Thick black plumes of smoke carry for kilometres over the northern Iraqi landscape, blotting out the afternoon sun and making it feel like night.

An Iraqi woman says she chops and cooks the heads of Islamic State fighters in retaliation for the deaths of her family. Wahida Mohamed

Iraq would welcome more New Zealand troops to train local forces, its Prime Minister tells John Key.

An Islamic State insider has revealed the never-before-told story of the shadowy meeting that spawned the bloodthirsty terror group.

The son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has vowed revenge on the United States for assassinating his father.

Relatives of Marie Colvin, a Sunday Times journalist, have filed a lawsuit claiming that Syrian government officials killed her.

Why Rania believed there should've been no excuses for the Sky Tower to be lit in the colours of the Iraqi flag to support the Baghdad bombing victims.

Helen Clark's decision not to send troops to war in 2003 has been vindicated by the Chilcot report on Britain's Britain's role in the Iraqi invasion, says Labour's Andrew Little

As Britain debates the damning Chilcot report Iraq keeps counting the dead with some saying the country was more secure under Saddam Hussein.

US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has thanked the New Zealand Government for agreeing to extend its deployment to Iraq

COMMENT: For those who travelled to Taji with PM, his decision to extend the deployment of 120 troops to train Iraqi forces had a sense of inevitability.

Labour leader Andrew Little says he will withdraw New Zealand troops from Iraq if his party is elected to power next year.

Four Iraqi soldiers have been killed in a suicide bombing outside the camp New Zealand troops are based at.

The non-combat deployment in the battle against the Islamic State had been set to finish early next year, but would now last until November 2018.

Isis (Islamic State) insurgents faced major assaults on two fronts in both Iraq and Syria yesterday.

Iraqi forces have pushed into the southern edge of Fallujah, enduring car bombs and sniper fire from Isis fighters determined to hold onto the city.

She's young, beautiful and studying politics and philosophy. But this young Danish woman isn't your average uni student.

Three separate car bombings in the Iraqi capital Wednesday killed at least 93 people and wounded at least 165.

Isis militants killed dozens of people in two major attacks on Baghdad yesterday, bombing a market and assaulting security forces on the city's outskirts.

Australian army Colonel Gavin Keating faced a curious quandary as he prepared to depart for Iraq - what about the rugby?

New Zealand soldiers training Iraqi troops have turned to a rudimentary fighting weapon - the bayonet.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on European countries to "step up" with stronger help to defeat the Islamic State during a brief, unannounced visit to Australian troops in Iraq.

German scientists think they have found the solution for young refugees who have entered Germany from war-torn countries and are seeking a better life.

Kiwis more comfortable with country's contribution to joint training mission to help combat Isis.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has launched a high-level review of New Zealand troops' role in the fight against Isis.

The Paris attacks and the largely stalemated war in Iraq and Syria have prompted heavy criticism of Barack Obama's handling of the fight against Isis.

Warda Jawad came to NZ as a child when her family fled war in the Middle East.

Filmed from a camera attached to a helmet of one of the commandos, the viewer sees the scene more or less as that soldier did.

It was hard for some to see the justification in Key's decision to deploy the troops in the first place, writes Cliare Trevett. It is harder still to see how Key will justify a decision to cut and run.