Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi announced on Thursday that the first phase of the liberation to retake the town of Hwaija from the so-called Islamic State (IS) has begun. Al-Abadi said in a press statement that the operation began at dawn on Thursday, just two days after Iraqi forces began an offensive against IS’ holdouts […]

Iraqi security forces and paramilitary units launched a dawn assault Tuesday against one of the Daesh group’s last bastions in the vast western province of Anbar bordering Syria. The Joint Operations Command, which is co-ordinating Iraqi security forces battling Daesh, said an offensive had begun to retake the town of Anna and the nearby village […]

The European Union reiterated Wednesday its steadfast support for Iraq’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for dialogue between Irbil and Baghdad to resolve outstanding issues. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini described the Kurdistan region’s planned September 25 independence referendum as “counterproductive,” saying that it “must be avoided.”

Iraqi armed forces on Saturday dislodged the Daesh terror group from a natural gas-rich border area with Syria, according to the military. Iranian-backed forces fighting with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s army simultaneously announced the start of an offensive to reach the same border area from the opposite side. An Iraqi military statement said Akashat, a […]

Turkey launched a military drill featuring tanks close to the Iraqi border on Monday, the army said, a week before Iraq’s Kurdish region will hold an independence referendum. Despite opposition from Turkey, Iran and the United States, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s leaders have said they will hold the non-binding independence vote on Sept. 25. Ankara […]

U.K. Defense Minister Michael Fallon arrived in Baghdad on Monday morning to discuss the ongoing fight against Daesh and Iraq’s precarious political situation with Iraqi officials. Iraqi Interior Minister Qassem al-Araji received the British defense minister at Baghdad’s international airport this morning.

US-backed Syrian opposition factions will not let forces backing the regime of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad cross the Euphrates River in their bid to recover eastern Syria, their commander said. Syrian opposition commander Abu Khawla said a civilian administration would be set up to run areas of Deir al-Zor province being captured from ISIS by his […]

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) planned referendum on independence was “unconstitutional” on Tuesday, hours after parliament voted against the regional plebiscite. “I call upon the Kurdish leadership to come to Baghdad and conclude the dialogue,” Abadi said in a press conference. Abadi’s remarks came after the Iraqi Parliament vote […]

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the terrorist attacks in southern Iraq and called for the perpetrators to be quickly brought to justice. In a statement from his spokesperson, the Secretary-General expressed “his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Iraq.”

The US and UAE’s ground forces will begin a joint military exercise in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, as part of efforts to consolidate their bilateral relations and exchange training and military expertise. Code-named Iron Union 5, the drill is an extension of a series of Iron Claw exercises, which the UAE organises with friendly countries […]

The United States on Friday strongly urged northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to call off a controversial referendum on independence from Baghdad. The announcement comes hours after the KRG parliament voted to hold the poll next week despite opposition from the central government and Iraq’s neighbours.

At least 14 Daesh terrorists were killed Tuesday in airstrikes carried out by a U.S.-led coalition in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk province, according to local security sources. “An aircraft belonging to the international coalition targeted a Daesh bomb factory in Hawija’s Riyadh district​​ southwest of Kirkuk city,” Khalid al-Numan, a Kirkuk police officer said. The airstrikes, […]

The Iraqi prime minister says the country is in its final stages of liberation from ISIL militants. As Iraqi forces battled to push the extemists out of their last remaining pockets of territory, Haider al Abadi attributed the forthcoming victory over ISIL to iraqi unity and solidarity. “Iraq was at a crossroads when ISIL entered […]

Iraqi army warplanes destroyed on Wednesday a convoy of Islamic State militants in northeastern Diyala, a security commander was quoted saying. Maher al-Ezzawi, commander of Dijlah Operations, said that army fighter jets bombarded the convoy at Wadi Thallab (80 km northeast of Baqubah), killing al militants in it. Ezzawi said the strike was carried out […]

Major General George Smith, the CENTCOM Director of Strategy, Plans, and Policy reiterated the United States support for the Lebanese army during a short visit he paid to Beirut, a US embassy statement said on Saturday. Smith met with General Joseph Aoun on Thursday, September 7, the press release said.

US-backed forces and the Syrian army advanced in separate offensives against ISIL in eastern Syria on Saturday. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed coalition, aimed to push out the jihadists from territory east of the Euphrates River, while Syrian government forces — supported by Lebanese group Hizbollah and Russian air power — seized an oilfield […]

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has announced the launch of a new military operation against militants of the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) terrorist group in the cities of Hawijah and Anbar, the Iraqi media outlets reported Sept. 7.

