Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks Ankara will repatriate its nationals from among thousands of fighters transferred from Syria, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said. Turkey
US military completes evacuation of ISIS prisoners from Syria to Iraq The detainee transfer opens the door for US troops to further withdraw from Syria ahead of a potential military confrontation with Iran. Syria
Exclusive Syrian Kurdish officials say 66 Turkish ISIS fighters transferred for relocation to Iraq The detainees were handed over from SDF custody to the US-led coalition for transfer to Iraqi prisons. By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Feature Syrian Kurds say US ignored pleas for help as ISIS detainees turned on them in al-Hol Chaos at al-Hol during clashes between Kurdish forces and Damascus underscored the widening security vacuum amid Kurdish claims of US abandonment. By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Analysis Syria’s Kurdish pullback hands Damascus a win — and new ISIS risks By Cagatay Cebe In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism
Feature ISIS brides face uncertain future as Damascus clashes with Syria’s Kurds By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Islamic State fighters buried without identification in Iraq A year after Mosul was liberated from the Islamic State, the bodies of the group’s fighters are finally being recovered from the rubble of their last stronghold in the city. Iraq
Police not apologizing over death of Israeli Bedouin New reports indicate that a police doctor failed to treat an Israeli Bedouin wounded during an evacuation of his village last year, yet no one has approached his widow to apologize. Israel
Iran faces new threat as Kurdish jihadis join IS in Afghanistan The rise of the Islamic State's branch in Afghanistan poses a new challenge for the Islamic Republic, as it is becoming a magnet for Iranian Kurdish recruits. Iraqi-Kurdistan
Forces in Iraq's Anbar unite for cross-border anti-IS operation As the second phase of the operation to retake the last major pocket of territory held by the Islamic State across the border continues, local Iraqi forces in the western Anbar city of Qaim are wary but hopeful that some of their disappeared may soon be found. Iraq
Mosul’s Fine Arts Faculty picks up pieces in destroyed city Cleaning up burned classrooms and destroyed statues, professors and students have reopened the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Mosul and even launched an art exhibition. Iraq
Iraqi, Syrian forces work together to secure border The Iraqi army is coordinating with its Syrian counterpart to secure the border between the two countries and to prevent terrorist elements from moving between the two countries. Iraq
The Islamic State in Iran The court proceedings against alleged Islamic State members and sympathizers who facilitated the attacks in Tehran last year offer a rare insight into how the terrorist group operates in Iran. Iran
Key arrests tighten noose around Islamic State's Baghdadi Iraq's capture of five key members of the Islamic State organization will assist the Iraqi intelligence service in destroying the organization and preventing its emergence in a new form. Iraq
Iraqi air force targets IS sites in Syria ahead of elections Despite earlier opposition to any Iraqi military intervention in Syria, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the air force to strike Islamic State sites in Syria for the second time this year. Iraq
Will Iraqi elections avoid traditional sectarian divides? While the May 12 elections include Shiite candidates running in predominantly Sunni areas and vice versa, Iraqis are divided over whether or not this represents a step toward overcoming sectarian divides. Iraq
Electoral commission attack destabilizes shaky situation in Libya The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the May 2 attack on Libya’s High National Election Commission headquarters in Tripoli, raising more security concerns for the upcoming elections. Libya
Pentagon blows deadline to pry Iraq off US military aid The Donald Trump administration will continue to foot the bill for rebuilding Iraq’s defense institutions amid rising Iranian influence. Iraq
