Page 15 - Syria

Russian fighter jet strikes another American drone over Syria: White House

A Russian fighter jet fired flares and struck another U.S. drone over Syrian airspace on Wednesday, the White House said, in a continued string of harassing maneuvers that have ratcheted up tensions between the global powers. It's the sixth reported incident this month, and the second in the past 24 hours, in which the United States has said Russian warplanes have flown dangerously close to American manned and unmanned aircraft, putting crews and the planes at risk and raising questions as to what the U.S. may need to do in response. Two U.S. officials confirmed that the strike damaged the MQ-9 Reaper drone. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. "We've seen the reports, the early reports, of a second Russian fighter aircraft this week flying dangerously close to our drone" on a mission to counter Islamic State militants in Syria, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. She did not provide other details, but

Russian fighter jets damage US MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission

The Sunday incident is the latest in a series of encounters between Russian fighter jets and US aircraft flying over Syria

Russian fighter jet flies dangerously close to US warplane over Syria

A Russian fighter jet flew very close to a US surveillance aircraft over Syria, forcing it to go through the turbulent wake and putting the lives of the four American crew members in danger, US officials said Monday. The officials said the incident, which happened just before noon EDT on Sunday, was a significant escalation in what has been a string of encounters between US and Russian aircraft in Syria in recent weeks. The intercept by the Russian Su-35 impeded the US crew's ability to safely operate their MC-12 aircraft, the officials said, calling it a new level of unsafe behaviour that could result in an accident or loss of life. In recent weeks, Russian fighter jets have repeatedly harassed US unmanned MQ-9 drones, but the latest incident raised alarms because it endangered American lives. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of a military operation, would not say how close the Russian jet got to the US warplane. The MC-12, which is a twin-engin

Syria revokes BBC's media accreditation, accuses it of spreading fake news

Syria's Information Ministry has cancelled the BBC's media accreditation, accusing the British public broadcaster of biased and fake news in its coverage of the war-torn country. The announcement came days after BBC Arabic released an investigative documentary about the illicit drug trade in Syria, where they highlighted links between the estimated multibillion-dollar industry and the Syrian army as well as members of President Bashar Assad's family. The Syrian Information Ministry in a statement late Saturday said the decision was made after warning the channel more than once that it has broadcasted its misleading reports relying on statements and testimonies from terrorist entities and those hostile to Syria." Damascus revoked the licenses of both the British broadcaster's radio and television correspondents in Syria, as well as their videographer. We speak to people across the political spectrum to establish the facts, the BBC said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press,

US military drone strike kills ISIS leader Osama al-Muhajer in Syria

Osama al-Muhajer was killed in the strike on Friday, according to a statement released on Sunday by the US Central Command

UN urges Security Council to extend Turkey border crossing into Syria

The UN secretary general is hoping that the Security Council will vote later this month to keep a key border crossing from Turkiye to Syria's rebel-held northwest open for critical aid deliveries for a period of one year instead of six months, a UN official said Tuesday. Syria's northwestern province of Idlib is home to some 4 million people, many of whom were earlier displaced during the 12-year civil war, which has killed nearly half a million people. Hundreds of thousands live in tent settlements and rely on aid that comes through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing. The Security Council is expected to vote in the coming days, as the current six-month opening period expires on July 10. The situation got worse after the February 6 earthquake that hit southern Turkiye and northern Syria, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving many more homeless and in need of aid. In the past, Russia, the main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, abstained on or vetoed resolutions on ...

France returns 35 citizens from camp in Syria linked to ISIS extremists

France has returned 35 people 10 women and 25 minors from a sprawling camp in northeast Syria housing thousands of people linked to Islamic State extremists. Al-Hol Camp named after a town near the Iraqi border holds about 51,000 people, including many widows, wives and children of Islamic State fighters. Iraqis make up nearly half the population, but a sizeable minority are from outside the Middle East. Part of the camp called the Annex holds around 8,000 women and children from 60 nationalities who are considered the most die-hard among the residents, and experts have warned for years that the camp's wretched conditions and confined spaces risk creating another generation of Islamic State fighters. French citizens made up the largest European contingent of people who joined the Islamic State at the height of the extremist group's reach. With its territorial defeat in 2019, France has brought home women and children in successive waves. All 10 of the adults, women aged 23 to 4

Israel attacks Syria; Syrian air defence missile explodes over north Israel

Israel carried out airstrikes on areas near the central Syrian city of Homs early Sunday causing material damage but no casualties, the Syrian military said in a statement. Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying the air defences shot down some of the missiles fired by Israeli warplanes flying over neighbouring Lebanon. Israeli authorities did not comment on the airstrike on Homs but said one of the Syrian air defence missiles exploded over northern Israel without causing any damage. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee later said that Israel's military retaliated for the firing of the air defense missile that exploded over the country's north by attacking Syrian air defence batteries from where the missile was fired. The warplanes also attacked other targets in the area, Adraee tweeted without elaborating. Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment next door, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of ...

