The United States Air Force (USAF) attacks on eastern Syria near the Iraqi border killed at least five Iran-backed militia fighters on Monday. According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, "at least 5 Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters were killed and numerous more were wounded in an attack by US bombers.

The United States Air Force (USAF) attacks on eastern Syria near the Iraqi border killed at least five Iran-backed militia fighters on Monday. According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, "at least 5 Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters were killed and numerous more were wounded in an attack by US bombers." According to the US Department of Defence, US combat aircraft have hit Iranian-backed insurgents' positions in the Syrian-Iraqi border region. Watch: The war monitor also confirmed the news that military positions were among the targets attacked. The strikes are the second such US attack on Iran-backed militias in Syria since President Joe Biden came to power, according to the Pentagon. Also Read | We have drones with 7,000 km range, says Iran's top commander "At President Biden's direction, US military forces earlier this evening conducted defensive precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region. The targets were selected because these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against US personnel and facilities in Iraq," the Pentagon said in a statement late on Sunday. Also read: Secret UK defence documents found at a bus stop in Kent "Specifically, the US strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, both of which lie close to the border between those countries. Several Iran-backed militia groups, including Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), used these facilities," the statement added. In recent months, US interests in Iraq have been repeatedly attacked, with the US regularly blaming Iran-linked Iraqi militias for rocket and other assaults against US forces stationed in Iraq. According to the Observatory, US strikes on facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in east Syria killed more than 20 combatants in February. The strikes were in response for a rocket attack in Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and injured a US military member and other coalition troops, according to the Pentagon. (With inputs from agencies)

Five militia fighters killed in US strikes near Syria-Iraq border

US&nbsp;Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that 10,000 Islamic State fighters continue to be held in detention in camps run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and that this situation was 'untenable'. 
 
Speaking at the opening of a meeting in Rome to renew international efforts to combat the Islamist militia, Blinken said Washington continued to urge countries, including the 78 member countries of the coalition against Islamic State, to take back their citizens, who had joined the group. 
 
"This situation is simply untenable. It just can't persist indefinitely. The United States continues to urge countries of origin, including coalition partners, to repatriate, rehabilitate, and where applicable, prosecute their citizens," Blinken said in his opening remarks. 
 
Another key element of defeating Islamic State on a permanent basis required addressing the threats from the group outside Iraq and Syria, and namely in Africa, Blinken said. 
 
Originally an offshoot of al Qaeda, Islamic State seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014, imposing a reign of terror with public beheadings and attacks by supporters abroad. 
 
Islamic State was declared militarily defeated in 2017 but has since waged a steady insurgency across parts of northern Iraq and a porous border with neighbouring Syria. 
 
Recent months have witnessed more than 25 deadly attacks that Iraqi officials attribute to Islamic State militants. The January bombing of a crowded Baghdad market killed more than 30 people. 
 
Militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have also grown stronger in recent years, despite the deployment of thousands of regional, Western and UN&nbsp;troops across West Africa's Sahel region.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that 10,000 Islamic State fighters continue to be held in detention in camps run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and that this situation was 'untenable'.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that 10,000 Islamic State fighters continue to be held in detention in camps run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and that this situation was 'untenable'. Speaking at the opening of a meeting in Rome to renew international efforts to combat the Islamist militia, Blinken said Washington continued to urge countries, including the 78 member countries of the coalition against Islamic State, to take back their citizens, who had joined the group. "This situation is simply untenable. It just can't persist indefinitely. The United States continues to urge countries of origin, including coalition partners, to repatriate, rehabilitate, and where applicable, prosecute their citizens," Blinken said in his opening remarks. Another key element of defeating Islamic State on a permanent basis required addressing the threats from the group outside Iraq and Syria, and namely in Africa, Blinken said. Originally an offshoot of al Qaeda, Islamic State seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014, imposing a reign of terror with public beheadings and attacks by supporters abroad. Islamic State was declared militarily defeated in 2017 but has since waged a steady insurgency across parts of northern Iraq and a porous border with neighbouring Syria. Recent months have witnessed more than 25 deadly attacks that Iraqi officials attribute to Islamic State militants. The January bombing of a crowded Baghdad market killed more than 30 people. Militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have also grown stronger in recent years, despite the deployment of thousands of regional, Western and UN troops across West Africa's Sahel region.

Blinken: 'Untenable' for 10,000 IS fighters still to be held in Syria

In response to drone attacks against US personnel and facilities in Iraq, America has carried out airstrikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria. At least 5 Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters have been killed and several others wounded in the attack.

US carries out air strikes in Iraq and Syria, target Iran-backed militia groups

Failure to renew a cross-border aid operation into Syria which expires next month could result in a new "humanitarian disaster" for the country`s rebel-held region in the northwest, a World Health Organization spokesman said on Friday. 
 
Christian Lindmeier told a Geneva news briefing that a failure of the UN&nbsp;Security Council to renew the mandate for another year on July 10 would make it impossible to deliver vaccines to the region, including COVID-19 vaccines.

Failure to renew a cross-border aid operation into Syria which expires next month could result in a new "humanitarian disaster" for the country`s rebel-held region in the northwest, a World Health Organization spokesman said on Friday.

Failure to renew a cross-border aid operation into Syria which expires next month could result in a new "humanitarian disaster" for the country`s rebel-held region in the northwest, a World Health Organization spokesman said on Friday. Christian Lindmeier told a Geneva news briefing that a failure of the UN Security Council to renew the mandate for another year on July 10 would make it impossible to deliver vaccines to the region, including COVID-19 vaccines.

WHO warns of 'humanitarian disaster' in Syria if cross-border aid not renewed

Syrian mother Umm Saeed was so desperate to find her two jailed sons she even sold the family furniture to pay "fixers", but a decade of deceit has left her no closer to the truth.

"Had they asked for my heart, I would have handed it over," the 63-year-old mother told AFP by phone from central Syria, using a pseudonym for fear of reprisal.

But "they lied to me".

In war-torn Syria, where tens of thousands of people have disappeared into a murky web of regime jails infamous for torture, a booming trade has emerged for "fixers" offering to help families locate or save their loved ones.

Policemen, lawyers, businessmen and even lawmakers, with security&nbsp;and judicial contacts, demand steep fees to dig up information about a disappeared son or brother, allow a visit, reduce their sentence, or obtain their release.

Some efforts are successful, while more often scammers pocket the money and stop answering phone calls.

It's normal families who seek out the so-called fixers, but sometimes they receive cold calls persuading them to pay up for a photo or voice recording, only to vanish with the money.

AFP spoke to members of eight such families, most of whom asked that their real names not be used.

Umm Saeed said her two sons were detained in 2012.

"Whenever someone told me about a potential middleman, I would go to them," said the mother, who suffers from heart problems.

She paid a lawyer who asked for the equivalent of more than $3,000 but "did not provide the slightest bit of information".

Another man claiming to be a policeman was paid with a mobile phone after saying he could get her permission to visit Sednaya, a notorious prison in Damascus.

But when she showed up at the jail which Amnesty International calls a "slaughterhouse", she was told the pass was fake and sent away.

"I sold my home furniture and my daughters' gold. I have nothing left," she said.

'Black market'

Diana Semaan, a researcher at Amnesty,&nbsp;said the government's policy of silence on the fate of detainees had created a "black market" for information.

"Families, desperate for information, end up paying huge amounts of money, sometimes their entire life savings, to intermediaries and 'middlemen' close to the Syrian government," she explained.

Suaad, 45, said her family in northern Syria had paid 20 million pounds to various brokers over the years to try to find her brother since he disappeared in 2013.

In April, someone contacted the family asking for payment to release him.

But after they raised the cash, "he told us my brother had died three days earlier", Suaad said.

Two weeks later, another person rang, offering a phone call with her brother.

When the call came, there was no audible voice on the other end of the line; all they got for their money was static.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says around half a million people have entered regime jails since the 2011 start of Syria's conflict, of whom 60,000 have died of poor detention conditions or torture.

Another mother, 56-year-old Umm Yahya, said she had managed to visit her son just once, six months after he was detained in Idlib, northwest Syria, in 2012.

"I barely recognised him. His weight had dropped from 110 (240 pounds) to less than 50 kilos," she said.

She has heard nothing since.

Her family has over the years poured a small fortune into the pockets of possible intermediaries, selling two plots of land and a house in Idlib to cover the costs,&nbsp;but to no avail.

Her husband has grown increasingly reluctant to squander the family's savings. Two years ago, a lawyer asked for $10,000, but her husband refused.

"If a hundred more people turned up, even if there was just a one per cent chance of success, I would do it again," said Umm Yahya.

Estimated $900 million in bribes

The Association of Detainees and Missing Persons at Sednaya prison accused the regime in a report earlier this year of using detention as a means to extort money and "increase the influence of security services, their leaders, influential people in its government, some judges and lawyers."

It carried out hundreds of interviews showing that families had paid a total of more than $2.7 million over the years in return for the promise of information, a visit or a release from jail.

Based on that figure, the association estimates that the Syrian regime has made almost $900 million through "extortion" of families over the past decade.

Noura Ghazi, director of Nophotozone, an association that helps detainees' relatives, said many lawyers "invested" in state security courts.

