Iraq

Families Feel Sidelined As U.S. Reviews Hostage Policy

12:02pm November 23, 2014

by Chris Benderev

The White House is reviewing how it handles hostage crises following the brutal murders of Americans abroad, but families of hostages say they're often left out of the conversation.

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World News

Iraq, Syria In The Midst Of A Refugee 'Mega-Crisis'

6:30pm November 20, 2014

by Michele Kelemen

The UN's top official for refugees, Antonio Guterres, says the wars in Iraq and Syria have created a "mega-crisis" straining the world's relief efforts.

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Sunni tribesmen train on the outskirts of Ramadi, Iraq, on Nov. 16. Legislation authorizing a force of Sunni fighters drawn from Anbar province itself — modeled on the U.S. National Guard — has yet to be passed.

World News

Despite A Massacre By ISIS, An Iraqi Tribe Vows To Fight Back

9:12am November 20, 2014

by Alice Fordham

The Albu Nimr tribe recently had some 600 members slaughtered by ISIS in western Iraq. The Sunni tribesmen say they're regrouping but need help, which the U.S. has now pledged.

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The cover of the latest issue of Dabiq, the official Islamic State magazine. It includes a lengthy article on "The Revival of Slavery," which it endorses.

World News

How The Islamic State Wages Its Propaganda War

1:48pm November 19, 2014

by Alison Meuse

From videos to Internet magazines, the extremist group has successfully recruited around the world. One of its recent claims: Enslaving women as a prize of war is sanctioned by the Quran.

Abdul-Rahman Kassig, who was formerly known as Peter, is shown with a truck filled with aid supplies for Syrian refugees. The American aid worker was seized by the Islamic State in October 2013 and subsequently killed by the group, which released a video

World News

Once Tolerated, Westerners Are Now Targeted By Radical Islamists

2:43pm November 18, 2014

by Greg Myre

The kidnapping and killing of Westerners isn't a new phenomenon in the Middle East. But the last time around, it stopped after just a few years. This time there's no end in sight.

Construction workers in Irbil, in the Kurdish north of Iraq, work on Kurdish business tycoon Shihab Shihab's version of the White House.

World News

Near The Front Lines In Iraq, An Homage To The White House

9:21am November 18, 2014

by Leila Fadel

A Kurdish businessman decided he'd like to live in the White House. So he is building a 32,000-square-foot version of the U.S. presidential residence in Irbil, near the raging war against ISIS.

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Peter Kassig, who changed his first name to Abdul-Rahman when he converted to Islam, is shown with a truck filled with aid supplies for Syrian refugees.

World News

ISIS Issues Video Showing Beheading Of American Aid Worker

4:37pm November 17, 2014

The self-declared Islamic State released a new video Sunday that shows the beheading of hostage Peter Kassig, who was kidnapped in Syria last year.

Iraqi Kurdish soldiers, or peshmerga, patrol an area in the recently recaptured town of Zumar, near Mosul in northern Iraq on Oct. 29. When the Islamic State captured the town in August, the Kurds fled. Now that the Kurds are in control, the Arabs are all

World News

In A Back-And-Forth Battle, An Iraqi Town Splits On Ethnic Lines

12:25pm November 16, 2014

by Leila Fadel

When the Islamic State seized the town of Zumar, the Kurds fled. Now Kurdish fighters have taken control, and it's the Arabs who have been driven out. Is this the future of Iraq?

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Gen. Dempsey Lands In Iraq As U.S. Presence Starts To Grow

8:36am November 15, 2014

by Melisa Goh

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey's visit comes as the U.S. prepares to deploy 1,500 military advisors to Iraq.

U.S. Would Consider 'Modest' Force For Complex Iraq Operations

2:58pm November 13, 2014

by Krishnadev Calamur

The comments were made to a House panel by Army Gen. Martin Dempsey. Earlier, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the battle against Islamic State militants would be "long and difficult."