A report has revealed that Israel has bombed at least a dozen Syria-bound ships in the last two years, most of which have been carrying Iranian oil.&nbsp;

The report by the Wall Street Journal said the attacks included deploying water mines in the Red Sea and some of these assaults blocked Iranian move to send weaponry to Syria. &nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="http://wionews.com/videos/israeli-jets-escort-us-b-52-bombers-amid-iran-tensions-368927/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The oil supplies were targetted over concerns "that petroleum profits are funding extremism in the Middle East," it said.

None of the tankers sank, but the strikes forced two tankers to return back to Iranian ports.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="http://wionews.com/world/israeli-jets-escort-us-b-52-bombers-amid-iran-tensions-368735">Israeli jets escort US B-52 bombers amid Iran tensions</a>

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the report so far.&nbsp;

The revelations come amid two recent tanker attacks in the region and could further deteriorate ties between the arch-nemesis.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

A report has revealed that Israel has bombed at least a dozen Syria-bound ships in the last two years, most of which have been carrying Iranian oil. The report by the Wall Street Journal said the attacks included deploying water mines in the Red Sea and some of these assaults blocked Iranian move to send weaponry to Syria.

A report has revealed that Israel has bombed at least a dozen Syria-bound ships in the last two years, most of which have been carrying Iranian oil. The report by the Wall Street Journal said the attacks included deploying water mines in the Red Sea and some of these assaults blocked Iranian move to send weaponry to Syria. Watch | The oil supplies were targetted over concerns "that petroleum profits are funding extremism in the Middle East," it said. None of the tankers sank, but the strikes forced two tankers to return back to Iranian ports. Also read | Israeli jets escort US B-52 bombers amid Iran tensions Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the report so far. The revelations come amid two recent tanker attacks in the region and could further deteriorate ties between the arch-nemesis.

Israel bombed dozen Iranian ships carrying oil to Syria in last 2 years: Report

US sanctions imposed on the government of President Bashar al-Assad, known as the Ceasar Act, is complicating the return of Syria to the Arab fold, the UAE's Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed said on Tuesday.&nbsp;

The return of Syria to the Arab League is in the interest of Syria and other countries of the region, he told a told a joint news conference in Abu Dhabi, with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the first United Arab Emirates ambassador to Israel arrived there recently, pledging to build up new bilateral relations and officials said he would scout for an embassy location in the Tel Aviv area.&nbsp;

Mohamed Al Khaja, former chief of staff to the UAE foreign minister, was due to present his credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at the start of a three-day visit.&nbsp;

Meeting Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi in Jerusalem, Al Khaja, 40, said he was "very proud and honoured to be the first Emirati ambassador" to Israel, where, he said, he and his hosts were discussing "the model of how we operate".&nbsp;

"My mission here is to foster and develop this relationship...and we hope this will bring peace and prosperity to the people in the Middle East," he said.&nbsp;

The UAE and Israel formalised ties in a Washington ceremony on September 15, brought together by shared concern about Iran.&nbsp;

Their so-called 'Abraham Accords', joined by Bahrain, have uncorked tourism and commerce between Israel and Gulf Arab countries. Palestinians have been critical of the rapprochement, worried that their own unmet statehood goal might be sidelined.&nbsp;

Israel opened an embassy in Abu Dhabi in January. Israel considers Jerusalem its capital but this is not widely recognised abroad. The Palestinians want their own capital in the east of the city, which Israel captured in a 1967 war.&nbsp;

The UAE would follow Jordan and Egypt in setting up an embassy in or near coastal metropolis Tel Aviv.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

US sanctions imposed on the government of President Bashar al-Assad, known as the Ceasar Act, is complicating the return of Syria to the Arab fold, the UAE's Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed said on Tuesday.

US sanctions imposed on the government of President Bashar al-Assad, known as the Ceasar Act, is complicating the return of Syria to the Arab fold, the UAE's Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed said on Tuesday. The return of Syria to the Arab League is in the interest of Syria and other countries of the region, he told a told a joint news conference in Abu Dhabi, with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Meanwhile, the first United Arab Emirates ambassador to Israel arrived there recently, pledging to build up new bilateral relations and officials said he would scout for an embassy location in the Tel Aviv area. Mohamed Al Khaja, former chief of staff to the UAE foreign minister, was due to present his credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at the start of a three-day visit. Meeting Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi in Jerusalem, Al Khaja, 40, said he was "very proud and honoured to be the first Emirati ambassador" to Israel, where, he said, he and his hosts were discussing "the model of how we operate". "My mission here is to foster and develop this relationship...and we hope this will bring peace and prosperity to the people in the Middle East," he said. The UAE and Israel formalised ties in a Washington ceremony on September 15, brought together by shared concern about Iran. Their so-called 'Abraham Accords', joined by Bahrain, have uncorked tourism and commerce between Israel and Gulf Arab countries. Palestinians have been critical of the rapprochement, worried that their own unmet statehood goal might be sidelined. Israel opened an embassy in Abu Dhabi in January. Israel considers Jerusalem its capital but this is not widely recognised abroad. The Palestinians want their own capital in the east of the city, which Israel captured in a 1967 war. The UAE would follow Jordan and Egypt in setting up an embassy in or near coastal metropolis Tel Aviv. (With inputs from agencies)

