A diplomatic crisis pitting Saudi Arabia against Qatar has put Syrian rebels in a difficult position, analysts say, after rivalries between Gulf backers had already weakened the opposition.

Europe is struggling to respond to the challenge posed by the thousands of jihadists who traveled to the battlefields of Syria or Iraq and have now begun to return home.

Many Iraqi Kurds hailed last week's announcement of a September referendum on independence as historic, but major obstacles will remain on the path to statehood after an expected landslide "yes".

The Gaza Strip, run by Islamist movement Hamas for the past 10 years, is a poverty-stricken and overcrowded Palestinian coastal enclave suffering from a severe Israeli blockade:

Its strongholds in Iraq and Syria slipping from its grasp, the Islamic State group threatened to make this year's Ramadan a bloody one at home and abroad. With attacks in Egypt, Britain and Iran among others and a land-grab in the Philippines, the group is trying to divert attention from its losses and win over supporters around the world in the twisted competition for jihadi recruits during the Muslim holy month.

Supported by crutches and a fellow Islamic State jihadi, Abu Shuaib al-Maslawi hopped on his left leg toward the explosives-laden black SUV that he would minutes later plow into a group of Iraqi troops in the northern city of Mosul.

Then, turning toward the camera, the one-legged suicide bomber spoke his final words, urging Muslims in the West who cannot come to the extremists' self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, to carry out attacks inside their home countries.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two attacks that claimed at least 12 lives in Iran on Wednesday. With this, the flaring tensions between Sunnis and Shias are once again in the news.

Syria's Kurds were once a marginalized minority, but now they are leading the charge for the Islamic State group's Raqa bastion and hoping to cement their gains in the war.

The surprise turnaround in their fortunes is the result of several factors, including the Syrian regime's decision to focus attention elsewhere and a key alliance with Washington against IS.

The unprecedented crisis between Qatar and four of its Gulf neighbors including Saudi Arabia is causing a conflict of loyalties for a number of countries which have good relations with both sides.

As U.S.-backed Arab and Kurdish forces broke into the Islamic State group's bastion of Raqa on Tuesday for the first time, here are five facts about the city in northern Syria: