Middle Orient

Iraqi forces slowly advanced today to retake the last patch of ground in Mosul where Islamic State militants are holding on to a tiny sliver of the Old City, west of the Tigris River, a day after the prime minister visited the soldiers to congratulate troops on the hard-fought battle. …

France and Germany, in a combined initiative, called Wednesday for the rapid identification of those who used chemical weapons in a deadly attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun last April, according to the French Foreign Ministry. At least 92 people died in the Khan Sheikhoun attack, 30 of …

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 …