Iraq readies for final offensive on Islamic State near Syrian border
Iraqi forces are about to launch an offensive to recapture the last patch of Iraqi territory still in the hands of Islamic State, the military said on Wednesday.
Syria
US ‘Can’t Allow’ Iranian IRGC Supply Lines Through Middle East, Sen. Tom Cotton Declares
A leading member of the Senate Armed Services Committee has warned that the danger posed by Iran towards Israel is only increasing as the Tehran regime extends its political influence and military footprint across the Middle East.
UN to vote on extending Syria chemical weapons inspectors
The U.N. Security Council has scheduled a vote Tuesday on a U.S.-sponsored resolution that would extend the work of inspectors seeking to determine who is responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, and the big question is whether Russia will veto it.
Israel strikes Syria, responding to errant mortar fire
The Israeli military says it has struck Syria in response to a mortar fired from the territory.
Netanyahu and Putin Discuss Iran Nuclear Program, Syria in Phone Call
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Iran nuclear program, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
U.S. wants quick vote on Syria chemical weapons inspectors
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Wednesday the United States is circulating a resolution that would extend by another year the work of inspectors seeking to determine who is behind chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
Hawaiian judge blocks latest version of Trump’s travel ban
A federal judge in Hawaii has blocked President Trump’s revised travel ban – just hours before it was expected to go into effect across the United States.
ISIS cleared from Syria’s Raqqa
US-backed militias have completely taken Syria’s Raqqa from ISIS, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.
Report: Russia agreed to move Iran, Hezbollah forces away from Israeli border
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has told Israel that Moscow has agreed to expand a buffer zone along the Israeli-Syrian border, where Iranian and Hezbollah forces will not be allowed to enter.
Netanyahu to Russian defense minister: Israel won’t allow Iranian presence in Syria
Israel will not allow a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday, a day after Israel destroyed an SA-5 anti-aircraft battery in Syria that fired on IAF planes over Lebanon.
Israel’s Rare Strike in Syria Is an Explosive Message Delivered Personally to Russia
Hours after Israel’s rare strike in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that, ‘If anyone tries to hurt us, we’ll hurt them.’ What was defined by the Israeli army as a Syrian provocation in the morning had become a chance to reinforce Israel’s red lines by the afternoon.
Netanyahu warns Syria Israel prepared to strike ‘as needed’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned Syria that Israel would continue to carry out airstrikes “as needed” after the Israeli Air Force destroyed a Syrian anti-aircraft battery in response to the firing of an interceptor missile at Israeli reconnaissance planes.
Russian defense minister lands in Israel for talks on Syria, Iran
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Monday told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, that Israel will take action against Iran and its proxies if they continue to entrench themselves along the Syrian border.
Israel destroys anti-aircraft battery in Syria after it fires at IDF jets
Israeli Air Force jets attacked an anti-aircraft battery well inside Syria on Monday morning, after the surface-to-air system launched a missile at a different plane over the skies of Lebanon, the army said.
TV report: Islamic State chiefs gather near Israel border, set up training camp
Several senior commanders from Islamic State who recently fled from Iraq and northern Syria are now based in southern Syria, just across the Golan Heights border with Israel, and are training hundreds of new recruits there, an Israeli television report said.
Military heats up battle in Libya as Islamic State militants seek refuge
The U.S. military is ramping up operations and bombing raids against the Islamic State in Libya, where the terrorist group’s fighters have increasingly found refuge as their territorial base shrinks in Syria and Iraq.
U.S. military uses Russian ‘deconfliction’ line 20 times a day to separate jets over Syria
It’s an ordinary-looking, 1990s-era black plastic telephone, but it’s one that American military commanders here rely on daily to prevent the outbreak of World War III.
Islamic State driven out of last stronghold in northern Iraq
Iraqi forces announced on Thursday they had captured Islamic State’s last stronghold in northern Iraq, leaving the militant group holed up near the Syrian border as its self-proclaimed ‘caliphate’ shrinks further.
Israel sees Assad winning Syria war, urges more U.S. involvement
Israel’s defense minister said on Tuesday President Bashar al-Assad was winning Syria’s civil war and urged the United States to weigh in as Damascus’s Iranian and Hezbollah allies gain ground.
Russia says its strikes killed hundreds of IS in east Syria
Russia’s military says its airstrikes in eastern Syria this week killed more than 300 Islamic State militants.