ISIS Committed Genocide Against Yazidis in Syria and Iraq, U.N. Panel Says Nick Cumming-Bruce, The New York Times  16 June 2016 Image: Yazidis fleeing Sinjar, Iraq, in 2014 after forces loyal to the Islamic State took the town. Kurdish and Yazidi fighters retook it last fall. CreditRodi Said/Reuters GENEVA — Islamic State forces have committed genocide and other war crimes in a continuing effort to exterminate the Yazidi religious minority in

Islamic State committing genocide against Yazidis, says UN BBC News 16 June 2016 Image: Displaced Yazidi people fleeing violence from Isis forces in Sinjar town. Photograph: Rodi Said/Reuters UN human rights investigators have for the first time accused so-called Islamic State of committing genocide against Yazidis in Iraq and Syria. A report says IS has subjected members of the religious group it has captured to the "most horrific of atrocities",

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These Iraqis dodged bombs and bullets to escape the Islamic State, but their misery hasn’t ended Loveday Morris, The Washington Post  15 June 2016 Image: Children inside the medical center near Fallujah watch through a fence. (Ali Arkady/VII for The Washington Post) AMARIYAT FALLUJAH, Iraq — The family thought they had safely escaped Islamic State-held Fallujah, letting out cries of joy when they reached the outskirts of the city. But moments

Twin blasts near Damascus kill 12, wounds dozens Bassem Mroue, The Washington Post  11 June 2016 Image: Civilians and members of the Syrian army inspect the damage after an attack by suicide bombers in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab. (Omar Sanadiki/Reuters) BEIRUT — Suicide bombers struck close to Damascus on Saturday, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens more. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombings through

Three Hospitals Attacked in Rebel Side of Aleppo, Syria Hwaida Saad and Rick Gladstone, The New York Times  June 9 2016 Image: Syrians inspected damage on Wednesday after an airstrike in al-Shaar, a rebel-held neighborhood of Aleppo. Credit Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters BEIRUT, Lebanon — Bombs from airstrikes hit three hospitals on Wednesday in the rebel-held side of Aleppo, Syria, including a pediatrics center supported by the United Nations,

Defiant Bashar al-Assad Vows to Retake ‘Every Inch’ of Syria DAVID E. SANGER and RICK GLADSTONE, The New York Times  JUNE 7 2016 Image: President Bashar al-Assad of Syria promised Parliament that the armed conflicts in the country would continue as long as the Islamic State posed a threat. By SYRIA TV, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS on  Publish Date June 7, 2016. Photo by Sana, via Reuters. WASHINGTON — Syria’s president promised to retake

 Syrian Woman Becomes First Female Parliament speaker Associated Press, The Washington Post  6 June 2016 DAMASCUS, Syria — A Syrian woman who is a member of President Bashar Assad’s Baath party has been chosen as the new parliament speaker, becoming the first woman to ever hold the post. Hadiyeh al-Abbas, 58, won uncontested Monday during the first session of the People’s Assembly, elected in April. Al-Abbas holds a PhD in agricultural engineering

  In fighting ISIS, Iraq’s Shiite militias could ignite a sectarian mess Hugh Naylor and Mustafa Salim, The Washington Post  3 June 2016  Video: The Iraqi government's battle to recapture Falluja from the Islamic State is shaping up to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against the group. But about 50,000 civilians are believed to be trapped inside, and some are reportedly being used as human shields. (Reuters) BAGHDAD — Iraqi soldiers

Syria, Facing Deadline, Allows Limited Aid to Besieged Town of Daraya Rick Gladstone, The New York Times 2 June, 2016 Image: Vehicles from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations entered the rebel-held Syrian town of Daraya, southwest of the capital, Damascus, on Wednesday for the first time since 2012. Facing a United Nations commitment to start airdropping aid to civilians in rebel-held areas, the Syrian government