Middle Orient

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 …

The battle to take full control of Mosul from Islamic State will be over in a few days after an attempted fightback by the militants failed, an Iraqi general has told Reuters. “Only a small part remains in the city, specifically the Old City,” said Lieutenant General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, …

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have completed a siege on areas under the Islamic State (IS) in Syria’s northern city of Raqqa. The siege on Raqqa has been completed, amid talks among the tribesmen in the city about reviving negotiations with IS over the next 24 hours for the …

The Islamic State (IS) militants bombed historical al-Nuri mosque on Wednesday during fierce battles against the Iraqi army which has retaken most of Mosul, the country’s second largest city, after eight months of offensives. Iraqi Prime Minister Hadier Abadi said “blowing up the al-Nuri mosque and the al-Hadba minaret is …

The “liberation” of the city of Mosul from Daesh will be announced in a few days, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said on Thursday, according to Baghdad-based Al-Sumaria TV. “It’s a matter of a few days and we will announce the total liberation of Mosul,” Al-Abadi told reporters in Baghdad, …

Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was awarded the Legion of Merit in Ankara on Tuesday in recognition of his services for promotion of Pakistan-Turkey defence ties. Speaking on the occasion, General Bajwa dedicated the award to the martyrs of both Pakistani and Turkish armed forces.

A US warplane shot down an Iran-made drone operated by pro-regime forces in southern Syria early on Tuesday, officials said, the second such incident in less than two weeks. The US-led anti-ISIL coalition said an F-15E Strike Eagle jet destroyed the Shaheed-129 drone around 12.30am, north-east of the Al Tanaf …

The European Union (EU) on Tuesday expressed deep concern about civilians trapped in the Iraqi city of Mosul as the battle enters the final stage and expressed support to humanitarian organizations to deliver lifesaving aid to them. “Our deepest concern right now are the civilians still trapped inside. Protecting the …

Iraq’s army said it encircled Islamic State’s stronghold in the Old City of Mosul on Tuesday after taking over an area to the north of the densely populated historic district. The army’s 9th armored division seized al-Shifaa district, which includes the city’s main hospitals, alongside the western bank of the …