Donald Trump labelled the juggernaut Lebanese militant group Hizbollah as “a menace to the entire region” as he stood next to Lebanon’s Prime Minister during their first official meeting. The U.S. President made the damning comments during a joint press conference with Saad Hariri following an 85-minute meeting between the two leaders at the White […]

Pro-government paramilitary forces killed two Islamic State members and seized their ammunition truck west of Anbar on Tuesday, a security source was quoted saying. Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that a force from “Al-Jazeera Shield”, a regiment affiliated with the “Tribal Mobilization”, ambushed three IS militants at the Kilo 160 region, west of Ramadi. […]

The head of the U.S. military’s special operations confirmed Friday that the Central Intelligence Agency is shutting down its program to support rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gen. Tony Thomas denied that the 4-year-old operation was brought to an end as a way to placate Russia and earn its support for a cease-fire […]

Up to 11 Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters were killed during recent air attacks in eastern Nangarhar province. The ISIS fighters targeted in their hideouts this morning in Acheen, Roudat and Koot districts of the province.

The U.S. Army announced Thursday that 2,100 soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) will deploy to Iraq this fall. The soldiers from 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in at Fort Polk in Louisiana will replace the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, in a regular rotation of forces in support of […]

India is likely to seek from Baghdad the latest information on the fate of 39 Indians missing in Iraq for the last three years when Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari pays his first official visit to India from 24 July. These Indians, mostly from Punjab, were abducted by ISIS militants in June 2014 when they […]

Three senior Islamic State leaders were killed in Tal Afar town, west of Mosul, the Shia-led paramilitary troops said on Friday. A statement by Saraya al-Jihad militia, affiliated to al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) said troops “identified the bodies of IS members, who were killed on Thursday while infiltrating behind the troops in Tal al-Zalat […]

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Saturday the largest military base of the Middle East in the coastal city of Alexandria. The president raised the Armed Forces flag on the new base in el Hammam city, west of Alexandria. The military base was named after late president Mohamed Naguib, who orchestrated 1952 revolution which […]

The US State Department on Wednesday released the Country Reports on Terrorism 2016, where it highlighted the UAE’s increased counterterrorism efforts. “The nation increased its counter-terrorism prosecutions in the last year, with the Federal Supreme Court’s State Security Court hearing more than three dozen separate terrorism-related cases,” it said.

Iraqi forces on Thursday regained control over Imam Gharbi, a village south of Mosul, from Daesh militants who had seized it as their defence of their stronghold in the city crumbled, Iraqi police said. The action formed part of the next phase of the US-backed government’s campaign to drive Daesh from Iraq and dismantle their […]

EU High Representative Federica Mogherini met with the Lebanese foreign minister Affairs Gebran Bassil Tuesday and discussed the Syrian crisis and its consequences on Lebanon. “We discussed in particular the Syrian crisis, the impact in Lebanon; We continue to be on the same side here agreeing that only a political solution can bring an end […]

The European Union (EU) announced on Wednesday that it will provide 1.5 million euro (USD 1.7 mn) to support the International Independent Mechanism to Facilitate Investigations into the Most Serious Violations of International Law committed in Syria since March 2011. “Achieving justice for the victims is essential for a genuine and inclusive reconciliation process in […]

A total of 47 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Monday in Iraqi airstrikes in and near the IS-held town of Tal Afar in west of Mosul, the Iraqi military said. Iraqi jets conducted airstrikes on an IS post in the IS-held town of Mahalabiyah near the IS stronghold in Tal Afar, which itself […]

Egypt is ready to help Iraq restore its security and stability as well as reconstruct Iraqi cities after the country’s recent victories over the militant group Daesh, Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry told Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi during Shoukry’s first visit to Mosul following its liberation from Daesh.

European Union Foreign Ministers meeting here Monday adopted a crisis management concept for a new civilian CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy ) mission in Iraq. The decision comes after a request by the Iraqi authorities and the adoption of a crisis management concept is the first step to launch a new CSDP mission, after […]

Turkey’s Parliament approved the Cabinet’s motion Monday to extend the ongoing state of emergency in the country for another three months starting from July 19, official media reported. The motion was backed by votes of ruling Justice and Development Party and opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

The European Union agreed Monday to send a security assistance delegation to Iraq as part of its Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). “The mission will focus on assisting the Iraqi authorities in the implementation of the civilian aspects of the Iraqi security strategy,” said the council in a statement. “EU experts will provide advice […]

