Syria’s government on Wednesday fiercely denied accusations by Human Rights Watch that it used chemical weapons in its battle for Aleppo, shrugging off the group’s report as “unprofessional and unscientific”. In a major report released Monday, Human Rights Watch said Syrian government forces had carried out at least eight chemical attacks in late 2016 as … 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
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Saudi Arabia’s top leadership on Tuesday during a visit to further strengthen ties as part of a Gulf tour ahead of Syria peace talks. King Salman hosted a luncheon banquet for Erdogan, who arrived in Riyadh late Monday, the official Saudi Press Agency said. It gave no details of … 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
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived for talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday to further strengthen ties as part of a Gulf tour. The two Sunni powers have become increasingly close over the past year, sharing in particular a backing for the opposition in Syria’s war. Before beginning his Gulf trip in Bahrain on Sunday, … Read more
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Ankara wanted to establish a “safe zone” in northern Syria free of “terrorists”, as Turkish-backed rebels pushed ahead in the town of Al-Bab. He added the area would also require a “no-fly” zone. “Our objective here is (to establish) an area of at least 4,000, 5,000 square kilometres … Read more
Syrian government forces carried out at least eight chemical attacks during the final weeks of the battle for Aleppo, killing nine people, among them four children, Human Rights Watch said Monday. The rights group said it interviewed witnesses, collected photos and reviewed video footage indicating that chlorine bombs were dropped from government helicopters during the … Read more
Syria’s army advanced on Friday to the outskirts of a key Islamic State group bastion that is also being targeted by Turkey’s army and allied forces, a monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime soldiers and allied fighters were now 1.5 kilometres (one mile) from Al-Bab in northern Syria. The Observatory … Read more
Turkish troops and Syrian rebels on Saturday entered the Islamic State-held town of Al-Bab in northern Syria, as government forces moved closer to the jihadist bastion, a monitor said. Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency quoted military sources as saying one Turkish soldier was killed and another wounded in clashes with IS fighters in Al-Bab. Turkish … Read more
President Vladimir Putin has sent condolences after a Russian air strike accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers in northern Syria. The soldiers were supporting Syrian rebels in efforts to capture the city of al-Bab from so-called Islamic State. It is part of a broader offensive by Turkey to push IS and Kurdish fighters away from Turkey’s … Read more
The main suspect in the New Year’s Eve attack on an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul has been arrested in the Turkish city. Abdulkadir Masharipov is believed to have mounted the assault on the Reina club which left 39 people dead. The Uzbek national is said to have been caught in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district. Citizens of … Read more
The main suspect in the New Year’s Eve attack on an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul has been arrested in the Turkish city. Abdulkadir Masharipov is believed to have mounted the assault on the Reina club which left 39 people dead. The Uzbek national is said to have been caught in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district. Citizens of … Read more
A nationwide ceasefire between Syrian government forces and rebel groups has come into effect. The truce, brokered by Russia and Turkey, which will act as guarantors, began at midnight (22:00 GMT). The deal includes many rebel groups but not jihadists such as the so-called Islamic State, or the Kurdish YPG. The ceasefire appeared to be … Read more
Clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and ISIL fighters have intensified around the northern Syrian town of Al-Bab, resulting in the deaths of 14 Turkish soldiers, the military’s highest single-day toll of its four-month campaign inside the country. Wednesday’s battles, in which another 33 Turkish soldiers were wounded and 138 ISIL members were also killed, were … Read more
A car bomb killed 13 soldiers and wounded 56 when it ripped through a bus carrying off-duty military personnel in the central Turkish city of Kayseri on Saturday, an attack President Tayyip Erdogan blamed on Kurdish militants. The blast near a university campus comes a week after deadly twin bombings targeted police in Istanbul and … Read more
In the last rebel-held pocket of Aleppo, residents were bidding a tearful farewell to their battleground city, expecting to evacuate, only to be plunged back into a familiar nightmare. “Bombing is ongoing, no one can move. Everyone is hiding and terrified. The situation is indescribable,” activist Mohammad al-Khatib told AFP on Wednesday from inside the … Read more
The Turkish army has dropped leaflets on the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab in Syria urging civilians to seek shelter, as rebels backed by Turkish tanks and warplanes close in on the city. The leaflets, dropped on the last urban stronghold of Islamic State in the northern Aleppo countryside, suggest an imminent assault after hundreds … Read more
Syrian government forces have captured a key part of eastern Aleppo, splitting rebel-held territory in two. State TV said government troops were dismantling mines and explosives and continuing their advance. A monitoring group says the rebels have now lost more than a third of the previously rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Thousands of civilians have fled … Read more
The Turkish military has said that three of its soldiers have been killed and 10 more wounded in Syria by an air strike allegedly launched by Syrian government forces. A statement from the Turkish armed forces on its website said that the attack occurred at 3:30am local time [00:30 GMT] on Thursday. “In the air … Read more
An air strike has hit a children’s hospital in Syria’s eastern Aleppo, forcing its medical staff to evacuate their patients, including several newborn babies still in incubators. The moment of the attack on Friday was captured by an Al Jazeera crew, including journalist Amr al-Halabi, who was reporting about survivors of a previous Syrian government … Read more