BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on Syria have killed more than 500 people, mainly Islamic militants, since they began last month, activists said Thursday, as warplanes targeted an oil field in the eastern Deir el-Zour province near Iraq. The
The Islamic State’s brutal attempts to eradicate Iraq’s Yazidi minority from territory they control may officially fit the definition of genocide, according to a United Nations official visiting Iraq this week. The evidence shows “an attempt to commit genocide,” said
(AFP) Syria’s air force has destroyed two of three warplanes reportedly seized by fighters of the Islamic State group in the north of the country, Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said. The jihadists were reported to have seized the three planes,
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) ravaged Yazidi villages, kidnapping women to use as sex slaves or concubines, as they spread their “Caliphate” through Iraq. One of these women managed to phone the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters to beg them and the West to
Heavy fighting between Islamists and opponents led by renegade Libyan General Khalifa Haftar erupted in Benghazi, Libya on Wednesday after the general and his forces went on the offensive against Islamist militias to recapture the city. Tuesday night, during a pre-recorded televised
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s security service says up to 150 people have left the country to join IS militants in the Middle East. Anders Kassman, chief operating officer of the SAPO security service, on Wednesday said the agency has confirmed
Iraq’s Kurdish regional parliament will hold a session on Wednesday to vote on deploying peshmerga security forces to aid Syrian Kurds battling jihadists from the Islamic State group, a senior lawmaker said. The planned vote raises the possibility that the
Australian teen Abdullah Elmir, 17, threatened Prime Minister Tony Abbott in an Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) video. He calls himself Abu Khaled and tells Australia, Britain, and the United States nothing can stop the terrorist group. It is the first time
Retired Army Lt. Col. John Nagl, one of the authors of the “U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual” argued that the US should increase its forces in Iraq “by probably a factor of 10” on Tuesday’s “Ronan Farrow Daily” on
“Everything is fire, killing, bombarding, from Libya to Syria to Iraq to Yemen, to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain… it’s not a spring,” Archbishop Thomas Meram told Vatican Radio. It is hard to say whether there is hope for justice and equity
Islamic State fighters have moved within close proximity to the Yazidi population stranded on Mt. Sinjar. On Monday, the militants overtook two Yazidi villages after volunteer militiamen fled due to sustained incoming gunfire. The limited Yazidi volunteer defense forces said
Australia has finalized a deal with Baghdad to deploy 200 soldiers from its special forces to train and assist Iraqi security troops to fight against Islamic State jihadists, according to various news outlets. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced that she
TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 20 (UPI) — The partnership in control of one of the largest natural gas basins off the coast of Israel announced their intention to sign an export deal with Egypt. The consortium in charge of the
Tehran, October 21 (QNA) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, heading a high- ranking delegation, arrived in Tehran on Monday evening, Iran’s News Agency (IRNA) reported. This is the first visit of al-Abadi to Iran after taking office as the
The CEO of French oil giant Total, Christophe de Margerie, died in a plane crash at a Moscow airport late Monday when the private jet he was using struck a snowplough on takeoff. Russian investigators said Tuesday the driver of
Ater an ISIS (or ISIL – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) threat against Rep Michele Bachmann emerged online last week, federal law enforcement took it seriously enough that Capitol Police have now assigned her a special security detail. An online
Turkey is allowing Iraqi Kurds to cross into Kobane in order to take part in the fight against ISIS militants there. This will allow Iraqi Kurds to come alongside Syrian Kurds in an effort to drive ISIS out of the
As the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group spread its “Caliphate” throughout Iraq, it destroyed several churches. Kurdish media network Rudaw received a video showing the ruins of churches in Mosul, Iraq. The jihadists demolished the Church of the Virgin Mary
SURUC, Turkey (AP) — In a significant shift, Turkey’s top diplomat announced on Monday that his country is helping Iraqi Kurdish fighters cross into Syria to “give support” to fellow Kurds defending the border town of Kobani from Islamic State
Hundreds of Sunni families in Iraq are fleeing into Kurdish territory fearing that anti-ISIS militias may wreak revenge as they advance on Tikrit. According to The Times, the exodus comes as the Iraqi army advances on the ISIS-held city, with
Two German hostages who were being held by Islamic militants in the Philippines have been released in return for a ransom sum of £3.5million (€5.65million), their captors have claimed. The pair were sailing on board their yacht between Malaysia and
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Joko Widodo completed a journey from riverside shack to presidential palace on Monday, cheered through the streets following his inauguration by tens of thousands of ordinary Indonesians in a reminder to the opposition-controlled parliament of the
TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 20 (UPI) –On Sunday night, the U.S. military airdropped weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to Kurdish fighters in Syria who are defending the border town of Kobane from Islamic State control. According to U.S. Central Command, the
LOS ANGELES — Bold Agenda PAC launched a new broadcast television advertisement for 33rd congressional district candidate Elan Carr late last week, with just over two weeks remaining until the November 4 midterm election. Carr, a Republican, is battling state Sen.
When Obama has lost liberal Al Hunt with his choice of Ron Klain for Ebola czar … well, you get the picture. I’ve know Ron Klain for years, respecting him as a smart operative who understands the nexus of politics