Most of them deceive the families, "but some pay bribes to judges and to the security apparatuses, while taking a percentage or just their fees, and succeed in getting a person released", she said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/countries-relying-on-chinese-vaccines-reporting-covid-19-surge-report-393242">Also Read |&nbsp;Countries relying on Chinese vaccines reporting COVID-19 surge: Report</a>

Though most efforts fail, three people told AFP they had managed to transfer their relative to a better jail or even to have them freed.

Tamer said his family spent the past two years trying to save his brother Nizar from death in detention.

Nizar was arrested in 2018 in southern Syria despite having signed a so-called "reconciliation deal" with the regime.

The family learned he had been taken to Sednaya and was to appear before a military court infamous for handing out death sentences.

An MP asked for a payment of $40,000, but the family did not trust him.

They agreed instead to pay the same amount to a lawyer but only after his sentence was reduced and he was transferred. Within a month, he delivered and they paid.

Then a presidential pardon reduced his sentence further and Nizar was set free, returning home after having shed 30 kilos.

Tamer said that had they known about the upcoming pardon, they would have done it all anyway.&nbsp;

"All we wanted was to get him out of there as soon as possible."

Syrian mother Umm Saeed was so desperate to find her two jailed sons she even sold the family furniture to pay "fixers", but a decade of deceit has left her no closer to the truth.

Syrian mother Umm Saeed was so desperate to find her two jailed sons she even sold the family furniture to pay "fixers", but a decade of deceit has left her no closer to the truth. "Had they asked for my heart, I would have handed it over," the 63-year-old mother told AFP by phone from central Syria, using a pseudonym for fear of reprisal. But "they lied to me". In war-torn Syria, where tens of thousands of people have disappeared into a murky web of regime jails infamous for torture, a booming trade has emerged for "fixers" offering to help families locate or save their loved ones. Policemen, lawyers, businessmen and even lawmakers, with security and judicial contacts, demand steep fees to dig up information about a disappeared son or brother, allow a visit, reduce their sentence, or obtain their release. Some efforts are successful, while more often scammers pocket the money and stop answering phone calls. It's normal families who seek out the so-called fixers, but sometimes they receive cold calls persuading them to pay up for a photo or voice recording, only to vanish with the money. AFP spoke to members of eight such families, most of whom asked that their real names not be used. Umm Saeed said her two sons were detained in 2012. "Whenever someone told me about a potential middleman, I would go to them," said the mother, who suffers from heart problems. She paid a lawyer who asked for the equivalent of more than $3,000 but "did not provide the slightest bit of information". Another man claiming to be a policeman was paid with a mobile phone after saying he could get her permission to visit Sednaya, a notorious prison in Damascus. But when she showed up at the jail which Amnesty International calls a "slaughterhouse", she was told the pass was fake and sent away. "I sold my home furniture and my daughters' gold. I have nothing left," she said. 'Black market' Diana Semaan, a researcher at Amnesty, said the government's policy of silence on the fate of detainees had created a "black market" for information. "Families, desperate for information, end up paying huge amounts of money, sometimes their entire life savings, to intermediaries and 'middlemen' close to the Syrian government," she explained. Suaad, 45, said her family in northern Syria had paid 20 million pounds to various brokers over the years to try to find her brother since he disappeared in 2013. In April, someone contacted the family asking for payment to release him. But after they raised the cash, "he told us my brother had died three days earlier", Suaad said. Two weeks later, another person rang, offering a phone call with her brother. When the call came, there was no audible voice on the other end of the line; all they got for their money was static. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says around half a million people have entered regime jails since the 2011 start of Syria's conflict, of whom 60,000 have died of poor detention conditions or torture. Another mother, 56-year-old Umm Yahya, said she had managed to visit her son just once, six months after he was detained in Idlib, northwest Syria, in 2012. "I barely recognised him. His weight had dropped from 110 (240 pounds) to less than 50 kilos," she said. She has heard nothing since. Her family has over the years poured a small fortune into the pockets of possible intermediaries, selling two plots of land and a house in Idlib to cover the costs, but to no avail. Her husband has grown increasingly reluctant to squander the family's savings. Two years ago, a lawyer asked for $10,000, but her husband refused. "If a hundred more people turned up, even if there was just a one per cent chance of success, I would do it again," said Umm Yahya. Estimated $900 million in bribes The Association of Detainees and Missing Persons at Sednaya prison accused the regime in a report earlier this year of using detention as a means to extort money and "increase the influence of security services, their leaders, influential people in its government, some judges and lawyers." It carried out hundreds of interviews showing that families had paid a total of more than $2.7 million over the years in return for the promise of information, a visit or a release from jail. Based on that figure, the association estimates that the Syrian regime has made almost $900 million through "extortion" of families over the past decade. Noura Ghazi, director of Nophotozone, an association that helps detainees' relatives, said many lawyers "invested" in state security courts. Most of them deceive the families, "but some pay bribes to judges and to the security apparatuses, while taking a percentage or just their fees, and succeed in getting a person released", she said. Also Read | Countries relying on Chinese vaccines reporting COVID-19 surge: Report Though most efforts fail, three people told AFP they had managed to transfer their relative to a better jail or even to have them freed. Tamer said his family spent the past two years trying to save his brother Nizar from death in detention. Nizar was arrested in 2018 in southern Syria despite having signed a so-called "reconciliation deal" with the regime. The family learned he had been taken to Sednaya and was to appear before a military court infamous for handing out death sentences. An MP asked for a payment of $40,000, but the family did not trust him. They agreed instead to pay the same amount to a lawyer but only after his sentence was reduced and he was transferred. Within a month, he delivered and they paid. Then a presidential pardon reduced his sentence further and Nizar was set free, returning home after having shed 30 kilos. Tamer said that had they known about the upcoming pardon, they would have done it all anyway. "All we wanted was to get him out of there as soon as possible."

Syria 'fixers' cash in on despair of prisoners' families

US President Joe Biden on Monday (Indian time) appeared to mistake Syria for Libya at news conference after G7 summit in the UK. He appeared to make the mistake twice.

He was describing how the US and Russia can work together for the welfare of people of Libya (instead of Syria). In Syria, both US and Russia are involved in a decade-long civil conflict.

The 78-year-old gaffe-prone Biden was attending his first G7 summit as a US president.

Biden will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Geneva on Wednesday (June 16).

During his participation in the G7 Summit, Biden kept the heat up on Russia and China who he said were throwing up 'new challenges'

"I think that there is a growing recognition over the last couple of years that we have new challenges," Biden told NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at bilateral talks ahead of the main summit.

"We have Russia that is not acting in a way that is consistent with what we had hoped, as well as China," he said.

"I want to make it clear: NATO is critically important for US interests in and of itself. If there weren't one, we'd have to invent it," he said.

NATO trained its guns on China and Russia as well.&nbsp;

"Until Russia demonstrates compliance with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities, there can be no return to 'business as usual'," the summit's final statement said.

"China's stated ambitions and assertive behaviour present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security," a summit statement said.

(With inputs from agencies)

US President Joe Biden on Monday (Indian time) appeared to mistake Syria for Libya at news conference after G7 summit in the UK. He appeared to make the mistake twice.

US President Joe Biden on Monday (Indian time) appeared to mistake Syria for Libya at news conference after G7 summit in the UK. He appeared to make the mistake twice. He was describing how the US and Russia can work together for the welfare of people of Libya (instead of Syria). In Syria, both US and Russia are involved in a decade-long civil conflict. The 78-year-old gaffe-prone Biden was attending his first G7 summit as a US president. Biden will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Geneva on Wednesday (June 16). During his participation in the G7 Summit, Biden kept the heat up on Russia and China who he said were throwing up 'new challenges' "I think that there is a growing recognition over the last couple of years that we have new challenges," Biden told NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at bilateral talks ahead of the main summit. "We have Russia that is not acting in a way that is consistent with what we had hoped, as well as China," he said. "I want to make it clear: NATO is critically important for US interests in and of itself. If there weren't one, we'd have to invent it," he said. NATO trained its guns on China and Russia as well. "Until Russia demonstrates compliance with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities, there can be no return to 'business as usual'," the summit's final statement said. "China's stated ambitions and assertive behaviour present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security," a summit statement said. (With inputs from agencies)

Biden mixes up Syria and Libya at G7 news conference

At least 13 people were killed and several wounded in two separate artillery attacks on the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Saturday, local medical sources and Turkey's government said. 
 
The first attack struck a residential area, while the second hit a hospital shortly afterwards, civil defence sources said. Video footage on social media showed casualties amid the ruins of the Al Shifa hospital. 
 
Ankara condemned the missile attack it said was launched by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, though the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US-backed militia force spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG, said it was not responsible. 
 
The Turkish defence ministry, which has a large military presence in the Syrian area, also put the death toll at 13 and said 27 were injured. 
 
The governor's office in Turkey's Hatay province, bordering Afrin, said it was investigating the incident in which it said missiles were fired from the Tel Rifat area controlled by the Syrian government. 
 
Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group tied to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside its own borders, and has staged incursions into Syria in support of Syrian rebels to push it from the Turkish frontier. 
 
Ankara now has thousands of troops in the last rebel enclave in Syria. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

At least 13 people were killed and several wounded in two separate artillery attacks on the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Saturday, local medical sources and Turkey's government said.

