Middle East

A Yazidi girl, recently rescued from Sinjar by the Iraqi Army, was resold by Daesh 12 times as a sex slave. She was kidnapped, beaten and raped by the militants for over three years. Sputnik correspondent spoke to her about her terrible ordeal.

A blast hit the Afghan province of Takhar amid the government's ongoing operation against the Taliban.

The US-supported alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias continue to advance in Syria after Raqqa's liberation.

Israeli law enforcement agents relied on Facebook automatic translation software when suspecting a Palestinian man of coordinating an attack with a bulldozer.

The Russian Defense Ministry "has questions" about the sudden move of the anti-Daesh coalition to help civilians in Raqqa.

Russian servicemen have saved Russian women and children from hot spots and prisons in Syria.

The military cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan prescribes strengthening of relations and holding joint drills.

Raqqa, which had been under the control of terrorists since 2014, was liberated on Friday by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Syria's central Homs province has been a battlefield in the recent weeks with Islamic radicals repeatedly trying to recapture the areas they had lost to the government forces.

The recent military activities in the area have been purely theatrical, with the US manipulating both the SDF and Daesh like puppets. Washington's goal is to set up a Kurdish enclave there and settle into the area for the long term, Turkish and Russian military analysts told Sputnik.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are mostly composed of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), have announced the complete liberation of Raqqa from Daesh with the support of the US. Syrian military analyst, Brigadier General Muhammad Isa, explained to Sputnik what the US might be really after in this area.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have targeted three Syrian artillery cannons following shelling allegedly carried out by The Syrian army, the IDF's press service said Saturday.

Presidents assessed the joint work within the Syrian peace talks, hosted in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana.

The area that has been reportedly hit by rockets in Kabul was so-called green zone which houses many foreign embassies.

The Department of State has issued a statement urging Iraq to restrict its military forces' movement in northern Iraq.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government approved a deal to sell the Israeli Navy three submarines costing up to $1 billion each, overcoming reservations about dealing with Israeli officials closely connected to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges.

Dozens of Egyptian security personnel died Friday while raiding a suspected Islamist insurgency hideout in the country's western desert. Fifty-four Egyptian police officers have died in the shootout, a security source told Sputnik.

France has always been actively involved in the Middle Eastern affairs and now after the US-led coalition declared that the Daesh stronghold, Raqqa, was freed from terrorists, the country decides to allocate funds of 15 Mln. euros for the restoration efforts.

Ankara's previous foreign strategy backed by the US has proven ineffective, Turkish commentators have told Sputnik, explaining how Russia's involvement in the Syrian war prompted Turkey to reconsider its policy and join the Russo-Iranian axis. While Ankara is not going to cut off its ties with the West and NATO, their mutual distrust is growing.

An Irishman has finally been freed after spending more than four years in prison in Egypt, having originally visited the country on a family summer holiday.