Middle Orient

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 …

Iraqi warplanes have begun targeting jihadists besieging the Shiite Turkmen town of Amerli amid growing fears for the safety of thousands of residents short of food and water and facing a “massacre”. With some 12,000 Turkmen trapped in the northern town, US President Barack Obama is “nearing a decision” to authorise strikes …

Mass atrocities by Government forces and non-state armed groups continue to take place in Syria, causing immeasurable suffering to civilians, according to a UN report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic released on Wednesday. The report stated that the continuous influx of foreign fighters …

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on Wednesday issued Decree No. 273 endorsing the formation of the new government led, by Prime Minister Dr. Wael Nader al-Halaqi. The 34-member lineup includes 21 ministers who got their terms in office renewed including the sovereign portfolios, according to SANA news agency. Following is a …