Like I mentioned last week, Iraqi forces have been launching major offensives into West Mosul, hoping to recapture the half of the city still under ISIL control, with 600,000 civilians still trapped within the western portion of the city. Recently, Iraqi Forces have claimed responsibility for liberating the key neighborhoods of al-Kur and al-Tawafa, which they state will allow safe passage… Read more »
Recent fighting surrounding Syria’s capital of Damascus has cut 161,000 people in Douma and 142,000 people in Kafr Batna off from humanitarian aid. Conflict has destroyed supply routes that were used by convoys to deliver food and other supplies, and now supplies are dwindling. Even if the convoys were guaranteed safety while delivering supplies, the Syrian government has not green… Read more »
Al Jazeera: At least 22 members of pro-government forces have been killed in a rebel attack on a mosque inside a military base in Yemen, according to medical sources. Two missiles fired by Houthi rebels on Friday hit worshippers in Sirwa, western Marib province. The first missile hit the mosque inside the Kofal military camp during prayers, while the second struck… Read more »
Al Jazeera: Iraqi forces in Mosul have said they have captured two key neighbourhoods in its offensive to retake the western part of the city from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). Adel Ahmed, the captain of the federal police, said control of the al-Kur and al-Tawafa will allow for a safe corridor for civilians… Read more »
Al Jazeera: A car bomb exploded in the Iraqi capital on Monday, killing at least 21 people and wounding 43 others in a mainly Shia district in southwestern Baghdad. The attack – as Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC – targeted a busy commercial district of the Hay al-Amel suburb, according to police and hospital… Read more »
Al Jazeera: Dozens of people were killed earlier this week in a suspected US-led coalition air raid that hit a school sheltering displaced people near Raqqa, ISIL’s self-declared capital in Syria, according to a monitoring group. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday that its contacts had counted at least 33 bodies at the site near the village… Read more »
Reuters: Fighting around Syria’s capital Damascus has cut 300,000 people off from humanitarian aid and pauses in the conflict are needed to let aid convoys in, Jan Egeland, U.N. humanitarian advisor on Syria, said on Thursday.
Reuters: About 400,000 Iraqi civilians are trapped in the Islamic State-held Old City of western Mosul, short of food and basic needs as the battle between the militants and government forces rages around them, the United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday.
BBC: Fifteen militants were killed and seven others arrested during the operation, according to a statement.
Al Jazeera: A Palestinian teen has been killed and two other men wounded by Israeli fire in southern Gaza, according to health officials.