Culture Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup Kurdish players and clubs are making rare global gains on football’s biggest stage, offering a brief lift amid ongoing political setbacks across the region. Turkey
Iraq begins exhuming ISIS mass grave at Al-Khasfa thought to hold 3,000+ victims In 2024, Human Rights Watch said that hundreds of thousands of victims remain buried in mass graves across Iraq, including those killed under former President Saddam Hussein. Iraq
Analysis How ISIS brides held by Syria’s Kurds are smuggled to suitors in Europe The women are finding their prospective husbands on the internet using smuggled mobile phones. By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Widow of ISIS leader sentenced to death in Iraq: What we know Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's wife held Yazidi women captured by the Islamic State in her home, according to Iraqi authorities. Iraq
Four years after genocide, thousands of Yazidis languish in Turkey Displaced Yazidis who fled from IS' brutality to Turkey have been languishing in camps and tenements for years, hoping to reach the West. Their departure threatens the survival of one of the Middle East’s oldest religions. Iraq
Genocide still haunts Iraq's Yazidis Four years after the genocide against them, Yazidis mark its anniversary without a noticeable improvement in their situation. Iraq
Long road to justice for Yazidis who escaped IS Yazidi women who were once held captive by the Islamic State still struggle to have their voices heard in Iraqi courtrooms, where their captors are being tried. 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
Yazidis in Turkey camp wish for IS captives to return home Yazidis who have been in a camp near Mardin wish for their women and children to return home safely from IS captivity. Turkey
Turkey fumes as Sinjar Yazidis declare 'democratic autonomy' Some Yazidis have announced their opposition to the Iraqi Kurdistan independence vote, as Turkey and Iran consider attacking the Yazidi-allied PKK in the Qandil Mountains. Iraq
Trump administration presses Middle East on religious freedom Secretary of State Rex Tillerson committed the United States to fighting for religious liberty around the world with the release of the annual International Religious Freedom Report. Legacy: Gulf
Yazidi boys forced to fight for IS still need psychological help Hundreds of Yazidi boys indoctrinated by the Islamic State have managed to escape, but without professional treatment, their trauma continues. Iraq
For many of Iraq's Yazidis, going home is not an option Although Sinjar has mostly been liberated from the Islamic State, the traumatized Yazidi community remains largely displaced and reluctant to return home to where the suffering began. Iraq
How are Iraq's Yazidis faring amid Kurds' confrontations? Turkey’s bombing of Yazidis' Sinjar homeland deepened the argument between the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Kurdistan Workers Party. Iraq
