In the latest round of violence in Syria's nearly nine-year-old war, regime forces have upped their deadly bombardment of the northwestern opposition bastion of Idlib in recent weeks
Paris climate deal, 2030 Agenda, Syrian conflict, among big global stories
President Trump confirmed the death of the ISIS leader during a press conference at the White House
Though the Trump administration is yet to announce the death of Baghdadi, media has reported that he was killed in the operation conducted by US Army's elite Delta Force
In a phone call with Erdogan, Merkel 'spoke in favour for an immediate end to the military operation', the chancellor's office said in a statement
Another consideration in the decision was Washington's Kurdish-led ally, the Syrian Democratic Forces, were looking to make a deal with Russia to counter the Turkish onslaught
The Turkish defence ministry hailed its forces' capture of the first Kurdish-held town of the offensive so far
The US, Britain and France struck military positions and research facilities linked to chemical weapons in Damascus and Homs overnight to retaliate against their suspected use in an April 7 attack