Middle East
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Aleppo fighting spreads amid accusations of gas attack
2016-10-31 04:15:46 UTC
AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels opened a new front in Aleppo as fighting spread on the third day of a major insurgent counter-attack to break the government's siege of the opposition-held part of the city, and each side accused the other of using poison gas.
The rebels, including both F...
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U.S. angry about Turkey's actions against the Syrian Kurds
2016-08-30 05:11:07 UTC
(REUTERS) By Phil Stewart | WASHINGTON
The United States scrambled on Monday to get its feuding allies, Turkey and Kurdish YPG militia, to focus their firepower on ISIS "Islamic State" instead of each other after clashes that have threatened to unravel America's war strategy in Syria.
Turkey,...
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Turkey begins operations against ISIS and Kurdish fighter
2016-08-24 21:57:57 UTC
(REUTERS) - Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes entered one of Islamic State's last strongholds on the Turkish-Syrian border on Wednesday, in Turkey's first major U.S.-backed incursion into its southern neighbor.
A column of at least nine Turkish tanks crossed i...
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Turkish military, US airstrikes launch operation in northern Syria
2016-08-24 05:17:13 UTC
Syrian, Jarablus (REUTERS) - Turkish special forces units supported by warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition launched an operation in northern Syria to wipe out Islamic State militants along the Turkey-Syria border, a Turkish government press office said on Wednesday.
The Turkish army began f...
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Germany has proof Turkey's Erdogan is supporting ISIS
2016-08-18 08:37:25 UTC
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Wednesday defended a leaked government report alleging Turkey was a hub for Islamist groups and ISIS.
Turkey and Germany have had a series of disputes in recent months, just as the European Union has been trying to secure Turkey's help in tackling...
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Russia, U.S. may join forces in Aleppo
2016-08-15 18:05:37 UTC
MOSCOW (REUTERS) - Russia and the United States are close to starting joint military action against militants in Syria's Aleppo, according to Russian news agencies.
Fighting for control of Aleppo has intensified in recent weeks and there have been some gains for rebel groups battling Syrian go...
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Kurdish Peshmerga push to capture Mosul from ISIS
2016-08-14 20:07:32 UTC
REUTERS - Kurdish Peshmerga forces launched a fresh attack on ISIS "Islamic State" forces early on Sunday as part of a campaign to capture Mosul, the militants' de facto capital in Iraq, Kurdish officials said.
The advance began after heavy shelling and air strikes by a United States-led coali...
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U.S. 'killed ISIS leader in Afghanistan'
2016-08-12 21:52:56 UTC
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN/WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The leader of Islamic State's branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan was killed in a U.S. drone strike on July 26, a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday after the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan announced the news to Reuters.
The death of Hafiz Saeed Khan is a...
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U.S. backed forces seized full control of Manbij from ISIS
2016-08-12 23:40:04 UTC
REUTERS - U.S.-backed forces say they seized full control of northern Syrian city Manbij after last Islamic State fighters pulled out.
U.S.-backed forces have seized full control of northern city of Manbij near the Turkish border after the last remaining Islamic State fighters inside the city ...
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Erdogan fires 27,424 people in education sector since failed coup
2016-08-11 08:50:01 UTC
REUTERS - Turkey has canceled the work permits of 27,424 people working in the education sector as part of its investigations into the movement of the U.S.-based cleric it blames for a failed military coup, Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz said on Thursday.
"27,424 personnel working in institut...
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Turkish military officer seeking asylum in United States
2016-08-10 06:32:08 UTC
REUTERS - A Turkish military officer on a U.S.-based assignment for NATO is seeking asylum in the United States after being recalled by the Turkish government in the wake of last month's failed military coup, U.S. officials told Reuters.
The asylum bid is the first known case involving a Turki...
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Kerry hopes to work with Russia on Syria
2016-07-27 08:10:28 UTC
The United States said on Tuesday it hoped to announce in early August details of planned military cooperation and intelligence sharing with Russia on Syria, and a United Nations envoy said he would also aim to resume peace talks next month.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington a...
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The final push against ISIS in Mosul and Raqqa
2016-07-21 10:16:31 UTC
US allies agree on the final push against ISIS in Mosul and Raqqa.
"The momentum has shifted [against ISIS]," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told an international conference to raise funds for Iraq at a critical juncture in the military campaign. "The new challenge that we face is securing...
