Third, retaking Raqqa now would amount to a vital and serious strategic recognition of the broader regional politics at play in Iraq and Syria. Iran’s grand strategy is now to bring Prime ...

Raqqa is the capital of the geographic “caliphate,” but it is also a symbol. The geographic caliphate in Syria and Iraq is in its final days, but this is not the end — of either the ...

Al-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the ...

For Macer, watching ISIS surrender in Raqqa was the end of the war for him ... "The ideology of hate and evil still exists in Syria and Iraq. It just fled to the desert, weaker but more aggressive ...

Raqqa’s national hospital and stadium were ... after ISIS carried out attacks on Yazidi villages in Northern Iraq’s Sinjar district. Their male relatives were killed in the attacks, the ...

The Syrian Democratic Forces coalition announced at a news conference in Raqqa the city was liberated from IS militants on October 20. Russian Defense Ministry compared US coalition bombing of ...

The terrorist group's steady loss of territory culminated in the fall of its de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria last week. In October 2014, ISIS territory in Syria and Iraq was at its maximum.