Middle Orient

At least 28 Syrian rebel leaders of a same group were killed on Tuesday when a powerful blast targeted their gathering place in the northwestern province of Idlib, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday said dispatching French forces on the ground to fight Islamic State fighters in Iraq was possible as part of the international community efforts to curb terrorism in the region.

U.S. Republican Senator John McCain has urged New Delhi and Washington to extend bilateral cooperation deeper into counterterrorism operations linked to West Asia, citing both al Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri’s announcement of a new terror ‘wing’ for the Indian subcontinent, and the growing presence of foreign recruits in the ranks …

Syrian warplanes launched airstrikes Monday on a Lebanese border town in northeastern the country, targeting hideouts of Syrian anti-government militants, official media reported. Syrian government’s warplanes bombed the town of Arsal, bordering Qalamon, Syria, where a number of opposition Syrian armed men are usually stationed.

Faisal Meqdad, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister, and Sigrid Kaag, head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN (OPCW-UN) joint mission on eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons program, discussed issues related to Syrian chemical weapons.

EU ministers of defence will hold an informal meeting in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss a number of issues including the crises in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria, EU officials said here Monday.

France on Wednesday held a high-level “Restricted Defence Council” meeting aimed to examine the situation in Iraq and ways to counter the threat from the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Turkey’s new President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday arrived at the disputed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara, on his first foreign trip since being sworn in four days ago. Erdogan is scheduled to hold talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu on bilateral relations and efforts …

Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen on Sunday broke a six-week siege imposed by the Islamic State extremist group on the northern Shiite Turkmen town of Amirli, as a suicide bombing killed 14 people in Anbar western province, officials said.

Syrian troops battled rebels hard by the armistice line with Israel on the Golan Heights today as the United Nations pressed efforts to free 44 peacekeepers held by the insurgents. Several mortar rounds struck close to the ceasefire line as the combatants exchanged rocket, mortar and tank fire near the …