
American and other Western volunteers fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria recently told the Kurdish outlet Rudaw they were gearing up for a new offensive against the jihadists in the new year. One American volunteer recalled how thousands demanded photos with him on a routine visit to a mall in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
by Frances Martel5 Jan 2016, 10:29 AM PST0

To the extent the fight abroad surfaced as a topic, however, a common refrain reared its head, leaving many questions unanswered: “we should arm the Kurds.”
by Frances Martel16 Dec 2015, 7:30 AM PST0

Yazidi militias organized to fight the Islamic State in Sinjar, northern Iraq are protesting that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Marxist terrorist group operating out of Syria and Turkey, have prevented them from launching a mission to recapture Sinjar City after the terrorists stormed the region in 2014.
by Frances Martel6 Nov 2015, 7:33 AM PST0

The White House had stern words for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) this week following the dramatic crackdown on a media conglomerate that temporarily shut down two newspapers and two television stations just days before the November 1 election.
by Frances Martel3 Nov 2015, 7:23 AM PST0

The head of the Syrian rebel group the Raqqa Revolutionaries Front has announced in a video uploaded to YouTube that his group will “soon” announce a military offensive on Raqqa, the “capital” of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS) terrorist group.
by Frances Martel30 Oct 2015, 10:33 AM PST0

A Kurdish man from the beleaguered Syrian border town of Kobani set himself on fire upon learning that his daughter had left home to join the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the all-female YPJ, in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
by Frances Martel27 Oct 2015, 7:33 AM PST0

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, reacted “positively” to the idea of working with some rebel groups in the region against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), particularly the Kurds.
by Frances Martel23 Oct 2015, 7:25 AM PST0

The Syrian Kurdish YPG/YPJ–or People’s Protection Units–issued a statement on Monday condemning Turkish airstrikes on strategic Kurdish posts. The Turkish government announced a new campaign, accompanied by the United States, against the Islamic State in Syria, but the Kurds and anti-Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS) Syrian militant claim they are the real targets of the campaign.
by Frances Martel27 Jul 2015, 8:34 AM PST0

The President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government, Masoud Barzani, has appeared to take the side of the Turkish government regarding recently launched airstrikes against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), calling the U.S.-designated terrorist group “arrogant” and praising Turkey for taking a “positive” role in attempting peace talks with the PKK.
by Frances Martel27 Jul 2015, 7:23 AM PST0