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...

Syrians cheer end of 50 years of Assad rule at first Friday prayers since government fell

DAMASCUS (AP) — Exuberant Syrians observed the first Friday prayers since the ouster of President Bashar Assad, gathering in the capital's historic main mosque, its largest square and around the country to celebrate the end of half a century of authoritarian rule. The newly...

Where Turkey stands as Syrian government falls to opposition insurgents

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Syrian refugees across Turkey jubilantly welcomed the downfall of Bashar Assad’s government Sunday, with many embracing the chance to return to their homeland. Large crowds waving Syrian and Turkish flags gathered in the main square of Kilis, a border city...

Former Turkish soccer club president sentenced to prison for attacking referee

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former top-flight soccer club executive to more than three and a half years in prison for attacking a referee on the field at the end of a league game last season. MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca punched referee Halil...

Kurdish leader in Syria calls for diplomatic solutions to conflict with Turkey

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — The leader of the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northeast Syria in an interview with The Associated Press called for international mediators to continue pushing for diplomatic solutions to the complex web of conflicts in the Middle Eastern country, including the escalating...

Kurdish militants claim responsibility for deadly attack on Turkish defense firm

BAGHDAD (AP) — A banned Kurdish militant group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack on the headquarters of a key defense company in Ankara that killed at least five people. A statement from the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, said Wednesday’s...

Mayor says an attack targeting a Turkish defense company leaves 3 dead and 5 wounded

Bus carrying Japanese tourists crashes in Turkey, injuring 22

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A bus carrying Japanese tourists veered off a road and crashed into a ditch in Turkey on Thursday, injuring 22 people on board, the state-run news agency reported. The crash occurred on a highway in Afyonkarahisar province, about 250 kilometers (155 miles)...