Middle Orient

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 …

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” …

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 …

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 …

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi on Tuesday said his country wouldn’t hesitate to bombard targets of the so-called Islamic State in Syria again if necessary. Speaking at a news conference, he added that Iraqi forces don’t want to interfere in domestic affairs of neighboring countries, but they had to shell …

Egypt says it will host a meeting of Arab nations that have cut off ties to Qatar. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid says foreign ministers of Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will meet in Cairo on Wednesday. He says the meeting will discuss the future …

Turkish forces retaliated with an artillery barrage overnight and destroyed People’s Protection Units (YPG) targets after the Kurdish militia opened fire on Turkey-backed forces in northern Syria, the military said on Wednesday. It said Turkish warplanes separately struck Kurdish militants in northern Iraq on Wednesday, killing seven fighters from the …

Iraq’s military pushed deeper into Mosul’s Old City on Wednesday, taking two more districts from Daesh and bringing it closer to total control of the city. The army’s 16th infantry division captured Hadarat Al Saada and Al Ahmadiyya, the military said in a statement. The areas are northwest of the …

US-backed fighters seized a quarter of Syria’s Raqqa from the Islamic State group, a monitor said on Monday, less than three weeks after they first launched the offensive to recapture the northern city. Arab and Kurdish militiamen from the Syrian Democratic Forces smashed into the militants’ main Syrian bastion on …