Recently, much of the news focus in the Middle East has been focused on a very specific series of events: the Khashoggi killing. While this focus is entirely justified, it does still cast some very significant headlines to the sidelines. I’m going to be focusing on the important news coming out of Iraq and Kurdistan, and things related to the… Read more »
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey would like to work more closely with Iraq to combat “terrorists.”
Editor’s note: Below is an abridged version of the interview with Bafel Talabani, which was conducted a day before the electoral commission announced the final results of the September 30 parliamentary vote in Iraq’s Kurdish region.
Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, at least 3,613 Kurdish soldiers have been killed fighting the totalitarian Islamic State and the little-better authoritarian alternative, Bashar Al-Assad’s government. The Kurdish YPG (“People’s Protection Units”) is the largest portion of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a military coalition of Kurds and Arabs that the United States backs through weapons sales… Read more »
(DAILY SABAH): Turkish forces have killed at least 14 Daesh terrorists in northern Syria in the last 24 hours. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Turkish General Staff said that Turkey’s land and air forces hit 110 Daesh targets as part of the ongoing Operation Euphrates Shield. A total of 89 Daesh targets, including shelters, command and control facilities, weapons… Read more »
(DEUTSCHE WELLE): An alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters has seized a dozen villages in eastern Syria. The move is part of a drive to encircle the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS) group’s stronghold of Raqqa ahead of new peace talks. Backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – an alliance dominated by the Kurdish People’s… Read more »
(REUTERS): The U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance has crossed into Deir al-Zor province for the first time as part of an offensive against Islamic State, a Kurdish military source said on Tuesday. The advance into the province, most of which is under the control of the ultra-hardline group, is part of an operation to encircle and ultimately capture its de… Read more »
(AL JAZEERA): The commander of Kurdish fighters in Syria’s Manbij city has told Al Jazeera that his forces will fight to defend any move by Turkey to take over the area. Adnan Abu Amjad’s comment came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that when his country’s forces finished helping Syrian opposition fighters take over Al Bab from ISIL , they… Read more »