Middle Orient

Members of the Iraqi security forces on Friday killed a senior ISIS figure in an operation south of the disputed Kirkuk province, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense said. The ministry said in a statement that an Iraqi army unit had “killed the commander of the terrorist sniper detachment nicknamed (Abu …

An ISIS ambush has killed at least 13 fighters loyal to the Syrian government, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. The attack in the country’s east killed “at least 13 members of a local pro-regime group and wounded others”, the watchdog said. It took place in the Masrib …

Israel has detected increased activity by Iran as it builds up its military presence in Syria. Is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad starting to change his mind about the long dominance of Iran and Russia in his country? Several intelligence analysts have assessed recently that with Assad’s regime stabilized, the Iranian …

The Islamic State maintains a presence in the Salah ad-Din area of northern Iraq. The Iraqi air force has reported conducting new airstrikes against enemy fighters. Pilots commanding F-16 fighter jets carried out the aerial strikes northwest of Mutaybija in Iraq’s Salah ad-Din province in the north of the country. …

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz is expected to sign security cooperation agreements with his Moroccan counterpart, Abdellatif Loudiyi. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz will make an official visit to Morocco next week, in the first such visit since the two countries agreed to normalize relations last year. During the Nov. …

The future of Iran’s presence in Syria seems to be dividing the Syrian leadership. Until a few weeks ago, he was among the strongest men in Syria — if not the strongest — but Javad Ghaffari’s last battle in the war-torn country was this time with no one other than …

In the early hours of Nov. 7, three quadcopter drones armed with explosives detonated inside the grounds of the official residence of Iraq’s prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, injuring seven members of his security detail. Al-Kadhimi, who escaped with only light injuries, promptly released a statement appealing for calm. The question …

At its most recent meeting in Tajikistan this September, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) started a formal process to grant Iran full membership. This will be the second time the organisation expands after accepting India and Pakistan in 2017 — now extending its reach from Central and South Asia to …

The recent crisis in Bosnia has highlighted the adaptability – and limitations – of Turkish policy in the Balkans. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently hosted in Ankara Milorad Dodik, the Serbian member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, to discuss the political crisis in Bosnia triggered by Dodik’s threat to abandon …

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett are working to “resolve” the issue of the arrest in Turkey of an Israeli couple jailed for taking photographs of the president’s palace in Istanbul. Israeli tourists Mordy and Natali Oknin, who were detained on Thursday, say they did not …