US-Backed Forces Seize ISIS Town Near Raqqa
Kurdish YPG fighters, backed by US special forces and some other allied militias, have captured the town of Ukeirshi, just 10 miles downriver from the ISIS capital city of Raqqa, and a town which...
View ArticleVideo Shows US-Backed Syrian Kurds Torturing Detainees
In a particularly embarrassing case of US allies torturing detainees, a video leaked to the Turkish media shows fighters in Kurdish YPG uniforms torturing at least two captive Arabs during...
View ArticleBritish Man, Two Americans Killed in Fighting Against ISIS in Syria
22-year-old British citizen Luke Rutter and two Americans, identified as Robert Grodt, and 29-year-old Nicholas Warden, were all reported killed in fighting against ISIS, according to a statement...
View ArticleUS Building a Third Military Airport in Syrian Kurdistan
Amid growing focus on the US quietly establishing military bases across the Middle East and Northern Africa, reports out of the autonomous Syrian Kurdistan region of Rojava say that US workers have...
View ArticleTurkey Wanted Thousands of US Ground Troops for Raqqa Invasion
As Kurdish forces continue to slowly advance into the ISIS capital city of Raqqa, new details are emerging about the alternative strategy proposed by Turkey, which would’ve seen US and Turkish forces...
View ArticleTop US General Told Kurdish YPG to ‘Change Its Brand’
Back in 2015, media reports about the Kurdish YPG, a US-backed faction in Syria, suddenly started referring to a group called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which was in the same area, controlled...
View ArticleUS Likely to Get Dragged Into Any Kurdish Conflict With Assad
While the US hasn’t exactly needed an excuse to pick fights with pro-government forces in Syrian recent months, defending an allied faction would actually serve as a pretext to launch a much bigger...
View ArticleISIS Claims Deadly Attack on US-Backed Kurdish Forces in Syria
While the Kurdish YPG continues to tout the progress they are making against ISIS, the jihadists have managed to get around to carrying out a retaliatory strike of their own, hitting YPG targets east...
View ArticleIn US-Backed Kurdish Invasion of Raqqa, Arab Allies Struggle to Find a Role
The rebranding of the Kurdish YPG as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was always based, at least in part, on the notion that smaller Syrian Arab factions had joined forces with the Kurds, and is a...
View ArticleKurdish YPG: US Forces to Stay in Syria for ‘Decades’
Pentagon officials have been pretty clear about their intention of keeping troops in Iraq more or less forever. The plans for Syria, however, have been far less public, mostly owing to the fact that US...
View ArticleIraqi Kurds to Hold Referendum Despite Parliament’s Rejection
Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani today assured voters the September 25 referendum on secession from Iraq will move forward as planned. This is despite a vote at the Iraqi parliament today which...
View ArticleUS-Backed Kurds Won’t Let Syrian Forces Cross Euphrates River
The Euphrates River remains not only a vital lifeline across much of eastern Syria, but also an important boundary area, which has become increasingly more important throughout the Syrian War. Early in...
View ArticleState Dept: US ‘Strongly Opposes’ Kurdish Independence Vote
On Monday, Iran’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) intends to hold a referendum on possible secession from Iraq and the establishment of an independent Kurdistan. The US State Department today...
View ArticleUN Security Council Warns Iraqi Kurds Against Referendum
The UN Security Council has unanimously issued a statement condemning the upcoming referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, planned for Monday. The statement accuses the vote of being “destabilizing,” and a...
View ArticleKurdish President Barzani Says Partnership With Iraq Is Over
Iraqi Kurdistan is set for a referendum on independence on Monday. It is widely assumed that the vote will overwhelmingly pass, with the Kurds having long sought an independent nation and now seemingly...
View ArticleIraq Seeks to Cut Kurdistan Off From World as Referendum Goes Ahead
As Kurds head to the polls for Monday’s referendum, widely expected to end with an overwhelming majority supporting secession from Iraq, the Iraqi central government is acting quickly to try to cut off...
View ArticleIraqi Kurds Overwhelming Back Secession on High Turnout
Polls have closed in Iraqi Kurdistan, and while there are a lot of questions about what’s going to happen next, one thing that’s not in serious doubt is the results. With some 78% of voters having gone...
View ArticleRegion Moves to Isolate Iraqi Kurdistan as Votes Are Counted
Monday’s referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan closed with high turnout, and an expectation of an overwhelming victory for the pro-secession vote. The neighbors of the soon-to-be nation are already turning on...
View ArticleUS-Backed Kurds Say Russian Warplanes Attacked Them in Eastern Syria
The Kurdish YPG has claimed a Monday incident in which Russian warplanes attacked one of their military positions in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor Province. They claimed a fighter was killed and two...
View ArticleIraq Won’t Negotiate With Kurds on Secession Process
Iraqi Kurdish officials confirm that the referendum on secession has passed though final results won’t be public until later this week. The process of extricating themselves from Iraq may be a...
View Article
