Syria

Read recent Syrian news stories and current events on Newser.com

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UN Sees Secret Partnership Between North Korea, Syria

Kim Jong Un may be selling Bashar al-Assad parts for chemical weapons

(Newser) - Two leaders considered to be pariahs by much of the world may be providing each other much-needed help—with dire consequences. A comprehensive new UN report alleges that North Korea is selling equipment to Syria that can be used in chemical weapons production, reports the New York Times . Specifically, the...

For 2nd Time, Russia Uses Video Game Footage for Syria

Channel One admits the error about scene from first-person-shooter game

(Newser) - Sharp-eyed viewers of a Russian media report on the Syrian war spotted a gaffe—Channel One mixed in an image from a video game with actual war footage. You can see for yourself at the 4:59 mark of this YouTube video , per Popular Mechanics . It seems an editor at...

UN Unanimously Demands 30-Day Cease-Fire in Syria

5.6M people are in 'acute need' of humanitarian aid

(Newser) - The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Saturday demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria "without delay" to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded, the AP reports. The vote was delayed for two days to try to get support from Russia, which said...

Captured ISIS Fighters Might Know Where Mueller's Body Is

They're said to be pointing out grave sites

(Newser) - The capture of two ISIS fighters who may know the whereabouts of Kayla Mueller's body has raised hope that her parents might finally be able to put their daughter to rest. ISIS said the aid worker kidnapped in Syria in 2013 was killed in 2015 when a Jordanian airstrike...

Report: Mueller Indictee May Also Run Russian Mercenaries

The same ones who attacked US troops in Syria earlier this month

(Newser) - Defense Secretary James Mattis earlier this month called "perplexing" the fighting in Syria between US troops and their allies against supposed Russian mercenaries. Now, US intelligence reports may shed some light on the Kremlin's ties to it all, with fingers pointing to a Russian oligarch thought to be...

Doctor Sees This Zone as &#39;Massacre of the 21st Century&#39;
UNICEF on Syria: 'We No
Longer Have the Words'
the rundown

UNICEF on Syria: 'We No Longer Have the Words'

Neighborhood of Eastern Ghouta is the latest flashpoint in civil war

(Newser) - The name Eastern Ghouta may not be a familiar one, but the neighborhood near the Syrian capital of Damascus is now making international headlines for all the wrong reasons. The enclave of 22 communities happens to be the last opposition-controlled region near the capital, and it's been the target...

US May Have Killed Dozens of Russian Fighters

But Kremlin downplays incident in Syria, saying they were mercenaries

(Newser) - The convoluted fighting in Syria pits the US and Russia on opposite sides, and a recent battle has resulted in this jarring description from Bloomberg : It may have been "the deadliest clash between citizens of the former foes since the Cold War." But so far, this hasn't...

Could War Between Israel, Iran Be Next?
Could a New
Mideast War
Be Brewing?
the rundown

Could a New Mideast War Be Brewing?

A look at the implications of Saturday's Israel-Iran-Syria clash

(Newser) - As the world's countries battled it out on the ice and the slopes on Saturday, other countries battled it out in the air , with potentially huge implications. Israel says it destroyed an Iranian drone that entered its airspace from Syria (Iran disputes this) and then had its fighter jets...

First a Drone, Then a 'Large-Scale Attack,' Then a Downed F-16

Israeli fighter jet shot down after Israel hits Syria in response to Iranian drone infiltration

(Newser) - The Israeli military shot down an Iranian drone it said infiltrated the country early Saturday before launching a "large-scale attack" on at least a dozen Iranian and Syrian targets inside Syria. Responding anti-aircraft fire led to the downing of an Israeli fighter jet, the AP reports. Israel said the...

Syrian Forces Capture 2 Members of 'The Beatles'

They're British members of Islamic State insurgent cell

(Newser) - The American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured two notorious British members of an Islamic State insurgent cell commonly dubbed "The Beatles" and known for beheading hostages, the AP reports. A US military official said Thursday that El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey were captured in early January in eastern...

