Bassar Al Assad

Islamic State downs warplane over Syria, claims to capture pilot

The Islamic State branch in Raqa published photographs on jihadist websites purporting to show its fighters holding the captured pilot.

Satellite images show damage to Syria's cultural heritage sites

UNESCO World Heritage sites in Aleppo, Damascus, Palmyra and the Crac des Chevaliers have all sustained major damage, according to UNITAR.

Iraq: Kurdish, Yazidis fighters battle Islamic State for strategic town of Sinjar

It would also give a huge strategic victory to both the Iraqi Kurds and the central government in Baghdad, as the Kurdish fighters could then cut the highway from Syria to Mosul, a vital supply line for Islamic State.

Iraq: On Mount Sinjar, Yazidis cheer on Kurds for breaking Islamic State siege

It was the plight of those trapped on the mountain, together with Islamic State's advance towards the Kurdish capital Arbil, that prompted US President Barack Obama to order air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq in August.

Blow to Islamic State as Iraqi Kurds claim to break Mount Sinjar siege

The peshmerga said they recaptured eight villages on the way and killed about 80 Islamic State fighters in the initial phase of the offensive launched from Rabia on the Syria border and Zumar on the shores of Mosul dam lake.

Iraq: Spate of car bombings continue, 14 killed in latest attack

In the first attack, a car detonated on a commercial street in the Meshtal neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, killing at least eight people and wounding 15, police officials said.

Beiji refinery liberated as Iraqi forces drive Islamic State out of town

Since August, the Iraqi military is being aided by airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition targeting Islamic State positions in Iraq and in neighboring Syria.

Iraqi troops take back center of refinery town from Islamic State

Airstrikes by a US-led coalition have aided Iraqi forces, militias and Kurdish peshmerga fighters battling Islamic State militants.

Who is who: All you need to know about the Islamic State leadership

Details about Islamic State's organisational structure are murky, but its public statements as well as groups that track militant organisations and media reports point to the existence of some main elements

Iraq: Shiite militias put brutality on display in anti-Islamic State fight

Last month, Amnesty International said Shiite militias are increasingly to blame for kidnappings and retaliatory killings of Sunnis.