Iraq
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Interview with a survivor of the Suruc attack
"All we want is freedom"
The faces of the 31 members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) killed in the attack on 20 July still gaze down from banners strung around the courtyard of the Amara Culture Centre where the bomb was detonated. Inside, surrounded by broken windows, sits Adnan, a 25-year-old Kurd, who describes the IS terrorism that drove him out of Kobani, only to catch up with him across the border in Suruc. Fabian Kohler spoke to him about the attack
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Interview with Wilfried Buchta on the rise of IS and the fall of Iraq
"Iraq is irreversibly split"
In his new book, "Terror vor Europas Toren" (Terror at the Gates of Europe), Wilfried Buchta analyses the reasons for the rise of the jihadist militia of the self-styled "Islamic State" and the disintegration of the Iraqi state. Ulrich von Schwerin spoke to Buchta, a scholar of Islam, who worked as a UN analyst in Baghdad for many years about the future of the nation
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Book review: "The Islam Quintet" by Tariq Ali
A wonderful reminder of Islam's contribution to world culture
Nearly 20 years in the writing, Tariq Ali's "The Islam Quintet" has just been reissued, redesigned and made available as a complete set by Verso Books. Written in response to a comment heard by the author during the first Gulf War suggesting Muslim's have no culture, the five books dip in and out of history disproving this proposition. Not only does the quintet successfully display the depth and variety of Islamic culture, it provides readers with a perspective on world events we rarely experience. By Richard Marcus
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The Kurdish conflict
Barzani in a tight spot
Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, wants rid of the PKK. Demanding that the group leaves the Qandil Mountains is a politically calculated move. But the Iraqi Kurds are not united in this view: another leading Iraqi Kurd politician and former Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, wants the PKK to stay. An analysis by Birgit Svensson in Erbil
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Turkish military operations against IS and the PKK
Erdogan's double strategy
After years of hesitancy, Turkey has begun launching airstrikes on IS positions in Syria. At the same time, Ankara has also deployed its air force against fighters with the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Analysts suspect that President Erdogan is now pursuing a strategy all his own. By Cigdem Akyol in Istanbul
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Kurds in Iraq
When hope turns to fear
By extending its airstrikes against the terror organisation IS to include Kurdish militant PKK targets, Turkey risks escalating conflict with other Kurdish groups in the region. The Iraqi Kurds are worried. By Birgit Svensson in Irbil
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The IS manifesto for women
Baiting the jihadi brides
It is not only men who are joining the ranks of "Islamic State", women are too. Many are being encouraged to do so by the manifesto of the IS women's brigade al-Khansaa, which has been translated into English and German. Primarily aimed at Muslim women with limited education, the IS ideal is not very far removed from role models that prevailed in conservative social strata in the West until well into the twentieth century. By Stefan Weidner
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After the attack in Suruc
Turkey fighting on two fronts
After a decade of relative calm, terror has returned to Turkey. The country has now decided to fight this terror on two flanks simultaneously. According to Rainer Hermann, this escalation could have been avoided
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Interview with "Der Spiegel" reporter Christoph Reuter
The strategists of terror
At present, IS is the most dangerous terrorist militia in the world. It controls a territory that stretches from north-eastern Syria to western Iraq, including almost all Syrian oil and gas fields. Igal Avidan spoke to Christoph Reuter (correspondent for the German weekly news magazine "Der Spiegel") about the ascent of IS
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After the upheaval in the Arab world
Escalating wars
The violence unleashed in Arab countries in the last four years may turn out to be just a first taste of what is to come. Escalating brutality and the actions of governments have put Arab citizens under immense pressure. Without a change of course, the outcome could easily be further conflict and a new wave of uprisings – this time not peaceful. By Maha Yahya
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One year of IS in Iraq
The caliphate is a reality
One year ago, Islamic State began its triumphal march through Iraq. The capture of the province Anbar played a key role in this advance. Birgit Svensson in Baghdad looks back on a year of IS in Iraq
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Interview with Middle East expert Michael Luders
"Homs is likely to be IS's next target"
With the occupation of Ramadi and the ancient yet symbolic city of Palmyra, Islamic State (IS) now has control over about half of Syria. According to Middle East expert Michael Luders, an end to its advance is not in sight because IS knows that the US is reluctant to send in ground troops. Interview conducted by Peter Hille