US-backed forces said Monday they had seized a new neighbourhood from the Daesh terror group in the extremist stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, have been pressing an operation to capture the extremist stronghold since last year, and they penetrated the city in […]

The European Union imposed sanctions on 16 Syrian scientists and military officials on Monday for their suspected involvement in a chemical attack in northern Syria in April which killed scores of civilians. Western intelligence agencies accuse the government of Bashar Assad of carrying out the attack, arguing that rebels in the area would not have […]

The Small Group of the Global Coalition to Defeat the so-called Islamic State (IS) meet Thursday to synthesize this week’s Coalition meetings and discuss priorities to build on the progress in Mosul and Raqqa, and to set (IS) on an irreversible and lasting path to defeat across the globe. In his opening remarks, Special Presidential […]

Iraqi forces hit further pockets of resistance from Islamic State militants in Mosul’s Old City on Friday, four days after the prime minister declared victory. Army helicopters flew overhead and explosions could be heard, residents said. “Three mortars landed on our district,” a resident of Faysaliya, just across the Tigris river in east Mosul, said […]

Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force Gen. David L. Goldfein held talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterparts. Goldfein met with Commander of the Turkish Air Force Abidin Ünal and other senior military officials in order to discuss ongoing military cooperation in Syria as part of international efforts to defeat the Islamic […]

American military advisors are operating inside the city of Raqqa,ISIL’s last major stronghold in Syria, a US official said on Wednesday. The troops, many of them special operations forces, are working in an “advise, assist and accompany” role to support local fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces as they battle ISIL, said Colonel Ryan Dillon, […]

The European Commission announced Wednesday that it is scaling up its response to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, which will enable the EU to continue supporting emergency relief in newly retaken areas and for newly displaced families. It will also allow to continue emergency medical services, attending injured civilians from the frontlines, to the final […]

IRAQI forces clashed with Islamic State militants holding out in Mosul’s Old City yesterday, more than 36 hours after Baghdad declared victory. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s victory announcement signaled the biggest defeat for the hardline Sunni group since its lightning sweep through northern Iraq three years ago. But pockets of Mosul remain insecure and the […]

A seventh round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva began on Monday with a meeting between the UN envoy on the war-torn country and a regime delegation. Staffan de Mistura met a Bashar al-Assad regime team headed by Bashar al-Jaafari at the UN offices at Geneva.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Monday “welcomed” the liberation of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul over the weekend. On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi arrived in Mosul to celebrate the victory over the Daesh terrorist group. “We welcome the successful completion of the military operation conducted since October 2016 for the liberation of Mosul,” […]

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is set to declare victory over Islamic State in Mosul as only a few dozen militants put up resistance in the city that was the capital of their self-declared caliphate for the past three years. Gunfire and explosions could be heard as the US-led coalition pounded the remaining few Islamic […]

Iraqi forces slowly advanced today to retake the last patch of ground in Mosul where Islamic State militants are holding on to a tiny sliver of the Old City, west of the Tigris River, a day after the prime minister visited the soldiers to congratulate troops on the hard-fought battle. Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil of […]

France and Germany, in a combined initiative, called Wednesday for the rapid identification of those who used chemical weapons in a deadly attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun last April, according to the French Foreign Ministry. At least 92 people died in the Khan Sheikhoun attack, 30 of them children, and France has […]

The Council of Representatives of Iraq labeled on Thursday a number of crimes and massacres committed by the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country as “genocide”. The council voted for a parliamentary decision labeling the terrorist organization’s crimes in Badush prison and Speicher camp as genocide, the parliament said in a statement.

Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs Dr. Khaled Al-Attiyah discussed Thursday with US Secretary of Defense James Mattis the bilateral military relations between their countries, official media reported.

United States President Donald Trump has spoken with his Egyptian counterpart about the ongoing dispute between Qatar and four Arab countries. The president called Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi from Air Force One on Wednesday, while en route to Poland. He called on “all parties to negotiate constructively to resolve the dispute” with Qatar and to “stop […]

US-backed forces have penetrated the heavily fortified heart of extremist bastion Raqqa for the first time, in a key milestone in the war against the Daesh terror group in Syria. Air strikes by the US-led coalition battling Daesh punched two holes in the medieval wall surrounding Raqqa’s Old City, allowing fighters of the Syrian Democratic […]

Iraqi forces have pushed ISIS into a shrinking rectangle no more than 300 by 500 meters beside the Tigris river, but slowed their advance on Tuesday out of caution for an estimated 10,000 civilians trapped there alongside the militants, reported Reuters. Residents have been caught in the crossfire – and often intentionally targeted by ISIS […]