Australian aircraft in first mission in Syria

Australian aircraft have completed their first operation in Syria, defense officials said Saturday, just days after Canberra extended the mission from Iraq to better fight ISIS militants.

Iraqi Kurdistan leadership: PKK should leave

Kurdish rebels of the PKK should move out of Iraqi Kurdistan to prevent Turkish air strikes against them from causing civilian casualties, the region’s leadership said on Saturday.

Yemen's UN humanitarian ceasefire fails to hold

A UN-proposed truce in Yemen, aimed at delivering desperately needed aid to millions threatened with famine, failed to take hold Saturday as clashes and Saudi-led coalition air strikes persisted.

UN announces humanitarian truce in Yemen

The United Nations has announced an unconditional week-long humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen where more than 80 percent of the country's 25 million people are believed to be in need of some form of emergency aid.

US plays down IS militants' gains in Iraq

Despite major new setbacks in Iraq, the US military command leading the fight against Islamic State militants insisted Friday that its strategy is working and that the militants' takeover of a key oil refinery and a government compound are fleeting gains feeding an IS propaganda machine.

Russia’s UN envoy urges meeting of all sides to Yemen conflict

All parties to the conflict in Yemen should gather in the country as soon as possible, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said Wednesday on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

Saudi FM offers ceasefire as warplanes pound Yemen rebels

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister vowed Friday that a ceasefire would begin on May 12, despite Saudi-led coalition attacks on Thursday against Yemeni rebels.

Iraqi army hails ‘magnificent victory’ in Tikrit

Iraq’s defense minister said Wednesday that security forces have achieved a “magnificent victory” over the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in Tikrit.

Yemen strikes stoke fears of wider conflict with Iran

Iran's alleged involvement in the Houthi insurgency in Yemen is stoking concerns that the region may be embroiled in a wider sectarian confrontation.

Houthis threaten Saudi Arabia with suicide bombings

Yemen's Houthi fighters have threatened to undertake suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia if the kingdom continues to launch airstrikes against the group's positions.

Yemen: Arab states agree to form unified military force

Arab foreign ministers meeting in Egypt on Thursday agreed to establish a unified military force for rapid intervention to deal with security threats to Arab nations.

The ministers “agreed on an important principle, to establish the force,” Arab League secretary-general Nabil al-Arabi said at a news conference.

Egypt Calls for Joint Arab Defense Force

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi told his countrymen, in a televised national address late Sunday, that Egypt is hoping to be part of a new Arab joint defense force, which is now under consideration by the Arab League.

Syria: Israeli jets bomb army facilities near Damascus airport. (no reports of casualties)

Syrian media reported on Sunday evening that Israeli jets had bombed targets near Damascus international airport and in the town of Dimas, north of Damascus and near the border with Lebanon.
There were no reports of casualties in the reports, but the general command of the Syrian army said in a statement that several facilities had been hit, both at the Damascus International Airport and in the area of Dimas.

Turkey: 18 killed in Kurdish protests

At least 18 people have been killed in pro-Kurdish protests in southeast Turkey, the Anadulo news agency reported on Wednesday.
The protesters were angry at Ankara’s lack of action to protect Kurdish population of the Syrian border town of Kobane from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Eight of the deaths came in Turkey’s main Kurdish city of Diyarbakir where the most intense rioting took place overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, a local security official told AFP.

Turkey asks US to ramp up air strikes against Islamic State

Turkey has asked the United States to step up air strikes to keep Islamic State militants (ISIS/ISIL) from seizing a key Syrian Kurdish border town, a senior Turkish official was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

"Our government and our related institutions have emphasized to US officials the necessity of immediately ramping up air bombardment in a more active and efficient way," Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said, according to comments published on the website of the television channel AHaber.

US-led airstrikes fail to deter ISIS advance

US-led coalition air raids targeted areas in Syria controlled by the Islamic State (IS) group Monday, but the group continue to advance on the strategic town of Kobani.

Washington and its Arab allies opened their air assault against the Islamic State extremist group last week, going after its military facilities, training camps, heavy weapons and oil installations. The campaign expands upon the airstrikes the United States has been conducting against the militants in Iraq since early August.

Obama vows more strikes on ISIL in Syria. (the US is not fighting alone)

US President Barack Obama has said that the participation of five Arab nations in Syria airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters "makes it clear to the world this is not America's fight alone".
In a short statement on Tuesday, hours after the first US-led airstrikes hit the group's headquarters in eastern Syria, Obama vowed to continue the fight, which he said was vital to the security of the United States, the Middle East and the world.

US to strike ISIL 'sanctuaries' in Syria

US plans to carry out air strikes against Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in Syria and will target the group's sanctuaries, command centres and logistic networks, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel has told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"This plan includes targeted actions against ISIL safe havens in Syria, including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure," Hagel told the Committee on Tuesday.
But the US military's top-ranking officer, General Martin Dempsey, told the same hearing that the bombing would not resemble the large-scale raids that accompanied the start of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

US Aware of Egyptian, UAE Air Strikes in Libya

WASHINGTON. —The U.S. State Department on Tuesday acknowledged for the first time it was aware of air strikes in Libya by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates in recent days.

Until now Washington would not talk about the involvement of Egypt and the UAE in the air strikes against militia in the capital Tripoli.

“We understand there were air strikes undertaken in recent days by the UAE and Egypt” in Libya, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a daily briefing with reporters.

Pope backs action to protect Iraq minorities if U.N. OKs

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday endorsed the use of force to stop Islamist militants from attacking religious minorities in Iraq but said the international community — and not just one country — should decide how to intervene.

Francis also said he and his advisers were considering whether he might go to northern Iraq himself to show solidarity with persecuted Christians. But he said he was holding off for now on a decision.