Tag: Middle East

Israeli soldiers search for three missing teens in the town of Halhul near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday. (AP/Majdi Mohammed)

Here comes the Third Infatada against Israel — Will Obama cut off U.S. aid to the perpetrators?

alex-vanness · June 27, 2014 2:36 pm

FILE - This Aug. 21, 2013 file photo shows a Syrian military soldier holding his AK-47 with a sticker of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Arabic that reads, "Syria is fine," as he stands guard at a check point in Damascus, Syria. President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $500 million to train and arm vetted members of the Syrian opposition, as the U.S. grapples for a way to stem a civil war that has also fueled the al-Qaida inspired insurgency in neighboring Iraq. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

Obama seeks $500M to train, equip Syrian rebels

Julie Pace · June 27, 2014 3:35 am

FILE - In this Friday, March 26, 2010, file photo, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks to the press in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraq's Vice President Khudeir al-Khuzaie called on parliament to convene on Tuesday, July 1, 2014, taking the first step toward forming a new government to present a united front against a rapidly advancing Sunni insurgency while Britain's top diplomat started an official visit to the country to urge the country's leaders to put their differences aside for the good of the nation. Al-Maliki's political bloc won the most seats in April 30 elections, but he needs support from other blocs to govern with a majority. His efforts to form a coalition have been complicated by the current crisis as critics blame his failure to promote national reconciliation for the Sunni anger fueling the insurgent gains and want him to step down. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

Iraqi Shiites pushing for al-Maliki’s removal

HAMZA HENDAWIQASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA · June 27, 2014 12:50 am

Two-picture combo image provided by Shin Bet, Israel's security service, shows Marwan Qawasmeh, left, and Amer Abu Aisheh that the security service identified as the central suspects in the recent disappearance of three Israeli teenagers. Israel on Thursday, June 26, 2014, identified the two well-known Hamas operatives in the West Bank as the central suspects in the recent disappearance of three Israeli teenagers, in the first sign of progress in a frantic two-week search for the missing youths. (AP Photo/Shin Bet)

Israel identifies suspects in alleged kidnapping

JOSEF FEDERMANMOHAMMED DARAGHMEH · June 26, 2014 7:33 pm

Al-Qaida launches wave of attacks in south Yemen

Al-Qaida launches wave of attacks in south Yemen

Ahmed AlHaj · June 26, 2014 7:18 pm

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, right, US Secretary of State John Kerry, center, and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal walk to a meeting at the US Chief of Mission Residence in Paris, France. US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Paris on June 26, 2014 after stops in Baghdad, Arbil and Brussels to brief his Saudi, French and Israeli counterparts on his talks in Iraq and discuss the bloody three-year war in Syria. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, pool)

US, Sunni states meet on Mideast insurgent crisis

Lara Jakes · June 26, 2014 5:58 pm

Fire engines work on extinguishing a fire after a suicide bomber blew himself up in his room at a Beirut hotel, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 25, 2014, as Lebanese security forces raided the premises. The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks and security sweeps in Lebanon over the past week that have sparked fears of renewed violence in a country that has been deeply affected by the civil war in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanon: Beirut hotel bomber is Saudi citizen

Barbara Surk · June 26, 2014 12:17 pm

Iran says sanctions hinder fight against drugs

Iran says sanctions hinder fight against drugs

Washington Examiner · June 26, 2014 11:42 am

Kurdish peshmerga fighters clean their weapons at a base on the closet front line with militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. A defiant Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejected calls Wednesday for an interim "national salvation government" intended to undermine the Sunni insurgency by presenting a unified front among Iraq's three main groups, calling it a "coup against the constitution." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Kerry issues warning after Syria bombs Iraq

HAMZA HENDAWILARA JAKES · June 25, 2014 10:50 pm

FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2010, file photo, an armed Sunni militiaman wearing an Iraqi Army patch, left, and a U.S. Army soldier patrol in Samarra, 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. The man is part of Samarra's Sahwa _ Arabic for Awakening, or commonly known as the Sons of Iraq, who are former Sunni insurgents now allied with U.S. and Iraqi security forces to provide security. The Obama administration is reaching back to an Iraq War program as a guide to keep disgruntled Sunnis from joining a rampant new insurgency. U.S. officials hope to persuade Sunni militiamen known as Sahwa, or Awakening Councils, to fight back against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as they did nearly 10 years ago against al-Qaida. The Awakening Councils sided with U.S. troops and were a pivotal force in defeating al-Qaida during the war. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

National Security

In Iraq, former militia program eyed for new fight

LARA JAKESSAMEER N. YACOUB · June 25, 2014 7:49 pm

Iraqi civilians inspect the aftermath of a car bombing in the southeastern district of New Baghdad, Iraq. (AP/Khalid Mohammed)

10 reasons why Iraq’s bloodbath is not George W. Bush’s fault

Larry Elder · June 25, 2014 7:21 pm

Fire engines work on extinguishing a fire after a suicide bomber blew himself up in his room at a Beirut hotel, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 25, 2014, as Lebanese security forces raided the premises. The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks and security sweeps in Lebanon over the past week that have sparked fears of renewed violence in a country that has been deeply affected by the civil war in neighboring Syria.(AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Explosion rocks Beirut hotel during security raid

Bassem Mroue · June 25, 2014 6:25 pm