Greater Middle East

Syria: sectarian, ethnic fighting spreads

A rocket strike near an important Shi’ite shrine in Damascus sparked protests throughout the Shia world, while Kurdish militias fight jihadist forces in northern Syria.

Greater Middle East

Turkey: police fire on Kurdish protesters

Turkish security forces killed one and wounded nine as Kurdish villagers armed with improvised petrol bombs attacked a construction site of the gendarmerie in Diyarbakir. 

Greater Middle East

Kurdish militia falls out with Free Syria Army

An alliance between the Free Syrian Army and the People’s Protection Committees (YPG), the country’s main Kurdish militia, broke down amid internecine clashes in Aleppo. 

Iraq

Exxon begins explorations in Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government announced that ExxonMobil has begun exploring for oil in the region—in a deal rejected by the Baghdad central government as illegal.

Greater Middle East

Kurdish wild card in Syria conflict

Kurdish militias in Syria—some linked to the PKK—are battling jihadist rebels, but it is uncertain if they necessarily back the Damascus regime.

Iraq

Iraq: army, Peshmerga in stand-off at Kirkuk

An ongoing stand-off between an elite force of Iraq's national army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces around the contested northern city of Kirkuk led to skirmishes that left two dead.

Iraq

Iraq exports Islamist militants to Syria?

Arabic-language news services report that 15 accused al-Qaeda members who recently escaped from a prison in Tikrit, Iraq, are now leading insurgent groups in Syria. 

Iraq

Turkish special forces intervene in Iraq

The Turkish military carried out a ground operation against PKK guerillas in northern Iraq, followed by airstrikes in the Kandil Mountains along the border.