Iraq

Crude oil flow on Iraqi Kurdistan’s pipeline to Turkey has resumed after upgrade work was completed and is now running at an increased rate of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), industry sources and Turkish officials told Reuters Aug. 21.

Defense Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos arrived in Washington early on Thursday for an official visit following an invitation by his US counterpart Chuck Hagel.

US officials acknowledged that a military mission aiming to free reporter James Foley and other hostages from IS captivity had failed.

FBI meanwhile announced a video footage of Foley's beheading by the Sunni militants known as Islamic State (IS) posted online Tuesday was authentic, according to the Global Post, one of the outlets for which the journalist worked.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has categorically denied a report that Ankara has agreed to hand over the tomb of Süleyman Shah, a speck of Turkish territory inside Syria, to jihadists in return for the release of 49 Turkish nationals who they have been keeping hostage since early June.

"Ukraine deserves Western military support"

KIEV -- Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin says his country deserves military support from the West to combat militias of self-proclaimed people's republics.

Under a decision taken on the August 15 and published in the official gazette on Tuesday, Tirana will transfer 22 million rounds of AK-47 7.62 millimeter bullets, 15,000 hand grenades and 32,000 artillery shells of different calibers to Iraq.

Tirana also announced that it is donating 10,000 model-56 Kalashnikov automatic rifles to Afghanistan.

Militants of the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant (ISIL) have released a video that seeks to show it enlightened hundreds of members of the Yazidi minority by converting them to Islam.

The production was issued not long after the group on Aug. 19 released a video showing one of its black-clad fighters beheading American journalist James Foley, sparking international outrage.

The U.S. military earlier this summer carried out an attempt to rescue journalist James Foley and other American hostages held in Syria, a U.S. official said on Aug. 20, in an operation that the Pentagon said ultimately failed to find the captives.

Balkan Muslims condemn destruction of religious shrines by ISIL

Muslims speak out against the Islamic States of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) destroying mosques and churches.

Balkan Muslims are speaking out against the destruction of religious shrines and sites in Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Refugee influx to Bulgaria is expected to increase amid the crisis in Iraq, State Agency for Refugees deputy chair Vasil Varbanov told the national radio.