At least 13 people were killed and several wounded in two separate artillery attacks on the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Saturday, local medical sources and Turkey's government said. The first attack struck a residential area, while the second hit a hospital shortly afterwards, civil defence sources said. Video footage on social media showed casualties amid the ruins of the Al Shifa hospital. Ankara condemned the missile attack it said was launched by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, though the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US-backed militia force spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG, said it was not responsible. The Turkish defence ministry, which has a large military presence in the Syrian area, also put the death toll at 13 and said 27 were injured. The governor's office in Turkey's Hatay province, bordering Afrin, said it was investigating the incident in which it said missiles were fired from the Tel Rifat area controlled by the Syrian government. Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group tied to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside its own borders, and has staged incursions into Syria in support of Syrian rebels to push it from the Turkish frontier. Ankara now has thousands of troops in the last rebel enclave in Syria. (With inputs from agencies)

Syrian hospital hit in artillery attacks on Afrin, at least 13 killed

Syria's military sites were struck by Israeli missiles again on Tuesday night, according to Syrian media.

According to Syria's national news agency, SANA, the Syrian army claimed to have shot down some Israeli missiles. 
 
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According to Sana, Israeli planes entered from Lebanon's airspace after "explosions in Damascus." 
 
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There were no reports of casualties or property damage, according to the news agency.

The airstrikes targeted an area "close to Damascus's international airport, as well as a Syrian air force battalion in the Dumayr region", around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Damascus, where "explosions took place at arms depots", according to the Observatory. 
 
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"Airstrikes also took place in the south of Homs province" while "explosions were felt in the provinces of Hama and Latakia" in the north and northwest respectively.

"The strikes have led to human losses in Homs, where rescue teams have been despatched to the targeted sites," the Observatory said, without giving a toll.

Israeli attacks were also reported in the northwestern province of Latakia and the central province of Homs, according to witnesses.

(With inputs from agencies)

Syria's military sites were struck by Israeli missiles again on Tuesday night, according to Syrian media. According to Syria's national news agency, SANA, the Syrian army claimed to have shot down some Israeli missiles.

Syria's military sites were struck by Israeli missiles again on Tuesday night, according to Syrian media. According to Syria's national news agency, SANA, the Syrian army claimed to have shot down some Israeli missiles. Also Read | Hamas fighters display weapons in Gaza after truce with Israel According to Sana, Israeli planes entered from Lebanon's airspace after "explosions in Damascus." Also read | Israelis should 'go back' to Europe, US: Iran's Quds Force There were no reports of casualties or property damage, according to the news agency. The airstrikes targeted an area "close to Damascus's international airport, as well as a Syrian air force battalion in the Dumayr region", around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Damascus, where "explosions took place at arms depots", according to the Observatory. Also read | 'Blatant anti-Israel obsession': Netanyahu denounces war crime probe by UN "Airstrikes also took place in the south of Homs province" while "explosions were felt in the provinces of Hama and Latakia" in the north and northwest respectively. "The strikes have led to human losses in Homs, where rescue teams have been despatched to the targeted sites," the Observatory said, without giving a toll. Israeli attacks were also reported in the northwestern province of Latakia and the central province of Homs, according to witnesses. (With inputs from agencies)

Shot down missiles fired by Israel, activated air defence: Syria

The Syrian war has killed almost&nbsp;half a million people, a new tally on Tuesday claimed. According to Syrian Observatory, which functions out of the UK, the decade-long war has killed 494,438 since it began in 2011.

The monitor added over 100,000 deaths to the toll which were recently confirmed. The previous toll was confirmed by the Observatory in March 2021, which put the number of deaths at 388,000. The monitor added 105,015 deaths after using its network of ground sources, AFP reported.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/thousands-take-to-the-street-of-idlib-to-denounce-syria-presidential-elections-387772/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"The overwhelming majority of these deaths occurred between the end of 2012 and November 2015," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP on the updated toll.

Out of the recent fatalities, over 42,000 are civilian deaths. The monitor added that most of them were killed in Syrian prisons under torture.

A lull in fighting has allowed organisations to update their tallies. "It provided us with a window to document tens of thousands of cases for which we lacked evidence," Rahman further said.

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Currently, violence levels in the country are at their lowest since the beginning of the conflict as government forces have reconquered large parts of the country. With new figures, the total civilian deaths stand at 159,774. Syrian government forces and allied militias account for majority of deaths.

In addition, the monitor noted 57,567 deaths in government prisons and detention centres since 2011. This is way higher than the previous estimate of 16,000 which was reported in March.

168,326 deaths were reported among Syrian soldiers. 68,393 jihadists, mostly members of the Islamic State have also been killed in the conflict, along with 79,844 other rebels.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/europes-dilemma-take-in-islamic-state-families-or-leave-them-in-syria-388120" hreflang="en">Europe’s dilemma: Take in Islamic State families, or leave them in Syria?</a>

The Syrian war has killed almost half a million people, a new tally on Tuesday claimed. According to Syrian Observatory, which functions out of the UK, the decade-long war has killed 494,438 since it began in 2011.

The Syrian war has killed almost half a million people, a new tally on Tuesday claimed. According to Syrian Observatory, which functions out of the UK, the decade-long war has killed 494,438 since it began in 2011. The monitor added over 100,000 deaths to the toll which were recently confirmed. The previous toll was confirmed by the Observatory in March 2021, which put the number of deaths at 388,000. The monitor added 105,015 deaths after using its network of ground sources, AFP reported. "The overwhelming majority of these deaths occurred between the end of 2012 and November 2015," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP on the updated toll. Out of the recent fatalities, over 42,000 are civilian deaths. The monitor added that most of them were killed in Syrian prisons under torture. A lull in fighting has allowed organisations to update their tallies. "It provided us with a window to document tens of thousands of cases for which we lacked evidence," Rahman further said. Also read: Qatar sees no reason for normalising ties with Syria, says foreign minister Currently, violence levels in the country are at their lowest since the beginning of the conflict as government forces have reconquered large parts of the country. With new figures, the total civilian deaths stand at 159,774. Syrian government forces and allied militias account for majority of deaths. In addition, the monitor noted 57,567 deaths in government prisons and detention centres since 2011. This is way higher than the previous estimate of 16,000 which was reported in March. 168,326 deaths were reported among Syrian soldiers. 68,393 jihadists, mostly members of the Islamic State have also been killed in the conflict, along with 79,844 other rebels. Also read: Europe’s dilemma: Take in Islamic State families, or leave them in Syria?

Syrian war has killed nearly half a million people since 2011, new tally finds

Qatar has no plans to normalise ties with Syria, the Gulf state's foreign minister said, after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office last week in an election derided by the opposition and the West as a farce. 
 
Qatar was among several regional states including Saudi Arabia that backed rebels in Syria's decade-old civil war. Some like the United Arab Emirates have sought to normalise ties after Assad regained control of most of the country. 
 
"So far we see nothing on the horizon for a political solution acceptable to the Syrian people ... the (regime's) approach and conduct has not changed," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told UK-based Al Araby television in an interview aired on Friday. 
 
"There is no motivation for us to re-establish ties with the Syrian regime at this time," Sheikh Mohammed said. "The Syrian regime is committing crimes against its people." 
 
Syria's government said that Wednesday's election shows the country is functioning normally despite the war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced 11 million. 
 
Gulf Arab states downgraded or shut missions in Damascus in 2012 over attacks by the government on protests at the start of the conflict. 
 
The UAE re-opened its mission to Damascus in late 2018 in a bid to counter the influence of non-Arab actors like Iran, which along with Russia backs Assad, and Turkey, which backs rebels. 
 
The UAE has a charge d'affaires in Syria. Oman, one of the rare Arab countries that had maintained diplomatic ties with Damascus, sent an ambassador in 2020. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Qatar has no plans to normalise ties with Syria, the Gulf state's foreign minister said, after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office last week in an election derided by the opposition and the West as a farce.

Qatar has no plans to normalise ties with Syria, the Gulf state's foreign minister said, after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office last week in an election derided by the opposition and the West as a farce. Qatar was among several regional states including Saudi Arabia that backed rebels in Syria's decade-old civil war. Some like the United Arab Emirates have sought to normalise ties after Assad regained control of most of the country. "So far we see nothing on the horizon for a political solution acceptable to the Syrian people ... the (regime's) approach and conduct has not changed," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told UK-based Al Araby television in an interview aired on Friday. "There is no motivation for us to re-establish ties with the Syrian regime at this time," Sheikh Mohammed said. "The Syrian regime is committing crimes against its people." Syria's government said that Wednesday's election shows the country is functioning normally despite the war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced 11 million. Gulf Arab states downgraded or shut missions in Damascus in 2012 over attacks by the government on protests at the start of the conflict. The UAE re-opened its mission to Damascus in late 2018 in a bid to counter the influence of non-Arab actors like Iran, which along with Russia backs Assad, and Turkey, which backs rebels. The UAE has a charge d'affaires in Syria. Oman, one of the rare Arab countries that had maintained diplomatic ties with Damascus, sent an ambassador in 2020. (With inputs from agencies)

Qatar sees no reason for normalising ties with Syria, says foreign minister

Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Friday congratulated Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on winning a fourth term in office, it said in a statement.

"We hope that upcoming years will be a great opportunity for Syria to return to playing its natural and leading role globally and regionally," it said.

