Free Republic

Biyara, controlled by militant Islamists until the US-led war, is wary of news that such groups may be returning. By Scott Peterson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor BIYARA, IRAQ - The merchant shuddered when told that Islamic militants of Ansar Al Islam - the Al Qaeda-backed group dispersed by American bombs last March - may be returning to Iraq. "If they come to my orchard, I will shoot them myself!" vows Shaho Abdulkarim, a merchant-smuggler with a perfect moustache. Such a visceral reaction is common in this village on Iraq's northeastern border with Iran, where Ansar imposed...

Summary Norwegian authorities are dropping charges against Mullah Krekar, the founder of Ansar al-Islam, who had been charged with conspiracy to murder his political foes in Iraq. He is to be deported to Iraq after the government is handed over to the Iraqis on June 30. Analysis A Norwegian court threw out charges against Mullah Krekar, the founder of militant Islamist group Ansar al-Islam, on June 15, citing insufficient evidence. Krekar had faced charges of conspiring to murder political rivals in Iraq. He has lived in Norway since 2003, despite an expulsion order. Now that he no longer faces trial,...

Twelve Turkish soldiers have died after being exposed to methane gas while searching a cave in northern Iraq, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence said. At least 19 personnel were exposed to the gas during the search and clear operation on Sunday, and immediately taken to hospital. By Monday, 12 had died, the ministry said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he received the news with "great sorrow" and extended his condolences to the soldiers' families and to the Turkish Armed Forces. Methane gas is not directly toxic, but can be deadly as it can become suffocating, especially in tight, enclosed...

A notorious Kurdish gangster has fled Turkey to avoid extradition on drug-trafficking charges, a Swedish prosecutor has told The National. Rawa Majid, 39, known as the Kurdish Fox, had been living in Turkey, where his citizenship protected him from being extradited to Sweden, and was widely accused of playing a major part in gang violence. Authorities had hoped Majid’s prosecution on forgery charges would result in his citizenship being revoked, allowing his return to Sweden. But Henrik Soderman, who submitted the first extradition request to Turkey, has now confirmed that Majid, who leads the Foxtrot Network of criminals, is no...

The government of Turkey offered a warm welcome to a delegation representing the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas on Wednesday, expressing support for its cause and accusing the government of Israel of “genocide” for engaging in self-defense operations against the group. Muhammad Ismail Darwish, the head of the Hamas Islamic “shura council,” met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara to “discuss developments in ceasefire negotiations and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. Darwish is one of the few remaining high-ranking leaders within Hamas after several Israeli operations targeting both the “political” and “military”...

The former mayor of Izmir, a stronghold of opposition to President Erdogan, along with 109 municipal officials from the Republican People's Party (CHP), were arrested on Tuesday on charges of corruption and misconduct. The party has rejected the accusations. There is a feeling of déjà vu in Turkey. After the publication of a political cartoon, which Turkish authorities said depicted the Prophet Muhammad, led to the arrest of four journalists on Monday, June 30, in Istanbul, authorities carried out a large-scale sweep in Izmir at dawn on Tuesday. Izmir, the country's third-largest city, is a bastion of the Republican People's...

Turkish authorities on Monday detained three cartoonists associated with the weekly magazine Leman following the publication of a satirical drawing that has ignited controversy and drawn condemnation from government officials and religious conservatives, Reuters reported. The illustration, widely seen as depicting Prophets Moses and Muhammad shaking hands above a scene of conflict, has been interpreted by many as a commentary on religious harmony amidst earthly strife. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya publicly announced the apprehension of cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan, sharing a video on X showing Pehlevan being taken into custody. "I once again curse those who try to sow discord by...

President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan quietly sought to arrange a meeting between senior U.S. and Iranian officials in Istanbul this week amid Israel's escalating war with Iran. But the effort collapsed when Iran's supreme leader — in hiding due to fears of assassination — couldn't be reached to approve it, according to three U.S. officials and a source with direct knowledge of the matter. -snip- Behind the scenes: Trump received a phone call from Erdoğan on Monday while meeting with G7 leaders in Canada. Erdoğan proposed hosting a meeting in Istanbul the next day between U.S. and...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed full confidence that Iran will emerge victorious amid rising tensions with Israel, calling the Netanyahu government the greatest threat to regional peace and stability. Speaking at an emergency summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan likened Israel’s current actions to those of Nazi Germany under Hitler, warning that Tel Aviv’s policies are setting the region—and the world—on fire. “We are confident that victory will be on Iran’s side,” Erdogan said, adding that “just as the spark ignited by Hitler 90 years ago set the world ablaze, Netanyahu’s...

