Latest Syria News
What to know about the latest effort to bring an end to Turkey's 40-year Kurdish conflict
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Talks between politicians from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party and jailed Kurdish leaders have been gathering steam as they try to end 40 years of fighting between the state and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The latest peace effort comes at a time of...
EU ministers will consider easing sanctions on Syria at a meeting later in January
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — European Union foreign ministers will meet in late January to discuss easing sanctions imposed on Syria, the bloc's foreign policy chief said Sunday. However, she said the move would depend on Syria's new rulers carrying out an inclusive political transition after last...
Syrian intelligence agency says it thwarted a planned Islamic State attack on a Shiite shrine
DAMASCUS (AP) — Intelligence officials in Syria's new de facto government thwarted a plan by the Islamic State group to set off a bomb at a Shiite shrine in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, state media reported Saturday. State news agency SANA reported, citing an unnamed...
Syrians celebrate a month since Assad’s overthrow with revolutionary songs in Damascus
DAMASCUS (AP) — A packed concert hall in Damascus came alive this week with cheers as Wasfi Maasarani, a renowned singer and symbol of the Syrian uprising, performed in celebration of “Syria’s victory." The concert Wednesday marked Maasarani’s return to Syria after 13 years...
Italy’s foreign minister heads to Syria to encourage post-Assad transition
ROME (AP) — Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he will travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents, and said Europe should review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has...
Conflict between Turkey and Kurdish groups rises around key dam in northern Syria
TISHRIN DAM, Syria (AP) — A key dam in northern Syria has become a flash point in the conflict between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups, which has intensified in the weeks since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive. Over a thousand...
Middle East latest: Israeli hostage found dead in Gaza, military says
Israeli forces have recovered the body of a hostage held in Gaza, the military said Wednesday, adding that it was identifying additional remains that could belong to another captive. The recovery of Yosef AlZayadni, 53, from an underground tunnel comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a...
US troops need to stay in Syria to counter the Islamic State group, Austin says
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — The U.S. needs to keep troops deployed in Syria to prevent the Islamic State group from reconstituting as a major threat following the ouster of Bashar Assad's government, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told The Associated Press. American forces...
First international commercial flight since Assad's ouster lands at Syria's main airport
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The first international commercial flight since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad landed Tuesday at the Damascus airport. The Qatar Airways flight landed at Damascus International Airport, greeted by the passengers' relatives and friends inside...
Lebanon to deport detained son of late Muslim Brotherhood leader to UAE
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s cabinet voted Tuesday to deport to the United Arab Emirates an Egyptian activist and poet detained by Lebanese security forces after crossing the porous border from Syria last month. Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi, who is an outspoken critic of Egypt’s...
