US strike in Syria kills al-Qaeda-linked planner, hints at changing militant networks Members of Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, Huras ad-Din, have been joining Ansar al-Islam as US drone strikes have continued to pick off Huras ad-Din's leaders, a report to the UN Security Council noted in July. Syria
US troop drawdown in Syria on hold over regime stability concerns While American troops in Iraq hand over operations against the Islamic State to Baghdad's forces, the parallel drawdown in neighboring Syria has been halted amid concerns about the abilities of the new Islamist-led government in Damascus. By Jared Szuba In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military
US troops in Iraq shift to Erbil to focus on ISIS in Syria The US mission against the Islamic State is relocating its headquarters and most of its troops from Baghdad to Erbil as the prime minister's coalition faces reelection in November. Iraq
Pentagon pushes to accelerate ISIS detainee repatriations from Syria Uncertainty about Syria’s long-term stability and the the US military’s future presence in the country have increased urgency among some Pentagon officials to further reduce the population of nearly 30,000 suspected ISIS-associated detainees in the camps. Syria
US ramps up counter-WMD spending amid Mideast proliferation threats The Pentagon is putting $6 million into countering weapons of mass destruction in five Middle Eastern countries, as US special operations forces take control of the fight. Syria
Counter-IS officials temper Trump’s rush to pull out of Syria US officials guiding the fight in Syria warned of a long struggle ahead to defeat the Islamic State. Iraq
Yazidis in Iraq's Sinjar brace for possible Turkish attack The Yazidi community, which only recently faced Islamic State attacks, is now getting ready for a Turkish military operation in Sinjar announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Iraq
Iran says IS resurgence could hamper oil deal with Iraq An Iranian official warns that numerous attacks in Iraq have created security concerns that are preventing the countries from completing their oil deal, but some Iraqis think the Kurdistan Regional Government has engineered the situation because it no longer controls the oil. Iraq
Death sentences cool warming Iraq-Turkey ties Death sentences imposed by an Iraqi court on Turkish women affiliated with the Islamic State has put Turkey in a difficult spot with its stance on terrorism and puts a brake on what appeared to be improving relations with Baghdad. Iraq
Iraq orders execution of foreign women for IS involvement Iraq is issuing death penalty and life sentences against foreign women found guilty of involvement with the Islamic State — and hundreds await trials. Iraq
Tribal laws determine fate of IS families in Iraq The war has come to an end in Iraq’s western and northern areas, occupied by the Islamic State in 2014, but another battle has broken out between IS families and tribes whose members were killed by the group during its control of Ramadi and Mosul. Iraq
Kirkuk not as liberated from IS as claimed Because of the crisis between Erbil and Baghdad over Kurdish independence, increased attacks by the Islamic State in the Kirkuk province have gone generally unnoticed by the government. Iraq
Questions linger on airstrike that killed local police in Iraq's Anbar Truth urged on airstrike that killed Iraqi police officers and injured the mayor in Anbar province. Iraq
Pentagon stops budgeting for peshmerga salaries The Pentagon’s fiscal year 2019 budget doesn’t specifically dedicate payments for Iraq’s Kurdish fighting force after it stepped back from the front lines of the fight against the Islamic State. Iraq
Iranian film on Tehran's role in Syria war creates controversy The first Iranian film depicting Tehran’s fight against Islamic State terrorists divides observers into two camps: those who think it is a great film by a great director and those who think it is just a cliche. Iran
Egypt steps up military operations in Sinai ahead of elections The timing of an anti-terror military operation launched in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has raised questions about President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s motives ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for March. Egypt
