Middle Orient

In their third phone call to discuss the Syria situation and impending plans for US withdrawal, US president Donald Trump discussed with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday a framework that would protect Syrian Kurds while preserving Turkey’s security.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought to reassure Iraqi officials on Wednesday that Washington remained committed to fighting the Daesh group, as he tours regional allies troubled by US plans to withdraw from Syria. Pompeo’s unannounced visit comes less than two weeks after President Donald Trump drew criticism for …

Iraqi security forces seized on Monday three hotbeds of Islamic State group during a security campaign in Anbar province, a security source said. “A security force from al-Jazeera Operations Command, backed by fighters of the Tribal Mobilization Forces, carried out a security campaign in northwestern Anbar, during

Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed al-Hakim has reiterated his country’s keenness on maintaining relations with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over the coming period. The top Iraqi diplomat made the remarks Sunday during a meeting with NATO Assistant Secretary General John Manza at the ministry’s headquarters in Baghdad, …

The United Kingdom owes its gratitude to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who should be included in a long-lasting peace effort in Syria, UK Secretary of State for Defense Gavin Williamson said on Monday.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made a statement to reporters after meeting his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim in Baghdad. France has agreed to loan Iraq 1 billion euros to help reconstruction of areas devastated by conflict in recent years, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday. Le Drian …

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the process of the withdrawal of the American military contingent from Syria has officially begun, as he reported on Twitter. “Starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little

Iraqi security forces killed on Sunday a senior Islamic State leader and arrested 17 others during a security campaign in Nineveh province. “Troops of the Nineveh Operations Command launched a wide-scale security campaign in Badush district, northeast of Mosul, managing to kill a senior Islamic State leader,” Major Azad Fouad …

The Iraqi military announced that its forces arrested a cell of Islamic State (IS) militants following raids in multiple different locations in the disputed province of Kirkuk. “Field detachments of the Directorate General of Intelligence and Security, in coordination with the 1st Special Forces Regiment, Operations Department, managed to arrest …

Over the Christmas period the UK attacked ISIS with ten airstrikes in south east Syria and Iraq in an effort to crush the crush the terrorist group in the slithers of territory it controls. The assaults were carried out by a mixture of fighter jets and drones.