Iraq

Turkey is the sole country conducting humanitarian operations for displaced Iraqis fleeing from jihadist groups’ violence in the country, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said.

Executed former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's Sunni tribal allies moved his body from a family plot eight months ago, fearful that Shi'ite militias would harm it, a tribal leader told Reuters on Wednesday.
   

Jihadists seized Iraq's largest Christian town and surrounding areas Aug. 7, sending tens of thousands of panicked residents fleeing in what is being called a humanitarian disaster, officials and witnesses said.

Yazidis fleeing Iraq following an offensive by Islamic State (IS) militants have been settled in homes in the southeastern province of Şırnak, Culture Minister Ömer Çelik has said on Aug. 7.

Tens of thousands of Yazidi families, as well as Turkmens living in Iraq’s Sinjar district bordering Syria are desperately trying to escape the militants amid reports of massacres.

Islamic State militants extended their gains in northern Iraq on Aug. 7, seizing more towns and strengthening a foothold near the Kurdish region, witnesses said, in an offensive that has alarmed the Baghdad government and regional powers.

The advance came after the Sunni militants inflicted a humiliating defeat on Kurdish forces in a weekend sweep in the north.

Islamic State militants extended their gains in northern Iraq on Aug. 7, seizing three more towns and gaining a foothold near the Kurdish region, witnesses said.

Jihadists from the Islamic State group have seized parts of a military base in Syria's Raqa province in fierce fighting that left dozens dead, a monitor said Thursday.
      

Have you watched the video of the desperate cry of Feyyan Dahil? She is a member of the Iraqi Parliament. Without even taking the stand during a parliamentary session on Aug. 5, she started to cry from the rear rows of the hall which caused everyone to stop and listen to her in an equal desperation.

A Philadelphia archaeology museum said on Aug. 5 its researchers have discovered an extremely rare 6,500-year-old human skeleton in its own basement, where it had been in storage for 85 years.

Turkey is in talks with Israel and Egypt about establishing an air corridor to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza and evacuate potentially thousands of injured Palestinians for treatment in Turkey, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Aug. 6.