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Sameer N. Yacoub
US Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the opening session of the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, February 17, 2015. (photo credit: AFP/SAUL LOEB)
May 26, 2015, 3:09 am
Biden calms Iraq after Pentagon head questioned army’s ‘will to fight’
VP thanks Iraq’s prime minister for ‘enormous sacrifice, bravery’ of his troops in fight against Islamic State after Carter criticizes ally
By KEVIN FREKING and Sameer N. Yacoub
Syrians walking in the ancient oasis city of Palmyra on March 14, 2014. (AFP/Joseph Eid)
May 20, 2015, 6:59 pm
IS seizes part of ancient Syrian town of Palmyra
Jihadists’ advance raises fear that group will destroy World Heritage Site that tradition says was built by Solomon
By Zeina Karam and Sameer N. Yacoub
In this Monday, May 18, 2015 photo, civilians fleeing their hometown of Ramadi, Iraq, pull over their truck at a police checkpoint as they drive through Habaniyah town, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Baghdad. (AP)
May 20, 2015, 12:43 am
Iraq struggles with sectarian politics after Ramadi fall
Shiite-led government meets opposition after renewing commitment to arm Sunni tribesmen in effort to retake city from IS
By Sinan Salaheddin and Sameer N. Yacoub
Civilians flee their hometown of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar province, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Monday, May 18, 2015. Islamic State militants searched door-to-door for policemen and pro-government fighters and threw bodies in the Euphrates River in a bloody purge Monday after capturing the strategic city of Ramadi, their biggest victory since overrunning much of northern and western Iraq last year. (AP)
May 19, 2015, 3:40 am
IS fighters hunt for collaborators after taking Iraqi city
As thousands flee Ramadi, Shiite militiamen muster to help prepare bid to retake city, stoking fears of sectarian bloodshed in Sunni region
By Sinan Salaheddin and Sameer N. Yacoub
In this Saturday, May 16, 2015 photo, Iraqis fleeing from their hometown of Ramadi, Iraq, walk on a street near the Bzebiz bridge, 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
May 18, 2015, 7:05 pm
Islamic State killed hundreds as it took Iraq’s Ramadi
Death toll of civilians and soldiers at 500; at least 8,000 flee after jihadists seize city
By Sameer N. Yacoub and Sinan Salaheddin
Iraqi security forces stand guard as residents from the city of Ramadi, who fled their homes to escape an advance by Islamic State group forces, wait to cross Bzeibez bridge, May 16, 2015 (AFP/ SABAH ARAR)
May 17, 2015, 11:20 pm
Contested Iraqi city of Ramadi falls to Islamic State
Jihadists sweep away defenses, government forces abandon their weapons, ignoring PM’s order to stand their ground
By Sameer N. Yacoub
A member of the Iraqi security forces aims his weapon to attack Islamic State group militants on al-Houz bridge on the Euphrates river in Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, April 24, 2015. (Photo credit: AP)
April 25, 2015, 3:07 pm
Iraqi army battles Islamic State near Fallujah
Militants parade officer, 3 soldiers allegedly captured in the fighting in a pickup truck
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub
In this Monday, April 20, 2015 photo, a Sunni fighter stands on the frontline, just a kilometer away from the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group, in northern Iraq. The Sunni fighters, part of the al-Lehib tribe, are fighting some of their own tribe members who joined the Islamic State group. (Photo credit: AP/Bram Janssen)
April 22, 2015, 3:57 pm
Sunni tribesmen fight their own after breaking with IS group
‘At first we welcomed them, but then they started killing our own people,’ tribal leader says of Islamic State
By Bram Janssen and Sameer N. Yacoub
Islamic State fighters prepare to execute Coptic Christians in Libya, in a video released by the terror group's media arm, on Sunday, April 19 2015. (Screen capture: Dailymotion)
April 19, 2015, 5:26 pm
UN: 90,000 people flee Islamic State advance in western Iraq
‘Top priority is delivering life-saving assistance — food, water and shelter,’ says UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq
By Sameer N. Yacoub
Iraqi security forces deploy in Tikrit, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
April 2, 2015, 2:57 am
Iraq hails victory over Islamic State extremists in Tikrit
US sees reversal for IS as evidence its aerial bombardment strategy is working
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub
An Iraqi soldier prepares to launch rockets during clashes between Islamic State group fighters and a coalition of combatants made up of the Iraqi army and pro-government fighters, including the Al-Abbas Fighting Division, as they take part in a military operation to retake the area of Sayed Ghareeb, near Dujail, some 70 kilometers north of Baghdad on January 2, 2015. (AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED SAWAF)
March 9, 2015, 4:39 am
Iraqis living under IS rule fear liberation means reprisals
As Iran-backed Shiite militias push into Sunni-majority areas held by terror group, residents expect the worst
By Sameer N. Yacoub and MUHANAD AL-SALEH
In this July 27, 2005 file photo, the face of a woman stares down at visitors in the Hatra ruins, 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraq's minister of tourism and antiquities told The Associated Press, Saturday, March 7, 2015, that the government is investigating reports that the ancient archaeological site of Hatra in northwestern Iraq is being demolished by militants from the Islamic State group (photo credit: AP Photo/Antonio Castaneda)
March 7, 2015, 8:00 pm
IS destroying Iraq’s ancient archaeological city of Hatra
Day after bulldozing Nimrud in purge of idolatry, terror group targets UNESCO heritage site that withstood invasion by the Romans
By Sameer N. Yacoub
Pro-Iraqi government fighters take part in an operation to secure an area they seized from the Islamic State (IS) militants, December 29, 2014. (photo credit: AFP/ MOHAMMED SAWAF)
February 21, 2015, 10:12 am
Iraqis worry they won’t be ready for Mosul operation
US says it wants an operation to retake the key city in April, but Iraqi officials say they are not receiving enough arms
By Lolita C. Baldor and Sameer N. Yacoub
Demonstrators chant slogans to support ISIL as they carry flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, on June 16, 2014. (photo credit: AP)
January 26, 2015, 11:32 am
‘Sleeper cells’ fighting Islamic State in Iraq
Former soldiers, policemen in Mosul providing government with intel from inside territory held by jihadist group
By Sameer N. Yacoub
Illustrative photo of a Kurdish peshmerga fighter (AP/Zana Ahmed)
December 19, 2014, 7:43 pm
Iraq clashes with IS delay evacuation of Yazidis
Peshmerga partially break siege on Sinjar mountain, deliver food, aid to persecuted minority group
By Sameer N. Yacoub
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