UAE minister: US sanctions complicate Syria's return to Arab fold 

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for Covid-19 after showing minor symptoms, his office said on Monday.&nbsp;

The Syrian leader and his spouse, who announced her recovery from breast cancer in 2019, were both in good health and would keep working while in isolation at home, the statement said.&nbsp;

Syria has seen a sharp rise in infections since mid-February, a member of the country's coronavirus advisory committee said last week.&nbsp;

The health ministry started vaccinating frontline healthcare workers a week ago and said there had been a surge in Covid-19 cases without elaborating.&nbsp;

After a decade of war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and uprooted millions, Assad's military has reclaimed most of the country with Russia and Iran's help.&nbsp;

Recently, missile strikes on makeshift oil refineries in northern Syria killed four people and injured more than 20 others, a war monitor said on Saturday. &nbsp;

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a series of strikes launched from Russian warships and by allied Syrian government forces hit the makeshift refineries in Aleppo province on Friday night, causing a massive blaze as dozens of tankers caught fire in the area controlled by Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies. &nbsp;

The Britain-based monitor 'documented the deaths of four people, while 24 others sustained various injuries and burns' in the attacks near the towns of Jarablus and Al-Bab. &nbsp;

At least one Syrian rebel was among the dead, said Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman. Rescue workers spent hours trying to extinguish the fire, which spread to about 180 oil tankers, according to the war monitor. &nbsp;&nbsp;

"The fires are the largest yet from a missile attack on makeshift refineries," the Observatory said. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Oil installations in Turkey-controlled parts of Aleppo have come under repeated attack in recent months although Moscow and the Syrian regime have not claimed responsibility. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for Covid-19 after showing minor symptoms, his office said on Monday. The Syrian leader and his spouse, who announced her recovery from breast cancer in 2019, were both in good health and would keep working while in isolation at home, the statement said.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for Covid-19 after showing minor symptoms, his office said on Monday. The Syrian leader and his spouse, who announced her recovery from breast cancer in 2019, were both in good health and would keep working while in isolation at home, the statement said. Syria has seen a sharp rise in infections since mid-February, a member of the country's coronavirus advisory committee said last week. The health ministry started vaccinating frontline healthcare workers a week ago and said there had been a surge in Covid-19 cases without elaborating. After a decade of war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and uprooted millions, Assad's military has reclaimed most of the country with Russia and Iran's help. Recently, missile strikes on makeshift oil refineries in northern Syria killed four people and injured more than 20 others, a war monitor said on Saturday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a series of strikes launched from Russian warships and by allied Syrian government forces hit the makeshift refineries in Aleppo province on Friday night, causing a massive blaze as dozens of tankers caught fire in the area controlled by Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies. The Britain-based monitor 'documented the deaths of four people, while 24 others sustained various injuries and burns' in the attacks near the towns of Jarablus and Al-Bab. At least one Syrian rebel was among the dead, said Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman. Rescue workers spent hours trying to extinguish the fire, which spread to about 180 oil tankers, according to the war monitor. "The fires are the largest yet from a missile attack on makeshift refineries," the Observatory said. Oil installations in Turkey-controlled parts of Aleppo have come under repeated attack in recent months although Moscow and the Syrian regime have not claimed responsibility. (With inputs from agencies)

Syria's President Assad, wife test positive for Covid-19 

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Syria Kurds hand 12 children to their Iraqi Yazidi mothers 
&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Syria's Kurds have handed back 12 children of alleged Islamic State members to their mothers from Iraq's Yazidi minority, a Kurdish official said Friday.

"The children, aged two to five, were all born to Yazidi mothers and fathered by IS members. They were handed over to their mothers" on Thursday, said Syrian Kurdish official Zeyneb Saroukhan.

Dozens of Yazidi women and girls survived sex slavery at the hands of IS jihadists in Syria and have since returned to Iraq, but many were forced to leave their children behind or risk being shunned by their community.

Saroukhan said this was the first time children had been given back to their mothers.

IS abducted thousands of Yazidi women and girls from their ancestral Iraqi home of Sinjar in 2014, then enslaved, raped, or married them off by force to jihadists, including in neighbouring Syria.

US-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters say they have rescued dozens during their years of battles against IS that led to their 2019 territorial defeat.&nbsp;

But while the Yazidi community welcomed those survivors&nbsp;back to&nbsp;northern Iraq, that compassion was not extended to their children.

Saroukhan said it had been the Syrian Kurdish authorities' duty to look after the children until their mothers asked for them.

Yazidi women and children have previously returned from Syria to Iraq, but many of those abducted remain missing. &nbsp;

In May last year, a then 17-year-old Yazidi girl abducted by IS returned to Iraq after the coronavirus lockdown in Syria delayed her homecoming.

In 2019, Syria's Kurds repatriated 25 women and children.

Syria Kurds hand 12 children to their Iraqi Yazidi mothers Syria's Kurds have handed back 12 children of alleged Islamic State members to their mothers from Iraq's Yazidi minority, a Kurdish official said Friday.

