Kurds Seize Strategic Post in Iraqi-Syrian Border

Reuters reports that Iraqi Kurdish troops drove fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from the strategic border crossing of Rabia on Tuesday – as they won support from members of the Shammar, a major Sunni tribe – in what the wire calls one of the “biggest successes since U.S. forces began bombing the Islamists.”

The win, “which could make it harder for militants to operate on both sides of the frontier, was also achieved with help from Kurds from the Syrian side of the frontier, a new sign of cooperation across the border.

“Rabia is completely liberated. All of the Shammar are with the Peshmerga and there is full cooperation between us,” Abdullah Yawar, a leading member of the tribe, told Reuters.

But the BBC reports: “The Iraqi Kurdish forces also took heavy casualties – including the loss of a senior commander – when three suicide car bombers blew themselves up among the Kurdish troops. The bombers are believed to have travelled from [ISIS]-controlled areas further east.”

Turkey Set to Take On a Military Role in Syria

The New York Times reports that the Turkish government “sought a mandate from Parliament on Tuesday to expand cross-border military operations into Iraq and Syria, signaling that it will play a more active role in a United States-led international military campaign to combat Islamic State militants.

“Parliament will vote this week on a comprehensive motion that would authorize Turkish troops to make incursions into Syria and Iraq, and allow foreign military forces to use Turkish military bases, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. ‘We have worked out and prepared a document uniting two separate motions on Iraq and Syria, enabling all necessary measures at one time, so as to respond to all threats and risks,’ Mr. Arinc said.”

The Case Against Qatar, Funding Syria’s Militants

Foreign Policy takes an in-depth look at Qatar’s involvement in the Syrian conflict – including the funding of both moderate rebel groups and extremists.

“In recent months, Qatar’s Rolodex … has proved both a blessing and a curse for the United States. On one hand, Washington hasn’t shied away from calling on Doha’s connections when it needs them: Qatar orchestrated the prisoner swap that saw U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl freed in exchange for five Taliban prisoners in Guantánamo Bay. And it ran the negotiations with al-Nusra Front, al Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, that freed American writer Peter Theo Curtis in August,” she writes.

“But that same Qatari network has also played a major role in destabilizing nearly every trouble spot in the region and in accelerating the growth of radical and jihadi factions. The results have ranged from bad to catastrophic in the countries that are the beneficiaries of Qatari aid: Libya is mired in a war between proxy-funded militias, Syria’s opposition has been overwhelmed by infighting and overtaken by extremists, and Hamas’s intransigence has arguably helped prolong the Gaza Strip’s humanitarian plight.”