Assad won the election on Thursday with a majority of 95.1 per cent.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Friday congratulated Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on winning a fourth term in office, it said in a statement. "We hope that upcoming years will be a great opportunity for Syria to return to playing its natural and leading role globally and regionally," it said.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Friday congratulated Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on winning a fourth term in office, it said in a statement. "We hope that upcoming years will be a great opportunity for Syria to return to playing its natural and leading role globally and regionally," it said. Assad won the election on Thursday with a majority of 95.1 per cent.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah congratulates Syria's Assad on election victory

Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to defeat his enemies no matter how many battles he faces, saying on Friday, he feels empowered after being re-elected for a fourth seven-year term.&nbsp;

Assad was elected in a predictable landslide on Thursday. The presidential vote was described as illegitimate and a sham by the West and his opponents.&nbsp;

In a nine-minute televised victory speech, Assad said the public had challenged enemies of Syria, and those questioning the election's legitimacy by turning out in large numbers to vote for him, calling it a 'fighting spirit'.&nbsp;

"People choosing me to serve for the next constitutional period is a great honour for me," a bespectacled Assad said. "I am certain that with this fighting spirit, we will be able to defeat all our enemies no matter how many the battles are or how hard the road is."&nbsp;

Syria's parliament speaker, Hammoud Sabbagh, announced the final results late on Thursday, saying Assad garnered 95.1% of the vote. He said turnout stood at 78.6%, in an election that lasted for 17 hours on Wednesday with no independent monitors.&nbsp;

Syria observers said the official number of participants in the vote 'over 14 million' appeared to exceed the number of Syrians living in government-held areas.&nbsp;

In a country ravaged by a 10-year-old conflict, areas controlled by rebels or Kurdish-led troops did not hold the vote. At least 8 million people, mostly displaced, live in those areas in northwest and northeast Syria. Over 5 million refugees 'mostly living in neighbouring countries' have largely refrained from casting their ballots. Syria's pre-war population stood at 23 million.&nbsp;

Assad's victory comes as the country is still devastated by the conflict. Fighting has subsided but the war is not over. An economic crisis is worsening and over 80% of the population lives below the poverty line, while the local currency is in a free fall.&nbsp;

Assad, close associates and government officials are facing widening Western sanctions, added to already existing ones that have escalated as the war unfolded. European and US governments blame Assad and his aides for most of the war's atrocities.&nbsp;

For the third straight day, there were celebrations on Friday in Damascus in rallies that appeared to be organised. They featured demonstrators raising Syrian flags and pictures of Assad, chanting: 'God, Syria, and Bashar only’. They rallied on election day, after the results, and on Friday before Assad's speech.&nbsp;

The election is likely to offer little change to conditions in Syria. While Assad and his allies 'Russia and Iran' may be seeking a new seal of legitimacy for a president in office since 2000, his re-election is likely to deepen the rift with the West, driving him closer to Russian and Iranian backers as well as China. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies) &nbsp;

Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to defeat his enemies no matter how many battles he faces, saying on Friday, he feels empowered after being re-elected for a fourth seven-year term.

Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to defeat his enemies no matter how many battles he faces, saying on Friday, he feels empowered after being re-elected for a fourth seven-year term. Assad was elected in a predictable landslide on Thursday. The presidential vote was described as illegitimate and a sham by the West and his opponents. In a nine-minute televised victory speech, Assad said the public had challenged enemies of Syria, and those questioning the election's legitimacy by turning out in large numbers to vote for him, calling it a 'fighting spirit'. "People choosing me to serve for the next constitutional period is a great honour for me," a bespectacled Assad said. "I am certain that with this fighting spirit, we will be able to defeat all our enemies no matter how many the battles are or how hard the road is." Syria's parliament speaker, Hammoud Sabbagh, announced the final results late on Thursday, saying Assad garnered 95.1% of the vote. He said turnout stood at 78.6%, in an election that lasted for 17 hours on Wednesday with no independent monitors. Syria observers said the official number of participants in the vote 'over 14 million' appeared to exceed the number of Syrians living in government-held areas. In a country ravaged by a 10-year-old conflict, areas controlled by rebels or Kurdish-led troops did not hold the vote. At least 8 million people, mostly displaced, live in those areas in northwest and northeast Syria. Over 5 million refugees 'mostly living in neighbouring countries' have largely refrained from casting their ballots. Syria's pre-war population stood at 23 million. Assad's victory comes as the country is still devastated by the conflict. Fighting has subsided but the war is not over. An economic crisis is worsening and over 80% of the population lives below the poverty line, while the local currency is in a free fall. Assad, close associates and government officials are facing widening Western sanctions, added to already existing ones that have escalated as the war unfolded. European and US governments blame Assad and his aides for most of the war's atrocities. For the third straight day, there were celebrations on Friday in Damascus in rallies that appeared to be organised. They featured demonstrators raising Syrian flags and pictures of Assad, chanting: 'God, Syria, and Bashar only’. They rallied on election day, after the results, and on Friday before Assad's speech. The election is likely to offer little change to conditions in Syria. While Assad and his allies 'Russia and Iran' may be seeking a new seal of legitimacy for a president in office since 2000, his re-election is likely to deepen the rift with the West, driving him closer to Russian and Iranian backers as well as China. (With inputs from agencies)

Syria's Assad says reelection empowers him to defeat enemies 

Bashar al-Assad has been re-elected for a fourth term as president of war-ravaged Syria, official results showed on Thursday, despite Western accusations the polls were "neither free nor fair".

The controversial vote extending Assad's stranglehold on power was the second since the start of a decade-long civil conflict that has killed more than 388,000 people, displaced millions and battered the country's infrastructure.

The parliamentary speaker announced Thursday that Assad garnered 95.1 per cent of the votes cast, trouncing two virtually unknown challengers.

Standing against him were former state minister Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and Mahmud Merhi, a member of the so-called "tolerated opposition", long dismissed by exiled opposition leaders as an extension of the regime.

On the eve of the election, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy said the poll was "neither free nor fair", and Syria's fragmented opposition has called it a "farce".

But few doubted that the 55-year-old Assad, an ophthalmologist by training, would be re-elected.

In the last multi-candidate poll in 2014, Assad won 88 per cent of the vote.

Huge election posters glorifying Assad had mushroomed across the two-thirds of the country under his control in the lead-up to Wednesday's poll.

Before the election results were announced, tens of thousands of Syrians gathered Thursday in various cities to celebrate, waving Syrian flags and carrying pictures of Assad, state media reported.

The festivities broke out after the election committee, quoted by local TV, said "the ballot counting process has been completed in the majority of Syrian provinces".

"Tens of thousands of people in Tartus province gathered at the city's seafront to celebrate" Assad's expected win, according to state news agency SANA.

Some danced and beat drums, footage broadcast by Syrian television showed.

Thousands of other Syrians rallied in the coastal city of Latakia and in Umayyad Square in the capital Damascus, which along with Tartus and Latakia are bastions of the regime.

Celebrations were also underway in Aleppo and in Sweida, in Syria's south, where a crowd gathered in front of city hall, state media said.&nbsp;

Houwayda al-Nidal, a 52-year-old doctor, told AFP that Assad's victory "carries two messages".

The first is that of a leader who has won the war and will lead the reconstruction, he said, and "the second is intended for foreigners to show who will lead the political talks after the end of the fighting on the ground."

Economy in free fall

The election was held Wednesday in government-held areas, and state media showed long queues forming outside polling stations, which remained open five hours past the planned closing time.

The vote took place amid the lowest levels of violence since the war erupted in 2011 -- but with the economy in free fall.

More than 80 per cent of the population live in poverty, and the Syrian pound has plunged in value against the dollar, causing skyrocketing inflation.

Assad's campaign slogan, "Hope through work", evoked the colossal reconstruction needed to rebuild the country, requiring billions of dollars in funding.

He was first elected by referendum in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years.

The UN's Syria envoy, Geir Pedersen, noted the polls were not held under the political transition called for by Security Council Resolution 2254 which provides for free and fair elections.

"What is required is a Syrian-led and -owned political solution, facilitated by the United Nations and backed by constructive international diplomacy," he said.

In rebel-held northwestern Syria, home to three million people, hundreds took to the streets to protest on Wednesday, an AFP correspondent said.

They carried posters saying: "No legitimacy for Assad and his elections."

Bashar al-Assad has been re-elected for a fourth term as president of war-ravaged Syria, official results showed on Thursday, despite Western accusations the polls were "neither free nor fair".

