Latest from Iraq

Isis: NZ might join fight

A “domestic beheading” inspired by foreign fanatics is one of several threats New Zealand potentially faces from the so-called Islamic State, John Key said this morning.

Aussie jets strike Iraq targets

Editorial: Parliament should decide whether we go to war

If New Zealand decides to send forces to support an international response to the "Islamic State" in Iraq and Syria (Isis), the decision will be made by the Government not Parliament, the Prime Minister has explained.

PM: NZ won't be a target

Any commitment of military assistance to counter Islamic State militants in Iraq should not make NZ more of a target for terrorism, Prime Minister John Key says.

Abbott plays down Iraq deployment

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is playing down the prospect of deploying Australian combat troops on the ground in Iraq.

Brian Rudman: If Key wants to send troops, here's a better war

The argument that if we don't join the American crusade to wipe out Muslim fanatics in Iraq and Syria, they'll swoop down to Godzone and behead us all is a rerun of the old Vietnam War domino theory....

Isis fight is Govt's decision

PM says any plan to give assistance to efforts against militants will probably be debated in Parliament but the ultimate decision is the Government's alone.

SAS not ruled out...

Iraq: Yazidis say villagers massacred

Up to 80 Yazidis have been reported killed by Isis (Islamic State) fighters in the biggest massacre so far of the Iraqi minority.

Yazidi women given a bleak choice

Hundreds of Yazidi women who were captured by Islamic extremists are being subjected to deliberate attempts to co-opt them into service as the wives of fighters.

Isis brutality proves potent weapon

The heads are stuck on thin metal poles above a wrought iron fence in the Islamic State's Syria stronghold, Raqqa.

Australian PM backs bid to avert genocide

Australia is considering joining the United States in a limited military operation to rescue as many as 30,000 Iraqi refugees trapped on a barren mountain in the north.

Iraq agrees to let US arm Kurds

America is to supply weapons directly to Kurdish fighters in Iraq for the first time, to help the lightly armed forces in the north push back jihadist rebels, assisted by US air power.

US action in Iraq boosts Kurdish morale

US air strikes are boosting Kurdish morale as they hit Isis fighters, and a road is now open for thousands of Yazidis cut off in the mountains.

Yazidis cling to life in 'death valley'

Up to 150,000 desperate refugees were still isolated on a barren stretch of mountain in Iraq, surrounded by Islamic extremists despite a major international intervention.

Qantas says it's 'safe' to fly over Iraq

Qantas has reassured passengers it's still safe to fly over Iraq, despite network partner Emirates' deciding to steer clear of the conflict-torn nation.