The jihadist takeover of Syria’s key Idlib province raises the prospect that the region could become the next target of the international participants in the country’s complex war. The northern province is one of only two that have fallen from regime control since the war began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. Idlib is the … Read more
A former Al-Qaeda affiliate took control of the northern Syrian city of Idlib on Sunday two days after agreeing to end fighting with a rebel group, a monitor said. “Ahrar al-Sham (the rebel group) withdrew from the city of Idlib which is now under the control of (the jihadist) Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,” Rami Abdel Rahman … Read more
A former Al-Qaeda affiliate was locked in fierce clashes Friday with a leading rebel group for control of one of the last major parts of Syria not held by the regime. The clashes in Syria’s Idlib province in the country’s northwest pit the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) against the key rebel group Ahrar al-Sham, … Read more
Clashes in Syria’s Idlib province between a powerful jihadist group and a key rebel faction intensified overnight, spreading to a border crossing with Turkey, a monitor and AFP correspondent said Friday. The running battles between the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, and the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group have so … Read more
Infighting between two of the most powerful factions in Syria’s opposition-held Idlib province has killed at least 14 people in the past 24 hours, a monitor said Wednesday. The fighting involves the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, against one-time ally Ahrar al-Sham, a powerful Islamist rebel group. The Syrian … Read more
A diplomatic crisis pitting Saudi Arabia against Qatar has put Syrian rebels in a difficult position, analysts say, after rivalries between Gulf backers had already weakened the opposition. Both Sunni-ruled monarchies sided with the protesters in March 2011, when the war started with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations. They continued supporting the mostly Sunni … Read more
Ahrar al-Sham blamed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for the attack Ahrar al-Sham blamed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for the attack At least 14 fighters from the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group in Syria were killed by bomb attacks on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights … Read more
Thousands of Syrians were evacuated from besieged towns on Wednesday with tight security in place after a weekend bombing against those leaving government-held areas killed dozens, including nearly 70 children. The evacuations are part of a deal between government and opposition representatives to relieve thousands from suffocating sieges imposed by the regime and rebels. A … Read more
The evacuation of civilians and fighters from besieged Syrian towns resumed on Wednesday after a weekend bombing at a transit point killed 126 people, 68 of them children, an AFP correspondent reported. Dozens of buses from the government-held towns of Fuaa and Kafraya, which have been under crippling siege for more than two years, reached … Read more
Nearly 70 children were among those killed when a suicide car bombing tore through buses carrying evacuees from besieged government-held towns in Syria, a monitor said on Sunday. Saturday’s blast hit a convoy carrying residents from the northern towns of Fuaa and Kafraya as they waited at a transit point in rebel-held Rashidin, west of … Read more
The northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, site of a presumed chemical attack, is the last remaining rebel bastion after six years of civil war. Idlib city has taken in masses of displaced Syrians, swelling its population from nearly 120,000 people before the war began in 2011 to around 200,000 today. Before fighting broke out, the … Read more
Heavy clashes rocked eastern districts of the Syrian capital on Sunday after rebel fighters launched a surprise assault on government forces, a monitor and state television said. Steady shelling and sniper fire could be heard across Damascus on Sunday as rebel factions allied with former al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham launched an attack on government … Read more
A Syrian military plane crashed in Turkey on Saturday near the country’s border with Syria, the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu said. The plane crashed in the Turkish province of Hatay, it said, quoting provincial governor Erdal Ata as saying police and medical teams were at the site. “The plane’s cockpit was empty. We believe … Read more
CIA-coordinated military aid for rebels in northwest Syria has been frozen since they came under major Islamist attack last month, rebel sources said, raising doubts about foreign support key to their war against President Bashar al-Assad. Rebel officials said that no official explanation had been given for the move this month following the jihadist assault, … Read more
Syrian government officials and opposition figures will gather in Geneva on Thursday for the fourth round of UN-brokered talks aimed at ending their country’s brutal six-year conflict. Here is a breakdown of the forces involved in the complex war, which has killed more than 310,000 people since it broke out in 2011: The Syrian army’s … Read more
Dozens of fighters have been killed in clashes between two jihadist factions in northern Syria, reports say. The battles involved Tahrir al-Sham, formerly an al-Qaeda affiliate, and Jund al-Aqsa, regarded as close to so-called Islamic State (IS). UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the fighting was a “war for influence” in Idlib province. … Read more
Nearly 70 fighters from two formerly allied jihadist groups have been killed during infighting over the past 24 hours in northern Syria, a monitor said on Tuesday. The clashes between former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham and the hardline jihadist Jund al-Aqsa faction erupted on Monday morning, after tensions over influence in the northwestern province of … Read more
GETTY IMAGES/The Pentagon said it conducted two air strikes over two days earlier this month US forces killed 11 members of al-Qaeda in two air strikes near Idlib in Syria, this month, including a former ally of Osama Bin Laden, the Pentagon said. Captain Jeff Davis, a spokesman, said 10 operatives were killed in a … Read more
US forces killed 11 members of al-Qaeda in two air strikes near Idlib in Syria, this month, including a former ally of Osama Bin Laden, the Pentagon said. Captain Jeff Davis, a spokesman, said 10 operatives were killed in a single strike on 3 February. A second strike on 4 February killed Abu Hani al-Masri, … Read more
The jihadist group said rebels were conspiring against it at peace talks in Kazakhstan Insurgent factions in Syria have joined together to fight off an assault by a powerful jihadist group which launched an attack on rebels this week. Several militias formed an alliance with key Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham amid some of the worst … Read more