Canberra has authorized deployment of special forces to Iraq to join operation against militants of the Islamic State. From now on, the Australian Air Force craft present in the region will also take part in combat missions against terrorists. It has only ever been a matter of time that Australia’s 600 military personnel and aircraft deployed to a United Arab Emirates airbase in mid-September [...]

Islamic State has been a key foreign policy instrument for the US and a number of its allies and become one of the main drivers of the rebellion in Syria, Charles Shoebridge, security analyst and former British army officer, told RT. The US has one of the most powerful intelligence services in the world, but reports suggest it's not robust enough to target jihadists and safeguard civilians. How [...]

An Iraqi pilot accidentally dropped aid and ammunition into territory controlled by the Islamic State. They were intended to help government forces in the west of Iraq, but instead the blunder ended up aiding the enemy. The mistake was confirmed by two Iraqi officials, who said the airdrop of food, water and ammunition was meant to take place in Anbar province. [...]

The US-led military operation against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militants has likely so far cost between $780 and $930 million, according to an estimate by Washington-based think tank specializing in defense issues. The estimate is part of a report attempting to forecast how much the operation might cost in the future. [...]

Since 1990, the people of Iraq have sustained some level of US military aggression by four successive US presidential administrations. Yet they failed to find WMDs much like they failed to preclude the rise of the Islamic State. The Obama administration, while channeling weapons to anti-government Syrian rebels, many with connections to terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, [...]

Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front has issued a new threatening audio message featuring its leader warning the West "will pay the heaviest price" for its actions. The Syrian group is reportedly now joining up with the estranged Islamic State militants. The leader of Syria’s most prominent terrorist group, Abu Mohamad al-Golani, in denouncing the US-led air strike campaign, has urged Westerners ev [...]

Ron Paul, America's most outspoken libertarian and anti-mainstream politician, has slammed US military strikes in Syria and Iraq. Not known for mincing his words or flip-flopping, Paul told RT’s Abby Martin that President Obama’s decision to use military force in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State [IS], without approval from the UN or the US Congress, was “immoral and illegal” und [...]

As the British parliament votes for yet another catastrophic war in the Middle East, it feels like all of the lessons that were apparently never learned after the disastrous occupations of Iraq, and Afghanistan, are set to be repeated. Recalling parliament over the crisis in Iraq, Prime Minister David Cameron stated during Friday’s debate that the “mission” could be extended to include ai [...]

Armed British RAF jets have been deployed on their first mission in Iraq since UK lawmakers voted to authorize military strikes against so-called Islamic State (IS) targets in the country. A Ministry of Defense Spokesman (MOD) confirmed on Saturday that "Royal Air Force Tornados continue to fly over Iraq and are now ready to be used in an attack role as and when appropriate targets are identifi [...]

This US-engineered Coalition is in for some surprises. With few common goals, it has thrust itself into battle against the most determined players in the region and beyond. The airwaves are still heaving with spin two days after US airstrikes against Syria. Undoubtedly the attacks were timed to occur on the eve of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, so ‘Coalition’ p [...]

Anti-war activists have called an emergency protest outside Downing Street on Thursday evening, as Prime Minister David Cameron says the UK is ready to "play its part" in airstrikes on ISIS targets in Iraq. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Cameron called Islamic State formerly known as ISIS or ISIL) an “evil against which the whole world must unite”. [...]

The fight against terrorism must begin by placing more pressure on those countries which are supporting and financing insurgents in Syria and Iraq, Syrian President Bashar Assad said while speaking with an Iraqi security official in Damascus. Assad's comments were made during a Tuesday meeting with Iraq's national security adviser, Falah al-Fayadh, “on efforts by the Iraqi government to confr [...]

Islamic State responded in a video to US President Barack Obama's vow to "ultimately destroy" it, promising to kill any American ground forces deployed. The extremist group has gained recruits since Obama's declaration, according to observers in Syria. The 52-second clip, released late Tuesday as a preview for a longer video, uses quick edits and high-resolution images to depict besieged Americ [...]

The United States launched at least one airstrike against Islamic State militants near Baghdad on Monday, marking the expansion of the US military campaign against the extremist group. The airstrike was reportedly requested by Iraqi forces under attack. According to US officials cited by the Associated Press, the airstrike was authorized after Iraqi security forces requested air power support a [...]

"This can't be America's fight alone," US President Barack Obama stressed in his ISIS speech. Indeed, about 40 countries have joined the battle with the radical group that's left scores dead in Iraq. But who does what on that battlefield? The main role is still with the US, which has already carried out over 150 airstrikes against the Islamic State (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and t [...]

Iran has refused an offer from the United States to join a global alliance preparing to combat Islamic State militants, according to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei said Monday that the US offered to discuss a coordinated effort with Iran against Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL), a common foe in the region, in the midst of an escalating campaign of violence [...]

What’s wrong with this picture? Israel gets $3 billion a year in military aid from the US. Over the last 60 years, the Jewish state has received about $250 billion worth of airplanes and armaments. Yet when Obama appeals for a “a broad international coalition” to fight ISIS, which supposedly threatens the whole Middle East, Israel is not asked to join. Canada, Germany, Australia, France, T [...]

Islamic State jihadists have released a video which they claim shows the beheading of a 44-year-old British aid worker, David Haines, who has been held hostage since his abduction last year. The masked man in the latest video released across social media on Saturday night claims that Haines was killed because of UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s pledge to arm Kurdish forces in order to battle [...]

The family of US journalist James Foley – who was kidnapped and killed by the Islamic State – had been “threatened” by the US government with charges of aiding terrorists if they tried to raise funds to pay ransom for him, Foley’s mother told the media. Obama administration officials repeatedly warned the family of murdered journalist James Foley that they might face criminal charges [...]