Hizbullah’s armed involvement in the Syrian conflict since mid-2013 took a new twist this week with reports that Israeli warplanes had bombed targets in territory held by the Syrian government near Damascus on 7 December 2014
With one-third of Iraq under the control of an Islamic State bent on redrawing the map of the modern Middle East, the legacy of decisions made during and immediately after the First World War continue to cast their long shadow over the region.
Michael Gunter and Nahro Zagros explain the origins of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), how they have ruthlessly explored the weaknesses of the Syrian and Iraqi states, and why they are proving so difficult to challenge.
Christopher Davidson looks beyond the headlines to ask: what are the broader implications of the attack on Kobane?
Turkey is notably reluctant to join a military campaign against ISIS. In fact, Ankara’s ambiguity towards the radical Islamist group has deep political as well as historical roots.
With no mainstream media channel through which to communicate, Islamic State uses extreme acts of violence in order to attract global attention online, writes Lina Khatib.
Was the seizure of Tabaqa Airbase by Islamic State just a part of their overall expansion, or was there another motive at play?
An interview with Nicholas Krohley, author of ‘The Death of the Mehdi Army: Insurgency and Civil Society in Occupied Baghdad’ on Moqtada al-Sadr’s complex relationship with Iran.
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