(CNN)As if the broken, angry, dysfunctional Middle East needed another conflict, along came an unprecedented escalation between Israel, Iran and Syria to make the region even more volatile and dangerous. In the predawn hours of Saturday, an Iranian drone penetrated Israeli airspace … Read More
WASHINGTON/BEIRUT: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis dismissed concerns on Thursday that the United States was being dragged into a broader conflict in Syria, after a major clash with pro-Syrian government forces overnight that may have left 100 or more of … Read More
Kurdish protestors against the Turkish operation in Afrin outside the EU building in Lebanon on January 28. Wael Hamzeh/EPA When Turkish ground troops rolled into Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria, in January, the regime was making a considered political calculation. … Read More
Rescue teams evacuate wounded people outside the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels on March 22, 2016 in wake of the ISIS-claimed attack. (AFP) Is the battle against the ISIS terrorist organization still ongoing despite its military defeats in Iraq and … Read More
(CNN)Kurdish families huddle on blankets in a dimly lit cave. Others hide in the rubble of a bombed-out building, gathered around a campfire. Those that have basements seek shelter there. This is life in Afrin. Turkey’s cross-border military offensive against … Read More
Turkish forces continue to attack Kurdish fighters in northwest Syria. Former FBI counter-terrorism agent Ali Soufan talks with NPR’s Michel Martin about how to preserve the U.S.’s relationship with both sides. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: We’re going to start the program … Read More
Turkish army tanks are stationed in a field near the Syrian border at Hassa, in Hatay province, on Jan. 25, 2018, as part of a military offensive dubbed “Operation Olive Branch.” (Ozan Kose / AFP/Getty Images) Since the start … Read More
Turkish offensive against Syrian-Kurdish forces in Afrin leaves U.S. in a bind: “They were ‘our guys’ in Syria, and now they are under attack and the U.S. doesn’t seem to have any real solutions” Turkish troops advance near the Syria … Read More
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran on Sunday called for a quick end to a Turkish incursion into northern Syria’s Afrin province, saying it may help “terrorist” groups, state news agency IRNA reported. “Iran hopes that this operation will be ended immediately … Read More
LONDON — Relations between the U.S. and Turkey have hit a new low over Washington’s support of militias battling the Islamic State, according to analysts. The government in Ankara views the Kurdish fighters as terrorists. Experts warn that the crisis … Read More