Iraq
Syria: more aerial carnage in Raqqa endgame
US air-strikes killed more Arab civilians in ISIS-held territory, escalating tensions as US-backed Kurdish forces advance on Raqqa, the Arab-majority ISIS capital.
Tag: Kurdistan
Greater Middle East
Advance for autocracy in Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's referendum granting himself sweeping powers took place in an atmosphere of terror, with opposition leaders silenced and detained.
Iraq
Mosul campaign suspended after deadly air-strikes
Iraqi security forces suspended military operations to retake western Mosul from ISIS due to the increased number of civilian casualties after a series of deadly coalition air-strikes.
Syria
Syria: carnage and betrayal in Raqqa endgame
The US air-lifts Kurdish fighters into ISIS territory in preparation for a final assault on Raqqa—while bombing the city, deepening the growing enmity between Kurds and Arabs.
Greater Middle East
Russia to establish base in Syrian Kurdistan
The Kurdish YPG militia says it has agreed to establishment of a Russian military base in its territory, although Moscow calls it a "reconciliation center."
Europe
Fascist pseudo-anti-fascism in Dutch-Turkish tiff
Turkey's aspiring dictator Erdogan (carrying out his own ethnic cleansing against the Kurds) exploits the Srebrenica genocide in vulgar manner and calls the Dutch "Nazis."
Iraq
US prepares ground troops for Syria
The Pentagon is dispatching some 2,500 combat troops to back up forces fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, as the US-led anti-ISIS coalition continues to fracture.
Syria
Kurdish forces hand over villages to Assad regime?
Amid shifting alliances in the scramble for northern Syria, Kurdish-led forces are accused of handing over territory to the Assad regime, in a deal brokered by Russia.
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.
Greater Middle East
Turkey: investigate arrests of opposition leaders
The People's Democratic Party of Turkey called on the European Court of Human Rights to investigate the unlawful imprisonment of the party's co-chairs.
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.
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.