US Launches Airstrikes on Syrian Regime-Backed Troops

It was self-defense, officials say

(Newser) - The US military launched airstrikes on Syrian government-backed troops Wednesday after as many as 500 attackers began what a US military official says appeared to be a coordinated assault on Syrian opposition forces accompanied by US advisers in Deir el-Zour province. The official says the strikes were in self-defense after...

US Speaks Out After Suspected Syria Chemical Attack

Officials suspect regime is 'evolving' new weapons

(Newser) - The Syrian regime not only kept some of its chemical weapons after a 2013 disarmament deal, it has apparently "evolved" new types of weapons and continues to use them on rebel-held civilian areas, Trump administration officials warn. The officials, speaking under condition of anonymity, tell Reuters that the administration...

'Capital of the Revolution' Now Looks Like This

4 years later, Homs is in sorry shape

(Newser) - Sumaya Bairuty walked through abandoned streets pocked with shell craters amid rows of destroyed buildings, at times climbing over giant sand barriers before reaching her parent's apartment in Homs. The 38-year-old English-language teacher, who works in Damascus, visits by bus once a week to spend two days with her...

Putin Announces Russian Withdrawal From Syria

'The fatherland is waiting for you, my friends'

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin declared victory in Syria on a surprise visit to the country Monday and announced that he'd ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops. He was joined by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during his visit to the Khmeimim air base, which was Putin's first known trip to the...

In a Black Sea Resort, Putin Holds Surprise Meeting

With President Bashar al-Assad, who has left Syria just twice since 2011

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad has left his country's borders for just the second time since the Syrian crisis began in March 2011, venturing to Russia once again for what the AP describes as a surprise three-hour visit that went unannounced until Tuesday morning. Assad met with President Vladimir Putin on Monday...

Syria's OK on Paris Accord Leaves US All Alone

United States now only country in the world to oppose climate agreement

(Newser) - In a move that further isolates the US from the international community, Syria has officially agreed to sign the Paris climate accord. The announcement was made at a climate summit in Germany on Tuesday, reports Politico . That means the US—which will withdraw from the deal on the basis that...

'The City Is Completely Liberated From Terrorism'

ISIS loses control of Deir ez-Zour in Syria

(Newser) - The Syrian army has liberated the eastern city of Deir ez-Zour from ISIS, according to Syrian state media. Friday's report says the military is now in full control of the long-contested city, which ISIS has controlled since 2014 and which the BBC calls ISIS' "last major stronghold" in...

ISIS Loses Its &#39;Capital.&#39; Now What?
ISIS Shifting Strategy
as Empire Dreams Crumble
the rundown

ISIS Shifting Strategy as Empire Dreams Crumble

With 'capital' of Raqqa lost, analysts say group is returning to 'underground insurgency'

(Newser) - US Central Command is holding off on official confirmation for now, but accounts on the ground appear to have confirmed the inevitable: ISIS has been routed from its de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria. The defeat means that the Islamic State, which once had grand plans for an expanding caliphate,...

ISIS&#39; de Facto Capital Has Fallen
'Capital of Terrorism' Has Fallen

'Capital of Terrorism' Has Fallen

ISIS has lost control of Raqqa, the seat of its caliphate

(Newser) - A commander with the US-backed Syrian forces battling the Islamic State group says the city of Raqqa has been liberated from Islamic State militants and that operations are underway to clear the city of land mines and extremist sleeper cells. Brig. Gen. Talal Sillo told the AP on Tuesday that...

US, Syria Will Soon Be Only Holdouts on Paris Accord

Nicaragua will sign the climate agreement soon

(Newser) - When President Trump announced earlier this year that the US would pull out of the Paris climate accord, much of the coverage pointed out that only Nicaragua and Syria were also in the "no" camp. That group just got a little smaller: Nicaragua plans to sign the accord, leaving...

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