Bashar al-Assad has been re-elected for a fourth term as president of war-ravaged Syria, official results showed on Thursday, despite Western accusations the polls were "neither free nor fair". The controversial vote extending Assad's stranglehold on power was the second since the start of a decade-long civil conflict that has killed more than 388,000 people, displaced millions and battered the country's infrastructure. The parliamentary speaker announced Thursday that Assad garnered 95.1 per cent of the votes cast, trouncing two virtually unknown challengers. Standing against him were former state minister Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and Mahmud Merhi, a member of the so-called "tolerated opposition", long dismissed by exiled opposition leaders as an extension of the regime. On the eve of the election, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy said the poll was "neither free nor fair", and Syria's fragmented opposition has called it a "farce". But few doubted that the 55-year-old Assad, an ophthalmologist by training, would be re-elected. In the last multi-candidate poll in 2014, Assad won 88 per cent of the vote. Huge election posters glorifying Assad had mushroomed across the two-thirds of the country under his control in the lead-up to Wednesday's poll. Before the election results were announced, tens of thousands of Syrians gathered Thursday in various cities to celebrate, waving Syrian flags and carrying pictures of Assad, state media reported. The festivities broke out after the election committee, quoted by local TV, said "the ballot counting process has been completed in the majority of Syrian provinces". "Tens of thousands of people in Tartus province gathered at the city's seafront to celebrate" Assad's expected win, according to state news agency SANA. Some danced and beat drums, footage broadcast by Syrian television showed. Thousands of other Syrians rallied in the coastal city of Latakia and in Umayyad Square in the capital Damascus, which along with Tartus and Latakia are bastions of the regime. Celebrations were also underway in Aleppo and in Sweida, in Syria's south, where a crowd gathered in front of city hall, state media said. Houwayda al-Nidal, a 52-year-old doctor, told AFP that Assad's victory "carries two messages". The first is that of a leader who has won the war and will lead the reconstruction, he said, and "the second is intended for foreigners to show who will lead the political talks after the end of the fighting on the ground." Economy in free fall The election was held Wednesday in government-held areas, and state media showed long queues forming outside polling stations, which remained open five hours past the planned closing time. The vote took place amid the lowest levels of violence since the war erupted in 2011 -- but with the economy in free fall. More than 80 per cent of the population live in poverty, and the Syrian pound has plunged in value against the dollar, causing skyrocketing inflation. Assad's campaign slogan, "Hope through work", evoked the colossal reconstruction needed to rebuild the country, requiring billions of dollars in funding. He was first elected by referendum in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years. The UN's Syria envoy, Geir Pedersen, noted the polls were not held under the political transition called for by Security Council Resolution 2254 which provides for free and fair elections. "What is required is a Syrian-led and -owned political solution, facilitated by the United Nations and backed by constructive international diplomacy," he said. In rebel-held northwestern Syria, home to three million people, hundreds took to the streets to protest on Wednesday, an AFP correspondent said. They carried posters saying: "No legitimacy for Assad and his elections."

No surprises as Syria's Assad re-elected for 4th term

When Belgium said in March that it would repatriate some women who had joined the Islamic State group, along with their children, Jessie Van Eetvelde welcomed the decision with relief — even though she knows it will likely mean time in prison.

She and her two children have been living for at least two years in detention camps in Syria. Her dream, she says, is to have her children, whose father fought for the Islamic State, attend school in Belgium. For that, she is ready to pay the price of having joined the militant group in 2014, if Belgium will take her back.

“Maybe they realized that those who want to go back are sorry and want a second chance,” Van Eetvelde, 43, said recently in a WhatsApp voice message.

Many European countries have balked at allowing the return of people linked to the Islamic State, yet some, like Belgium and Finland, are now heeding the advice of security experts and rights groups who say that repatriations are the safest option.

“Europe has long criticized the U.S. for Guantánamo Bay, but now you have a Guantánamo in the desert,” said Chris Harnisch, a former State Department counterterrorism official who organized the repatriation of American citizens in 2019 and 2020.

Two years after the Islamic State lost its last territorial foothold in Syria, more than 200 women from 11 European countries and their 650 children are living in two Syrian camps, Al Hol and Roj, according to figures compiled by Thomas Renard, a researcher at the Egmont Institute, a Brussels-based think tank.

Although the Europeans represent a small fraction of the 60,000 people being held in the camps, who are mostly Iraqis and Syrians, European governments are facing increasing pressure to bring the adults back to face trial amid an argument that the countries’ inaction violates their commitment to human rights.

Security experts, rights groups and lawyers of those who went to Islamic State territories acknowledge that European governments face legitimate security concerns, along with political dynamics in countries fearful of terrorist attacks. But a growing number of government and intelligence officials say that leaving European citizens in Syria comes with greater risks, including that they could join terrorist groups that target Europe.

Countries like the United States, Kazakhstan and Turkey have repatriated many of their own citizens to prosecute them and, in some cases, reintegrate them into society.

The Kurdish leadership in the region that oversees the camps has not prosecuted the women, whose roles under the Islamic State’s rule often remain unclear. And because the administration is not internationally recognized, any prosecutions would still not get them out of their legal limbo.

Most European countries say that they have no legal obligation to help their citizens in the camps and that adults who joined the Islamic State should be prosecuted in Iraq and Syria.

Yet Belgium’s justice minister, Vincent Van Quickenborne, said his government would organize the repatriations of 13 women and their 27 children within months after the country’s intelligence services reported that the Islamic State was gaining power in the camps. He said the authorities had received “clear advice” that bringing the women and children to Belgium was the safest option.

An internal European Union document this year described the Hol camp as a “mini-caliphate.”

“A returnee will always present a risk, some of them low, some of them very high,” Renard said, adding that returnees could potentially radicalize inmates in prison or attempt attacks. “Yet the consequences of nonrepatriation are increasingly outweighing those risks.”

Rights groups say that the children have done nothing wrong and are suffering from disease, malnutrition and sexual assault. Hundreds have died, and dozens of coronavirus cases have been reported in the camps, according to the nongovernmental organization Save the Children.

There is also concern about teenage boys who traveled to Islamic State territories as younger children with their European-born mothers and are at higher risk of radicalization. They are being left behind as countries take in only younger children.

Letta Tayler, a senior counterterrorism researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that European governments were “creating tiers of children.” She said, “The most desirable are the orphans — the least desirable are the teenage boys.”

The advocacy group Reprieve says that many women in the camps were trafficked, raped and forced into marriage and domestic servitude.

Yet in several European countries, repatriations remain out of the question, said a French intelligence official who requested anonymity to discuss the topic. Part of the hesitancy, security analysts say, is that repatriated women could receive light or no prison sentences.

Britain has stripped British citizenship from nearly 20 women who joined the Islamic State, in some cases taking them to court to prevent their return. France has turned down numerous calls for repatriation, even as some of the women staged a monthlong hunger strike. The Netherlands and Sweden said that they might take in children, but without their mothers.

Van Eetvelde, a former cashier who was born near Antwerp in northern Belgium, traveled to Islamic State territory with her husband in 2014. Now in the Roj camp, she hopes for a return to Belgium for herself and her children, who are 3 and 5.

She remains mostly cut off from the world, and even her lawyer, Mohamed Ozdemir, said he had been unable to communicate with her in recent months. Cellphones are not allowed, so Van Eetvelde communicated with The New York Times through voice messages sent via the phone of another woman in the camp whom The Times reached through the woman’s family and lawyer.

In January, a Belgian court convicted her in absentia of taking part in the activities of a terrorist organization, Ozdemir said. The court sentenced her to five years in prison.

Van Quickenborne said that any of the women wanting to return to Belgium would have to prove that they mean no harm to the country. “If they have not distanced themselves from ISIS ideology, they will remain on site,” he said, using an alternative name for the Islamic State.

That repatriation plan is likely to put pressure on neighboring France, which has Europe’s largest contingent of citizens in the camps and in prisons in Iraq and Syria. Yet as France reels from years of terrorist attacks, the government has opposed calls to repatriate people who left to wage jihad.

Although France has taken in 35 children from the camps on a case-by-case basis, 100 women with French citizenship and their 200 children remain mostly in the Roj camp, according to Jean-Charles Brisard, director of the Paris-based Center for the Analysis of Terrorism.

France was due to repatriate at least 160 of them in early 2019, according to intelligence documents brought to light by the newspaper Libération that spring and seen by The Times this year. But the situation in the camps became too volatile, the French intelligence official said, and the plan was abandoned.

“We thought it was going to happen, and that the dominoes could have started to fall with other European countries,” said Harnisch, the former U.S. counterterrorism official. “But the French government pulled the plug at the eleventh hour.”

Now, a growing number of European countries are taking action.

In Denmark, authorities said this month that they would repatriate three women and 14 children. Germany and Finland repatriated five women and 18 children in December, and a spokesman for Germany’s Foreign Ministry said last month that the country was working “at full speed” to take in children from the camps whose mothers are German citizens.

In Britain, Conservative lawmakers called for the repatriation of some British citizens, arguing that prosecuting them in the country would be safer than leaving them in the camps.

The parents of one French woman in the camps have brought a case against France in the European Court for Human Rights over the repatriation of her and her children. And three French lawyers asked the International Criminal Court to consider whether the country’s policy makes President Emmanuel Macron complicit in war crimes.

A French woman who went on hunger strike in the Roj camp said that there was no running water and that many people there had respiratory problems. (The Times is not publishing her name, because she says she has received death threats from Islamic State supporters who oppose their return to France.) “It’s very difficult to see doctors and dentists — there are no medicines,” she said, adding that the Frenchwomen wanted to return “to be tried, to be jailed.”

Jussi Tanner, a diplomat from Finland who is in charge of his country’s repatriations, said the women and children’s return was not a matter of “if, but of when and how.”

“Repatriating them as quickly as we can is better from a security point of view rather than pretending that the problem goes away when we look away,” he said. “You can leave them there, but they will return anyway.”

When Belgium said in March that it would repatriate some women who had joined the Islamic State group, along with their children, Jessie Van Eetvelde welcomed the decision with relief — even though she knows it will likely mean time in prison.

