عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Iraq's Kurdish Regional Security Council Announces Arrest of Top Aide of Former ISIS Leader

File photo: Security forces secure a location after an ISIS attack in Kirkuk, Iraq. Reuters
File photo: Security forces secure a location after an ISIS attack in Kirkuk, Iraq. Reuters
TT
TT

Iraq's Kurdish Regional Security Council Announces Arrest of Top Aide of Former ISIS Leader

File photo: Security forces secure a location after an ISIS attack in Kirkuk, Iraq. Reuters
File photo: Security forces secure a location after an ISIS attack in Kirkuk, Iraq. Reuters

The Kurdish Regional Security Council announced in a statement on Friday that it captured a senior ISIS figure, Socrates Khalil.
Khalil was known to be a confidant of the late ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
"After spending five years in Türkiye, Khalil returned to Kurdistan with a forged passport and was swiftly apprehended," the statement said.
Khalil made bombs for the ISIS group and was entrusted by al-Baghdadi with various major operations, the statement added, saying that he was instrumental in the 2014 ISIS takeover of Mosul, and participated in many battles against Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga forces, Reuters reported.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Iran Guards Say Targeted ‘Separatist Groups’ in Iraq’s Kurdistan

Rubble of destroyed buildings lies following, what the security sources say, a drone struck an arms depot in an attack on the headquarters of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in which two fighters were wounded, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the town of Dekala in Iraq's Kurdistan region March 4, 2026. (Reuters)
Rubble of destroyed buildings lies following, what the security sources say, a drone struck an arms depot in an attack on the headquarters of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in which two fighters were wounded, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the town of Dekala in Iraq's Kurdistan region March 4, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Iran Guards Say Targeted ‘Separatist Groups’ in Iraq’s Kurdistan

Rubble of destroyed buildings lies following, what the security sources say, a drone struck an arms depot in an attack on the headquarters of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in which two fighters were wounded, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the town of Dekala in Iraq's Kurdistan region March 4, 2026. (Reuters)
Rubble of destroyed buildings lies following, what the security sources say, a drone struck an arms depot in an attack on the headquarters of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in which two fighters were wounded, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the town of Dekala in Iraq's Kurdistan region March 4, 2026. (Reuters)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday they have targeted "separatist groups" in Iraq's Kurdistan region, as the war against Israel and the United States entered its second week.

An official from an exiled opposition group in Kurdistan told AFP that drones struck positions belonging to three Iranian Kurdish parties without causing casualties.

The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by Tasnim news agency that "three locations of separatist groups in the Iraqi region (of Kurdistan) were hit... this morning."

"If separatist groups in the region make any move against Iran's territorial integrity, we will crush them," the Guards added.

Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region hosts camps and rear bases operated by several Iranian Kurdish militant groups that have repeatedly come under Iranian fire since the war began.

Tehran threatened to target "all the facilities" of Kurdistan if militants were allowed to enter Iran.

The Iraqi government and the autonomous region said Friday that Iraq must not be a launchpad for attacks against neighboring countries, following reports that militants might attempt to cross into Iran.

Iraq's border guard commander Mohammed Sukar said Saturday that the Iraq-Iran border is secure, and there have been no infiltration attempt to Iran, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

Arab World

Israel Strikes Near Tyre in South Lebanon After Warnings

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in the southern coastal city of Tyre on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in the southern coastal city of Tyre on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Israel Strikes Near Tyre in South Lebanon After Warnings

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in the southern coastal city of Tyre on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in the southern coastal city of Tyre on March 7, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's military on Saturday struck three buildings in the suburbs of the southern city of Tyre after ordering residents to flee, Lebanese state media said.

AFP footage showed thick plumes of black smoke rising from buildings that Israel said Hezbollah was using.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that "Israeli warplanes attacked the three buildings that it had identified and threatened".

Israel's military on Saturday warned residents in a district of Lebanon's Tyre to evacuate ahead of strikes, and reiterated a demand for people to leave the area south of the Litani river.

The Israeli military said it would "soon strike military infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization" in the Zuqaq al-Mafdi area of the southern city of Tyre.

In a separate warning, a military spokesman later urged those remaining south of the Litani, an area covering hundreds of square kilometers, to move north, repeating a call the military gave on Wednesday.

"Strikes are ongoing as the army is operating with great force in the area," the statement said.

"For the sake of your safety you must leave the area immediately."

Many residents of villages in the area had already fled northwards since the first Israeli warning.

Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon and conducted many air strikes on the country this week after Hezbollah joined its ally Iran in attacking Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

It struck Tyre on Friday, in an area adjacent to a UNESCO World Heritage site, according to the NNA.

Hezbollah on Saturday warned residents in a part of northern Israel that it was going to strike the area.

Lebanon's health ministry on Saturday said Israeli attacks on the country had killed almost 300 people since the start of the war with Hezbollah on Monday.

Arab World

Lebanese Army Says Soldier Wounded by Gunfire from Syria

Vehicles line up at Jdeidat Yabous border crossing with Lebanon, amid an increased cross-border movement in Jdeidat Yabous, 45 kilometers west of Damascus, Syria, 03 March 2026. (EPA)
Vehicles line up at Jdeidat Yabous border crossing with Lebanon, amid an increased cross-border movement in Jdeidat Yabous, 45 kilometers west of Damascus, Syria, 03 March 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

Lebanese Army Says Soldier Wounded by Gunfire from Syria

Vehicles line up at Jdeidat Yabous border crossing with Lebanon, amid an increased cross-border movement in Jdeidat Yabous, 45 kilometers west of Damascus, Syria, 03 March 2026. (EPA)
Vehicles line up at Jdeidat Yabous border crossing with Lebanon, amid an increased cross-border movement in Jdeidat Yabous, 45 kilometers west of Damascus, Syria, 03 March 2026. (EPA)

Lebanon's military said on Saturday that a soldier was moderately wounded by gunfire coming from Syria a day prior in the country's northeast.

"A Lebanese soldier sustained moderate injuries as a result of gunfire from the Syrian side targeting a Lebanese army post in the Qasr-Hermel area," the military said, adding that "soldiers at the post returned fire".

"An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the incident in coordination with the relevant Syrian authorities."

On Friday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa informed him that Syrian troop building along the border with Lebanon was "solely aimed at strengthening border control and maintaining internal Syrian security", and that similar measures were taken on the border with Iraq.