SYRIA

Blast happened at a checkpoint near recently liberated Deir el-Zour where locals were awaiting passage into Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) territory.

Hours after the Syrian army liberated the city of Deir al-Zour from Isis, came the news that Iraqi forces had entered al-Qaim.

Three years after its emergence, Isis has been progressively losing territories in both Syria and Iraq, leading most of its members to break ranks and abandon the group.

A six-month pregnant American teenager, who was taken to Syria against her will by her father, is set to return home to Kansas.

The bride wore white, the female guests wore colourful clothes, and men and women danced together as music rang out across the war-ravaged Jazra area of the city of Raqqa.

Mohamad Khweis found life in Syrian and Iraq distasteful and escaped after a few months. He surrendered in northern Iraq to Kurdish forces, who broadcast his capture around the world.

Jac Holmes, 24, had been fighting alongside Kurdish troops to force the Muslim extremists from their stronghold in Raqqa.

Photos of the shattered Syrian city of Raqqa after a fierce four-month battle to expel Islamic State (Isis/Daesh).

Al-Omar oilfield is located in the east bank of the Euphrates River in eastern Deir ez-Zor province.

Even at these taxing times, the urge only to punish has to be curbed. If it isn't, a liberal democracy will become an elected autocracy. And then no one is safe.

A steady stream of Syria-focused rhetoric from Al-Qaeda shows that the organization has not at all given up on Syria, but is rather trying to reestablish itself.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced they have defeated Islamic State (Isis, Daesh) in its former capital after a four-month battle.

Raqqa has witnessed intensified fighting as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by a US-led coalition, started a campaign to recapture the city in June.

A refugee camp in Aïn Issa, a town 50km from Raqqa, is hosting families of fighters while coalition forces continue to gain territory in the former Isis stronghold.

Final battle for Raqqa underway as Isis left isolated and with dwindling supplies in its last enclaves within the Syrian city, once the Islamic caliphate's de facto capital.

A 15-year-old girl told a CBS News reporter that her radicalised father forced her into Isis territory five years ago. Both her father and her Isis fighter husband have died.

The 'White Widow' Sally Jones, 50, who was a recruiter for Isis has been killed in a drone strike near the Syrian border, the Sun has reported. She was Britain's most wanted woman.

The Nato allies are drifting apart when the West needs Turkey to be close, and it's tragic for both sides.

Iraqi troops and Shia militia have recaptured Hawija, the last Isis stronghold in northern Iraq. Now comes another crisis for Iraq and its neighbours: Kurdish independence.

The team's success has left many Syrians feeling conflicted due to its strong ties with President Assad.

Iraqi forces and Shia paramilitaries have entered the town of Hawija, one of just two pockets of territory still under control of Islamic State (Isis/Daesh) in Iraq.