All Middle East
- How much do you know about the Islamic State? Take our quiz.
The self-proclaimed caliphate of Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is fighting across Syria and Iraq, pushing back larger armies and capturing entire cities. It is also waging an increasingly sophisticated media campaign: The militant group has recruited disillusioned youth as it tries to extend its reach across the Muslim world and beyond. How much do you know about the Islamic State? Test your knowledge.
Kurdish crisis: As masses seek refuge in Turkey, fighters rush back to SyriaWith Islamic State forces surrounding the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobane, Kurds from across Turkey are demanding to be allowed to enter Syria to make a stand.
Fleeing Islamic State fighters, Syrian refugees stream into TurkeyAt least 60,000 mostly Kurdish refugees have entered Turkey since Thursday after Islamic State militants surrounded a Kurdish stronghold in northern Syria. Some are calling for US airstrikes to stop the group's advance.聽
Heard at Syria's border: Life in the Islamic State is orderly, but brutalAlong the Turkish border, residents of Raqqa, Syria, offer a window into life in an Islamic State-administered city, a place of swift, brutal justice where death and loss are experienced daily.
What privacy debate? Police drone use in Israel flies under the radarGrowing civilian drone use has raised safety and privacy concerns in the US. But when drones were approved to enhance security for light-rail trains in Jerusalem, hardly anyone took notice.
Why NATO ally Turkey won't fight with US against Islamic StateFears for the safety of diplomatic hostages and disagreements with DC are keeping Ankara on the sidelines.聽
Can Sunni recruits help a new Iraqi national guard take on the Islamic State?Iraqi Sunnis, who first welcomed the jihadist challenge to an unpopular Shiite-led government in Baghdad, are now increasingly repulsed by sectarian brutality. President Obama has pledged to support a proposed national guard.聽
Suez Canal 2.0: Egyptians pour savings into president's ambitious projectSelling a vision of greatness restored, cash-strapped Egypt has raised $8.4 billion from the sale of investment certificates to its citizens. But experts caution that the retooling of the Suez Canal may not pay off so quickly.
Islamic State: Iraqi leaders created the problem 鈥� and can end it, say SunnisUnjust treatment on the part of Iraq鈥檚 Shiite government has pushed Sunnis into the arms of Islamic State militants. Addressing their grievances is as important as any anti-IS military campaign.
Focus on Islamic State has left Baghdad residents vulnerable to crimeWhile security forces focus on stopping the Islamic State advance, Baghdad residents are falling victim to a rise in opportunistic crime. Increasingly, Shiite militias rule the streets.
From IS-controlled Raqqa, tales of the group's resilienceThe jihadis of the Islamic State beheaded another hostage on video this weekend in Syria, as the US and other western states vowed to destroy the group. But the militants are well dug in.
As Obama seeks allies against Islamic State, Lebanon is already in the fightThe Lebanese army and Hezbollah militiamen are mired in a sporadic war with militants from the Islamic State along the country's Syrian border, where two abducted hostages have been beheaded.
How the world responded to Obama's Islamic State speechPresident Obama's plan to defeat the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has sparked global reactions on the legalities and consequences of American military power in the Middle East.
Why Obama faces tough task leading regional coalition against Islamic StateWhile some allies in the Middle East appear ready to support US airstrikes in Syria, their agendas differ from Washington's. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Baghdad today.聽
Amid epic destruction, weary Gaza struggles to rebuildIsrael's summer confrontation with Hamas inflicted more damage to homes and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip than at any time since 1967. But the reconstruction so far has been piecemeal.
A brush with death in the fight against the Islamic State in IraqA member of Iraq's Methboub family, which the Monitor has tracked since 2002, nearly lost his life in the fight against the so-called Islamic State in central Iraq.
Iran's supreme leader said to approve military cooperation with USThe BBC reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved joint military efforts with the US to contain Sunni militants in Iraq. The unconfirmed report comes amid signs of de facto US-Iranian cooperation.聽
Few gains for Gaza after Hamas 'victory' over IsraelHamas promised it would break the Israeli-led economic blockade of the Gaza Strip as a result of the latest war with Israel. So far, it isn't working out that way.
Gaza fishermen see shrimp-sized gains from Israel-Hamas cease-fireThe only change on the ground under the current cease-fire is the doubling of the fishing zone to six miles. But the daily catch is already less than half what it was last week.
After Gaza war Hamas on a high 鈥� but for how long?Hamas has seen a short-term surge in support from Palestinians following its recent war with Israel. But with the massive needs of the Gaza Strip still to be met, support may falter.
