Tracey Shelton

The Islamic State Is Quickly Losing Local Support

When IS first made inroads in Iraq, it didn’t enforce its most stringent policies. Now, the group is blowing up sacred shrines, and Sunni residents are re-evaluating their prior support of the extremists.

August 19th, 2014

By Tracey Shelton

The Islamic State Is Quickly Losing Local Support

KIRKUK, Iraq — When the Islamic State and a band of local Sunni militants took the city of Mosul in June, local resident Aiala was happy. Being a devout Muslim, she said it angered her when women would walk in the streets dressed “immodestly.” She hoped Islamic rule would bring “morality” to Mosul. Recently, she

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Obama Says He Authorized Airstrikes In Iraq, Speaks Of ‘Genocide’

The president said aid and possible strikes are intended to counter gains by Islamic militants and save the lives of persecuted minorities.

August 08th, 2014

By Tracey Shelton and
Lizzy Tomei

ERBIL, Iraq — President Barack Obama said in a statement to the nation on Thursday evening that he has authorized airstrikes in Iraq. Obama said the US is also running a humanitarian operation in northern Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi government, to aid tens of thousands of

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Is This The Man Who Broke Iraq?

Sunni dissenters blame Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the fall of northern Iraq to the jihadists. But some also say the US shares the blame.

July 29th, 2014

By Tracey Shelton

KIRKUK, Iraq — Support for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is fading fast as Iran last week added its voice to international and domestic calls for his resignation. In a letter read by one of his aides on Friday, supreme Shia cleric Ayatullah Ali

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You’ve Heard About ISIS. You Haven’t Heard About These Guys

While the Islamic State, previously known as ISIS or ISIL (for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), is the group the media associate with the Sunni uprising in Iraq, they are in reality one of six main groups that make up the coalition that seized control of a large chunk of western and central Iraq last month.

July 22nd, 2014

By Tracey Shelton

KIRKUK, Iraq — Doctor Sadoon al Obeidi used to be a member of the Mujahadeen Army, a Sunni militant group founded in Iraq a decade ago. Now he fights alongside the Islamic State — the extremist group that split off from Al Qaeda earlier this year and has swept through

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The Kurds Move Closer To Independence

Many Kurds who have longed dreamt of independence are eager to vote. Others worry a referendum could further destabilize the region.

July 07th, 2014

By Tracey Shelton

KIRKUK, Iraq — As Iraqi Kurdish president Massoud Barzani asked legislators to prepare for an independence referendum Thursday, dozens of Kurds in the region's capital Erbil

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Life Under ISIL Rule

Initially, ISIL got a warm welcome in Mosul and elsewhere. But everyone braced for a backlash.

July 01st, 2014

By Tracey Shelton

KIRKUK, Iraq — Shortly after Al Qaeda-inspired militants swept across northern Iraq, civilians in Mosul and its surrounds said they were ready to try

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War Drives More Than Half Of Syria’s Students From School, Into ‘Black Hole’

Hopelessness creeps in amid a range of peril including bombing, gunfire, arrest, torture, execution, military conscription and a growing national economic crisis.

April 18th, 2014

By Tracey Shelton

ANTAKYA, Turkey — Entering her final year at Aleppo University, Hiba Obied was full of confidence. Like university students everywhere, she dreamed of a bright future full of opportunities, hard work and success. An important round of exams was set to begin last January, and Obied said the university was brimming with nervous students. “We

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