Middle Orient

 US President Barack Obama has lauded the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, which was carried out on board a US Navy ship on the Mediterranean Sea, and urged Damascus to fulfil its commitment to destroy its remaining production facilities. “Today we mark an important achievement in our ongoing effort to counter the …

Syrian government troops captured a fiercely contested suburb of the capital Thursday after five months of heavy fighting, flushing rebels from their last hideouts and quickly moving to crush pockets of resistance in the surrounding countryside, activists and state media said. The fall of Mleiha, located some 10 km southeast …

Clashes between Iraqi troops and Sunni militants west of Baghdad killed at least four children today as the United Nations announced its highest level of emergency for the Arab country’s humanitarian crisis in the wake of the onslaught by the extremist Islamic State group. Since their blitz offensive in June, …

The Turkish government welcomed Tuesday Iraq’s advancement to the phase of forming a government. Iraqi President Fuad Massoum’s commissioning to form a government in the country is “an important and positive step,” Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement, wishing Massoum success during this “difficult task,”

A series of U.S. airstrikes since last week has slowed the operational tempo of the Islamic State, the terrorist group that has seized large parts of northern Iraq, but is unlikely to substantially weaken the group, the Pentagon said on Aug. 11. 

Iraq’s outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered security forces not to intervene in the political crisis over who will form the next government. “I want you to stay away from the political crisis and to carry out your security duties to protect the country. Do not intervene and let the …

Iraq needs a “broad unity government” if it is to combat Islamist militants who have seized swathes of territory and are threatening minorities, says French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. He is in Iraq for crisis talks on the rapid advance of Islamic State (IS). His visit comes after the US …

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius urged Iraq’s bickering leaders on Sunday to form an inclusive government capable of countering Islamic State militants advancing through the north of the country.

At least 25,000 Iraqi nationals who have fled from jihadist violence in their homeland are seeking refuge in Turkey, with the number of figures sharply increasing since July as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis suffer at the hands of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Sunni extremists from the Islamic State group today seized Iraq’s largest dam, placing them in control of enormous power and water resources and access to the river that runs through the heart of Baghdad. After a week of attempts, the armed gunmen successfully stormed the Mosul Dam and forced Kurdish forces …