Iraq

World News

Iraqi Forces Say They've Pushed ISIS Out Of Key Compound In Fallujah

1:02pm June 17, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

After days of fierce fighting, Iraqi forces say they've wrested control of Fallujah's main government building from ISIS militants. ISIS has controlled the city for the past 2 1/2 years.

The Gray Team with Maj. Jennifer Bell (center), who ran a concussion clinic, seen in the Helmand province of Afghanistan in 2010: Col. Michael Jaffee (from left) , Capt. James Hancock, Col. Geoffrey Ling, Lt. Col. Shean Phelps and Col. Robert Saum.

How A Team Of Elite Doctors Changed The Military's Stance On Brain Trauma

1:16pm June 11, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

A group of specialists called the Gray Team challenged the dogma that said head injuries were serious only if they were obvious and bloody. Bomb blasts can lead to lasting but invisible damage.

Queue Listen Now

Dr. Christian Macedonia led the military's Gray Team of doctors and scientists charged with finding the "ground truth" about traumatic brain injuries. Now, he's a maternal and fetal health specialist at Lancaster General Health's Women and Babies Hospital

An Army Buddy's Call For Help Sends A Scientist On A Brain Injury Quest

5:34pm June 08, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

Harvard researcher Kit Parker built his academic career studying the heart. But Parker, also an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, switched his focus to figuring out how IED blasts damage the brain.

World News

50,000 Civilians Are Trapped In Fallujah As Iraqi Troops Battle ISIS

7:56am June 04, 2016

Scott Simon speaks to Becky Bakr Abdulla, media coordinator for the Norwegian Refugee Council, about the families who have managed to escape the besieged city of Fallujah, Iraq.

World News

Reporting On The War In Syria, Despite The Obstacles To Being There

2:33pm June 02, 2016

Anne Barnard of The New York Times and Thanassis Cambanis from The Century Foundation fell in love when they were reporting on the war in Iraq. Now based in Beirut, they continue to cover the region.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Families That Fled ISIS-Held Fallujah Tell Of Horrific Living Conditions

3:02pm June 01, 2016

Ailsa Chang talks to Elisabeth Koek of the Norwegian Refugee Council, a group that's been receiving families who escaped the Iraqi city. More than 500 families have made it to displacement camps.

Queue Listen Now

World News

U.S. Monitors Iran's Role In Helping Iraqi Fighters Take Back Fallujah

6:18am May 31, 2016

Iraqi forces have launched an operation to take back the city of Fallujah from Islamic State fighters. Steve Inskeep talks to veteran U.S. ambassador Robert Ford, who served in both Iraq and Syria.

World News

Anti-Islamic State Forces Launch Attack In Effort To Retake Fallujah

10:41am May 30, 2016

by Eyder Peralta

The drive to enter Fallujah began at dawn, with air support from the U.S.-led coalition. Aid groups report that thousands of civilians are trapped in the Iraqi city.

World News

Iraqis Again Try To Take Back Fallujah From ISIS

5:17am May 30, 2016

Steve Inskeep speaks with Tim Arango of the New York Times about Iraqi forces' latest operation against Islamic State fighters and the nature of U.S. and Iranian involvement in the offensive.

World News

Despite Risks To Baghdad, Iraqi Troops Fight To Retake Fallujah

6:47pm May 27, 2016

NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks with Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, about how retaking Fallujah, Iraq, could have the unintended consequence of losing Baghdad.

Queue Listen Now