Lori Hinnant, The Associated Press

  • A pictures taken on Nov. 14, 2017, shows a general view of the old city of Mosul in northern Iraq. (STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)
    Few ready to pay to rebuild Iraq after Islamic State group defeat

    Three years of war devastated much of northern and western Iraq. Baghdad estimates $100 billion is needed nationwide to rebuild. Local leaders in Mosul, the biggest city held by ISIS, say that amount is needed to rehabilitate their city alone.

  • In this Thursday, June 20, 2013, file photo, a journalist makes a video of the Instagram logo using the new video feature at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)
    Islamic State backers find ephemeral platform in Instagram

    Researchers say Islamic State supporters have found an ephemeral platform to share propaganda: Using Instagram’s “stories” feature, which causes posts to disappear in 24 hours.

  • FILE - In this June 7, 2014 file photo, the entrance to Camp 5 and Camp 6 at the U.S. military's Guantanamo Bay detention center, at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The Obama Administration’s struggling crusade to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is mired in state and federal politics, and frustrated White House and Pentagon officials are blaming each other for the slow progress releasing approved detainees and finding a new prison to house the remainder. (AP Photo/Ben Fox, File)
    Ex-Gitmo inmate among 6 detained from French jihadi network

    A former Guantanamo Bay inmate is among six people from an alleged jihadi recruiting network linked to the Islamic State group who were detained on Tuesday, a French judicial source said.

  • Lawmakers probe US contractor in Iraq sex trafficking case

    A congressional investigative panel is demanding documents and testimony from an embattled U.S. defense contractor accused of failing to promptly disclose human trafficking on a base in Iraq.

  • Intel sharing at heart of US, Europe talks on laptop ban

    The intelligence behind plans to broaden a U.S. ban on in-flight laptops and tablets to include planes from Europe took center stage on Wednesday as American and European officials met to discuss the looming decision.

  • US company turned blind eye to wild behavior on Iraq base

    More than 150 documents obtained by AP, as well as interviews with more than a half-dozen former or current Sallyport employees, show how a contractor ran amok after being hired for lucrative and essential combat support operations.

  • ISIS holds terrified civilians as human shields in Syrian city

    Residents of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa live in terror, trapped as a massive human shield in the Islamic State's de facto capital ahead of the final battle with U.S.-backed opposition forces for the militant group's last major urban stronghold.

  • ISIS using drones, other innovating tactics with deadly effect

    First the tiny drones buzz overhead to observe Iraqi soldiers. Then, the Islamic State group's flying machines return to drop a small explosive device to sow panic among security forces — or deadlier still, to help guide a suicide car bomber to a target.

  • Turning Iraq history to rubble, leaving the mess to looters

    The giant winged bulls that once stood sentry at the nearly 3,000-year-old palace at Nimrud have been hacked to pieces. The fantastical human-headed creatures were believed to guard the king from evil, but now their stone remains are piled in the dirt, victims of the Islamic State group's fervor to erase history.

  • UN seeks protection for ancient Nimrud site wrecked by ISIS

    Islamic State extremists have destroyed the ancient site of Nimrud almost beyond recognition, and left its ruins vulnerable to thieves and further damage, according to the United Nations.