Syria Kurds hand 12 children to their Iraqi Yazidi mothers Syria's Kurds have handed back 12 children of alleged Islamic State members to their mothers from Iraq's Yazidi minority, a Kurdish official said Friday. "The children, aged two to five, were all born to Yazidi mothers and fathered by IS members. They were handed over to their mothers" on Thursday, said Syrian Kurdish official Zeyneb Saroukhan. Dozens of Yazidi women and girls survived sex slavery at the hands of IS jihadists in Syria and have since returned to Iraq, but many were forced to leave their children behind or risk being shunned by their community. Saroukhan said this was the first time children had been given back to their mothers. IS abducted thousands of Yazidi women and girls from their ancestral Iraqi home of Sinjar in 2014, then enslaved, raped, or married them off by force to jihadists, including in neighbouring Syria. US-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters say they have rescued dozens during their years of battles against IS that led to their 2019 territorial defeat. But while the Yazidi community welcomed those survivors back to northern Iraq, that compassion was not extended to their children. Saroukhan said it had been the Syrian Kurdish authorities' duty to look after the children until their mothers asked for them. Yazidi women and children have previously returned from Syria to Iraq, but many of those abducted remain missing. In May last year, a then 17-year-old Yazidi girl abducted by IS returned to Iraq after the coronavirus lockdown in Syria delayed her homecoming. In 2019, Syria's Kurds repatriated 25 women and children.

Syria Kurds hand 12 children to their Iraqi Yazidi mothers

Missile strikes on makeshift oil refineries in northern Syria killed four people and injured more than 20 others, a war monitor said on Saturday.&nbsp;

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a series of strikes launched from Russian warships and by allied Syrian government forces hit the makeshift refineries in Aleppo province on Friday night, causing a massive blaze as dozens of tankers caught fire in the area controlled by Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies.&nbsp;

The Britain-based monitor 'documented the deaths of four people, while 24 others sustained various injuries and burns' in the attacks near the towns of Jarablus and Al-Bab.&nbsp;

At least one Syrian rebel was among the dead, said Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman. &nbsp;

Rescue workers spent hours trying to extinguish the fire, which spread to about 180 oil tankers, according to the war monitor.&nbsp;

"The fires are the largest yet from a missile attack on makeshift refineries," the Observatory said.&nbsp;

Oil installations in Turkey-controlled parts of Aleppo have come under repeated attack in recent months although Moscow and the Syrian regime have not claimed responsibility.&nbsp;

The Observatory reported two such missile attacks last month.&nbsp;

In January, unidentified drones also hit oil refineries in Turkish-held areas of Aleppo, causing a large fire, according to the Observatory. &nbsp;

Syria's war has killed more than 387,000 people and displaced millions since starting in 2011 with a brutal repression of anti-government protests.&nbsp;

It later evolved into a complex conflict involving jihadists and foreign powers.&nbsp;

Northern neighbour Turkey has seized control of several regions inside Syria in military campaigns against the Islamic State group and Kurdish fighters since 2016.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Missile strikes on makeshift oil refineries in northern Syria killed four people and injured more than 20 others, a war monitor said on Saturday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a series of strikes launched from Russian warships and by allied Syrian government forces hit the makeshift refineries in Aleppo province on Friday night, causing a massive blaze as dozens of tankers caught fire in the area controlled by Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies.

Missile strikes on makeshift oil refineries in northern Syria killed four people and injured more than 20 others, a war monitor said on Saturday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a series of strikes launched from Russian warships and by allied Syrian government forces hit the makeshift refineries in Aleppo province on Friday night, causing a massive blaze as dozens of tankers caught fire in the area controlled by Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies. The Britain-based monitor 'documented the deaths of four people, while 24 others sustained various injuries and burns' in the attacks near the towns of Jarablus and Al-Bab. At least one Syrian rebel was among the dead, said Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman. Rescue workers spent hours trying to extinguish the fire, which spread to about 180 oil tankers, according to the war monitor. "The fires are the largest yet from a missile attack on makeshift refineries," the Observatory said. Oil installations in Turkey-controlled parts of Aleppo have come under repeated attack in recent months although Moscow and the Syrian regime have not claimed responsibility. The Observatory reported two such missile attacks last month. In January, unidentified drones also hit oil refineries in Turkish-held areas of Aleppo, causing a large fire, according to the Observatory. Syria's war has killed more than 387,000 people and displaced millions since starting in 2011 with a brutal repression of anti-government protests. It later evolved into a complex conflict involving jihadists and foreign powers. Northern neighbour Turkey has seized control of several regions inside Syria in military campaigns against the Islamic State group and Kurdish fighters since 2016. (With inputs from agencies)

Missile strikes on makeshift oil refineries in Syria kill four, says monitor  

A Russian Mi-35 helicopter Sunday made an emergency landing due to technical problems during a flight over Syria's northern Hasaka province.

"The crew was quickly evacuated to the airfield. There is no threat to lives of the pilots," the RIA news agency cited a defence ministry statement as saying on Sunday.

The helicopter was not fired at, it added.

Syrian state media said earlier there were reports of a Russian helicopter crash in northeast Syria that killed the pilot.

It said the site of the crash was in Hasaka province, near Tal Tamr close to a Russian base.

A Russian Mi-35 helicopter Sunday made an emergency landing due to technical problems during a flight over Syria's northern Hasaka province. "The crew was quickly evacuated to the airfield.

A Russian Mi-35 helicopter Sunday made an emergency landing due to technical problems during a flight over Syria's northern Hasaka province. "The crew was quickly evacuated to the airfield. There is no threat to lives of the pilots," the RIA news agency cited a defence ministry statement as saying on Sunday. The helicopter was not fired at, it added. Syrian state media said earlier there were reports of a Russian helicopter crash in northeast Syria that killed the pilot. It said the site of the crash was in Hasaka province, near Tal Tamr close to a Russian base.

