Iraq's interior minister said it was difficult to prevent attacks against people fleeing the Islamic State-held city of Falluja, but denied that such actions were systematic and pledged to punish anyone proven guilty of abuses. - Reuters
Iraq's Kurds said they are ready to strike an agreement with the central government in Baghdad on a deal to increase oil exports if it guarantees them monthly revenue of $1 billion, more than double what they make currently from selling oil. - Reuters
Once Islamic State is defeated, Iraq should be divided into three separate entities to prevent further sectarian bloodshed, with a state each given to Shi'ite Muslims, Sunnis and Kurds, a top Kurdish official said on Thursday. - Reuters
Islamic State is committing the crime of genocide against the Yazidis in Syria and Iraq, seeking to destroy the ethno-religious group of 400,000 people through killings, sexual slavery and other crimes, United Nations investigators said on Thursday. - Reuters
Robert Ford writes: Attaining the U.S. objective of a negotiated new government in Syria needs cooperation from Russia and Iran who must understand that they and Assad won’t be able to impose a political deal with only cosmetic changes that the majority of the Syrian opposition cannot and will not accept. That’s not an American dictate—it’s a Syrian one. The dissent memo should wake us up that the current approach ensures we will not secure our national interest in Syria, that broader U.S. interests will suffer as a consequence, and we need to reconsider our approach. – The Daily Beast