Middle Orient

Iraqi and Syrian military top brass discussed in Baghdad on Tuesday ways to establish a joint coordination center and enhance cooperation in the field of border security. The meeting between Syrian military delegation, including chief of the operations dept., and Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army Lt.-Gen. Othman Al-Ghanemi …

African Union chairperson Alpha Conde on Sunday put himself forward as a mediator in the crisis between Qatar and other Gulf countries, urging dialogue after several African nations also recalled their ambassadors to Doha. Conde, who is president of Guinea which has close ties to Saudi Arabia, said in a …

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Bajwa on Monday met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz in the backdrop of a deepening diplomatic rift in the Middle East, Radio Pakistan reported. The PM ─ accompanied by General Bajwa, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar …

As part of its efforts to ease tension in the Gulf region, Ankara has called on all parties to come to a common solution and overcome differences to avoid a sectarian crisis in the region, which would put all countries in danger. “With all the already existing problems in the …

A US-backed Syrian opposition force said yesterday it had captured a north-western neighbourhood of the Isil group’s de-facto capital of Raqqa, the second district to fall into their hands in days after the rebels launched a wide offensive to gain control of the extremists’ final stronghold. US military officials said …

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Monday called on the Northern Iraq to reconsider the planned referendum bid in September. Speaking following the cabinet meeting in Ankara, Numan Kurtulmus raised concerns regarding the independence referendum, which is supposed to be held in

Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Thursday said that the National Security Committee of the parliament would discuss in detail the situation in the Arab Peninsula in its upcoming meeting. During the National Assembly session when the issues of attack on the Iranian parliament and Gulf crisis came under …

Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, also known as the Diyanet, will train 467 Syrian imams in northern Syria, the state body said Thursday. The efforts are directed to provide appropriate religious services to Syrian residents in various cities, including Al-Bab, Jarabulus, Azaz, Mare and Al-Rai, where terrorists were eliminated following the …

Islamic State stepped up attacks on Iraqi army positions near the border with Syria, killing seven soldiers and wounding 12 in two attacks staged on Sunday and Tuesday, military sources said. Islamic State has been fighting since October a U.S.-backed offensive in Mosul, the largest city that fell under its …

US-backed fighters battled the Daesh group on Thursday as they tried to push further into the extremists’ Syrian bastion Raqa, two days after finally entering the northern city. The Syrian Democratic Forces alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters began the battle for the city earlier this week after seven months …