Syria’s army broke a years-long Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) siege on the government enclave of Deir Ezzor city on Tuesday as it battles to expel the jihadists from a key stronghold. The jihadist group has already lost more than half of its nearby bastion of Raqqa to U.S.-backed forces, and the […]

Turkish Air Force conducted an operation in northern Iraq, killing at least eight PKK militants, the Turkish military said Tuesday. The PKK militants were plotting an attack on Turkish military locations on the Turkish-Iraqi border, according to a statement issued by Turkish General Staff.

Turkey will continue to stand with the people of Tal Afar in the post-Daesh period just as it helped and harbored tens of thousands people that escaped there, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Thursday, welcoming the liberation of the predominantly Turkmen town by Iraqi forces from the terrorist group. “Hereby we […]

Iraq declared on Thursday that its forces had retaken the northern city of Tal Afar and the surrounding region in another major victory over Daesh group extremists. Daesh, which seized nearly a third of Iraq in 2014 in a stunning defeat for the army, now controls just 10 per cent of the country, according to […]

The Kingdom of Jordan and Iraq have reopened the Turaibil border crossing, as part of their efforts to forge closer bilateral ties. A joint statement by the Jordanian and Iraqi government said that the border crossing was reopened after the international highway was secured, adding that the measure will further boost

Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi has congratulated the military for an “overwhelming victory” against ISIL in Tal Afar, as an officer likened continuing fighting in a nearby town to opening “the gates of hell”. Mr Al Abadi is expected to announce the full liberation of Tal Afar from ISIL within days. The military says […]

Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday announced his country’s “victory over terrorism” following a 10-day army campaign against Daesh terrorists holed up near the Syrian border. Earlier Wednesday, Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun (no relation) officially announced the successful completion of the Lebanese army’s Operation Fajr al-Juroud.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu participated on Friday in a Turkey, Romania and Poland trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in Poland along with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, where strengthening NATO’s role in the fight against terrorism was reportedly discussed. Çavuşoğlu visited Warsaw, Poland yesterday for talks and attended the foreign ministers’ meeting. Polish Foreign […]

Pentagon chief Jim Mattis held talks with Turkish leaders in Ankara on Wednesday focusing on Washington’s arming of a Syrian Kurdish militia viewed as a terror group by Turkey, a move which has strained ties between the NATO allies. Mattis flew in for the one-day visit after stopping in Iraq to review progress in the […]

Iraqi forces on Wednesday recaptured several districts and advanced towards the centre of Tal Afar, one of the Daesh group’s last strongholds in the country, as aid workers braced for an exodus of civilians fleeing the fighting. Armoured personnel carriers full of soldiers and fighters of the Hashed Al-Shaabi paramilitary coalition moved into Al-Nur district […]

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi has urged Turkey to swiftly withdraw its military forces from his country’s northern territories. Al-Abadi made his remarks Wednesday while meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baghdad.

The Lebanese army continued for a third consecutive day to target ISIS group positions on the country’s eastern border with Syria after capturing a third of the territory held by militants in the area. The army had begun its operation in the Arsal, Baalbek and Jurud al Qaa region early on Saturday.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis arrived Monday in the Jordanian capital Amman, state-run news agency Petra reported, part of a tour that also includes stops in Turkey and Ukraine. Mattis met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, where they discussed Syrian safe zones, the refugee crisis the war has produced, and the fight against the Islamic […]

U.S. forces are taking part in an ongoing military operation to dislodge the Daesh terrorist group from Iraq’s northwestern Tal Afar district, according to an Iraqi military source. “U.S. forces stationed at the Kahrez base are pounding Daesh positions inside the city,” Army Captain Ihab al-Yasseri said on Monday.

Iraqi troops have retaken five villages in Tal Afar town, located northwest of Iraq, from Islamic State, Tal Afar Operations Command announced on Monday. In a statement by the Joint Operations Command and the War Media Cell, Lt.Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah said the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service managed to free Tal Rihal, Jabbara, Hussein Idris, […]

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Saturday will begin a five-day trip to Jordan, Turkey and the Ukraine, Pentagon officials announced Friday. The trip is intended “to reaffirm the enduring US commitment to strategic partnerships,” the officials said. Mattis will begin his engagements Monday in Jordan by meeting with King Abdullah II and Chairman of […]

Iraq: The pro-government Popular Mobilization Forces will field 20.000 fighters for the anticipated offensive to retake the town of Tal Afar, Islamic State’s last bastion i Nineveh province, a spokesperson said. PMF spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi said Friday that 20.000 fighters will take part in the imminent battle, saying that the recapture of the enclave “will […]

The wires protruding from the small, misshapen stuffed animal revealed the deadly booby-trap tucked inside. For the people of Mosul, the sophisticated bomb was a reminder of how difficult it will be to return to homes littered with hidden explosives by Daesh militants and dotted with the remnants of undetonated bombs dropped by the US-led […]