Russian helicopter makes emergency landing in Syria

After a 'deadly' US airstrike in Syria, Iran has "strongly condemned" the actions, while US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> has said that this was a warning for Iran.

On Friday, a US airstrike was carried out against an Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria. This was Biden's first such action since he took the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/the-white-house">Oval Office</a> on January 26.&nbsp;

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/president-biden-calls-saudi-king-salman-iran-tops-agenda-366311" hreflang="en">President Biden calls Saudi King Salman; Iran tops agenda</a>

Talking about the strike, he said it should be seen by Iran as a warning. "You can't act with impunity," he said.

He also asked Iran and other countries to "be careful" and sent out a message that his administration will always protect Americans first.

"He's going to act to protect Americans and when threats are posed, he has the right to take an action at the time and in the manner of his choosing," the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/the-white-house">White House</a> Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Biden's behalf.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/israeli-researchers-reveal-china-copied-spyware-code-from-americas-nsa-365453" hreflang="en">Israeli researchers reveal China copied spyware code from America's NSA</a>

While Syria condemned the strike as "cowardly American aggression", the Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration wanted to make it "very, very clear — notably to Iran&nbsp;— that they cannot act with impunity against our people, our partners, our interests", adding that he hopes the message has been received clearly.

Syria believes this is a weak sign on behalf of the Biden administration. "It is a bad sign regarding the policies of the new US administration which should adhere to international (norms)," the foreign ministry said.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/iran-cant-act-with-impunity-says-us-president-joe-biden-366556">WATCH|</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/iran-cant-act-with-impunity-says-us-president-joe-biden-366556/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Iran, too, has condemned the airstrike and has warned that this attack risks "intensifying military conflicts and further destabilise the region" in the war-stuck region.&nbsp;

Calling it illegal attacks, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said his country "strongly condemned the illegal attacks by US forces on areas in eastern Syria that are a clear violation of human rights and international law".

The Kremlin, too, used this moment to target the US and said it was&nbsp;closely monitoring the situation and was constantly in contact with the Syrian authorities. The&nbsp;spokesman Dmitry Peskov also added that he could not say whether the Biden administration had informed Russia of its plans to carry out the airstrike. He also added that additional&nbsp;operational contacts were made through the military.

After a 'deadly' US airstrike in Syria, Iran has "strongly condemned" the actions, while US President Joe Biden has said that this was a warning for Iran. On Friday, a US airstrike was carried out against an Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria.

After a 'deadly' US airstrike in Syria, Iran has "strongly condemned" the actions, while US President Joe Biden has said that this was a warning for Iran. On Friday, a US airstrike was carried out against an Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria. This was Biden's first such action since he took the Oval Office on January 26. Also read| President Biden calls Saudi King Salman; Iran tops agenda Talking about the strike, he said it should be seen by Iran as a warning. "You can't act with impunity," he said. He also asked Iran and other countries to "be careful" and sent out a message that his administration will always protect Americans first. "He's going to act to protect Americans and when threats are posed, he has the right to take an action at the time and in the manner of his choosing," the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Biden's behalf. Also read| Israeli researchers reveal China copied spyware code from America's NSA While Syria condemned the strike as "cowardly American aggression", the Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration wanted to make it "very, very clear — notably to Iran — that they cannot act with impunity against our people, our partners, our interests", adding that he hopes the message has been received clearly. Syria believes this is a weak sign on behalf of the Biden administration. "It is a bad sign regarding the policies of the new US administration which should adhere to international (norms)," the foreign ministry said. WATCH| Iran, too, has condemned the airstrike and has warned that this attack risks "intensifying military conflicts and further destabilise the region" in the war-stuck region. Calling it illegal attacks, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said his country "strongly condemned the illegal attacks by US forces on areas in eastern Syria that are a clear violation of human rights and international law". The Kremlin, too, used this moment to target the US and said it was closely monitoring the situation and was constantly in contact with the Syrian authorities. The spokesman Dmitry Peskov also added that he could not say whether the Biden administration had informed Russia of its plans to carry out the airstrike. He also added that additional operational contacts were made through the military.

'Be prepared': Biden to Iran after US airstrike in Syria

BEIRUT — Since President Joe Biden entered the White House, Iranian-backed militants across the Middle East have struck an airport in Saudi Arabia with an exploding drone, and are accused of assassinating a critic in Lebanon and of targeting U.S. military personnel at an airport in northern Iraq, killing a Filipino contractor and wounding six others.

On Thursday, the world got its first glimpse of how Biden is likely to approach one of the greatest security concerns of American partners in the region: the network of militias that are backed by Iran and committed to subverting the interests of the United States and its allies.

U.S. officials said that overnight airstrikes ordered by Biden hit a collection of buildings on the Syrian side of a border crossing with Iraq on Thursday and targeted members of the Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and an affiliated group.

A Kataib Hezbollah official said that one of his group’s fighters had been killed in the airstrikes. But Iranian state television and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a conflict monitor based in Britain, reported that 17 fighters had been killed in the airstrikes, which occurred near Abu Kamal, Syria, just across the border from Iraq.

