A large explosion has hit an area near Damascus international airport, a monitoring group says. “The blast was huge and could be heard in Damascus,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The airport lies about 25 km (15 miles) south-east of Syria’s capital. The explosion was reportedly followed … Read more
A large explosion has hit an area near Damascus international airport, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says. “The blast was huge and could be heard in Damascus,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based monitoring group. The airport lies about 25 km (15 miles) south-east of Syria’s capital. The blast was reportedly followed … Read more
A massive explosion hit near the Damascus International Airport in the early hours of Thursday morning, a monitoring group said, without specifying the cause. “The blast was huge and could be heard in Damascus,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Damascus International Airport lies about 25 kilometres southeast … Read more
Fighting erupted on Wednesday along Syria’s northeastern border between Turkish forces and Kurdish militiamen, as tensions boiled over in the aftermath of deadly Turkish air strikes the previous day. The strikes against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have thrown the complexity of Syria’s war into sharp relief and even sparked calls for a no-fly … Read more
The Islamic State group is using weaponised drones to hold off US-backed forces advancing in a key Syrian town, a monitor said Wednesday, a tactic the jihadists have also used in neighbouring Iraq. With air cover from the US-led coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were locked in clashes inside IS-held Tabqa on Wednesday, two … Read more
The toll in Turkish air raids on Kurdish positions in northeastern Syria rose to 28 killed, a monitor said Wednesday, a day after Ankara said it had targeted “terrorist havens” near its border. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of those killed were members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is … Read more
Turkish warplanes killed more than 20 Kurdish fighters Tuesday in strikes in Syria and Iraq, where the Kurds are key players in the battle against the Islamic State group. The deadliest bombardment was on the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who are leading the US-backed fight for the important IS-held town of Tabqa in northern … Read more
Turkish warplanes conducted a barrage of air strikes on Kurdish positions in northeast Syria early Tuesday, leaving several fighters dead, Kurdish forces and a monitor said. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) said the strikes hit their positions near the Syrian border town of Al-Malikiyah at 2:00 am Tuesday (2300 GMT Monday). “Turkish planes carried … Read more
A US-backed alliance of Arab-Kurdish forces entered the key jihadist-held town of Tabqa on Monday as they pursued their campaign against the Islamic State group in northern Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces have set their sights on Tabqa and the adjacent dam as part of their broader offensive for the city of Raqa, the Syrian … Read more
Hundreds of frightened Syrian evacuees were on the move again Friday after being blocked for 48 hours at a transit point where a bomber killed dozens of their fellow townspeople. Ten of the 45 buses carrying civilians and loyalist fighters from the besieged government-held towns of Fuaa and Kafraya left the marshalling area in rebel-held … Read more
The evacuation and transfer of thousands of Syrians from four besieged areas resumed on Wednesday, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The reciprocal evacuations from the two pro-government villages of Foua and Kefraya and the two opposition-held towns of Zabadani and Madaya was disrupted by a bombing on Saturday that killed … 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
US-backed fighters have reached the outskirts of a key jihadist-held town in northern Syria as part of an offensive against the Islamic State group’s bastion Raqa, a monitor said Saturday. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alliance supported by US-led coalition air strikes and special forces advisers, surrounded Tabqa in early April and have … Read more
At least 19 civilians were killed on Tuesday in heavy aerial bombardment of several opposition-held towns east of the Syrian capital, a monitoring group said. Six children were among the dead in Eastern Ghouta, the largest rebel bastion near Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “It was a series of air strikes throughout … Read more
The implementation of a deal to evacuate four besieged Syrian towns has been delayed over last-minute negotiations, a monitor and government negotiator said on Tuesday. The evacuation of more than 30,000 people from the towns of Fuaa, Kafraya, Madaya and Zabadani, brokered by rebel supporter Qatar and regime ally Iran, was scheduled to start Tuesday. … Read more
Syria’s army and allies have regained most of the territory they lost during an assault by rebels and jihadists earlier this month in the country’s centre, a monitor said Friday. “The regime has recaptured 75 percent of the territory it lost in the north of Hama province,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based … Read more
Four Syrian towns are to be evacuated under an agreement between pro-government forces and rebels, in the latest of a series of deals to end crippling years-long sieges. The agreement, brokered by rebel supporter Qatar and regime ally Iran, is expected to involve more than 30,000 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The … Read more
Four Syrian towns that have been under crippling siege for more than two years are to be evacuated under a deal reached late on Tuesday, a monitoring group said. Residents of Zabadani and Madaya, two towns near Damascus under siege by government forces, will leave their homes in return for the evacuation of Fuaa and … Read more
Clashes raged around a key northern Syrian town on Tuesday after the Islamic State group launched a counter-attack to fend off a US-backed advance near the jihadists’ stronghold Raqa. Backed by air power from an international coalition bombing IS, the Syrian Democratic Forces are laying the groundwork for an assault on the heart of the … Read more
The Islamic State group launched a counter-attack Tuesday against US-backed fighters closing in on a key jihadist-held town in northern Syria, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes were raging around Tabqa, a town on the southern bank of the Euphrates River. “The fighting is a result of IS launching a … Read more