Unlike Palmyra, the heart of the Assyrian empire has been reduced to rubble

US president’s order to ‘track and slay’ jihadi group’s leaders signals turnabout in policy

Republican gets flurry of congratulatory calls, as some worry about his anti-Islam remarks

Warning Turkey could annex north if solution not found before end-of-year deadline

Analysis: Turkish intervention complicates two-stage offensive by Kurdish-Arab SDF

The country’s system creates power-sharing among the main confessional communities

Two-thirds of those polled in nine Arab countries said they viewed US negatively

Election by parliament will end 2½ years of caretaker government and no head of state

Analysis: Scores of villagers used as human shields and oil wells set alight

Iraq’s second largest city has been under the control of Islamic State since June 2014

Amnesty report claims displaced Sunni Arabs subjected to human rights violations

The city is Baghdad’s chief strategic, political and economic objective in the struggle for Iraq

Some of the displaced population of the now empty town of Daraya have recently moved into newly built UN housing in Harjileh,(...)

Damascus and Moscow are concerned about the foreign policy of next US president

UN programme brings traders back to battle-scarred 4,000 year-old Syrian souk

In Damascus, Homs, Hama, and coastal cities, Syrians live as normally as they can

City’s recapture would put 70% of population back under Damascus government control

Analysis: US failure to persuade allies to break links to Al-Qaeda-linked group is key issue

Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society has lost 54 staff and volunteers in six-year conflict

For the first time in nearly 30 years, Iranians are not joining the annual Hajj pilgrimage

Incursion prevents Kurds from uniting and pushes jihadists from border areas

Figure nearly double the number previously given by UN and could be much higher

Damascus suburb significant as one of first areas to protest against Bashar al-Assad

Struggle for power around Turkish-Syrian border is becoming fraught amid Isis rout

Country has joined Russia and Iran in supporting the Syrian government in war

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura says no convoys have reached certain cities for 110 days

Operation to wrest control of Islamic State stronghold marked by careful planning

Turkey blocks efforts of largely Kurdish Democratic Forces to capture border town

Russia is calling the shots in Syria as it works to strengthen its links with Turkey

If east-west territorial status quo remains neither side gains leverage in Geneva talks

It could see end to conflict or its spread to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and wider Middle East

Insurgents stage largest offensive against government forces since fight for city began

Analysis: Fundamentalist faction is less under threat than its rival Islamic State

Talks ‘poisoned’ by Turkish prime minister’s statement on Greek Cypriots

Human Rights Watch report finds male guardianship one of worst curbs on females

The Turkish government is expected to make a clean sweep of dissidents after the failed coup

Turkish president has become increasingly autocratic since being elected in 2013

Isis targets civilians and tries to stir sectarian strife amid onslaught in Syria and Iraq

Thirteen years after the US-British invasion, we are still reaping a whirlwind of violence

Islamic State bombings during holy month goes against the teachings of the Koran

149 people dead and 192 injured after Islamic State bombers targeted Karrada district

‘A Heavy Price for Children’ report finds serious risk of death, violence and abduction

UNHCR says €15m urgently needed to provide relief supplies to 85,000 in desert camps

Isis ‘has subjected every Yazidi woman, child or man it has captured to the most horrific of atrocities’

White House keeps Prince Mohamed bin Salman in suspense on Washington visit

Thousands in Iraq are risking their lives to reach army lines on a protected corridor

Al-Qaeda Central leader and Osama bin-Laden’s son call for jihadists to unite

Iraq’s post-US occupation army is sectarian with Sunnis excluded as officers and soldiers

Preoccupation of Damascus, Moscow and Washington withn battle against Islamic State has allowed ceasefire to break down

Analysis: Iraq’s prime minister needs to retake the city to maintain the support of Shias

Neither Russian military nor Syria’s coastal enclave is secure from attack

UN has only reached one-third of the 180,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition

International Syria Support Group meeting in Vienna, but little hope of political settlement

Extreme inflation and shortages take a toll on cities in Iraq and Syria occupied by Isis

Loss of manufacturing hub would constitute a significant reversal for government forces

The marriage of Megha and Savan is steeped in ritual and spirituality

Analysis: The country needs to move away from politics based on religion and ethnicity

UN warns Syrian ceasefire ‘hangs by thread’ after heavy casualties in Aleppo attack

Islamic State claims responsibility for hospital suicide bombing in which 15 die

Unicef and other groups in Damascus slowly win the trust of people who need their help

Delegations to focus on political transition, governance and constitutional principles

Syrian capital is finally at ease after years of siege, but cash is tight and corruption rife

Islamic State has been driven out of Al-Qaryatain – a ruin ‘where nothing is left’

While Isis did a lot of damage to heritage, reconstruction may be achieved by 2021

Syrian city has had many conquerors, but none as brutal or destructive as Islamic State

Nicos Anastasiades praises police for their efforts in ensuring safety of all on board

Assad’s troops also strategically in position to cut Isis capital off from Iraq

Military and financial pressures are hitting the group which has lost 20% of territory

Coalition wants to help highly-qualified refugees fill jobs that Turks do not want

Damascus and main opposition coalition still poles apart

Syrian government dismisses declaration by Kurdish Democratic Union party

Move comes as Kurds announce plan for federal state in northern Syria

UN secretary general says consequences for talks’ failure ‘too frightening to contemplate’

Military leverage brought to Syrian battlefield disappears just as crucial talks begin

Russian maneouvre unnerves UN delegates as talks to end five-year conflict begin

UN mediator Staffan de Mistura says peace talks are the sole viable option for Syria

Role of president Bashar al-Assad is main point of contention between factions

Children being brutalised and indoctrinated in Isis ideology at training camps

Decision eases concern about boycott of UN-mediated talks to end five-year conflict

Riyadh cancels €3.6 billion grant for buying arms

Syrian army focus shifts to Isis-held Raqqa to pre-empt US-led coalition ground operations

Opposition representing 100 armed factions says it will observe two-week truce

Near simultaneous explosions occurred at a marketplace near three primary schools

John Kerry says hostilities could end ‘in days’ as he agrees ceasefire terms with Lavrov

Class resentment and drought fuelled conflict, which grew in to a proxy war

Analysis: US co-operation means humanitarian aid can be delivered, and ceasefires may hold

Wresting control of city from various factions key to Assad’s bid for legitimacy

Analysis: Blame for derailed negotiations is being passed between the powers involved

John Ging outlines humanitarian challenge ahead of London summit to raise money for Syria

UN human rights chief calls for ‘no amnesty’ for war crimes or crimes against humanity

Ban Ki-moon calls on all parties to put Syrian people ‘at the heart of their discussions’

UN envoy chides Riyadh-based opposition for boycotting negotiations in Geneva to end war

Analysis: Crisis might have been resolved in 2011 if US president had not intervened

Long-awaited negotiations to end the five-year war in Syria begin in Geneva today

Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Council will be included at a ‘later stage’

Humanitarian officials say priority must be given to the humanitarian situation in talks

Multilateral meetings in Geneva expected to last six months, with ceasefire a priority

In spite of Morsi’s abuse of power in wake of the 2011 revolution, idealism still exists

Deadlock remains over Saudi demand to be sole representative of Syrian opposition

Falling oil revenues among the causes of terror group’s increasing financial distress