logo

News related to
Syria

ERBIL, Iraq Rival Kurdish groups clashed in Iraq’s northwestern Sinjar region on Friday, two Kurdish security sources said, causing deaths on both sides. The fighting erupted when Peshmerga Rojava forces deployed towards the border with Syria, encroaching on territory controlled by a local affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The unrest highlights the risk of conflict and turf wars between the multiple forces arrayed against Islamic […]

Palmyra, the storied ancient city that was among prewar Syria’s leading tourist attractions, swung back under government control on Thursday, state media reported, as soldiers and their allies evicted Islamic State militants who had made a sport out of pilfering the city’s antiquities. This was the fourth time in the past two years that control of Palmyra, a Unesco World Heritage Site, changed hands between government forces […]

By Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON With his administration on the defensive over investigations into alleged Russian meddling in last year’s election, U.S. President Donald Trump is no longer tweeting praise for his Kremlin counterpart. Less than five weeks after he took office, the chances of a spring thaw in relations between Washington and Moscow – once buoyed by an apparent “bromance” between Trump and President Vladimir […]

GENEVA Syria’s warring sides both claimed U.N. peace talks in Geneva were going their way on Thursday, but the chief government negotiator and Syria’s ally Russia accused the main opposition delegation of trying to wreck the talks. Syrian government negotiator Bashar al-Ja’afari told reporters that he had discussed “substantive issues, particularly counter-terrorism” with U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura, and would continue on Friday. The government delegation has […]

GENEVA The Syrian opposition declined to congratulate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on retaking historic Palmyra from Islamic State militants on Thursday and suggested the sight of the city changing hands again was risible. “It is the second time that we see this handover and this is obviously being used for political reasons,” chief opposition negotiator Nasr al-Hariri told reporters in Geneva, adding that he considered both sides […]

GENEVA Syrian government negotiator Bashar al-Ja’afari accused the Saudi-backed opposition on Thursday of holding peace talks hostage because of their reported refusal to unify under one opposition delegation and include terrorism on agenda. “We heard that… the Riyadh platform refused the inclusion… of counter-terrorism,” Ja’afari told reporters after meeting U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura. “This did not come as a surprise because some members of the Riyadh […]

MOSCOW Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the Syrian city of Palmyra has been fully recaptured from Islamic State militants, the RIA news agency reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The Syrian army retook the ancient town, which has fallen to IS twice, with help from the Russian air force, it cited Peskov as saying. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by […]

Advertisements

BEIRUT Villages controlled by the Manbij Military Council will be handed to the Syrian government in the coming days under a deal agreed with Russia, an official from the council said on Thursday. The Manbij Military Council is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group of U.S.-allied militias including the powerful Kurdish YPG, which is fighting against Islamic State group but is regarded by Turkey […]

In The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State, journalist Graeme Wood aligns himself with the Orientalist tradition of Bernard Lewis, who warned liberal students against projecting secular frameworks on contemporary Muslim politics. Lewis believed religion, not secular grievance, was the prime motivator of this politics. This may or may not be true. In any case, the argument has limited explanatory power. It doesn’t explain […]

Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for March 2, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Al Ain Cultural event As […]

In 2011, the Kabul foreign press corps numbered 85, by the reckoning of Dominic Medley, who has worked here for many years as a press officer for NATO, the American military and the United Nations. The American military was surging, reaching more than 100,000 troops by 2012. The press surged as well, with regular visitors in addition to the resident press corps, plus dozens of reporters going […]

WASHINGTON Senior U.S. administration officials have lobbied President Donald Trump to remove Iraq from a list of seven Muslim-majority nations included in an initial travel ban, and two sources said they were confident the country would not appear on a new executive order expected soon. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security chief John Kelly all made […]

By Hamid Shalizi and Saud Mehsud | KABUL/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan KABUL/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan An Islamic State offshoot based near the Afghan-Pakistan border is expanding to new areas, recruiting fighters and widening the reach of attacks in the region, members of the movement and Afghan officials said. Some members of the so-called “Khorasan Province” of Islamic State claimed responsibility for the recent attack on a Sufi […]

Its account of the convoy attack went much further than findings of a United Nations inquiry set up by then-Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which concluded in December that the convoy had been bombed from the air but did not identify the attackers. Continue reading the main story The 31-truck convoy organized by the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent had been carrying food, medicine, children’s […]