When Belgium said in March that it would repatriate some women who had joined the Islamic State group, along with their children, Jessie Van Eetvelde welcomed the decision with relief — even though she knows it will likely mean time in prison. She and her two children have been living for at least two years in detention camps in Syria. Her dream, she says, is to have her children, whose father fought for the Islamic State, attend school in Belgium. For that, she is ready to pay the price of having joined the militant group in 2014, if Belgium will take her back. “Maybe they realized that those who want to go back are sorry and want a second chance,” Van Eetvelde, 43, said recently in a WhatsApp voice message. Many European countries have balked at allowing the return of people linked to the Islamic State, yet some, like Belgium and Finland, are now heeding the advice of security experts and rights groups who say that repatriations are the safest option. “Europe has long criticized the U.S. for Guantánamo Bay, but now you have a Guantánamo in the desert,” said Chris Harnisch, a former State Department counterterrorism official who organized the repatriation of American citizens in 2019 and 2020. Two years after the Islamic State lost its last territorial foothold in Syria, more than 200 women from 11 European countries and their 650 children are living in two Syrian camps, Al Hol and Roj, according to figures compiled by Thomas Renard, a researcher at the Egmont Institute, a Brussels-based think tank. Although the Europeans represent a small fraction of the 60,000 people being held in the camps, who are mostly Iraqis and Syrians, European governments are facing increasing pressure to bring the adults back to face trial amid an argument that the countries’ inaction violates their commitment to human rights. Security experts, rights groups and lawyers of those who went to Islamic State territories acknowledge that European governments face legitimate security concerns, along with political dynamics in countries fearful of terrorist attacks. But a growing number of government and intelligence officials say that leaving European citizens in Syria comes with greater risks, including that they could join terrorist groups that target Europe. Countries like the United States, Kazakhstan and Turkey have repatriated many of their own citizens to prosecute them and, in some cases, reintegrate them into society. The Kurdish leadership in the region that oversees the camps has not prosecuted the women, whose roles under the Islamic State’s rule often remain unclear. And because the administration is not internationally recognized, any prosecutions would still not get them out of their legal limbo. Most European countries say that they have no legal obligation to help their citizens in the camps and that adults who joined the Islamic State should be prosecuted in Iraq and Syria. Yet Belgium’s justice minister, Vincent Van Quickenborne, said his government would organize the repatriations of 13 women and their 27 children within months after the country’s intelligence services reported that the Islamic State was gaining power in the camps. He said the authorities had received “clear advice” that bringing the women and children to Belgium was the safest option. An internal European Union document this year described the Hol camp as a “mini-caliphate.” “A returnee will always present a risk, some of them low, some of them very high,” Renard said, adding that returnees could potentially radicalize inmates in prison or attempt attacks. “Yet the consequences of nonrepatriation are increasingly outweighing those risks.” Rights groups say that the children have done nothing wrong and are suffering from disease, malnutrition and sexual assault. Hundreds have died, and dozens of coronavirus cases have been reported in the camps, according to the nongovernmental organization Save the Children. There is also concern about teenage boys who traveled to Islamic State territories as younger children with their European-born mothers and are at higher risk of radicalization. They are being left behind as countries take in only younger children. Letta Tayler, a senior counterterrorism researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that European governments were “creating tiers of children.” She said, “The most desirable are the orphans — the least desirable are the teenage boys.” The advocacy group Reprieve says that many women in the camps were trafficked, raped and forced into marriage and domestic servitude. Yet in several European countries, repatriations remain out of the question, said a French intelligence official who requested anonymity to discuss the topic. Part of the hesitancy, security analysts say, is that repatriated women could receive light or no prison sentences. Britain has stripped British citizenship from nearly 20 women who joined the Islamic State, in some cases taking them to court to prevent their return. France has turned down numerous calls for repatriation, even as some of the women staged a monthlong hunger strike. The Netherlands and Sweden said that they might take in children, but without their mothers. Van Eetvelde, a former cashier who was born near Antwerp in northern Belgium, traveled to Islamic State territory with her husband in 2014. Now in the Roj camp, she hopes for a return to Belgium for herself and her children, who are 3 and 5. She remains mostly cut off from the world, and even her lawyer, Mohamed Ozdemir, said he had been unable to communicate with her in recent months. Cellphones are not allowed, so Van Eetvelde communicated with The New York Times through voice messages sent via the phone of another woman in the camp whom The Times reached through the woman’s family and lawyer. In January, a Belgian court convicted her in absentia of taking part in the activities of a terrorist organization, Ozdemir said. The court sentenced her to five years in prison. Van Quickenborne said that any of the women wanting to return to Belgium would have to prove that they mean no harm to the country. “If they have not distanced themselves from ISIS ideology, they will remain on site,” he said, using an alternative name for the Islamic State. That repatriation plan is likely to put pressure on neighboring France, which has Europe’s largest contingent of citizens in the camps and in prisons in Iraq and Syria. Yet as France reels from years of terrorist attacks, the government has opposed calls to repatriate people who left to wage jihad. Although France has taken in 35 children from the camps on a case-by-case basis, 100 women with French citizenship and their 200 children remain mostly in the Roj camp, according to Jean-Charles Brisard, director of the Paris-based Center for the Analysis of Terrorism. France was due to repatriate at least 160 of them in early 2019, according to intelligence documents brought to light by the newspaper Libération that spring and seen by The Times this year. But the situation in the camps became too volatile, the French intelligence official said, and the plan was abandoned. “We thought it was going to happen, and that the dominoes could have started to fall with other European countries,” said Harnisch, the former U.S. counterterrorism official. “But the French government pulled the plug at the eleventh hour.” Now, a growing number of European countries are taking action. In Denmark, authorities said this month that they would repatriate three women and 14 children. Germany and Finland repatriated five women and 18 children in December, and a spokesman for Germany’s Foreign Ministry said last month that the country was working “at full speed” to take in children from the camps whose mothers are German citizens. In Britain, Conservative lawmakers called for the repatriation of some British citizens, arguing that prosecuting them in the country would be safer than leaving them in the camps. The parents of one French woman in the camps have brought a case against France in the European Court for Human Rights over the repatriation of her and her children. And three French lawyers asked the International Criminal Court to consider whether the country’s policy makes President Emmanuel Macron complicit in war crimes. A French woman who went on hunger strike in the Roj camp said that there was no running water and that many people there had respiratory problems. (The Times is not publishing her name, because she says she has received death threats from Islamic State supporters who oppose their return to France.) “It’s very difficult to see doctors and dentists — there are no medicines,” she said, adding that the Frenchwomen wanted to return “to be tried, to be jailed.” Jussi Tanner, a diplomat from Finland who is in charge of his country’s repatriations, said the women and children’s return was not a matter of “if, but of when and how.” “Repatriating them as quickly as we can is better from a security point of view rather than pretending that the problem goes away when we look away,” he said. “You can leave them there, but they will return anyway.”

Europe’s dilemma: Take in Islamic State families, or leave them in Syria?

Bashar Al-Assad is set to extend his rule over Syria after an election widely perceived to be rigged. What will a fourth Assad term mean for Syria? Why is Assad bothering with the pretense of democracy? Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: Fourth Assad term certain as Syrians vote

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Idlib in north western Syria to denounce the ongoing Presidential elections held on Wednesday. Protesters called the election farcical and illegitimate.

Thousands take to the street of Idlib to denounce Syria Presidential elections

Polling stations have opened on Wednesday across Syria for the presidential election where Bashar al-Assad is almost guaranteed to win for a fourth term, in a war-battered country mired in economic crisis.

War-ravaged Syria heads to polls, votes guaranteed to bring Al-Assad back

Polling stations opened on Wednesday across Syria in a presidential election that is set to usher Bashar al-Assad into a fourth term in office.&nbsp;

The government says the election shows Syria is functioning normally despite a decade-old war, but the opposition and Western nations view it as merely rubber-stamping Assad's grip on power. Assad is running against two obscure candidates.&nbsp;

In Damascus University's Faculty of Arts, hundreds of students lined up to vote, with several buses parked outside.&nbsp;

"We came to elect president Bashar al-Assad...without him Syria would not be Syria," Amal, a nursing student, said.&nbsp;

"With our blood and soul, we sacrifice our lives for you Bashar," other students chanted ahead of the opening of the polling station.&nbsp;

Assad first took power in 2000 on the death of his father Hafez, who had ruled for 30 years before that.&nbsp;

Assad's rule has been defined by a decade-long war that erupted after peaceful protests against his authoritarian rule in 2011. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven 11 million from their homes, about half the country's population.&nbsp;

The other two candidates in the election are former deputy cabinet minister Abdallah Saloum Abdallah, and Mahmoud Ahmed Marei, head of a small, officially sanctioned opposition party.&nbsp;

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the United States said in a statement on Tuesday, criticising leader Bashar al-Assad, that the elections would not be free or fair. &nbsp;

Polling stations opened on Wednesday across Syria in a presidential election that is set to usher Bashar al-Assad into a fourth term in office. The government says the election shows Syria is functioning normally despite a decade-old war, but the opposition and Western nations view it as merely rubber-stamping Assad's grip on power.

Polling stations opened on Wednesday across Syria in a presidential election that is set to usher Bashar al-Assad into a fourth term in office. The government says the election shows Syria is functioning normally despite a decade-old war, but the opposition and Western nations view it as merely rubber-stamping Assad's grip on power. Assad is running against two obscure candidates. In Damascus University's Faculty of Arts, hundreds of students lined up to vote, with several buses parked outside. "We came to elect president Bashar al-Assad...without him Syria would not be Syria," Amal, a nursing student, said. "With our blood and soul, we sacrifice our lives for you Bashar," other students chanted ahead of the opening of the polling station. Assad first took power in 2000 on the death of his father Hafez, who had ruled for 30 years before that. Assad's rule has been defined by a decade-long war that erupted after peaceful protests against his authoritarian rule in 2011. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven 11 million from their homes, about half the country's population. The other two candidates in the election are former deputy cabinet minister Abdallah Saloum Abdallah, and Mahmoud Ahmed Marei, head of a small, officially sanctioned opposition party. The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the United States said in a statement on Tuesday, criticising leader Bashar al-Assad, that the elections would not be free or fair.

