Tag: syria

Obama: 250 more US troops to help fight IS in Syria

HANOVER, Germany (AFP) Monday 4/25/2016 –President Barack Obama said Monday the US would send up to 250 more military trainers to help fight the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria. “I have approved the deployment of up 250 additional US personnel in Syria, including special forces,” Obama said in Germany. “They’re not going to be leading the fight on the ground, but they will be essential in providing the training, in assisting local forces as they continue […]

Turkey kills almost 900 IS members in Syria raids: report

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey has killed almost 900 alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) group since January through artillery fire and air raids, the state-run Anatolia news agency said Monday, citing military sources. The country, a member of a US-led coalition fighting IS, has killed 492 “terrorists” since January 9 in air raids, while another 370 were killed in artillery strikes which also destroyed arms depots, the agency said. These figures could not be […]

Syrian rebels claim to have shot down warplane and capture pilot south of Aleppo

ALEPPO PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) – Islamist rebels shot down a Syrian warplane and captured its pilot on Tuesday (April 5) in an area south of Aleppo where insurgents are battling the Syrian army and allied militias, a monitoring group said. Syria’s military confirmed that a plane on a reconnaissance mission had been shot down and said it was hit by a surface-to-air missile. The pilot had bailed out and efforts were underway to rescue him, […]

NATO commander warns of increased Russian activity in Ukraine, Syria

ARLINGTON, Virginia, United States (Reuters) — Russia’s military activity in eastern Ukraine has increased and broaden recently, NATO’s top commander said on Tuesday (March 1), warning that the risk of confrontation between Turkey and Russia over Syria remained high. U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, the NATO supreme allied commander, said that Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Syria has “complicated the problem”. “Despite public pronouncements to the contrary, today Russia has done little to […]

Besieged town in Syria embraces another humanitarian aid

AL-MOADDAMYEH, Syria (CCTV/Reuters) — A total of 51 trucks of relief materials with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent on Monday entered Al-Moaddamyeh, a town to the southwest of Syrian capital Damascus. It is learned that five besieged areas in Syria will deliver those much-needed food and medicine to civilians. The relief materials, the third batch to the town in a few weeks, are mainly blankets, soaps, diapers and other daily necessities, and food is not included, […]

Intense Russian air strikes on rebel bastions ahead of ceasefire: monitor

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Russian warplanes carried out intense air strikes on rebel strongholds in Syria on Friday hours before a ceasefire is due to come into force, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. “From last night to this morning there have been Russian air strikes that are more intense than usual on rebel bastions including on Eastern Ghouta east of Damascus, in the north of Homs province and in the west of Aleppo province,” […]

All eyes on Syria as ceasefire deadline looms

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — US President Barack Obama warned Russia and Damacus that the “world will be watching”, hours before a partial truce was due to come into force in war-torn Syria on Saturday. Obama said “the coming days will be critical” for the ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington, and agreed to by both President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Syria’s top opposition grouping. The deal — which excludes the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and […]

UN Security Council set to endorse Syria ceasefire

UNITED STATES, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council is expected to vote Friday on a US-Russian draft resolution endorsing the Syria ceasefire, diplomats said. The 15-member council is set to meet as of 2000 GMT to hear a report from UN envoy Staffan de Mistura and could vote on the measure at that session. The draft text obtained by AFP welcomes the truce as “a step towards a lasting ceasefire” and endorses the US-Russian agreement […]

Obama warns Russia ‘world will be watching’ Syria ceasefire

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Barack Obama put the onus for upholding a ceasefire in Syria firmly on the regime and its Russian ally Thursday, warning Moscow and Damascus that the “world will be watching.” Hours before the Saturday cessation of hostilities comes into force, Obama huddled with his top national security advisors to plot the way forward and discuss the campaign against the Islamic State group. “Everybody knows what needs to happen,” Obama […]

Syria to continue fight against terrorism after US-Russia ceasefire deal: official

DAMASCUS, Syria (CCTV/Reuters) — The Syrian government will continue its fight against terrorism after a ceasefire deal reached by the U.S. and Russia suspends hostile activities between the government and oppositions, said an official Tuesday. The U.S. and Russia Monday reached an agreement on ceasefire among all sides in Syria. The agreement will be effective starting Saturday. However, the deal will not be extended to the terrorists, and the Syrian government has agreed to accept […]

Singapore deports Indonesians en route to Syria: police

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Singapore has deported four Indonesian men thought to be followers of a leading Islamic extremist as they allegedly tried to travel to Syria, police said Tuesday. The four, who included a 15-year-old boy, were arrested Sunday in the city-state when immigration officials became suspicious after checking their documents, and finding one of them had previously spent time in Syria. Authorities deported them to Batam, an Indonesian island not far from Singapore, the same […]

Bombings in southern Damascus district kill at least 83

DAMASCUS, Syria (CCTV) — A series of bomb blasts that rocked a southern district of Damascus on Sunday has killed at least 83 people, according to Syrian state news agency SANA. As many as 178 others were injured in the three bombings that rocked the predominantly-Shiite district of Sayyidah Zaynab. The first explosion was a car bomb, followed by two other suicide bombings. The blasts took place close to the al-Sader Hospital in Teen Street […]