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Fallujah

Passengers walk on a platform before boarding a train to Fallujah.

Iraq gets on board with new rail service to Fallujah through former ISIS territory

Development

At Baghdad’s grand but half-empty railway station, a single train is sputtering to life. It is the newly revived daily service to Fallujah, a dusty town to the west once infamous as a Sunni insurgent stronghold.

Iraqi counterterrorism forces pose for a picture in Fallujah, Iraq.

PHOTOS: Iraqi security forces retake Fallujah from ISIS militants

Conflict
Families fleeing violence in northern wait at a checkpoint on the edge of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. Half-a-million people are believed to have fled the city of Mosul in 24 hours.

Why Iraq may be headed for an all-out sectarian war

Conflict & Justice

Insurgents are in a standoff with Iraqi forces over control of Fallujah

Conflict & Justice
U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Michael Oliver Ray, on a search operation in Fallujah, Iraq in December 2004. An American offensive at the time came to be known as "The Second Battle of Fallujah."

For Iraq war veterans, the new fighting in Fallujah brings up memories and frustration

Global Politics
Yasser Faisal al-Jumaili during the battle of Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2004.

A journalist killed in Syria is remembered for his keen eye

Conflict & Justice

More than 60 journalists have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in 2011. Among the most recent is Iraqi journalist Yasser Faisal al-Julaimi, who was killed last month by Islamic extremists. Baghdad-based reporter Jane Arraf knew Yasser well and recalls his keen sense of beauty.

A boy holds up his Kalashnikov rifle on the streets of Ramadi, Monday. He's part of a tribal militia being raised to take part in the fighting between the Iraqi government and al-Qaeda linked militants. His militia appears to be on the government side at

A former US military leader has advice for Iraq on fighting al-Qaeda in Fallujah

Conflict & Justice

Violence is spreading in Iraq’s western Anbar province engulfing two key cities — Fallujah and Ramadi. Many Americans remember Fallujah and Anbar province as places where US soldiers fought and died. Retired US Army Colonel Peter Mansoor knows the area well and says the US government should re-engage.

Fighters of the 'Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria' parading through the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, last Thursday. The next day ISIS fighters were surprised by a concerted attack by other Syrian rebel groups. Dozens were killed.

A powerful al-Qaeda group is fighting in both Iraq and Syria

Conflict & Justice

It’s been quite a week for an al-Qaeda spin-off called ISIS. Last week, ISIS took over Fallujah in Iraq. But it seems some of the local Sunni tribes abandoned the group and have joined government forces fighting against al-Qaeda. Then, rebel groups in Syria combined to attack ISIS there. Borzou Daragahi of the Financial Times explains the politics that work for and against ISIS.

July day in Australia

If you are cold today, think warm thoughts … or head to Australia

Global Scan

Just as the US and Canada face record cold temperatures this week, Australia is hitting record highs — up to 121 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, China says its women should stop turning their breast milk into novelty soaps, Saudi Arabia gets its first female law firm, and an American designer may be the world’s greatest diamond counterfeiter. All that and more, in today’s Global Scan.

California professor leading project to get Vietnamese immigrant to tell their own story

An oral history project at the University of California, Irvine, seeks to help Vietnamese American students connect with their elders and, along the way, document the stories of life for Vietnamese immigrants to the United States, before and after their trip.