Press
Showing 181-200 of 453 Items
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Expert Views: After ISIS, Who Controls Syria’s Natural Resources?
AT THE HEIGHT of its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, the so-called Islamic State was making millions of dollars every day from harvesting the output of seized oil a...
By Nicholas Heras
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Iraqi forces clash with Kurdish troops near strategic border with Syria
Iraqi forces backed by Iranian-allied militias began an assault Thursday to reclaim more Kurdish-held territory in Iraq, advancing toward a crossing in the country’s western b...
By Nicholas Heras
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ISIS may be dispersed, not destroyed
In November 2001, the Taliban abandoned Kabul without a fight, and a month later the U.S. triumphantly installed Hamid Karzai as the new Afghan president. But in reality, the ...
By Nicholas Heras
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After Raqqa, the U.S. sees Russia, Assad looming over remaining Syrian battlefield
Rapid advances by Russian- and Iranian-backed government forces in eastern Syria are thwarting the U.S. military’s hopes of pressing deeper into Islamic State territory after ...
By Nicholas Heras
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No Plans to Withdraw U.S. Troops Even After ISIS Defeat
Islamic State militants have lost almost their entire so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria, but that doesn’t mean the United States will be withdrawing thousands of troops se...
By Nicholas Heras
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Defeat of Islamic State in Raqqa may herald wider struggle for U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The defeat of Islamic State in its de facto capital Raqqa may only be the start of a wider struggle by the United States to contain any insurgency launc...
By Nicholas Heras
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The defeat of ISIS in Raqqa tests U.S. commitment to Syrian Kurds
BEIRUT — U.S.-backed forces in Syria claimed Tuesday that they had full control of the Islamic State’s onetime capital of Raqqa, heralding an end to the militants’ presence in...
By Nicholas Heras
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Iraqi Forces Clash With Kurdish Fighters Near Kirkuk
Iraqi forces clashed with fighters from the Kurdish semiautonomous region in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk early Monday, Iraqi and Kurdish officials said, in a standoff over...
By Nicholas Heras
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Trump Admin. Makes Gains on ISIS, but Lack of Syria Policy Raises Concern
WASHINGTON —The Trump administration’s efforts to recapture the ISIS-held Syrian city of Raqqa, the group’s de-facto capital, are making enough headway that the operation coul...
By Nicholas Heras
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How the U.S. Lost the War in Syria to Russia and Iran
When the U.S. and its allies finally began their offensive to defeat the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor in August 2017, the S...
By Nicholas Heras
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Mapped: The Last Islamic State Stronghold in Syria
The Islamic State has been losing ground in Syria for more than a year. United States-backed Syrian rebel forces have laid siege to the militant group’s de facto capital of Ra...
By Nicholas Heras
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Why The Race To Oust ISIS From Deir Ez-Zor In Syria May Present New Dangers
Syrian government troops and allied militias are locked in a race against rebels backed by the United States for control of Deir ez-Zor, an oil-rich province that will give wh...
By Nicholas Heras
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How far could the dangerous endgame in eastern Syria go?
The war against the Islamic State always promised to get messy in its final stages, as the militants retreat and rival forces converge from different directions. That moment h...
By Nicholas Heras
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Syrian Regime Races Against U.S.-Backed Rebel Forces To Take ISIS Enclave
ISIS is being pushed out of parts of Syria. That's leading to a race between the forces taking that territory, forces backed by the U.S. and forces backed by the Syrian govern...
By Nicholas Heras
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Who Will Rule Raqqa After the Islamic State?
AIN ISSA, Syria — For three months, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been fighting to liberate Raqqa from the Islamic State and have reportedly captured 70 ...
By Nicholas Heras
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Syrian Army, U.S-Backed Forces Rub Shoulders In Eastern Syria
U.S.-backed militias and the Syrian Army are less than 10 miles from each other as they converge on the Islamic State stronghold of Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria, which still h...
By Nicholas Heras
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U.S.-backed forces announce anti-ISIS push in Syria’s oil-rich east
BEIRUT — U.S.-backed forces in Syria announced a fresh offensive around the Islamic State’s most important remaining stronghold Saturday, accelerating a global scramble for co...
By Nicholas Heras
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Coalition commander says Raqqa police force paid by US as vetted force
Major General Rupert Jones, the deputy commander of the US-led coalition against ISIS, said that the Raqqa Internal Security Force (RISF) are paid by the United States as a ve...
By Nicholas Heras
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Iraqi forces retake three districts of ISIS bastion Tal Afar
Iraqi forces on Tuesday (Aug 22) recaptured from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group the first three districts of its bastion Tal Afar as the Pentagon chief visit...
By Nicholas Heras
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Former US Official Explains Tensions Over Syria
WASHINGTON – On Monday evening, President Donald Trump addressed the nation regarding his administration’s new war plans to address the 16-year-old conflict in Afghanistan. Wh...
By Ilan Goldenberg