Contents: Joint US-Kurdish operation in Iraq rescues 70 hostages from ISIS, one American killed; Administration denies that combat use of American soldiers was ‘mission creep’
Turkish state-run media outlet Anadolu Agency is reporting that police have evidence the original target of the bombing of a Kurdish peace rally in Ankara on October 10 was the headquarters of the Kurd-friendly People’s Democratic Party (HDP).
The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced an American soldier was killed during a mission to rescue Kurdish hostages from ISIS near the Iraqi town of Hawija.
U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, traveled to Erbil and met with Masoud Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, on Tuesday, to discuss the war against ISIS.
Turkey has arrested upwards of 1,000 more suspects linked to the Kurdish PKK than to the Islamic State (ISIS) or Al Qaeda since the July bombing of a meeting of Kurdish socialist youth in Suruç, despite declaring war on ISIS following that incident.
A round of Russian air strikes on the ISIS-free province of Latakia reportedly killed Basil Zimmo, a brigade commander in the U.S.-aligned “moderate” Free Syrian Army, along with a number of civilians.
For decades Turkey has adopted a policy of pawning off its Kurdish problem on Europe. Indeed since the 1960s waves of Kurdish migrants and refugees made their way to the European mainland. Now, a senior European Union (EU) source has
A Finnish journalist has been accused by pro-Turkish government media of being linked to the terrorist group Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after asking Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whether or not he is a dictator, as some have claimed.
Turkey has grown increasingly vocal, and even belligerent, in criticizing the Kurds and U.S. military support for their cause in Syria and Iraq. The situation took a disturbing turn when Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu threatened to attack Kurdish fighters in Syria, if they are found to be passing American weapons back to Kurdish insurgents in Syria.
Iraqi and Kurdish officials have met to plan the long-delayed Battle of Mosul, an effort to push ISIS out of the city they have been using as their base of operations in Iraq.
A Turkish court has demanded all media stop covering the investigation into the October 10 bombing of a peace rally in Ankara, the deadliest terrorist attack in post-Ottoman Turkish history.
Ömer Çelik, a senior official in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warned Wednesday that “Kurdish militia in northern Syria appeared intent on creating a de facto zone of control in the region.”
Turkish media is reporting the first arrests directly in relation to Saturday’s twin bombings in the capital, Ankara: two suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who tweeted about the event before it occurred.
Turkey is banning relatives of those killed or wounded in Saturday’s twin bombing of a peace protest in Ankara from assembling and protesting the government, citing “sensitivities at this time.”
Contents: Turkey blames ISIS for Saturday’s massacre as anti-government anger grows; Turkey is seen as increasingly unstable after massacre
Nationalist Turks living in Germany have threatened to boycott a drugstore chain because one of its outlets is raising funds for the Kurdish community. The local branch of “dm” in Troisdorft, near Cologne, is planning to hold what is known
Contents: Massive terror attack in Ankara called worst in Turkey’s history; Kurdish politicians in Turkey blame Erdogan government for Ankara terror attack
Russia’s military excursion into Syria has driven estranged partners Turkey and the European Union to try to make amends, further isolating the Syrian Kurds, reports Rudaw, citing analysts.
Residents in Şırnak, Turkey, are expressing outrage after a video and images surfaced on the Internet, showing Turkish soldiers dragging a Kurdish man through their streets.
The leader of the Kurdish YPG militia – the indispensable ground forces that have been holding the Islamic State at bay – reportedly welcomed the Russian bombing campaign, calling it “an important step” in the battle against ISIS.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq report this week that they have made significant gains against ISIS near Kirkuk, a northern oil city about an hour and a half south of the Kurdish capital of Erbil. This news follows reports that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has fled northern Mosul south to Ramadi.
Kurdish leader Saleh Muslim argued this week that the overthrow of Bashar Assad’s brutal regime in Syria would be a disaster for the entire world.
Kurdish forces are attempting to cut off the route often taken by foreigners wishing to link up with the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS) terror group and join its Middle East jihad.
Hundreds of attacks by Turkish nationalist mobs on Kurdish-friendly parties, Kurdish businesses, and even knowing Kurdish individuals in the wake of the nation’s struggle against the Marxist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terror group threaten the peaceful coexistence of Turks and Kurds, leaders warn.
Lt. General Vincent Stewart, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said on Thursday that he feared Iraq and Syria might never recover from the Islamic State invasion, Syrian civil war, and related stress factors. “I’m having a tough time seeing it come back together,” Stewart confessed, as quoted by the Associated Press.