The escalating Iran-Israel confrontation is quickly reaching “the point of no return,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday and announced plans by Ankara to boost production of medium- and long-range missiles so no country dares attack Turkey, sparking fears of a regional arms race. “Unfortunately, the genocide in Gaza and the conflict with Iran are quickly reaching the point of no return. This madness must end as soon as possible,” Erdogan said, warning the consequences could affect the region, Europe and Asia “for many years.”

The head of a dissident Iranian Kurdish movement has told Newsweek his group is urging the United States to foster contacts with opposition factions in the Islamic Republic to undermine and ultimately overthrow the government.While not seeking armed support, Komala Party of the Iranian Kurdistan Secretary-General Abdullah Mohtadi appealed to President Donald Trump to establish a relationship that would help set the conditions for the unraveling of the Iranian government...However, while generally supportive of the Kurdish cause in other countries, such as Iraq, Syria and Turkey, Mohtadi was reluctant to frame Komala's current goals as being linked to the long-sought...

Syria’s new government will relocate ISIS families from camps, with Kurdish and US support. The new Syrian transitional government is seeking to find a way to deal with thousands of ISIS families who have been housed at camps in eastern Syria since ISIS was defeated in Syria in 2019. When ISIS was defeated in several villages near the Euphrates River in 2019, some of the terrorist group chose to surrender, and thousands of families of ISIS fighters ended up in the hands of the US-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The thousands of families were sent to several camps and detention facilities...

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq has formalized two major energy agreements with U.S. firms HKN Energy and WesternZagros in Washington, D.C., Kurdish media reported on Monday, in deals valued at a combined $110 billion, despite a legal showdown with the federal government of Iraq over control of the country’s oil exports... ...The deals were formalized during KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani's official visit to the United States this week... ...Washington has been advocating for the resumption of Kurdish oil exports, which have been stalled since March 2023 due to legal disputes and pipeline shutdowns. Washington's push aims...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the Syrian transitional authority may be weeks away from potential collapse and full-scale civil war, defending US President Donald Trump's decision to lift Syria sanctions and to engage with the Damascus government. "It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they're facing, are maybe weeks, not many months, away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up," Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Donald Trump has said his administration is now exploring the possibility of normalising relations with Syria - his comments coming shortly after he met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose forces ended the decades-long dictatorship of the Assad family. The extraordinary encounter, unthinkable just months ago, was short but significant. "I think he has got the potential," Trump remarked after his meeting in Riyadh, 37 minutes long, with the former Syrian fighter formerly linked to Al-Qaeda. The $10m US bounty on his head was only lifted in December. Video footage of their conversation in a lavish Saudi royal palace showed...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Trump urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to sign the Abraham Accords in a previously unplanned meeting on Wednesday, one day after lifting all sanctions on the Middle Eastern country. The two leaders met on the sidelines of a Gulf Cooperation Council gathering in Riyadh, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan phoning into the conversation. Syria currently doesn’t recognize Israel’s statehood, and the Abraham Accords were just one of Trump’s requests to Syria in an effort to normalize relations. Trump also told the Syrian leader to make all foreign terrorists leave Syria, deport Palestinian terrorists, help...

...The Turkish foreign ministry called on both parties to "exercise common sense and refrain from unilateral actions."They added, "We expect that measures will be taken to reduce tensions in the region as soon as possible and that the necessary mechanisms, including in the field of counter-terrorism, will be put in place to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. We also support Pakistan's call for an investigation into the 22 April terrorist attack."...Azerbaijan also issued a statement soon after the attack, condemning violence against Pakistan.In their statement they said, "The Republic of Azerbaijan expresses its concern over the further escalation of...

Transcript linked to video, chock full of on-scene video footage.

A Turkish national and doctoral student at Tufts University has been detained by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents without explanation, her lawyer said Wednesday. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, had just left her home in Somerville on Tuesday night when she was stopped, lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai said in a petition filed in Boston federal court. Video obtained by The Associated Press appears to show six people, their faces covered, taking away Ozturk’s phone as she yells and is handcuffed. “We’re the police,” members of the group are heard saying in the video. A man is heard asking, “Why are you hiding...

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION On March 25, 1821, fueled by the rallying cry, “Freedom or Death,” Greek revolutionaries began a war for independence against the Ottoman Empire. The hard-fought victory established a sovereign Greek state and a national homeland for Greece. On the 204th anniversary of Greek Independence Day, we honor this heroic fight for freedom, and the enduring democratic ideals that continue to inspire the world. America is inextricably tied to both ancient and modern Greece. We are tethered by history and tradition, the struggle for self-governance, emancipation, and rebirth. Our Founding...