MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military said Friday its officers have found evidence of chemical weapons use by Syrian militants in the northern area of Aleppo where government forces are trying to regain control of areas they recently lost to insurgents. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that ministry experts have found … Continue reading
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Latest on an explosion and detentions in Kurdish areas of Turkey (all times local): 6:25 p.m. All three Scandinavian foreign ministers have summoned the Turkish ambassadors in Norway, Sweden and Denmark to explain the arrests of pro-Kurdish politicians. Borge Brende, foreign minister of Norway, which is outside the European Union, … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government forces and their allies on Monday captured strategic high ground in embattled Aleppo as Russia — a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad — said it was not planning more “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting in the city’s eastern, rebel-held districts. The fighting in Aleppo came as airstrikes hit … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the developments in the Syrian civil war (all times local): 6:05 p.m. Russia says that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Switzerland on Saturday to discuss efforts to find a peace deal in Syria. The encounter will be the first face-to-face contact … Continue reading
BERLIN (AP) — A Syrian man arrested for a suspected Islamic extremist bomb plot underwent a security check last year, but it turned up nothing suspicious, Germany’s top security official said Wednesday. Jaber Albakr, a 22-year-old Syrian who had been granted asylum, was arrested Monday in Leipzig after three fellow Syrians tied him up and … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. on Wednesday released stark satellite images showing the most recent destruction of Syria’s embattled northern city of Aleppo, which has been pounded by Syrian and Russian airstrikes since the collapse of a U.S.-Russia brokered cease-fire two weeks ago. The release coincided with a stepped-up offensive by Syrian government forces and … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on developments in the Syrian civil war (all times local): 4:30 p.m. Germany is hosting a meeting of senior foreign ministry officials from a group of Western nations in hopes of exploring ways out of the diplomatic impasse surrounding Syria’s civil war. Ministry political directors from the United States, France, … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local): 5 p.m. The IS-linked Aamaq news agency reports that the extremist group has claimed responsibility for suicide attacks in the central Syrian city of Hama that killed two people and wounded 12. The attack was carried out by two suicide bombers wearing explosives-laden … Continue reading
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Fighting in northern Syria between Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and Islamic State militants killed at least 15 rebels as the opposition tried to push toward a town of symbolic importance for the extremists, an activist group and Turkish officials said Monday. In central Syria, meanwhile, two suicide bombers struck in the city … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s government secured a deal to restore its authority over another rebellious Damascus suburb on Thursday while Syrian rebels captured new ground in a lightning advance on the central city of Hama and suspected government airstrikes killed 25 civilians in the surrounding province. The Syrian capital’s western suburb of Moadamiyeh, which a … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local): 6:15 p.m. Turkey’s foreign minister has spoken with his Russian counterpart about Ankara’s ongoing operations against the Islamic State group in Syria. Turkey’s Mevlut Cavusoglu called Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday to update him on the progress of ‘Euphrates Shield,’ Turkey’s incursion into … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the developments in the Syrian civil war (all times local): 5:30 p.m. The Pentagon is calling on NATO ally Turkey, as well U.S.-backed fighters aligned against the Islamic State, to stop fighting each other in northern Syria. In a written statement on Monday, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook called … Continue reading
BOSTON (AP) — Funeral arrangements for an American killed in Syria while fighting the Islamic State group have been set for later this week. Keith Broomfield, who had no military training, is believed to be the first U.S. citizen to die fighting alongside Kurdish forces against ISIS. Broomfield, 36, of Westminster, will be buried Wednesday … Continue reading
AKCAKALE, Turkey (AP) — Thousands of Syrians cut through a border fence and crossed over into Turkey on Sunday, fleeing intense fighting in northern Syria between Kurdish fighters and jihadis. The flow of refugees came as Syrian Kurdish fighters closed in on the outskirts of a strategic Islamic State-held town on the Turkish border, Kurdish … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Kurdish fighters backed by intense U.S.-led airstrikes pushed the Islamic State group almost entirely out of the Syrian town of Kobani on Monday, marking a major loss for extremists whose hopes for easy victory dissolved into a bloody, costly siege that seems close to ending in defeat. Fighters raised a Kurdish … Continue reading
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