Russia's defence ministry is investigating whether one of its air strikes in Syria killed the leader of the Islamic State militant group (IS).
The ministry said an air strike may have killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and up to 330 other fighters on 28 May.
It said the raid had targeted a meeting of the IS military council in the group's de facto capital of Raqqa, in northern Syria.
There have...
Rights groups filed a case to stop United States immigration officials from deporting more than 100 Iraqis who were rounded up in raids in Michigan over the weekend, including Christians who fear religious-based violence back in Iraq.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class action lawsuit on Thursday naming seven petitioners, saying the detainees must have a chance to prove...
Activists in the UK have said they fear one of the largest Palestinian cultural events in Europe is at risk of being censored by the government.
Officials have given event organisers Friends of Al Aqsa (FOA) until Monday to respond to a letter warning that the two-day Palestine Expo 2017 event at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference centre (QE2) in London could be cancelled by the Department...
Some 25,000 Christians have returned to eastern Aleppo, Russia's ambassador in Geneva told a conference organized by his country to highlight the devastated Syrian city's steps toward returning to normal six months after rebel fighters were ousted by Russian-backed troops. The international Red Cross went even further, estimating that some 80,000 people total have returned.
The Russian...
A U.S.-backed militia seized the western district of Raqqa from the Islamic State, two days after taking an eastern part of the city.
Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement their fighters had "liberated the neighborhood of al-Romaniya on the western front of Raqqa, after two days of continued clashes."
The Islamic State has considered Raqqa its defacto capital since capturing the city...
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has requested the full removal of a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar after approving the deployment of Turkish troops there, saying Riyadh needed to put brotherhood ahead of animosity.
Erdogan said isolating Qatar would not resolve any regional problems and vowed to do everything in his power to help end the regional crisis.
"We will not abandon our Qatari...
Syrian troops and allied forces fighting ISIL have reportedly reached the Iraqi border for the first time since 2015, advancing close to a strategic area that has been at the centre of tensions between Damascus and Washington.
State news agency SANA, citing a military source, said that "army units in cooperation with allies managed to arrive at the border ... with Iraq" on Friday, and "set up...
US legislation threatening to sanction Qatar for its support of "Palestinian terror" was sponsored by 10 lawmakers who received more than $1m over the last 18 months from lobbyists and groups linked to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The bill was introduced to the US House of Representatives on May 25, but the text wasn't available until Friday morning, hours after...
Nations behind a blockade on Qatar have welcomed strong comments from President Donald Trump backing their move, but were silent on calls from his secretary of state to ease the measures.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain have cut ties, accusing Qatar of funding terrorism. Qatar denies the accusations.
The UAE hailed Mr Trump's "leadership".
But the states did...
Twin attacks on the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in the capital, Tehran, have killed at least 12 people and injured many more.
After hours of intermittent gunfire, officials said both incidents were over and the attackers were dead.
The Islamic State (IS) group has said it carried out the attacks, which would be a first in Iran.
Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards...
