Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

Israel 'will not blink' on Iranian missiles

The Israel Defense Forces set new red lines for Iran; Erdogan still waiting for Russian dividend on Kurds; Russia expands use of private military companies in Syria; the Islamic State and al-Qaeda at war in the Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt

The uncertain future of Palestinian security forces

Egypt stands ready to unify Palestinian security forces through an organizational overhaul and training, but Hamas may not be accepting of the offer.

Palestine

What next for PMU in Iraq's Anbar province?

The flags of a powerful Shiite fighting force still fly from the main bridge into the Iraqi border town of Qaim weeks after it was retaken from the Islamic State.

Iraq

Battle may be brewing in Sinai between al-Qaeda, IS groups

As Egypt continues efforts to suppress violence in the Sinai Peninsula, a small band of al-Qaeda followers is looking to grow and challenge both Egypt's army and Islamic State loyalists.

Egypt

Proposed US sanctions on PMU put Iraq in tough spot

Proposed sanctions against factions of the Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization Units would place the Iraqi government squarely in the middle of a tug of war between Iran and the United States.

Iraq

Militias crack down on social, cultural life in Libya

A crack down on comic books and video games has pushed militias and civil society farther away from each other, prompting the youth to think about fleeing the country.

Libya

The other Iranians fighting in Iraq

While much focus was on Iranian fighters among the Iraqi forces that retook disputed areas in October, other Iranian fighters played a key role in the other side of the fight.

Iraq

The road to rebuilding Raqqa

The city of Raqqa, newly liberated from the Islamic State by the Kurdish-led and US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces, will now face the challenges of reconstruction and uprooting the jihadi threat once and for all.

Iraq

Libya's rogue militias cut capital’s water supply

A group of armed men cut off water supplies to the Libyan capital Tripoli, which indicates the fragility of resources in a country plagued by chaos.

Libya

Iran unlikely to sit idle as US targets Hezbollah, PMU

Tehran views US actions against Iran's friends in the region as nothing short of a plot to sabotage the republic's strength and restrict its area of influence.

Iraq

Will Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement undermine Iran’s role in Iraq?

With US support, Saudi Arabia and Iraq are getting close to each other to minimize Iran's influence in Iraq.

Saudi Arabia

Iraq's Christians ponder future in wake of Kurdish independence vote

Iraqi Christians are divided over whether their areas in northern Iraq should be a part of Kurdistan, the Iraqi central government or an entirely new autonomous area.

Iraq