While the exact death toll remained unclear, Biden appears to have calibrated the strikes, hoping they would cause enough damage to show that the United States would not allow rocket attacks like that on the Irbil airport in northern Iraq on Feb. 15, but not so much as to risk setting off a wider conflagration.

“He is kind of putting his first red line,” said Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.

She said the strikes signaled to Iran that his eagerness to return to a nuclear agreement would not lead Biden to ignore other regional activities by Iran and its allies, and particularly attacks on U.S. troops.

“It is sending a message: The bottom line is that we won’t tolerate this and will use military force when we feel you’ve crossed the line,” Yahya said.

Militiamen fled from six of the seven buildings hit in the strikes after spotting what they believed to be a U.S. surveillance aircraft, according to the Sabareen news channel on Telegram, which is used by Iran-backed groups.

In a sign of heightened tensions between the Iraqi government and Iran-backed groups that are also part of Iraq’s security forces, Sabareen said the U.S. strikes had been aided by an Iraqi intelligence official posing as a shepherd.

In an interview with a local television network Thursday, Iraq’s foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, said those calling themselves “the resistance” and launching rocket attacks in Iraq were no more than terrorists.

Sabareen called Hussein’s comments “a green light to the international community to target and eliminate the resistance under the pretext of terrorism.”

“We see these attacks as attacks on the Iraqi government,” Hussein said in a recent interview with The New York Times, referring to attacks on the U.S. Embassy and other American targets. Hussein is one of several Iraqi officials who have traveled to Iran in recent months to try to persuade it to use its influence to rein in militia forces.

“I and others went to Tehran and had a frank and open discussion with the Iranians,” he said. “For a period of time, it stopped these attacks.”

“At the end, the field of conflict is in Iraq,” Hussein said.

Senior Iraqi officials have said they expect a more nuanced policy by the Biden administration toward Iraq. Hussein said Baghdad had no expectations that the administration would make Iraq a foreign policy priority, but said relations would be helped by the long experience of both Biden and key administration officials with Iraq and Iraqi politicians.

Kataib Hezbollah says it maintains a presence at the border crossing to prevent the infiltration of Islamic State fighters into Iraq.

The Iraqi government has struggled to rein in Iran-backed militias that have grown in influence since mobilizing to fight the Islamic State when it took over large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The group lost its last piece of territory two years ago, and many of the Iran-backed paramilitary groups have been absorbed into Iraq’s official security forces.

Iraq has warned that conflict between the United States and Iran playing out on its soil threatens to destabilize the country.

Attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq by suspected Iran-backed militias intensified after the United States killed an Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, and a senior Iraqi security official, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a drone strike in Baghdad in 2020.

“In the last year, Iraq has become a playground and battleground for this type of activity driven by the U.S.-Iran escalation,” said Renad Mansour, the Iraq Initiative director at Chatham House, a London-based policy group. “These groups began to spring up after the killing.”

“There’s one clear message from all of them: that avenging the deaths isn’t over,” he said. “For them, time isn’t an issue.”

Mansour, who tracks armed groups in Iraq, said the newer groups appeared to be made up of fighters armed with weapons connected to the larger Iran-linked paramilitaries.

Some of the Iran-backed paramilitary groups are on the Iraqi government’s payroll as part of the Iraqi security forces but are only nominally under the control of the government.

The tit-for-tat attacks come as the Biden administration begins the daunting task of trying to restore the nuclear agreement with Iran that President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from in 2018. Looming behind the question of the parameters of a new deal is the issue of Iran’s destabilizing activities across the Middle East, which are particularly concerning to U.S. allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Iran has spent decades building a network of partnerships with militia groups across the region that has allowed it to project power far outside its area of influence. These groups include the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, a number of groups in Iraq and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

All of these groups have received at least some financing, support and weaponry from Iran over the years, and all share its ideology of “resistance,” or the struggle against Israel and U.S. interests in the region.

The groups have developed numerous, often low-cost ways of creating headaches for the United States and its allies. Hezbollah has grown into Lebanon’s most powerful military and political force, with an arsenal of more than 100,000 rockets pointed at Israel and seasoned fighters who helped turn the tide in Syria’s civil war in favor of President Bashar Assad.

This month, the group’s foes in Lebanon accused the group of assassinating Lokman Slim, a publisher, filmmaker and vocal critic of the group who had close ties with Western officials. Hezbollah officials denied any connection to Slim’s killing.

Days after Slim’s death, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, whom an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been bombing since 2015, targeted an airport in the Saudi city of Abha with an explosive-laden drone, damaging a civilian airliner.

The Irbil rocket attack was claimed by a previously unknown armed group calling itself the Guardians of the Blood. U.S. officials said it appeared to be affiliated with one or more of Iraq’s better-known militias, and Thursday’s strikes in Syria targeted facilities belonging to them.

BEIRUT — Since President Joe Biden entered the White House, Iranian-backed militants across the Middle East have struck an airport in Saudi Arabia with an exploding drone, and are accused of assassinating a critic in Lebanon and of targeting U.

