Author: Bassem Mroue
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Syria says Turkish-led forces attacked its troops
BEIRUT • Turkish forces and their allies attacked Syrian government troops in northeastern Syria on Thursday, killing some of them, and they also clashed with Kurdish-led fighters, the state news agency in Damascus and a war monitoring group said. The fighting underscored the risks of violence as multiple and often opposing armed forces jostle for…
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IS group attacks U.S.-Kurd convoy in Syria
BEIRUT • An Islamic State suicide bomber targeted a joint convoy of U.S. and allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria on Monday, marking the second attack against U.S. troops in less than a week and further highlighting the dangers surrounding U.S. plans to withdraw forces after a declaration that the extremist group had been defeated.…
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Report: Israeli attack wounds 3 near Damascus
BEIRUT • Israeli warplanes flying over Lebanon fired missiles toward areas near the Syrian capital of Damascus late Tuesday, hitting an arms depot and wounding three soldiers, Syrian state media reported, saying that most of the missiles were shot down by air defense units. The TV, quoting an unnamed military official, identified the warplanes as…
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Explosions rock Syrian capital as Trump announces strikes
DAMASCUS, Syria— Loud explosions ripped through Syria’s capital early Saturday and the sky turned orange as Syrian air defense units fired surface-to-air missiles in response to joint airstrikes by the United States, France and Britain. Associated Press reporters saw smoke rising from east Damascus and a huge fire to the east. From a distance, U.S.…
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More than 100 killed in Syria assault on Damascus suburb
BEIRUT — Intense Syrian government shelling and airstrikes on rebel-held Damascus suburbs killed nearly 130 people in two days, marking some of the deadliest bombardment of the rebellious region in three years, a monitoring group and paramedics said Tuesday. Retaliatory shells rained down on Damascus, killing at least eight people and causing panic among residents…
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Russia verifying whether it killed IS leader in airstrike
BEIRUT — Russia said Friday it was verifying whether it had killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike targeting a meeting of IS leaders just outside the group’s de facto capital in Syria, dealing a potentially severe blow to the extremist group as it fights to hang on to its strongholds…
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US: Errant strike killed 18 allied Syrian forces
BEIRUT — A misdirected airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition earlier this week killed 18 allied fighters battling the Islamic State group in northern Syria, the U.S. military said Thursday. U.S. Central Command said coalition aircraft were given the wrong coordinates by their partner forces, the predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, for the strike on Tuesday that…
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Some Christians arm as Mideast perils mount
QAA, Lebanon (AP) — Every day around sunset, dozens of residents of this small Lebanese Christian village on the border carry their automatic rifles and deploy on surrounding hills, taking up positions and laying ambushes in case Muslim extremists from neighboring Syria attack. “We all know that if they come, they will slit our throats…
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Hezbollah not interested in dialogue with U.S.
BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s deputy chief said Monday his group is not interested in a dialogue with Washington until the U.S. changes its Mideast policy, which he said is totally biased in favor of Israel. Sheik Naim Kassem was responding to leading U.S. expert on the Middle East Ryan Crocker who told Congress earlier this month…