Islamic State

World News

Key Figure In Saddam's Regime Reportedly Killed By Iraqi Forces

2:06pm April 17, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri is the "king of clubs" in a pack of playing cards issued to U.S. troops to help identify Iraqi officials. He is thought to have been instrumental in the sudden rise of ISIS.

World News

Iraqi Leader Visits Washington Looking For Help In Fight Against Islamic State

6:28pm April 14, 2015

by Jackie Northam

Iraq's prime minister is trying to drum up military support against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, which controls parts of his country. He is also looking for billions of dollars in loans.

A man stands on a staircase inside a demolished building in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Monday.

World News

U.N. Demands Access To Besieged Palestinian Camp In Damascus

5:14pm April 07, 2015

by Alison Meuse

Thousands of people are trapped in the Yarmouk camp, where water and supplies are lacking. The area under Syrian military siege for two years is now threatened by Islamic State militants.

Two teams face off in a debate over the extent of the president's war powers at the latest debate from Intelligence Squared U.S.

Debate: Has The President Exceeded His War Powers Authority?

12:30pm April 07, 2015

by NPR Staff

President Obama has launched a sustained, long-term military campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Four legal experts debate whether he had the constitutional power to do so.

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A photo taken in January 2014 and released by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), shows residents of the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk, queuing to receive food supplies, in Damascus, Syria.

World News

Palestinian Camp In Syria Reportedly Seized By Extremist Fighters

5:40pm April 04, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The self-declared Islamic State and al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate, al-Nusra Front, appear to have cooperated on an assault to capture the camp earlier this week.

World News

U.N. Report: 25,000 Foreign Fighters Joining Islamist Militant Groups

5:11pm April 02, 2015

by Jackie Northam

Thousands have left their homes en route to Iraq and Syria, which the U.N. report calls an "international finishing school" for extremists.

Shiite fighters and Sunni fighters, who have joined Shiite militia groups known collectively as Hashid Shaabi ("Popular Mobilization") to fight the Islamic State, gesture Tuesday next to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's palaces in the Iraqi town of

World News

In Tikrit Offensive, Local Sunnis, Shiite Militias Are Unlikely Allies

7:51pm April 01, 2015

by Deborah Amos

The main forces fighting the self-declared Islamic State in Tikrit, Iraq, are Iran-backed Iraqi Shiite militias. Despite decades-long animosity between the nations, local Sunnis are joining them.

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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (left) tours Tikrit after it was retaken by security forces Wednesday, a key step in driving the militants out of their biggest strongholds.

World News

Iraq Claims Victory Over Militants In Strategic City Of Tikrit

4:43pm April 01, 2015

by Jackie Northam

Iraqi flags are flying over government buildings again, one month into a major offensive to reclaim the city from fighters with the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

Pope Francis blesses a baby after celebrating a Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.

At Palm Sunday Mass, Pope Remembers Germanwings Crash Victims

11:32am March 30, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Francis noted that schoolchildren were aboard the aircraft thought to have been deliberately crashed by its co-pilot. The pontiff also paid tribute to "martyrs" killed for their faith.

World News

U.S. Will Slow Down Withdrawal Of Troops From Afghanistan

9:14am March 25, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

In a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, President Obama says Afghanistan "remains a very dangerous place," and the size of the U.S. troop presence in 2016 is yet to be decided.