BEIRUT — Since President Joe Biden entered the White House, Iranian-backed militants across the Middle East have struck an airport in Saudi Arabia with an exploding drone, and are accused of assassinating a critic in Lebanon and of targeting U.S. military personnel at an airport in northern Iraq, killing a Filipino contractor and wounding six others. On Thursday, the world got its first glimpse of how Biden is likely to approach one of the greatest security concerns of American partners in the region: the network of militias that are backed by Iran and committed to subverting the interests of the United States and its allies. U.S. officials said that overnight airstrikes ordered by Biden hit a collection of buildings on the Syrian side of a border crossing with Iraq on Thursday and targeted members of the Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and an affiliated group. A Kataib Hezbollah official said that one of his group’s fighters had been killed in the airstrikes. But Iranian state television and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a conflict monitor based in Britain, reported that 17 fighters had been killed in the airstrikes, which occurred near Abu Kamal, Syria, just across the border from Iraq. While the exact death toll remained unclear, Biden appears to have calibrated the strikes, hoping they would cause enough damage to show that the United States would not allow rocket attacks like that on the Irbil airport in northern Iraq on Feb. 15, but not so much as to risk setting off a wider conflagration. “He is kind of putting his first red line,” said Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. She said the strikes signaled to Iran that his eagerness to return to a nuclear agreement would not lead Biden to ignore other regional activities by Iran and its allies, and particularly attacks on U.S. troops. “It is sending a message: The bottom line is that we won’t tolerate this and will use military force when we feel you’ve crossed the line,” Yahya said. Militiamen fled from six of the seven buildings hit in the strikes after spotting what they believed to be a U.S. surveillance aircraft, according to the Sabareen news channel on Telegram, which is used by Iran-backed groups. In a sign of heightened tensions between the Iraqi government and Iran-backed groups that are also part of Iraq’s security forces, Sabareen said the U.S. strikes had been aided by an Iraqi intelligence official posing as a shepherd. In an interview with a local television network Thursday, Iraq’s foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, said those calling themselves “the resistance” and launching rocket attacks in Iraq were no more than terrorists. Sabareen called Hussein’s comments “a green light to the international community to target and eliminate the resistance under the pretext of terrorism.” “We see these attacks as attacks on the Iraqi government,” Hussein said in a recent interview with The New York Times, referring to attacks on the U.S. Embassy and other American targets. Hussein is one of several Iraqi officials who have traveled to Iran in recent months to try to persuade it to use its influence to rein in militia forces. “I and others went to Tehran and had a frank and open discussion with the Iranians,” he said. “For a period of time, it stopped these attacks.” “At the end, the field of conflict is in Iraq,” Hussein said. Senior Iraqi officials have said they expect a more nuanced policy by the Biden administration toward Iraq. Hussein said Baghdad had no expectations that the administration would make Iraq a foreign policy priority, but said relations would be helped by the long experience of both Biden and key administration officials with Iraq and Iraqi politicians. Kataib Hezbollah says it maintains a presence at the border crossing to prevent the infiltration of Islamic State fighters into Iraq. The Iraqi government has struggled to rein in Iran-backed militias that have grown in influence since mobilizing to fight the Islamic State when it took over large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The group lost its last piece of territory two years ago, and many of the Iran-backed paramilitary groups have been absorbed into Iraq’s official security forces. Iraq has warned that conflict between the United States and Iran playing out on its soil threatens to destabilize the country. Attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq by suspected Iran-backed militias intensified after the United States killed an Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, and a senior Iraqi security official, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a drone strike in Baghdad in 2020. “In the last year, Iraq has become a playground and battleground for this type of activity driven by the U.S.-Iran escalation,” said Renad Mansour, the Iraq Initiative director at Chatham House, a London-based policy group. “These groups began to spring up after the killing.” “There’s one clear message from all of them: that avenging the deaths isn’t over,” he said. “For them, time isn’t an issue.” Mansour, who tracks armed groups in Iraq, said the newer groups appeared to be made up of fighters armed with weapons connected to the larger Iran-linked paramilitaries. Some of the Iran-backed paramilitary groups are on the Iraqi government’s payroll as part of the Iraqi security forces but are only nominally under the control of the government. The tit-for-tat attacks come as the Biden administration begins the daunting task of trying to restore the nuclear agreement with Iran that President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from in 2018. Looming behind the question of the parameters of a new deal is the issue of Iran’s destabilizing activities across the Middle East, which are particularly concerning to U.S. allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. Iran has spent decades building a network of partnerships with militia groups across the region that has allowed it to project power far outside its area of influence. These groups include the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, a number of groups in Iraq and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. All of these groups have received at least some financing, support and weaponry from Iran over the years, and all share its ideology of “resistance,” or the struggle against Israel and U.S. interests in the region. The groups have developed numerous, often low-cost ways of creating headaches for the United States and its allies. Hezbollah has grown into Lebanon’s most powerful military and political force, with an arsenal of more than 100,000 rockets pointed at Israel and seasoned fighters who helped turn the tide in Syria’s civil war in favor of President Bashar Assad. This month, the group’s foes in Lebanon accused the group of assassinating Lokman Slim, a publisher, filmmaker and vocal critic of the group who had close ties with Western officials. Hezbollah officials denied any connection to Slim’s killing. Days after Slim’s death, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, whom an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been bombing since 2015, targeted an airport in the Saudi city of Abha with an explosive-laden drone, damaging a civilian airliner. The Irbil rocket attack was claimed by a previously unknown armed group calling itself the Guardians of the Blood. U.S. officials said it appeared to be affiliated with one or more of Iraq’s better-known militias, and Thursday’s strikes in Syria targeted facilities belonging to them.

