Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Tanker trucks wait to be loaded at Taq Taq oilfield in Erbil on September 5, 2012. (Reuters/Azad Lashkari)

The Smugglers Who Fuel ISIS

by Ma'ad Fayad | Oct 19, 2014 | Features

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—On the road between Kirkuk and Erbil, which cuts across the fault-line between Iraq proper and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, convoys of tanker trucks can be seen travelling northwards. When you ask where they are headed, local café owner...

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Smoke rises over Syrian town of Kobani after an airstrike, as seen from the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, October 18, 2014. A U.S.-led military coalition has been bombing Islamic State fighters who hold a large swathe of territory in both Iraq and Syria, […]

Opinion: What Went Wrong in Kobani?

by Wafiq Al-Samarrai | Oct 19, 2014 | Opinion

I have been of the opinion that directing airstrikes on Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) positions in Syria has been a mistake since the international campaign against the group began. ISIS must first be defeated on Iraqi territory and thereby driven out of the...

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Members of the Iraqi parliament attend a parliamentary vote of confidence at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, 08 September 2014. (EPA/Ali Abbas)

Iraq parliament approves new Defense, Interior ministers

by Hamza Mustafa | Oct 19, 2014 | Middle East

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi lawmakers on Saturday approved the appointment of Khaled Al-Obeidi as Iraqi Defense Minister and Mohamed Al-Ghabban as Interior Minister, ending a political stalemate that had threatened to disrupt Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s new...

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Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, seen from the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, October 18, 2014. (Reuters)

Ramped-up air strikes stall ISIS advance on Syrian town

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Oct 18, 2014 | Middle East

Mursitpinar, Turkey, Reuters—Two days of heavy air strikes by US warplanes have slowed an advance by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants against Kurdish forces defending the Syrian border town of Kobani. Turkish and US officials said last week that ISIS...

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File photo of director-general of Oman’s foreign ministry, Badr Bin Hamad Albusaidi. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

GCC dispute over Qatar close to being resolved: Omani official

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Oct 18, 2014 | Middle East

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—A senior Omani official has said that the inter-Gulf dispute between Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain is close to being solved. In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat following a speech to the Anglo-Omani society in...