Damascus Attack

Explosions rocked Damascus on Tuesday as France's president met with his Syrian counterpart in a landmark visit. Emmanuel Macron had entered the presidential palace to meet Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa when the explosions happened near the Four Seasons Hotel. Syrian authorities did not immediately comment on the incident. Syrian media reported that Macron was staying at the Four Seasons. Two explosions were heard in the heart of the capital, Syrian newspaper Al-Watan and Syria TV network reported. A large plume of smoke could be seen from the site. Footage widely circulated on social media showed a vehicle on fire and blood stains on the street. The number of casualties was not immediately clear. No group immediately claimed responsibility. The incident comes days after an explosive device was detonated in a cafe near the Justice Palace in Damascus, killing at least 10 people and wounding 20.

Syria's government appears to have fallen after opposition fighters said they entered Damascus following a stunning advance. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said the government was ready to extend its hand to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government. I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country, Jalili said in a video statement. He said he would go to his office to continue work in the morning and called on Syrian citizens not to deface public property. A Syrian opposition war monitor, Rami Abdurrahman, said Assad left the country on a flight from Damascus early Sunday. Jalili did not address reports of Assad's departure. Opposition fighters entered Syria's capital in a swiftly developing crisis that has taken much of the world by surprise. Syria's army has abandoned key cities with little resistance. Who are these opposition fighters? If they take control of Damascus after seizing some of Syria

An Israeli airstrike destroyed the consular section of Iran's embassy in Syria, killing a senior Iranian military adviser and several others, Syrian officials and state media said on Monday. The strike appears to signify an escalation of Israel's targeting of Iranian military officials and their allies in Syria, which have intensified since Hamas militants - who are supported by Iran - attacked Israel on October 7. Israel, which rarely acknowledges such strikes, said it had no comment. The attack killed Iranian military adviser Gen. Ali Reza Zahdi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according to the Iranian Arabic-language state television channel Al-Alam and pan-Arab television station Al-Mayadeen, which has reporters in Syria. Iranian Ambassador Hossein Akbari condemned Israel and said as many as seven people were killed. First responders were still searching for bodies under the rubble. Akbari said two police officers who guard the building were ...

Israeli airstrikes hit areas around Damascus early Monday, killing at least four Syrian soldiers, Syrian state media reported. Syrian state television, citing a military source, said four other soldiers were also wounded while the strikes caused some material damage. Israeli authorities did not immediately comment. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor, said the strikes targeted weapons and munitions warehouses and positions of Iran-backed militias around Damascus. They say at least six were killed and seven others wounded. The Observatory said the strikes mark 22nd time Israel has struck Syria this year. Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment next door, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of neighboring Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges them. Israel has also targeted the international airports in Damascus and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo several times over the past f

The strike, a rare one aimed at a residential area in the heart of the city, damaged several buildings in the densely populated district close to Omayyad square

One person was killed and three soldiers were wounded in a missile attack on a Damascus suburb, Syria's state television reported, citing a military source

It was not clear what the targets were but state TV said the strikes were carried by warplanes flying in the Golan Heights

The attack caused a fire with flames appearing to come from a closed military area