All Middle East
Islamic State claims responsibility for two Baghdad hotel bombings, killing 15Two separate car bombs went off late Thursday in the parking lots of聽two prominent hotels in聽Baghdad.聽The ability of the IS militants to target heavily secured buildings in the heart of the capital brutally underscored the city's lingering vulnerability.
IS suicide bomber strikes shiite mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing 4The attack came after a suicide bombing a week ago at another Shiite mosque killed 21 people, heightening sectarian tensions in the Sunni-majority kingdom.
Syria's Al Qaeda chief says no plans to attack the WestThe Syrian known as Abu Muhammed al-Golani, who heads the Nusra Front, said聽the aim of his group is to bring down President Bashar Assad's government.
Tony Blair to leave Middle East post next monthThe former British prime minister has been working as a special envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks since 2007.
Islamic State: In Libya鈥檚 Sparta, goal is to contain the militantsResidents of Misrata view their Mediterranean city as invincible and impenetrable by Islamic State militants, whom they have surrounded in Sirte, where Qaddafi was killed in 2011.
At least 80 killed following Saudi-led air strikes in YemenArab warplanes and ships also hammered Yemen's largest military port in the Red Sea city of Hodeida at dawn on Wednesday, a local official said.
Hamas committed war crimes against Gaza civilians, report findsAmnesty International said in a report on Wednesday that Gaza's dominant Islamist Hamas committed war crimes against Palestinian civilians聽during last year's war with Israel.聽A statement by Hamas denies involvement in the actions described by Amnesty.
Gunmen try to kill Libya's recognized prime ministerA guard was lightly wounded but that there were no fatalities in an attack on聽Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni's motorcade in Tobruk.
As Washington Post reporter goes on trial, anger at 'Kafkaesque restrictions'The trial of Jason Rezaian for espionage began today in a Tehran court. The judge barred family members and the media and from the courtroom.
In Jordanian city, cries of 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' echo FergusonJordan's interior minister and police chief resigned in the wake of the latest death in custody of a suspect. Citizens in Maan, a city with a reputation for militancy, have adopted the slogans of US protesters to push back against police brutality.聽
IS claims responsibility for Saudi suicide attack that killed 21More than 150 people were praying when the huge explosion ripped through the Imam Ali mosque in the village of al-Qadeeh, witnesses said.
IS purges Palmyra while taking another Iraqi city, activists sayIslamic State is hunting for government troops and fighters in the ancient Syrian city. Meanwhile, the Islamist militants captured another city in the west of Iraq.
Suicide bomber attacks Saudi Shiite MuslimsIt is the second deadly attack against minority Shiites in the kingdom in six months
Islamic State seizes ancient Palmyra for strategic boost in eastern SyriaMilitary analysts said the IS victory left its forces in control of an important crossroads in eastern Syria that could open new supply lines to Iraq.
Amid Nepal's rubble, a glimpse of Israeli gays' quest for family lifeWhen the massive earthquake struck, an Israeli father of a 9-day-old girl born to a surrogate mother in Nepal, thought: 鈥業s this the end of our dream?鈥�
Islamic State in control of Palmyra ruins, according to activistsA Facebook page close to IS published a statement Thursday, purportedly from the group, saying "the soldiers of the Islamic State" completed their control of Palmyra as well as the town's airport and prison.
Reporters on Syria's war: why they do it, what they riskOn the Turkey-Syrian border, journalists receive counseling and training to keep the world informed about the war in Syria, a job that risks their lives and their humanity.
Islamic State enters ancient Syrian city of Palmyra while residents fleeThe city is home to 2,000-year-old monuments, which Syria's antiquities chief says the world must save.
Syrian rebels seize army base as Iran reaffirms support for AssadSyria faces mounting challenges from rebel forces after the capture of a key military base in the province of Idlib today.
In Kobane, site of key defeat of Islamic State, rebuilding is a Kurdish affairThe US saw the Kurdish victory in Kobane as a model for cooperation against the Islamic State. Now, with much of the city in ruins, the Kurds are looking to themselves to rebuild.
