BEIRUT—The U.S. State Department on Monday banned entry into the U.S. of a Syrian intelligence member who appeared in a video leaked last year showing him fatally shooting people during the country’s 12-year conflict. The ban against Amjad Yousef, a member of Syria’s notorious Military Intelligence Branch 227, includes his wife and immediate members of…
World Bank: Quake Caused Damage Worth $5.1 Billion in Syria
BEIRUT—The World Bank said Friday that Syria sustained an estimated $5.1 billion in damages in last month’s massive earthquake that struck southeast Turkey and northern parts of the war-torn country. The quake killed at least 50,000 people, including about 6,000 in Syria, according to the United Nations. Tens of thousands are still missing and hundreds…
Syria Mission Worth the Risk, Top US General Says After Rare Visit
NORTHEAST SYRIA—The nearly eight-year-old U.S. deployment to Syria to combat the ISIS terrorist group is still worth the risk, the top U.S. military officer said on Saturday, after a rare, unannounced visit to a dusty base in the country’s northeast to meet U.S. troops. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,…
Turkey’s Implosion and Isolation From the West
Commentary Turkey’s strategic collapse had, by early 2023, become unavoidable; it had already begun. And rather than attempt any remedial action, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan merely worsened the crisis, hoping to achieve short-term popularity. However, his apparent paranoia over possible threats to his survival in office meant that he delayed by 48…
After Years of Isolation, Quake-Hit Syria Set to Return to Regional Fold
After being largely shunned in the region for the past 12 years, Syria appears set to return to the fold after two devastating earthquakes left thousands dead in the country’s northwest early this month. On Feb. 27, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Damascus, where he held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It was…
ISIS Attacks on Syria Truffle Hunters Are Deadliest in a Year
BEIRUT—The ISIS terrorist group has carried out its deadliest attacks in more than a year, killing dozens of civilians and security officers in the deserts of central Syria, even as people of northern Syria have been digging out of the wreckage from the region’s devastating earthquake. The bloodshed was a reminder of the persistent threat…
Drone Strike in Syria Kills 2 al-Qaeda-Linked Operatives
BEIRUT—A drone strike believed to have been carried out by the U.S.-led coalition in northwestern Syria on Friday killed two operatives with an al-Qaeda-linked group, Syrian opposition activists said. The two terrorists were killed while riding a motorcycle near the northern village of Qah, close to the Turkish border, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory…
Death Toll From Turkey, Syria Earthquake Tops 47,000
ANKARA, Turkey—The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit parts of Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 continues to rise as more bodies are retrieved from the rubble of demolished buildings. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the already battered Province of Hatay this week damaged or demolished more buildings, compounding the devastation. Here’s…
Shamima Begum Bid to Restore British Citizenship Rejected
Shamima Begum failed in a last-ditch legal bid to have her British citizenship restored. On Wednesday, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) fully dismissed the 23-year-old’s legal challenge against a Home Office decision to revoke her status as a UK citizen. It means Begum—who travelled from her London home to join the ISIS terrorist group in Syria…
Death Toll Rises to 8 From New Turkey-Syria Earthquake
ISTANBUL—The death toll in Turkey and Syria rose to eight in a new and powerful earthquake that struck two weeks after a devastating temblor killed nearly 45,000 people, authorities and media said Tuesday. Turkey’s disaster management authority said six people were killed and 294 others were injured with 18 in critical condition after Monday’s 6.4-magnitude…
-
Recent Posts
-
Archives
- May 2025
- April 2025
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- September 2013
- July 2013
- March 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- December 1
-
Meta