Refugees’ fate in limbo as Iraqi Kurdistan referendum nears

The Sept. 25 referendum on independence in Iraqi Kurdistan may turn the predominantly Sunni Arab displaced community into a new source of tension between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region.

Iraq

Netanyahu raising alarm on Iran, again

Israel has told US and Russian officials that Iran’s long-term strategies and its missile capabilities endanger the region.

Saudi Arabia

Ankara makes overtures to Idlib militants

The English-language edition of Yeni Safak has reported that Turkey asked the group to dissolve itself and for the militants, who seized Idlib province last month after routing Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sham rebels, to relinquish the critical Bab al-Hawa border crossing linking Idlib to Turkey’s Hatay province.

Syria

Tensions flare between US, Shiite factions in Iraq

The recent escalation by Iran-affiliated Iraqi Shiite militias against US forces on the Iraqi-Syrian border may offer an early indication of the coming confrontation between the two sides after the Islamic State is eliminated from Iraq.

Iraq

Turkish foundation helps Syrians recover from devastation of war

The Turkiye Diyanet Foundation is restoring mosques in the Syrian province of Aleppo, recruiting preachers and teachers and providing hundreds of job opportunities.

Syria

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

Turkey, Iran step up coordination in Syria

Once unthinkable, an emerging consensus is developing between Ankara and Tehran in Syria, as Washington and Moscow try to keep pace; Iraqi Kurdish sources signal that it could be possible to delay a Kurdish independence referendum for a “short time.”

Iraq

Iran army chief's Turkey tour ends in promises of military cooperation

Regional rivals Turkey and Iran are exchanging visits by top officials, brought together by deeply ingrained fears that Western powers are covertly egging on their respective Kurdish populations to weaken and dismember them.

Syria

Pentagon says captured Islamic State fighters hooked on drugs

Syrian Democratic Forces have found an increasingly desperate detachment of militants using drugs, including amphetamines, to keep themselves in the fight.

Syria

Kurds plan ahead for shifting status in Syria

Syrian Kurds, worried by Turkey’s threat to enter Afrin and a possible rapprochement between Washington and Ankara, are firming up their plans for autonomy.

Syria

Life returns to northern Aleppo region

Recreational facilities are being established in the Euphrates Shield region controlled by the Free Syrian Army amid relative stability.

Syria

Turkey faces Kurdish quandary in Iraq, Syria

Ankara is finding it difficult to devise a holistic approach to the region’s Kurdish question.

Syria