Aug 24 Watch 8:18 In the fight against ISIS, Kurds seek chance to govern themselves By PBS News Hour Perhaps the most effective force in the battle to retake Raqqa from the Islamic State are the fighters without a home state. Ethnic Kurds, both men and women, form the backbone of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and see the… Continue watching
Aug 22 Mattis in Baghdad to meet with Iraqi leaders, U.S. commanders By Robert Burns, Associated Press Islamic State militants, driven from their main stronghold in northern Iraq, are trapped in a military vise that will squeeze them on both sides of the Syria-Iraq border, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said. Continue reading
Aug 19 U.S. says Iraqi forces ready for next battle against Islamic State extremists By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Senior U.S. military leaders said Friday that Iraqi forces are largely set for their next major campaign against Islamic State extremists. Continue reading
Aug 18 PHOTOS: How Syrian kids play and cool off outside war zones By Larisa Epatko While Syrian Democratic Forces battle Islamic State militants in Raqqa, children outside the besieged city still find a way to have their own fun. Continue reading
Aug 16 Watch 10:26 Syrians try to salvage life from the wreckage of Raqqa By PBS News Hour At the outskirts of Raqqa, amid death and destruction, there are signs of life -- and hope. Tens of thousands of Syrian families are living in rubble, forced to flee the grueling fight against the Islamic State in the militant… Continue watching
Aug 16 Column: Why I can't stop thinking about the children of Syria By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon The kids were everywhere -- full of joy, full of spirit, full of exhaustion. Full of life. And they both inspired and broke my heart. Continue reading
Aug 07 Watch 5:55 Novelist explores borderlands and gray areas of the Syrian war By PBS News Hour In "Dark at the Crossing," the upheavals and horrors of the Syrian civil war are given fictional life, centered in the border zone between Syria and Turkey. Author Elliot Ackerman is a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan… Continue watching
Aug 07 Watch 7:53 ISIS 'radically shrinking' amid U.S.-supported campaigns. Here's why By PBS News Hour At the end of a brutal campaign to retake Mosul in Iraq, and as the fight for Raqqa continues, where does the battle against the Islamic State stand? Judy Woodruff speaks with Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, who says the… Continue watching
Aug 07 WATCH VIDEO: Trump's decision to delegate is 'key difference' in gains against ISIS, special envoy says By Larisa Epatko “The rapid turn in decision-making is something that is new and is actually causing us to act with great efficiency and seizing some key opportunities,” U.S. special envoy Brett McGurk said on Monday's PBS NewsHour. Continue reading
Aug 03 President Trump grudgingly signs Russia sanctions bill By Vivian Salama and Richard Lardner, Associated Press Dealt a striking congressional rebuke, Donald Trump grudgingly signed what he called a "seriously flawed" package of sanctions against Russia, bowing for the moment to resistance from both parties to his push for warmer ties with Moscow. Continue reading