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Turkey: WikiLeaks releases 294,548 emails from Erdogan's AKP
2016-07-20 21:26:17 UTC
WikiLeaks releases 294,548 emails from Turkey's ruling party, Erdogan's AKP. WikiLeaks said it obtained the emails a week before Friday's attempted coup.
<hr><h2>BREAKING NEWS:<a
href="http://global-gathering.com/news/16671">
Erdogan declares state of emergency for three months</h2></a><hr...
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More than 50,000 targeted in post-coup Turkey crackdown
2016-07-20 06:44:15 UTC
Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan shout slogans and wave Turkish national flags during a pro-government demonstration in Istanbul, Turkey, July 19, 2016.
Turkey vowed to root out allies of the U.S.-based cleric it blames for an abortive coup last week, widening a purge of the army...
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Erdogan vows talks on death penalty for coup plotters
2016-07-18 07:24:14 UTC
Erdogan said on Sunday there could be no delay in the use of the death penalty after a failed coup attempt, adding that the government would discuss the reinstatement of capital punishment with opposition parties.
The president, who had attended funerals of some of those killed resisting the cou...
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Turkey rounds up suspects after thwarting coup
2016-07-17 14:37:28 UTC
(Reuters) — Turkish authorities rounded up nearly 3,000 suspected military plotters on Saturday and ordered thousands of judges detained after thwarting a coup by rebels using tanks and attack helicopters to try to topple President Tayyip Erdogan.
For several hours overnight on Friday violence...
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Did Erdogan stage the Turkish coup?
2016-07-18 01:40:13 UTC
Did Erdogan fake his own coup in order to wield more power?
Leader of the Gullen Movement, Fethullah Gülen, has told the Guardian in interview that the coup may have been staged by President Erdogan. Erdogan has accused the Gulen Movement of coordinating & leading the coup, & has called on Fet...
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Why was the Turkish coup defeated?
2016-07-17 15:05:43 UTC
For several hours on Friday night hundreds of Turkish soldiers appeared to have taken control of key areas of the main cities of Ankara and Istanbul.
There was little sign of President Recep Erdogan as the plotters took over buildings and media outlets. They needed to secure the support of the p...
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Forces loyal to Turkey’s president quashed a coup attempt in a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire
2016-07-17 14:41:13 UTC
Forces loyal to Turkey's government fought on Saturday to crush the last remnants of a military coup attempt which collapsed after crowds answered President Tayyip Erdogan's call to take to the streets and dozens of rebels abandoned their tanks.
One hundred and sixty-one people were killed, in...
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ISIS confirms that its "minister of war" likely killed in U.S. air strike
2016-07-14 06:15:50 UTC
Abu Omar al-Shishani, who the Pentagon described as Islamic State's "minister of war", was killed in combat in the Iraqi city of Shirqat, south of Mosul, a news agency that supports the militant group said on Wednesday.
The Pentagon said in March that Shishani had likely been killed in a U.S. ...
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U.S. to send more troops to Iraq ahead of Mosul offensive
2016-07-12 09:44:07 UTC
(Reuters) — The United States is stepping up its military campaign against ISIS "Islamic State" by sending hundreds more troops to assist Iraqi forces in an expected push on the city of Mosul, the militants' largest stronghold, later this year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter made the announ...
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Mosul: US preparing Iraq for the 'culminating battle'
2016-07-11 21:09:32 UTC
U.S. forces will help Iraq set up a logistics hub in a recaptured airfield to use for a push on Mosul, Islamic State's largest stronghold, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said before making an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Monday.
Iraqi government forces said they took back control of Qaya...
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'Iraq war was illegal' says former UK deputy PM John Prescott
2016-07-11 01:08:43 UTC
Iraq war 2003: The invasion by UK and US forces was "illegal"
LONDON (Reuters) — Britain broke international law when it invaded Iraq in 2003, its deputy prime minister at the time, John Prescott, said on Sunday in the wake of a critical report on the decision.
A seven-year inquiry conclude...
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Three cities in Saudi Arabia hit by suicide bombers
2016-07-05 08:31:56 UTC
Suicide bombers struck three cities across Saudi Arabia on Monday, killing at least four security officers in an apparently coordinated campaign of attacks as Saudis prepared to break their fast on the penultimate day of the holy month of Ramadan.
The explosions targeting U.S. diplomats, Shi'i...