With strikes in Syria, Biden confronts Iran’s militant network

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Top ten world news: Syria denounces US strikes, Navalny moved to detention centre and more

The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. 17 Pro-Iran fighters have been killed in the incident.

Your Story: US bombs Iran-backed militia facilities

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. action was a “proportionate military response” taken together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with coalition partners.

'Joe Biden will protest coalition personnel': John Kirby

The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups.

US bombs facilities in Syria

A German court sentenced a former member of President Bashar al-Assad's security services to 4-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday for abetting the torture of civilians, the first such verdict for crimes against humanity in the 10-year-old Syrian civil war.&nbsp;

The higher regional court in the western city of Koblenz said Eyad A had arrested at least 30 anti-government protesters at the start of the conflict in 2011 and sent them to an intelligence facility where he knew detainees were tortured.&nbsp;

The verdict gives hope to the 800,000 Syrians in Germany, who say they were tortured in government facilities after attempts to establish an international tribunal for Syria failed.&nbsp;

"This is an important step forward in the process of securing accountability for the Syrian government's systematic use of torture against civilians," said Steve Kostas, a lawyer with the Open Society Foundation's Justice Initiative, which is representing Syrian plaintiffs.&nbsp;

The Assad government denies it tortures prisoners.&nbsp;

Eyad A's lawyers asked for an acquittal, saying he had carried out the arrests in and around Damascus under duress by his superiors. He asked the court to consider him a witness in broader legal efforts against the Syrian government.&nbsp;

Handcuffed and wearing a burgundy track suit, Eyad A, who arrived in Germany in 2018 and was granted asylum, covered his face with a paper document as policemen walked him to a glass cubicle to await the verdict.&nbsp;

He remained stoic and did not appear surprised as the verdict was read out, said two Syrian lawyers at the court.&nbsp;

The case against him was mainly based on evidence of his work for the intelligence service that he had given to German immigration authorities and police when he applied for asylum.&nbsp;

A German court sentenced a former member of President Bashar al-Assad's security services to 4-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday for abetting the torture of civilians, the first such verdict for crimes against humanity in the 10-year-old Syrian civil war.

A German court sentenced a former member of President Bashar al-Assad's security services to 4-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday for abetting the torture of civilians, the first such verdict for crimes against humanity in the 10-year-old Syrian civil war. The higher regional court in the western city of Koblenz said Eyad A had arrested at least 30 anti-government protesters at the start of the conflict in 2011 and sent them to an intelligence facility where he knew detainees were tortured. The verdict gives hope to the 800,000 Syrians in Germany, who say they were tortured in government facilities after attempts to establish an international tribunal for Syria failed. "This is an important step forward in the process of securing accountability for the Syrian government's systematic use of torture against civilians," said Steve Kostas, a lawyer with the Open Society Foundation's Justice Initiative, which is representing Syrian plaintiffs. The Assad government denies it tortures prisoners. Eyad A's lawyers asked for an acquittal, saying he had carried out the arrests in and around Damascus under duress by his superiors. He asked the court to consider him a witness in broader legal efforts against the Syrian government. Handcuffed and wearing a burgundy track suit, Eyad A, who arrived in Germany in 2018 and was granted asylum, covered his face with a paper document as policemen walked him to a glass cubicle to await the verdict. He remained stoic and did not appear surprised as the verdict was read out, said two Syrian lawyers at the court. The case against him was mainly based on evidence of his work for the intelligence service that he had given to German immigration authorities and police when he applied for asylum.

German court issues guilty verdict in first Syria torture trial

West Asia has been blanketed by snow. Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine & Saudi Arabia are all reporting snowfall. WION's Palki Sharma tells you why this is proof of climate change.

Gravitas: Why its snowing in West Asia

Snow blanketed parts of Syria, Lebanon and Israel on Wednesday, blocking roads, disrupting traffic and postponing exams at some universities.&nbsp;

Large parts of Syria were covered, including the capital Damascus, which is witnessing this winter's first snowfall. Snow was as high as 15 cm (6 inches) in the mountains of Sweida province, according to the official state news agency SANA.&nbsp;

Roads in some provinces were blocked. In the central province of Hama, bulldozers shoveled snow to open roads while vehicles skidded on ice, further causing traffic disruption.&nbsp;

The University of Damascus called off mid-term exams scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in all its branches around Syria because of the extreme weather conditions. The country's ports remained open.&nbsp;

In the opposition-held northwestern Syria, civil defence teams have been building dirt mounds since Tuesday around displaced persons' camps to prevent the rain from flooding the crowded areas. Nearly three million displaced people live in northwestern Syria, mostly in tents and temporary shelters. Heavy rainfall last month damaged over 190 displacement sites, destroying and damaging over 10,000 tents.&nbsp;

In neighboring Lebanon, Storm Joyce hit late on Tuesday with gale force winds registering between 85 km/h (52 miles/h) and 100 km/h (62 miles/h). The storm is expected to get stronger Thursday.&nbsp;

Breaking a warm spell, the storm brought heavy rainfall, a sharp drop in temperatures and the heaviest snow fall in Lebanon this year. Snow is expected to cover areas of altitudes as low as 400 meters high, according to the Meteorological department. Nearly a dozen roads in eastern and northern Lebanon were closed to traffic because of the snow.&nbsp;

The Israeli Meteorological Service forecast heavy thunderstorms and cold temperatures across much of the country, with snowfall at higher altitudes expected later on Wednesday, including in Jerusalem. Heavy snowfall covered the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria. &nbsp;

Snow blanketed parts of Syria, Lebanon and Israel on Wednesday, blocking roads, disrupting traffic and postponing exams at some universities. Large parts of Syria were covered, including the capital Damascus, which is witnessing this winter's first snowfall.

