AP PHOTOS: Portraits of former Syrian rebels now soldiers

Former Syrian rebels who now serve as part of the new Syrian government's armed forces posed for photo portraits with their weapons Friday. The soldiers, who took part in the overthrow of former president Bashar Assad’s government, were gathered together to wait for a military...

PHOTO COLLECTION: Syria Fighters Portraits

PHOTO COLLECTION: Syria

An uneasy calm settles over Syrian city of Homs after outbreak of sectarian violence

HOMS, Syria (AP) — Syria's new security forces checked IDs and searched cars in the central city of Homs on Thursday, a day after protests by members of the Alawite minority erupted in gunfire and stirred fears that the country's fragile peace could break down. A tense calm...

A Syrian family recounts the horrors of the 2013 chemical attack near Damascus

ZAMALKA, Syria (AP) — A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the country’s capital, Damascus, says the ordeal they experienced haunts them to this day. The Aug. 21, 2013 attack targeted several Damascus suburbs, including...

Israel's plan to double the number of settlers in the Golan Heights is met with conflicting emotions

EIN ZIVAN, Golan Heights (AP) — A dry mountain wind whipped through a cluster of Israeli flags at the entrance of a kibbutz in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, where the tranquility belies the tumultuous events unfolding nearby. Earlier this month, Syrian President Bashar Assad...

Clashes between Islamists now in power in Syria and Assad's supporters kill 6 fighters

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Clashes between Islamists who took over Syria and supporters of ousted President Bashar Assad's government killed six Islamic fighters on Wednesday and wounded others, according to a British-based war monitor. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the...

Fate of Trump's Cabinet picks unclear as Republicans prepare to take power in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is still unclear after Republican senators spent much of December carefully dodging questions about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’s views on vaccines, accusations of sexual misconduct against Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard's 2017...

Kurdish-led forces push back Turkish-backed Syrian rebels in a tense offensive

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — Kurdish-led fighters in Syria, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, said Tuesday they have launched a counter-offensive against the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army to take back areas near Syria’s northern border with Turkey. The Kurdish-led SDF is...

UN investigative team says Syria's new authorities 'very receptive' to probe of Assad war crimes

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria said Monday the country’s new authorities were “very receptive” to its request for cooperation during a just-concluded visit to Damascus, and it is preparing to deploy. The...