AKP base divided on Turkey's vote to join coalition

Pro-government commentators have raised questions over Turkey’s participation in a US-led coalition, while the latest polls show Turks are split on what their country's role should be in fighting the Islamic state.

Iraq

Supporters accuse Syrian regime of cooperating on airstrikes

The Syrian government’s supporters are divided in their views on the US-led strikes against the Islamic State in Syria, with many believing it violates Syria’s national sovereignty and humiliates the country.

Syria

Theater returns to Aleppo amid war

Locals in rebel-held Aleppo defied air raids and artillery shells to see the first play to be held in the area since the Syrian uprising began.

Syria

Syrian rebels unhappy with coalition airstrikes

Rebels in northern Aleppo say the US-led airstrikes have made no difference on their front lines against the Islamic State, and they have yet to see an increase in arms supplies.

Syria

Hama maintains its calm amid Syrian storm

Hama, a hotbed of opposition against the Syrian regime, has learned from its experience in the 1980s and stayed out of the armed rebellion, so far sparing the city the destruction witnessed elsewhere.

Syria

Are Turkish troops trapped at Syrian tomb?

Turkish troops guarding the Tomb of Suleiman Shah, a Turkish enclave in Syria, are facing increased risks as Ankara refuses to evacuate them.

Syria

High stakes for Erdogan in fight against IS

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turns hawkish on the Islamic State, but he is aware that the stakes are high if Ankara joins the war against the group.

Syria

Syrians on both sides oppose US strikes

Local rebels and pro-regime supporters are both critical of the US-led strikes on the Islamic State for various reasons.

Syria

US leverages Iran-Iraq-Syria axis against Islamic State

New alignment offers the potential for breakthrough in the battle against extremist groups; the Arab world has a pulse, not an illness.

Iraq

Hezbollah squeezed out of Golan by Jabhat al-Nusra, Israel

The infiltration of Syrian militants into Lebanon threatens Hezbollah’s presence in the strategic Golan Heights.

Israel

Moscow backs fight against IS … to an extent

Russia is expressing cautious solidarity with the United States in fighting the Islamic State, while continuing its unequivocal support of the Syrian government.

Iraq

Turks dislike Islamic State, but would leave fight to others

A recent survey by Metropoll, a prominent Turkish polling company, indicates that only 1.3% of Turks are sympathetic toward the Islamic State.

Syria