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The top U.S. commander in Iraq on Wednesday downplayed the chances that the United States would deploy a large number of additional coalition forces to battle Islamic State, even as President Donald Trump weighs options to speed the campaign. Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend also appeared to deliver a robust defence of Kurdish fighters that have been America’s […]

WASHINGTON — Russian aircraft mistakenly bombed Syrian fighters who were being trained by the United States, the commander of the American-led operation in Iraq and Syria said on Wednesday. American advisers were about three miles away when the Russian strike occurred. The episode pointed to the risk of unintended clashes among the myriad forces operating on a fluid battlefield in Syria, as the American command looks toward […]

WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump plans to finalize a new order limiting travel to the United States in the coming days, his vice president said on Wednesday, after federal courts blocked the administration’s earlier travel ban. A White House source had previously said the new order was likely to be announced on Wednesday. More than two dozen lawsuits were filed in U.S. courts against the Jan. 27 […]

Mr. Masri was “jihadi royalty, meaning his death will almost certainly necessitate some form of response, whether from Syria or elsewhere in the world,” Mr. Lister said. Continue reading the main story The killing of the Qaeda leader was previously reported by CNN and The Guardian. It was confirmed by an American official who declined to be identified because he was discussing classified intelligence reports Photographs of […]

By Stephen Kalin | MOSUL, Iraq MOSUL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi army units on Wednesday took control of the last major road out of western Mosul that had been in Islamic State’s hands, trapping the militants in a shrinking area within the city, a general and residents said. The army’s 9th Armored Division was within a kilometer of Mosul’s Syria Gate, the city’s northwestern entrance, a general from […]

By Isabel Coles and Maher Chmaytelli | MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on Tuesday battled their way to within firing range of Mosul’s main government buildings, a major target in the offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in the western side of the city. Terrified civilians were fleeing the fighting, some toward government lines, often under militant fire. Others were forced […]

By Stephen Kalin | SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq A few hundred men who had scurried across front lines in a refugee exodus from Mosul sat on the ground in neat rows before an Iraqi intelligence officer who scanned the crowd for hidden militants. The officer pulled a teenager onto a raised platform and asked the group if he belonged to Islamic State (IS). […]

By Kylie MacLellan | LONDON LONDON The U.S.-led coalition effort against Islamic State is killing the group’s fighters more quickly than it can replace them, a senior British general said on Tuesday, with more than 45,000 killed by coalition air strikes up to August last year. On Tuesday, U.S.-backed Iraqi forces continued their offensive in Mosul, where several thousand Islamic State (IS) militants, including many who travelled […]

By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS Russia on Tuesday cast its seventh veto to protect the Syrian government from United Nations Security Council action, blocking a bid by Western powers to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks during the six-year Syrian conflict. China backed Russia and cast its sixth veto on Syria. Russia had said the vote on the resolution, drafted by France, […]

The American ambassador, Nikki R. Haley, accused Russia of putting “its friends in the Assad regime” before global security. Continue reading the main story “It’s a sad day for the Security Council when member states make excuses for other members killing their own people,” she said in the council chambers after the vote. The resolution, proposed by Britain and France months ago and endorsed by the United […]

VISHNU RAJA
RYO YAMADA
HITORI GOTOH
IKUYO KITA
Just in:
Yicura BioMed Advances Dual Capital and Industrial Strategy： Completes First Closing of Series B Financing Led by Gobi Partners // October Food Price Shock Has Far Reaching Consequences // Messi affair SIT finds all-round violations // Nvidia appoints Colette Kress interim chief after Huang departure // Court reinstates Police association rejig order // Inpex reaffirms Gulf oil strategy despite shipping constraints // Valarmathi restarts fast as teachers defy police // 11 Boutique Xinjiang Wineries to Debut in Singapore // UAE crews sustain coastal oil removal as beaches reopen // Fujairah highway pile-up leaves 14 dead and 30 injured // Lego restores BrickLink marketplace after security investigation // From Dubai to the EU: how UAE-based crypto firms can expand under MiCA // Rooftop solar planning gaps behind power shortages // OpenAI unveils ChatGPT Wallet for agent-led purchases // Hackers falsify NVIDIA GPU readings to mask cryptomining // Microsoft restores services gradually but gives no recovery deadline // Saudi fund assets forecast to cross $400 billion // Woman found dead as bank moves to repossess home // IEA forecasts fourth-quarter oil surplus as Gulf shipments rebound // L’OCCITANE Celebrates 50 Years Of Provençal Craftsmanship With Holiday 2026 Collection //