
The Pentagon denied Moscow’s claims of joint US-Russian air-strikes against ISIS, but the White House signalled its willingness to cooperate with Russia in Syria.
Syria
Russia signs pact for long-term Syria bases
Russia signed a long-term pact to greatly enlarge its military presence in Syria, more than doubling the space for warships at Tartus, Russia’s only Mediterranean port.
North Africa
Libya: Obama’s parting air-strikes
US B-2 Stealth bombers and drones carried out a raid against presumed ISIS camps in the Libyan desert—part of a final spate of air-strikes ordered by President Obama.
Iraq
Iraq: mass exodus from embattled Mosul
Three thousand displaced persons are fleeing the embattled city of Mosul on a daily basis as US-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces advance on the ISIS stronghold.