NEWSWORTHY
Defying the United States, Assad presses assault in southwest Syria
Syrian government helicopters dropped barrel bombs on opposition areas of the country's southwest on Friday for the first time in a year, a war monitor and rebel officials said, in defiance of U.S. demands that President Bashar Assad halt the assault. Assad has sworn to ...
U.S. commander warns against rapid Afghan exit, saying Islamic State and al-Qaida may merge
The battle-hardened Army commander nominated to take over U.S. military operations in Afghanistan warned senators Tuesday that if America leaves the fight too rapidly, there is a risk Islamic State militants could merge with al-Qaida and plan attacks against the U.S. or its allies. Lt. ...
Syrian state media said Monday that U.S.-led coalition aircraft had bombed "one of our military positions" in eastern Syria, leading to deaths and injuries, but the U.S. military denied carrying out strikes in the area. The strike took place in al-Harra, southeast of Albu Kamal, ...
Taliban refuse to extend Afghanistan cease-fire as Islamic State suicide attack kills 18
The Taliban refused to extend a cease-fire beyond Sunday night, dampening hopes for peace after jubilant scenes over the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Afghanistan. The announcement came after a suicide attack in the restive eastern part of the country by the Islamic State group on ...
U.S.-backed Syrian fighters capture key village from Islamic State near Iraqi border
A U.S.-backed Syrian force says it has captured an important village near the Iraqi border from the Islamic State group. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday that its fighters captured Dashishah in the northeastern province of Hassakeh, a major crossing point between Iraq ...
Pair whose teen graffiti lit Syrian war brace for regime attack on hometown
"Your turn, doctor." Seven years after scribbling the anti-Assad slogan that sparked Syria's war, activists-turned-rebels Moawiya Sayasina and Samer Sayasina are bracing for a regime assault on their hometown, Daraa. They were just 15 when they and friends, inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions they ...
Al-Qaida's Mali branch releases video of two female hostages held over a year
Al-Qaida's Mali branch released a proof-of-life video Wednesday showing footage of two female hostages abducted in separate incidents and held for more than a year, according to SITE Intelligence Group. The video released on Telegram by the Mali-based al-Qaida affiliate known by its acronym JNIM ...
Every Friday since Mosul was prised from the Islamic State group's clutches last July, women gather in the Iraqi city's Al-Minassa Square, desperate to learn the fate of husbands and sons. Dressed in black, with children in tow and brandishing photos, some fear their men ...
Philippine troops kill 15 militants in air and ground assault on IED factory
At least 15 pro-Islamic State militants were killed when Philippine troops launched air and ground assaults against a rebel bomb factory on Sunday, a military commander said. Airstrikes and artillery pounded an area in the Liguasan marsh in Maguindanao, where the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters ...
U.S.-backed Syrian Kurd party says group is ready to talk to Damascus over future of Manbij area
The dominant U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish party in control of northeastern Syria is prepared to hold talks with the Syrian government over the future of the area, senior Kurdish officials said Wednesday. A Damascus-based political group called the Syrian Democratic Front, which is seen as close ...
U.S.-backed Kurdish forces to quit strategic Syrian town of Manbij under delicate deal with Turkey
An American-backed Syrian Kurdish militia said Tuesday it will leave the strategic town of Manbij under a delicate U.S.-Turkey deal that could ease tensions between the NATO allies and force a realignment of troops along the volatile Syria-Turkey frontier. Illustrating the fragility of the arrangement, ...
London girl, 18, guilty of plot with all-female Islamic State terror cell to attack British Museum
A London teenager was found guilty Monday of preparing an attack on the British Museum as part of the country's first all-female cell linked to the Islamic State group, police and prosecutors said. Safaa Boular, 18, plotted the grenade and gun attack in her home ...
