Turkey not cool with U.S. forces wearing Kurdish insignia for Raqqa offensive

Turkey not cool with U.S. forces wearing Kurdish insignia for Raqqa offensive

by WorldTribune Staff, May 27, 2016 It is not acceptable for U.S. soldiers to wear the insignia of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) when embedded with the Kurdish fighters, a Turkish official said. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said photos showing U.S. special operations forces wearing the YPG insignia on their shoulders during operations against […]

Like Hamas, ISIL using human shields as Kurdish forces advance on Raqqa

Like Hamas, ISIL using human shields as Kurdish forces advance on Raqqa

by WorldTribune Staff, May 25, 2016 Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is mimicking a tactic long used by Hamas in the Gaza Strip by using residents of its de facto capital in Syria as human shields. The tactic is complicating efforts of a Kurdish-Arab alliance to drive the terrorists out of Raqqa, a […]

Kurdish forces launch major attack on capital city of ISIL’s ‘caliphate’

Kurdish forces launch major attack on capital city of ISIL’s ‘caliphate’

by WorldTribune Staff, May 24, 2016 A force of 50,000 Kurdish and Arab fighters have launched a major offensive aimed at driving Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) from its de facto “capital” of Raqqa, Syria. An alliance led and dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) along with fighters from the Syrian Democratic […]

Kurds declare federal region in Syria, sparking multilateral backlash

Kurds declare federal region in Syria, sparking multilateral backlash

Special to WorldTribune.com Syria’s Kurds on March 17 declared areas under their control a federal region, sparking an immediate backlash from Syria’s government, Turkey and the United States. More than 150 delegates from Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian and other parties meeting in Syria agreed to create a “federal system” unifying territory run by Kurds across several northern Syrian provinces. […]

Turkish military strikes Syrian regime targets near Aleppo

Turkish military strikes Syrian regime targets near Aleppo

Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey’s military carried out attacks on Kurdish and Syrian regime targets in Aleppo province on Feb. 13, reports said. Turkish forces shelled Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) targets near the town of Azaz, and also responded to fire from Syrian regime forces on a military guard post in Turkey’s southern Hatay […]

Kurdish forces capture strategic air base in northern Syria

Kurdish forces capture strategic air base in northern Syria

Special to WorldTribune.com Kurdish forces have seized a key strategic airbase in Syria’s Aleppo province. Backed by Arab rebel allies, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) drove Islamists and other rebel fighters from the Minnigh air base and the adjacent town, which are located north of Syria’s second city Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human […]

Reports: U.S. forces take control of Syrian air base

Reports: U.S. forces take control of Syrian air base

Special to WorldTribune.com U.S. special forces have taken control of an air base in northeastern Syria, according to reports. The facility, near the city of Rmeilan in Hasakah province, is the first U.S.-controlled air base in Syria. A spokesperson for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the base was handed over to the U.S. to […]

Post-Paris response: U.S. special forces to arrive in Syria ‘very soon’

Post-Paris response: U.S. special forces to arrive in Syria ‘very soon’

Special to WorldTribune.com United States special forces will arrive in Syria “very soon,” in the first deployment of U.S. ground troops since the coalition to fight Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) was formed. “This is focused on isolating the capital of ISIL in Raqqa,” U.S. special envoy Brett McGurk said on CBS’s “Face […]

Victorious Erdogan regime in Turkey steps up attacks on Kurdish forces fighting ISIL

Victorious Erdogan regime in Turkey steps up attacks on Kurdish forces fighting ISIL

Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey’s military has intensified its attacks on Kurdish forces in both Syria and Iraq. Ankara’s forces have recently attacked People’s Protection Units (YPG) positions in northern Syria and launched air strikes on Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq. Experts say the recent landslide election victory has emboldened President Recep Tayyip […]

U.S.-backed Kurdish-rebel alliance says assault on ISIL imminent

U.S.-backed Kurdish-rebel alliance says assault on ISIL imminent

Special to WorldTribune.com A group of Kurdish rebels who are part of the U.S.-backed alliance in Syria said on Oct. 29 that they would soon launch an offensive on Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’s (ISIL’s) main stronghold in Raqqa province. In a video posted on YouTube, the Raqqa Revolutionaries Front, one of several rebel […]