President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and the US’s top military officer met with Kurdish leaders in Arbil on Tuesday, the second day of their visit to Iraq. His inclusion in the US delegation is a sign of the influence wielded by Jared Kushner, a 36-year-old with no prior government experience who has become one of the … Read more
In the Iraqi Christian town of Qaraqosh, time stands still. The Islamic State group was expelled in October 2016, but life has not returned to its once-vibrant and wealthy neighbourhoods. It has a ghostly air: wide avenues silent but for the rattle of an empty tin can nudged by the breeze or dead leaves rustling … Read more
Provincial councillors in disputed, oil-rich Kirkuk province voted Tuesday to fly the Kurdish regional flag over government buildings, a move likely to increase tensions with Baghdad. Kirkuk is at the centre of a long-running dispute over northern territory between Kurdish authorities, who want to incorporate the land into their autonomous region, and the federal government … Read more
The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Syria faces “tough decisions” on how much it should support Kurdish fighters in an offensive to reclaim Raqa from the jihadists, a senior US lawmaker warned Wednesday. Senator John McCain, who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Trump administration is weighing the thorny issue … Read more
“The Europeans should hear us, empathize with our suffering and help us Around 9,000 Kurdish supporters demonstrated in the German city of Frankfurt on Saturday against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and an April referendum that would give him sweeping new powers. Protesters chanted “Erdogan terrorist” and “freedom for Ocalan”, referring to Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed … Read more
The US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance leading the offensive to surround and recapture the Islamic State group’s main bastion in Syria now comprises mainly Arab fighters, a US official said Wednesday. The development is significant because the United States has been trying to bolster the Arab part of the Syrian Democratic Forces in a bid to placate … Read more
In a shimmering dress, Efin Hissu strides confidently down a runway to the beat of Kurdish music at a fashion show in northeast Syria showcasing a revival of the minority’s traditional clothing. Her outfit is a riot of contrasting patterns, starting with her full-length gown, a sienna shade overlaid with a delicate leaf-like pattern in … Read more
Iraqi special forces battled the Islamic State group on Friday in west Mosul, where a commander said jihadist resistance is showing signs of weakening under repeated assaults. The jihadists are also facing simultaneous offensives in Syria by government forces, Turkish-backed rebels and a US-supported alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, piling more pressure on IS. … Read more
The UN has accused Turkish forces of serious violations during unrest in the south-east of the country that left 2,000 dead less than 18 months. Up to 500,000 people, mostly Kurds, were displaced between July 2015 and December 2016, a UN report said. Meanwhile, satellite imagery showed the “enormous scale of destruction of the housing … Read more
Turkish, Russian and US military chiefs held talks on Tuesday in the southern Turkish city of Antalya to discuss regional issues including Iraq and Syria, the Turkish army said. “Common issues relating to regional security, in particular Syria and Iraq, are being discussed at the meeting,” the army said in a statement, without elaborating further. … Read more
Iraqi Kurdish forces deployed at a state-run oil company Thursday, temporarily halting pumping through a pipeline that is one of the country’s two main avenues for crude exports, officials said. The move highlights two fault lines that may increasingly come to the fore as Iraq’s war against jihadists winds down: the dispute between Baghdad and … Read more
Russian warplanes bombed US-backed fighters in several small villages in northern Syria after they mistakenly thought Islamic State group forces were in the area, a US general says. Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said on Wednesday Russian and Syrian regime aircraft attacked the villages to the south and east of Al-Bab in Aleppo province, resulting … Read more
Worried over Turkish advances in Syria’s north, the Damascus regime has formed an alliance of convenience with the country’s Kurds to prevent their common enemy from gaining ground. President Bashar al-Assad’s government has repeatedly criticised Turkey’s operation in Syria, which saw Ankara in late August send troops across the border where they are working with … Read more
The city of Mosul is intertwined with human history, tracing its roots to 4,400 years ago when civilisation rose in fabled, fertile Mesopotamia. Today, as Iraqi forces backed by an international coalition inch forward in their fight to recover Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group, historians are looking at how to save, repair or … Read more
Canada will resettle 1,200 Yezidi refugees who faced persecution by the Islamic State group, the immigration minister said Tuesday. Some 400 have already been airlifted to this country. “Our operation is under way and individual survivors of Daesh have been arriving in Canada for resettlement in the last number of months and this began on … Read more
Turkey has presented two plans to the US detailing how a joint operation could retake the IS de-facto capital of Raqa in northern Syria, a local newspaper reported Saturday. Turkish Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar set out Ankara’s proposals to the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford during his visit … Read more
Twice a month, beautician Chnoor Khezri takes her equipment to a camp near Mosul and gives displaced Iraqi women who have lost everything a proper pampering and some fresh confidence. In a small room inside the camp, the young Iranian Kurd takes out her brushes and scissors and puts blue wax to heat up in … Read more
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Ankara wanted to establish a “safe zone” in northern Syria free of “terrorists”, as Turkish-backed rebels pushed ahead in the town of Al-Bab. He added the area would also require a “no-fly” zone. “Our objective here is (to establish) an area of at least 4,000, 5,000 square kilometres … Read more
Hassan Jamil’s love affair with Donald Trump began in the thick of the American presidential campaign, when he found himself glued to his television screen on the other side of the world each night, transfixed by the billionaire’s “beautiful” hair, commanding presence and magnetic speaking style. Jamil, who doesn’t speak English, couldn’t understand the Republican … Read more
It is not known who was behind the attack Two attackers, a policeman and a civilian have been killed in a car bomb and gun assault on a courthouse in the Turkish city of Izmir, state media say. At least 10 people were reportedly wounded in the explosion. Images showed two cars ablaze and the … Read more