Iraq

Israel offered Thursday to help moderate Arab nations threatened by a lightning offensive by Islamic militants in Iraq, as the country's top diplomat met with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
      

Syrian fighter jets bombed positions of Islamist insurgents near the border with Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki backs actions of Damascus against the militants led by Sunni extremist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) who control significant parts of the country's territory and also have some gains in Syria.

The Syrian air force carried out air strikes targeting militants on the Syrian side of the Iraq-Syria border this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the BBC on Thursday.
      

The Syrian air force carried out air strikes targeting militants along the Iraq-Syria border this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the BBC on June 26.

Maliki told the British broadcaster he "welcomed" any such strike against militants led by the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, but noted Baghdad did not request the aerial raids which took place on June 24.

An opposition lawmaker applied to court on June 26 to lift the coverage ban imposed on the kidnapping of 80 Turkish citizens by Sunni militants in Mosul, Iraq on June 11.

Sezgin Tanrıkulu, deputy leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), made his appeal to an Ankara court citing in his petition his constitutional right for freedom of expression.

The prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held talks in Ankara on June 26, amid growing unrest in Iraq. Both Nechirvan Barzani and Turkish officials agreed on the need for the establishment of an inclusive Iraqi government as soon as possible. 

Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Northern Iraq (KRG), has held talks in Ankara in the early hours of June 26 to discuss the deepening unrest in Iraq.

Syrian warplanes bombed Sunni militants' positions inside Iraq, military officials confirmed Wednesday, deepening the concerns that the extremist insurgency that spans the two neighboring countries could morph into an even wider regional conflict. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned against the threat and said other nations should stay out.
     

Powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has vowed to "shake the ground" under the feet of advancing Sunni militants, as Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki warned rivals against exploiting the crisis to sideline him.

The struggle for Iraq’s soul is getting more intense every passing day. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which spearheaded the latest uprising from predominantly Sunni areas, has continued to advance towards the south, capturing new towns along the way to Baghdad. Last week, it took control of strategically located Qaim, Rutba, Rawa and Anah in the Anbar Province.