Syrians go to the polls in election that Assad is set to win 

In a camp for Syrian refugees in east Lebanon, Mohammad and his three sisters fear they will be out of school for a third consecutive year because remote learning is out of reach.

'I want to study': Lebanon crisis cancels school for many

Syrian authorities are working on extinguishing a fire that erupted in its main Homs refinery in the west of the nation, state media said on Sunday.

The fire erupted in a distillation unit due to a leak in a pumping station, it said without elaborating.

State television showed live footage of fire engulfing parts of the refinery with black smoke plumes in the distance as firefighters tackled the flames.

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There was a large fire and blast at Homs in January this year involving a nearby crude oil loading station and dozens of trucks that transport petroleum products across the country.

Both Homs refinery and Banias on the Mediterranean coast have faced supply shortages in recent months due to erratic supplies of Iranian crude oil to the sanctions-hit country that relies mainly on Tehran for its energy needs.

Syria has over the past year two years faced months of gasoline and fuel shortages, forcing it to ration supplies distributed across government-held areas and to apply several rounds of steep price hikes.

Syrian authorities are working on extinguishing a fire that erupted in its main Homs refinery in the west of the nation, state media said on Sunday. The fire erupted in a distillation unit due to a leak in a pumping station, it said without elaborating.

Syrian authorities are working on extinguishing a fire that erupted in its main Homs refinery in the west of the nation, state media said on Sunday. The fire erupted in a distillation unit due to a leak in a pumping station, it said without elaborating. State television showed live footage of fire engulfing parts of the refinery with black smoke plumes in the distance as firefighters tackled the flames. Also read | London firefighters tackle flames at 19-storey tower block There was a large fire and blast at Homs in January this year involving a nearby crude oil loading station and dozens of trucks that transport petroleum products across the country. Both Homs refinery and Banias on the Mediterranean coast have faced supply shortages in recent months due to erratic supplies of Iranian crude oil to the sanctions-hit country that relies mainly on Tehran for its energy needs. Syria has over the past year two years faced months of gasoline and fuel shortages, forcing it to ration supplies distributed across government-held areas and to apply several rounds of steep price hikes.

Syria says fire erupts in main Homs refinery: State media

Israeli&nbsp;airstrikes carried out overnight&nbsp;on&nbsp;targets in&nbsp;Syria's northwestern region of&nbsp;Latakia&nbsp;killed&nbsp;one civilian and wounded several other people, state media and a war monitor reported Wednesday.

The&nbsp;Israeli&nbsp;authorities do not generally comment&nbsp;on&nbsp;such reports but they have previously confirmed carrying out dozens of raids in&nbsp;Syria, mostly against Iranian assets.

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"The&nbsp;Israeli&nbsp;attack&nbsp;left one civilian dead and six wounded, including a boy and his mother," a military source quoted by the official SANA news agency said.

State media said a plastics factory was among the sites hit in the raids, which struck the towns of Hifa in&nbsp;Latakia&nbsp;and Masyaf in the neighbouring province of Hama.

Syrian air defences were activated to counter the&nbsp;Israeli&nbsp;missiles, with "some shot down", the report added, without mentioning any military casualties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 fighters were wounded in strikes it said targeted government and allied pro-Tehran forces at several locations.

The Britain-based war monitor, which relies&nbsp;on&nbsp;an extensive network of sources&nbsp;on&nbsp;the ground, said arms depots were also targeted in the mountains&nbsp;on&nbsp;the border between&nbsp;Latakia&nbsp;and Hama provinces.&nbsp;

Latakia&nbsp;on&nbsp;the Mediterranean coast, a bastion of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority, has seen relatively few&nbsp;Israeli&nbsp;strikes compared with other provinces.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/netanyahus-deadline-to-form-govt-in-israel-set-to-expire-at-midnight-with-no-sign-of-progress-382760">Netanyahu's deadline to form govt in Israel set to expire at midnight with no sign of progress</a>

In September 2018, Syrian air defences accidentally shot down a plane belonging to ally Russia, killing those&nbsp;on&nbsp;board, after being activated against nearby&nbsp;Israeli&nbsp;missiles.

Israel rarely confirms specific strikes in&nbsp;Syria, but its military has said it hit some 50 targets in 2020 alone.

Israel says it is trying to prevent Iran, which has been one of the Syrian government's key allies in the decade-old civil war, from gaining a permanent military foothold&nbsp;on&nbsp;its doorstep.

Thousands of Shiite militia recruited from a variety of countries but whose first allegiance is to Iran have been deployed across&nbsp;Syria&nbsp;in support of the government.

The war in&nbsp;Syria, which began when the government bloodily repressed pro-democracy demonstrations 10 years ago, has left more than 388,000 people dead.

Israeli airstrikes carried out overnight on targets in Syria's northwestern region of Latakia killed one civilian and wounded several other people, state media and a war monitor reported Wednesday.

Israeli airstrikes carried out overnight on targets in Syria's northwestern region of Latakia killed one civilian and wounded several other people, state media and a war monitor reported Wednesday. The Israeli authorities do not generally comment on such reports but they have previously confirmed carrying out dozens of raids in Syria, mostly against Iranian assets. Also read | Israel strikes Syria after attack near secretive nuclear site "The Israeli attack left one civilian dead and six wounded, including a boy and his mother," a military source quoted by the official SANA news agency said. State media said a plastics factory was among the sites hit in the raids, which struck the towns of Hifa in Latakia and Masyaf in the neighbouring province of Hama. Syrian air defences were activated to counter the Israeli missiles, with "some shot down", the report added, without mentioning any military casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 fighters were wounded in strikes it said targeted government and allied pro-Tehran forces at several locations. The Britain-based war monitor, which relies on an extensive network of sources on the ground, said arms depots were also targeted in the mountains on the border between Latakia and Hama provinces. Latakia on the Mediterranean coast, a bastion of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority, has seen relatively few Israeli strikes compared with other provinces. Also read | Netanyahu's deadline to form govt in Israel set to expire at midnight with no sign of progress In September 2018, Syrian air defences accidentally shot down a plane belonging to ally Russia, killing those on board, after being activated against nearby Israeli missiles. Israel rarely confirms specific strikes in Syria, but its military has said it hit some 50 targets in 2020 alone. Israel says it is trying to prevent Iran, which has been one of the Syrian government's key allies in the decade-old civil war, from gaining a permanent military foothold on its doorstep. Thousands of Shiite militia recruited from a variety of countries but whose first allegiance is to Iran have been deployed across Syria in support of the government. The war in Syria, which began when the government bloodily repressed pro-democracy demonstrations 10 years ago, has left more than 388,000 people dead.

Israel air raid kills one in Syria coastal region: Report

Syria's constitution court on Monday cleared two candidates who will stand against President Bashar al-Assad in upcoming presidential elections in the war-torn country. One of the candidates is a former minister while the other is a member of Damascus tolerated opposition in the country.

Constitution court's president declared the candidature in a press conference broadcast.

The Assad-appointed body approved only three out of 51 applications to stand in the May 26 ballot, among them the 55-year-old president himself, widely expected to win a fouth mandate.

Abdallah Salloum Abdallah, a state minister from 2016 to 2020, had been approved to run for president.

The third candidate was named as Mahmoud Marei, a member of the so-called "tolerated opposition" long described by exiled opposition leaders as an extension of the regime.

All 48 other applications were ruled out for "failing to meet constitutional and legal requirements", the court president said without elaborating.

They have until May 7 to appeal.

Applicants needed to win support from 35 Members of Parliament each of whom was allowed to back just one candidate.

Exiled opposition members are de facto ruled out by an electoral law that stipulates candidates must have lived in Syria continuously for at least the past decade.

The election will be the second since the start of a decade-long conflict that has killed over 388,000 people and forced more than half of Syria's pre-war population from their homes.

Damascus has invited lawmakers from allied countries such Russia, Iran, China, Venezuela and Cuba to observe the electoral process.

In New York, Western members of the UN Security Council, led by the United States, France and Britain, on Wednesday rejected the outcome of the May 26 poll in advance, a position denounced by Russia as "unacceptable".

(With inputs from agencies)

Syria's constitution court on Monday cleared two candidates who will stand against President Bashar al-Assad in upcoming presidential elections in the war-torn country.