Russian air strikes kill 9 in Syria's Idlib in one of the deadliest attacks

The attack on Jisr al-Shughur on Sunday is the deadliest to have occurred in northwest Syria so far in 2023, reported CNN

UN enters Oppn-held Syria from govt territory first time since earthquake

A convoy carrying United Nations aid entered opposition-held Idlib from government-held Syria on Friday, the first such shipment to cross battle lines since a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria in February. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, announced that an aid convoy carrying humanitarian supplies crossed from Aleppo to northwest Syria. The last UN aid shipment to cross battle lines into the northwest was on January 8. In the wake of the earthquake that struck Turkey and northern Syria on February 6, causing widespread destruction, cross-line aid convoys had been prevented from entering Idlib from government-held areas by the formerly al-Qaeda-affiliated rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which dominates the area. An administrative arm of the group accused the government of Bashar Assad in a statement at the time of trying to benefit from the aid intended for victims of the earthquake. In the wake of the earthquake, the

India to buy 31 Predator drones from US for $3.5 bn; all you need to know

These drones can operate at heights up to 50,000 feet for over 27 hours with a payload capacity of 1,746 kg

US' Antony Blinken announces $150M aid for Syria, Iraq at Saudi conference

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the U.S. would provide nearly USD 150 million in aid for areas in Syria and Iraq that were liberated from the Isamic State extremist group. He spoke at a ministerial conference hosted by Saudi Arabia on combatting the group, which no longer controls any territory but whose affiliates still carry out attacks across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS includes more than 80 countries and continues to coordinate action against the extremist group, which at its height controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq. Blinken said the U.S. pledge is part of new funding amounting to more than USD 600 million. Poor security and humanitarian conditions. Lack of economic opportunity. These are the fuel for the kind of desperation on which ISIS feeds and recruits, he said, using a common acronym for the extremist group. So we have to stay committed to our stabilisation goals. Blinken co-hosted the conference as pa

Germany arrests 7 alleged members of network that helped Islamic State

Seven people were arrested in raids across Germany on Wednesday against alleged members of a network that helped finance the Islamic State extremist group's activities in Syria, prosecutors said. The suspects four women and three men, with German, Turkish, Moroccan and Kosovo citizenship were arrested in five German states, while investigators searched 19 properties in Germany and one in the Netherlands, federal prosecutors said in a statement. The suspects are accused of supporting a foreign terrorist organisation and, in some cases, of violating export laws. Prosecutors allege that the suspects were financial intermediaries in a network in which two supporters of IS in Syria had sought donations for the group via Telegram since 2020. They allegedly collected and helped transfer donations. The money was used to strengthen IS and in particular to improve supplies to members of the group held at two camps in northern Syria, prosecutors said. In some cases, they added, the money ..

More than 9,000 Afghans file asylum applications in EU in a month

It is reported that Syrians and Afghans are the largest groups of asylum seekers in the EU member states over the past years

Syrian army bombards positions of former el-Qaida affiliate in Syria

According to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights figures, 211 people have been killed in mutual shellings between the Syrian forces and the rebels in northern Syria so far this year

Arab leaders, joined by Bashar Assad, at key summit in Saudi Arabia

Washington has objected to any steps towards normalisation with Assad, saying there must first be progress towards a political solution to the conflict

Assad emerges victorious, as Arab governments accept Syria back to the fold

Apparently, most Arab governments see that they have to recognize Assad's rule as a reality and as a means to avoid further destabilization in the region

Saudi Arabia to reopen embassy in Syria as diplomatic relations improve

The diplomatic mission of Saudi Arabia in Syria will resume its work 11 years after it was closed as the two countries' relations have improved recently, the kingdom's news agency reported late Tuesday. The announcement came nearly a month after Syria and Saudi Arabia said they were moving toward reopening embassies and resuming airline flights. Last month's development followed a visit by Syria's top diplomat to the kingdom, the first since Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic relations with Syria in 2012 and a visit by Syria's foreign minister to Riyadh. On Sunday, the 22-member Arab League agreed to reinstate Syria, ending a 12-year suspension and taking another step toward bringing Syrian President Bashar Assad, a long-time regional pariah, back into the fold. Syria was widely shunned by Arab governments over the Assad government's brutal crackdown on protesters in a 2011 uprising that descended into civil war. The breakdown in relations culminated with Syria being ousted from the Ar

Arab League to readmit Syria after more than a decade of isolation

The decision was unanimous, Hossam Zaki, the Arab League's assistant secretary-general, told Bloomberg. The move, taken at an Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo

'Dramatic decrease' in Islamic State activities in Iraq and Syria: US

This past Ramazan, normally a time when IS ramps up its attacks and activities, was "one of the most peaceful in years," said US Major General Matthew McFarlane