Middle Orient

To this day, ISIS controls five isolated pockets in Syria, the largest of which is located near the Ithria village in Hama province. The other four enclaves are situated south of Raqqa province, in Palmyra’s countryside, near borders with Iraq and south of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor. Since …

Syrian Oil Minister Bassam Toma’a has revealed that around 90 per cent of Syrian oil is under the control of US forces, Aram News Network reported on Friday. “The Americans and their followers are acting like pirates as they are targeting the Syrian oil wealth and oil supplies,” the Syrian …

Erdogan was promoting his global campaign of victimization by “Islamophobia”, while in fact it is the critics of extremist Islam who are in danger and frequently killed. In the Caucasus, Turkey has just supported the Azerbaijani war against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh in order to create a Turkish Islamic corridor between …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described the relations between Tehran and Beijing as strategic, hailing China’s stances in support of Iran in international arenas, including on the JCPOA and the US’ unilateral sanctions. Iran and China maintain very good ties and the two countries’ common stances on international issues are indications …

The predicaments of Turkey’s cash-strapped central bank augur a highly challenging period for Erdogan while reducing the visibility range in Turkey’s economy to almost zero. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s shocking decision to appoint a new central bank governor — the fourth in 20 months — has plunged Turkey’s ailing economy …

Ongoing tensions due to regional interference to settle scores among rivals threaten new acts of violence, menacing the Yazidi minority concentrated in the area. More than 40 Yazidi community leaders from Sinjar signed a petition on March 13, demanding self-rule in Sinjar, the addition of the Ezidxane Asayish (Security Forces …

Intense fighting in northwest Syria left several people dead on Sunday as the battle continues over the last rebel stronghold in the country. Russian airstrikes killed one and injured two others near the town of Sarmada in the northwest Idlib province. The strikes hit an industrial facility as well as …

The military wing of the Hamas movement, al-Qassam Brigades, recently published a statement of its “evolution of military tactics” including the “development and accumulation of strength since 2006.” The publication allows a glimpse into the growing military capabilities of the militant group that has benefited highly from Iranian military support. …

“We dared to dream, and we will not regret dignity.” This quote was widely circulated by Syrian social media users, mainly on Facebook, in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Syrian revolution. The phrase was originally embroidered on the dress worn by the Syrian activist and Oscar-nominated director of …

Turkish intelligence agents have captured a senior figure from a US-backed Kurdish militant group operating in Syria. State news agency Anadolu reported on Monday that Ibrahim Babat, a “brigade commander” from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), was caught during an operation inside Syria and brought back to Turkey.