Iraq begins airstrikes in Syria against ISIS

This past week the Iraqi Air Force began carrying out coordinated air strikes on Islamic State positions in Syria alongside the Syrian government. A Tweet from the Iraqi Air Force read, “Based on the orders from Abadi, the commander-in-chief, our air forces by using F-16s bombarded ISIS terrorists’ positions in Syria on the border with Iraq on […]

Saudi Arabia may send armed forces to Syria

With the United States and coalition forces mission to eradicate the Islamic State caliphate in Syria coming to a close, the Trump administration is looking to fill the void with neighboring forces should coalition troops pull out. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, addressed the topic during a press conference in Riyadh held at the United […]

Car bomb rocks Kirkuk as electoral campaigning begins for Iraq

A bodyguard was killed in Kirkuk today when a car bomb exploded that was presumably intended for a passing politician’s convoy. Other members of the group were reported to be wounded with varying levels severity. At last count there were 12 injured and 1 killed. The attack happened in the Khazrayi district that is situated in the […]

SDF and Iraq may fight ISIS side by side

The Kurdish comprised Syrian Democratic Forces are considering conducting joint anti-terror operations with Iraqi military forces in Syria. The Islamic State is supposedly reemerging around the Euphrates River valley that runs the two countries shared border. The Islamic State is also beginning to use sleeper cell based insurgency tactics to strike at security forces with increasing […]

Peshmerga deny they are being sent back to Kirkuk

The Secretary-General for the Ministry of Peshmerga, Jabar Yawar, has refuted the claims that the Kurdish Peshmerga will be deployed to the disputed area of Kirkuk to assist Iraqi Security forces. Yawar stated during a press confrence that, “So far there has been no official meeting between KRG’s Ministry of Peshmerga and Iraq’s Ministry of Defense or between […]

Russian alliance accuses the U.S. of failing in Syria

Officials from Iran and Russia have heavily critiqued United States foreign policy in regards to Syria, making accusations that the U.S. cares not for defeating the Islamic State but are instead pursue ulterior motives in the form of economic gain. Russia’s Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, implied that the United States had failed in the war […]

Iraq plans to enter Syria to “fight terrorism”

Haider al-Abadi, Iraq’s Prime Minister, has confirmed that the Iraqi military is forming plans to cross it’s border with Syria in an effort to combat terrorism. The move comes in the wake of Turkish military aggression on Iraq’s northern border while Turkey simultaneously has conquered the formerly Kurdish controlled Canton of Afrin in northern Syria. […]

The private sector and the rebuilding of the Middle East after ISIS

The U.S. Department of State is advocating the use of the private sector in the rebuilding and reconstruction of Syrian and Iraqi infrastructure in the wake of the war with the Islamic State. Rather than nation building as a government, they believe that privatizing the reformation process will be a far more feasible solution to […]

Hashdt al-Shaabi to become official Iraqi military branch

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, issued a decree on March 8th that would grant all Hashdt al-Shaabi or PMF (Popular Mobilization Forces) militia members the same benefits as members of the Iraqi armed forces. Also, they would receive the same pay as military members under the Ministry […]

Blind Iranian artist brings awareness for victims of acid attacks

Massoumeh Attaie, 35, is an Iranian citizen who was the victim of a brutal acid attack by her father-in-law. She was seeking to divorce her husband but according to Iranian law, her eye’s were equivalent to only one of his. She had blackened her husband’s eye by the move so his father decided to remove […]

Hasdt al-Shaabi combats remnants of ISIS

On Sunday Hasdt al-Shaabi forces began anti-terror operations in southwest Kirkuk, where they engaged a substantial force of Islamic State fighters. In the course of the battle, 27 Hasdt al-Shaabi were killed or captured in the province of Hawija over the span of several days. The operation was in an effort to combat known ISIS […]