Alice Fordham

The Harrier Jump Jet is known for vertical take-offs and landings. It also has an accident-prone track record, but that didn't dissuade one pilot from buying his dream plane.

The militant group that calls itself the Islamic State have begun a new round of fighting with the Syrian regime, surrounding a base outside its stronghold in Raqqa and launching offe...

As the Middle East froths with blood — from Iraq to Syria to the Gaza Strip — a commemorative set of three stamps depicting Syrian President Bashar Assad may not seem hugely relevant.

But these pieces of paper tell us much about the power struggles behind the slaughter in Syria. ...

In Iraq, a Ramadan game called Mheibbis brings even Sunnis and Shiites together in peaceful competition.

A man claiming to be the leader of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, appeared in a video this weekend leading prayers. He has taken the name Caliph Ibrahim and claims to rule over all Muslims.

The extremist Sunni group released a video it says shows their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in his first public appearance, giving the Friday sermon at a mosque in Iraq's northern city of Mosul.

Senior Shiite Muslim clerics usually stay out of politics. But they've broken with tradition and issued a call to arms. Shiites are now volunteering — and dying — in the fight against Sunni Muslims.

Iraq's new parliament met for the first time Tuesday to start the process of forming a new government, which might no longer include Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as its leader.

The militant group that has swept over much of Syria and now Iraq has renamed itself. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria now wants to be called, simply, "The Islamic State." It's a n...

It's typically a holy month of reflection for Muslims, but Iraqis face a bleak Ramadan this year. Extremists have taken over much of the country and show no sign of easing their fighting.

Minority Sunnis are helping the militants sweeping Iraq's north and west. The support of ordinary Sunnis shows how difficult it will be to reverse the sectarian partition that's already happening.

As Sunni extremists take over much of the north and west of the country, Shiites are fighting back. It brings back memories of the bloody years of sectarian strife that U.S. troops fought to subdue.

Cuba's communist government has allowed the creation of small private businesses in recent years. An estimated 1 million Cubans have taken the plunge, making progress in fits and starts along the way.

The Iraqi prime minister once boasted that he brought stability to the country, but as Iraq looks more like a Sunni vs. Shiite battlefield, critics say Nouri al-Maliki's policies have led to the mess.

NPR's Alice Fordham speaks to Melissa Block about the extremist militant onslaught in Iraq, as well as the possibility of escalating violence there.

There are reports of Iraqi government troops just fleeing, dropping their weapons and shedding their uniforms. The U.S. spent a lot of time and money training Iraqi forces.

Sunni Islamist militants have seized control of the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit and appear to be preparing an assault on Baghdad. Americans fought and died trying to prevent that from happening.

For more on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's surprising primary loss, Audie Cornish speaks with former Republican Rep. Tom Davis.

The militant advance in Iraq continued south as hundreds of thousands flee Mosul, a northern city which recently fell. NPR's Alice Fordham reports from northern Iraq on what the refug...