Five people were killed on Tuesday in two car bomb attacks targeting minority neighbourhoods in Syria and claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. Citing a security source, IS’s propaganda agency Amaq said IS fighters were responsible for the blasts near the capital Damascus and in third city Homs. The first explosion killed four people … Read more
A car bomb killed four people and wounded more than two dozen in Syria’s third city Homs on Tuesday, state media said, days after the government regained full control. The blast struck near the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood, where most residents belong to the same Alawite sect as President Bashar al-Assad. The bomber drove the vehicle towards … Read more
The Syrian government says its forces have regained total control of the central city of Homs after rebels left the last district under their control. About 700 rebels and their families, a total of nearly 3,000 people, were evacuated on buses from al-Wair district, government officials say. “The city of Homs is completely clear of … Read more
The Syrian regime on Sunday regained total control of the central city of Homs with the evacuation of rebels from the last area they had controlled. The Russian-supervised evacuation of the Waer district was the latest blow to the insurgents by regime troops backed by their Russian and Iranian allies. Since December, the rebels have … Read more
The last Syrian rebels and their families were being evacuated from the last opposition-held neighbourhood of the central city of Homs on Saturday, the provincial governor said. Talal Barazi told AFP that 3,000 evacuees, including 700 rebels, were due to be taken out of Waer district by the end of the day or dawn on … Read more
The suspect is said to have claimed responsibility for 20 deaths in Homs An asylum seeker has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Austria after being found guilty of killing 20 people in Syria. The 27-year-old man was accused of shooting unarmed or wounded soldiers following a battle in the city of … Read more
Syrian rebels on Wednesday said they were suspending their participation as a latest round of peace talks began in Kazakhstan, with the warring sides set to discuss a plan to create safe zones. “The rebel delegation is suspending the meetings because of the violent air strikes on civilians. The suspension will continue until shelling stops … Read more
Hundreds of frightened Syrians being evacuated from besieged towns were stuck Thursday at a rebel-held transit point where more than 120 of their fellow townspeople were killed in a weekend bombing. The 3,000 evacuees left their homes in the government-controlled towns of Fuaa and Kafraya at dawn on Wednesday as part of a deal that … Read more
Hundreds more Syrian rebels and their families left the last opposition-held neighbourhood of the central city of Homs on Saturday, Syria’s state news agency said. SANA reported that at least 242 rebels had left Waer along with their families under a deal granting them safe passage to opposition-held territory elsewhere in the country. Homs provincial … Read more
The US has carried out a missile strike against a Syrian air base in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town. Fifty-nine Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from two US Navy ships in the Mediterranean. President Donald Trump said they hit the Shayrat base that launched Tuesday’s attack. It is the … Read more
A bomb attack on a bus in Syria’s third city Homs killed five people and wounded at least seven on Wednesday, state media reported. The blast hit a small bus carrying passengers in the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood, which has repeatedly been targeted in bombings. Most of the neighbourhood’s residents belong to the same Alawite religious sect … Read more
Hundreds of rebels and civilians left the last opposition-held district of Homs on Saturday under a controversial Russian-supervised deal to bring Syria’s third city under full government control. The evacuation of Waer, a northwestern district of the city that has been under siege by the army for years, is the latest in a series of … Read more
Hundreds of rebels and civilians began leaving the last opposition-held district of Syria’s Homs on Saturday under a controversial deal that will bring the whole city under government control. The Russian-supervised evacuation of Waer was agreed earlier this month and is expected to last several weeks. The new agreement aims to finalise implementation of a … Read more
The US has denied hitting a mosque in Syria where activists say dozens of people, mostly civilians, were killed. The Pentagon said the US targeted an “al-Qaeda gathering across the street from a mosque”, and released footage showing that a mosque next to a destroyed building remained standing. It said the photo was taken less … Read more
Syria’s government and opposition said Monday they had agreed a Russian-supervised deal to complete the evacuation of fighters and civilians from the last rebel-held part of Homs city. The new agreement aims to finalise implementation of a “reconciliation deal” that has already seen several phases of rebel evacuation from Waer district, but which had stalled … Read more
Suicide attacks on two security service bases in the heart of Syria’s government-held third city of Homs killed 42 people on Saturday, overshadowing peace talks in Geneva, state television and a monitor said. “There were at least six attackers and several of them blew themselves up near the headquarters of state security and military intelligence,” … Read more
Eleven members of the same family were killed on Monday as Turkey-backed Syrian rebels advanced on the town of Al-Bab held by Islamic State jihadists, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four couples and three children were killed in their homes in the centre of town as it came under … Read more
The leading Syrian opposition body on Sunday lambasted escalating attacks by government forces as a “bloody message” aimed at sabotaging peace talks that are due to open in Geneva next week. The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said recent attacks near Damascus, Homs city, and elsewhere were “obstructing the efforts aimed at a political transition in … Read more
At least nine people were killed on Saturday when government forces launched a barrage of rockets that hit a funeral on the edges of the Syrian capital, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “seven rockets and several shells hit areas on the edges of Qabun”, a northeastern district of Damascus held … Read more
Syria’s regime is ready to release detainees in exchange for hostages held by rebels, the official SANA news agency reported Monday, ahead of peace talks in the Kazakh capital. “The government is ready… as part of efforts towards the next meeting in Astana to exchange detainees for men, women and children — civilians and soldiers … Read more