Syria's constitution court on Monday cleared two candidates who will stand against President Bashar al-Assad in upcoming presidential elections in the war-torn country. One of the candidates is a former minister while the other is a member of Damascus tolerated opposition in the country. Constitution court's president declared the candidature in a press conference broadcast. The Assad-appointed body approved only three out of 51 applications to stand in the May 26 ballot, among them the 55-year-old president himself, widely expected to win a fouth mandate. Abdallah Salloum Abdallah, a state minister from 2016 to 2020, had been approved to run for president. The third candidate was named as Mahmoud Marei, a member of the so-called "tolerated opposition" long described by exiled opposition leaders as an extension of the regime. All 48 other applications were ruled out for "failing to meet constitutional and legal requirements", the court president said without elaborating. They have until May 7 to appeal. Applicants needed to win support from 35 Members of Parliament each of whom was allowed to back just one candidate. Exiled opposition members are de facto ruled out by an electoral law that stipulates candidates must have lived in Syria continuously for at least the past decade. The election will be the second since the start of a decade-long conflict that has killed over 388,000 people and forced more than half of Syria's pre-war population from their homes. Damascus has invited lawmakers from allied countries such Russia, Iran, China, Venezuela and Cuba to observe the electoral process. In New York, Western members of the UN Security Council, led by the United States, France and Britain, on Wednesday rejected the outcome of the May 26 poll in advance, a position denounced by Russia as "unacceptable". (With inputs from agencies)

Syria: Bashar al-Assad will face two 'rivals' in presidential elections

Vaccine rollout began in the rebel-held part of northern Syria and residents received Covid vaccines on Saturday, said AFP. Authorities in Idlib and northern Aleppo received an initial batch of 53,800 AstraZeneca Covid-19 jabs on April 21, under the Covax programme for poorer nations.

In Idlib, a doctor was the first to receive the vaccine at Ibn Sina children's hospital, one of the city's biggest medical facilities.

Yasser Najib, the head of a committee running the vaccine drive, said the first doses would go to medical staff at Ibn Sina and the national hospital in Azaz, in northern Aleppo.

He said that by Monday the campaign would reach "all medical facilities, including those in the camps" on the border with Turkey, which shelter hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

Humanitarian workers are also among the first to be inoculated. This will be followed by the elderly and people with chronic diseases.

The committee said it had set up more than 90 mobile teams to administer the vaccines.

The campaign covers both areas of northwestern Syria controlled by former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and border regions of northern Aleppo province held by Turkish and pro-Turkish forces.

The area, which hosts some four million people, has recorded over 21,000 cases of Covid-19 including 641 deaths.

"The aim... is to vaccinate 20 percent of the population of northwestern Syria, so around 855,000 people," said Najib.

Last month, Damascus received an initial batch of 203,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses, out of 912,000 it is set to receive for distribution in government and Kurdish-dominated parts of Syria.&nbsp;

The World Health Organization is hoping a fifth of Syria's population will be vaccinated by the end of the year.

Syria's civil war has killed more than 388,000 people and displaced millions at home and abroad since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

(With inputs from agencies)

Vaccine rollout began in the rebel-held part of northern Syria and residents received Covid vaccines on Saturday, said AFP. Authorities in Idlib and northern Aleppo received an initial batch of 53,800 AstraZeneca Covid-19 jabs on April 21, under the Covax programme for poorer nations.

Vaccine rollout began in the rebel-held part of northern Syria and residents received Covid vaccines on Saturday, said AFP. Authorities in Idlib and northern Aleppo received an initial batch of 53,800 AstraZeneca Covid-19 jabs on April 21, under the Covax programme for poorer nations. In Idlib, a doctor was the first to receive the vaccine at Ibn Sina children's hospital, one of the city's biggest medical facilities. Yasser Najib, the head of a committee running the vaccine drive, said the first doses would go to medical staff at Ibn Sina and the national hospital in Azaz, in northern Aleppo. He said that by Monday the campaign would reach "all medical facilities, including those in the camps" on the border with Turkey, which shelter hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Humanitarian workers are also among the first to be inoculated. This will be followed by the elderly and people with chronic diseases. The committee said it had set up more than 90 mobile teams to administer the vaccines. The campaign covers both areas of northwestern Syria controlled by former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and border regions of northern Aleppo province held by Turkish and pro-Turkish forces. The area, which hosts some four million people, has recorded over 21,000 cases of Covid-19 including 641 deaths. "The aim... is to vaccinate 20 percent of the population of northwestern Syria, so around 855,000 people," said Najib. Last month, Damascus received an initial batch of 203,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses, out of 912,000 it is set to receive for distribution in government and Kurdish-dominated parts of Syria. The World Health Organization is hoping a fifth of Syria's population will be vaccinated by the end of the year. Syria's civil war has killed more than 388,000 people and displaced millions at home and abroad since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. (With inputs from agencies)

Residents in rebel-held northern Syria receive Covid vaccine

At least three people died when an Iranian tanker was attacked off Syria's coast Saturday, in the first assault of its kind since the war started a decade ago, a war monitor said.

"At least three Syrians were killed, including two members of the crew" in the attack that sparked a fire, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.&nbsp;

It was not clear who carried out the attack, the war monitor said. "We don't know if this was an Israeli attack," Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that "the Iranian tanker came from Iran and was not far from Banias port".

It was also not clear if a&nbsp;drone&nbsp;or a missile was used in the attack, the Observatory said.

State news agency SANA, quoting the oil ministry, said the fire erupted after "what was believed to be an attack by a&nbsp;drone&nbsp;from the direction of Lebanese waters". The flames were later extinguished.

In a report published last month that cited US and Middle East officials, the Wall Street Journal said Israel had targeted at least a dozen vessels bound for Syria and mostly carrying Iranian oil since late 2019.

Hundreds of Israeli air strikes have also struck Syria since the war began in 2011, mostly targeting Damascus regime allies from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and Syrian government troops.

The Banias oil refinery is located in the regime-controlled coastal province of Tartus.&nbsp;"It's the first such attack on an oil tanker, but the Banias terminal has been targeted in the past," Abdel Rahman said.

Early last year, Damascus said divers had planted explosives on offshore pipelines of the Banias refinery, but the damage had not halted operations.&nbsp;And in February 2020, four oil and gas sites in the central province of Homs were attacked by armed drones, sparking fires and causing material damage.

Nuclear facility&nbsp;

Saturday's attack comes after a Syrian officer was killed and three soldiers wounded Thursday in strikes launched by Israel, after a missile was fired towards a secretive nuclear site in the Jewish state.

The Israeli army said at the time that a surface-to-air missile had been fired from Syria toward the southern Negev desert, where the Dimona nuclear reactor is located.

The exchange of fire came less than two weeks after Iran accused Israel of "terrorism" following an explosion at the Islamic republic's Natanz nuclear facility.

Israel is considered the leading military power in the Middle East, and is widely believed to possess its sole nuclear arsenal.&nbsp;It has never disclosed its atomic arsenal, but foreign experts say the Jewish state has between 100 to 300 nuclear warheads.&nbsp;

There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage on the Israeli side.

Israel has long sought to prevent bitter foe Iran from establishing itself in war-torn Syria.

Before Syria's war, the country enjoyed relative energy autonomy, but production has plummeted during the war, pushing the government to rely on importing hydrocarbons.

Western sanctions on oil shipping, as well as US punitive measures against Iran, have complicated these imports.

Pre-war production was 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in Syria.

But it stood at just 89,000 bpd in 2020, Syria's oil minister said in February, of which up to 80,000 came from Kurdish areas outside government control.

At least three people died when an Iranian tanker was attacked off Syria's coast Saturday, in the first assault of its kind since the war started a decade ago, a war monitor said.

At least three people died when an Iranian tanker was attacked off Syria's coast Saturday, in the first assault of its kind since the war started a decade ago, a war monitor said. "At least three Syrians were killed, including two members of the crew" in the attack that sparked a fire, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It was not clear who carried out the attack, the war monitor said. "We don't know if this was an Israeli attack," Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that "the Iranian tanker came from Iran and was not far from Banias port". It was also not clear if a drone or a missile was used in the attack, the Observatory said. State news agency SANA, quoting the oil ministry, said the fire erupted after "what was believed to be an attack by a drone from the direction of Lebanese waters". The flames were later extinguished. In a report published last month that cited US and Middle East officials, the Wall Street Journal said Israel had targeted at least a dozen vessels bound for Syria and mostly carrying Iranian oil since late 2019. Hundreds of Israeli air strikes have also struck Syria since the war began in 2011, mostly targeting Damascus regime allies from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and Syrian government troops. The Banias oil refinery is located in the regime-controlled coastal province of Tartus. "It's the first such attack on an oil tanker, but the Banias terminal has been targeted in the past," Abdel Rahman said. Early last year, Damascus said divers had planted explosives on offshore pipelines of the Banias refinery, but the damage had not halted operations. And in February 2020, four oil and gas sites in the central province of Homs were attacked by armed drones, sparking fires and causing material damage. Nuclear facility Saturday's attack comes after a Syrian officer was killed and three soldiers wounded Thursday in strikes launched by Israel, after a missile was fired towards a secretive nuclear site in the Jewish state. The Israeli army said at the time that a surface-to-air missile had been fired from Syria toward the southern Negev desert, where the Dimona nuclear reactor is located. The exchange of fire came less than two weeks after Iran accused Israel of "terrorism" following an explosion at the Islamic republic's Natanz nuclear facility. Israel is considered the leading military power in the Middle East, and is widely believed to possess its sole nuclear arsenal. It has never disclosed its atomic arsenal, but foreign experts say the Jewish state has between 100 to 300 nuclear warheads. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage on the Israeli side. Israel has long sought to prevent bitter foe Iran from establishing itself in war-torn Syria. Before Syria's war, the country enjoyed relative energy autonomy, but production has plummeted during the war, pushing the government to rely on importing hydrocarbons. Western sanctions on oil shipping, as well as US punitive measures against Iran, have complicated these imports. Pre-war production was 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in Syria. But it stood at just 89,000 bpd in 2020, Syria's oil minister said in February, of which up to 80,000 came from Kurdish areas outside government control.

Iranian Oil tanker off Syria coast hit in suspected drone attack, three Syrians killed

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