Snow blanketed parts of Syria, Lebanon and Israel on Wednesday, blocking roads, disrupting traffic and postponing exams at some universities. Large parts of Syria were covered, including the capital Damascus, which is witnessing this winter's first snowfall. Snow was as high as 15 cm (6 inches) in the mountains of Sweida province, according to the official state news agency SANA. Roads in some provinces were blocked. In the central province of Hama, bulldozers shoveled snow to open roads while vehicles skidded on ice, further causing traffic disruption. The University of Damascus called off mid-term exams scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in all its branches around Syria because of the extreme weather conditions. The country's ports remained open. In the opposition-held northwestern Syria, civil defence teams have been building dirt mounds since Tuesday around displaced persons' camps to prevent the rain from flooding the crowded areas. Nearly three million displaced people live in northwestern Syria, mostly in tents and temporary shelters. Heavy rainfall last month damaged over 190 displacement sites, destroying and damaging over 10,000 tents. In neighboring Lebanon, Storm Joyce hit late on Tuesday with gale force winds registering between 85 km/h (52 miles/h) and 100 km/h (62 miles/h). The storm is expected to get stronger Thursday. Breaking a warm spell, the storm brought heavy rainfall, a sharp drop in temperatures and the heaviest snow fall in Lebanon this year. Snow is expected to cover areas of altitudes as low as 400 meters high, according to the Meteorological department. Nearly a dozen roads in eastern and northern Lebanon were closed to traffic because of the snow. The Israeli Meteorological Service forecast heavy thunderstorms and cold temperatures across much of the country, with snowfall at higher altitudes expected later on Wednesday, including in Jerusalem. Heavy snowfall covered the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria.

Heavy snowfall hits Syria, Lebanon, Israel in winter storm

In a tented camp on a hilltop above the city of Afrin, 300 Syrian families struggle to keep warm in the rain and mud. Displaced three times since they fled their farms near Damascus seven years ago, they survive on slim handouts and send the children out to scavenge.

“The situation is very bad, rain comes into the tent,” said Bushra Sulaiman al-Hamdo, 65, lifting the ground sheet to show the sodden earth where her bedridden husband lay. “There’s not enough food, there is no assistance organization, no drinking water.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was widely criticized by the United Nations and Western leaders three years ago when he ordered Turkish troops across the Syrian border into Afrin, an action seen as opportunistic and destabilizing. Thousands of Kurdish families fled the Turkish invasion, along with the Kurdish fighters. In their place came hundreds of thousands of Syrians from other areas, who have swollen the population, taking over homes and camping on farming land.

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Another Turkish intervention in 2019, farther east in Syria, met still more opprobrium amid accusations of human rights violations under Turkey’s watch.

But as an end to the decadelong Syrian civil war still confounds the world, Turkey has become the only international force on the ground protecting some five million displaced and vulnerable civilians. Today, the Turkish soldiers are all that stand between them and potential slaughter at the hands of President Bashar Assad’s forces and those of his Russian allies.

Turkish officials recently escorted journalists on a rare visit to Afrin, a district of northwestern Syria, where Turkey has created its own de facto safe zone along the border. The Turks were keen to show their achievements in infrastructure, education and health services.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-imposes-sanctions-on-turkey-over-russian-s-400-missiles-350017">US imposes sanctions on Turkey over Russian S-400 missiles</a>

But they also did not hide the continuing plight of the Syrians under their charge, who despite their evident hardship made clear that they were glad the Turks were there, at least for now.

“Here, at least I can stay alive,” said Amar Muhammad, 35, a porter in the market in Afrin. A former rebel fighter from Damascus, he said he risked death or detention by the Syrian government. “There, I would be dead. There, I would be thinking all the time, ‘Will they arrest me?’”

The Turkish intervention in Afrin was not selfless. Turkey always had its own interests in mind. Its main aim was to root out Kurdish forces it considers a security threat and provide a space for the residual rebel forces fighting against Assad, a loathed rival. The Syrians who settled around Afrin have fled Syrian government forces.

Muhammad and his cousin Muhammad Amar were among the rebel fighters evacuated in a convoy of buses from the Damascus suburb of Ghouta and brought to Afrin under a peace deal arranged between Russia and Turkey three years ago.

“We were forcibly displaced,” Muhammad said. Refused a chance to join the Turkish-backed security forces, they were demobilized and left to make a living how they could. “I swear to God some people go to sleep hungry. We don’t know how we are surviving.”

Turkey has set up its own administration, trained and incorporated friendly Syrian militias into a military police force and set up compliant local Syrian councils to run things. The city has been connected to the Turkish electricity grid, ending years of blackouts; uses Turkish cellphones and currency; and has registered 500 Syrian companies for cross-border trade.

“Our main aim is to make their life more normal,” said Orhan Akturk, deputy governor of the adjoining Turkish province of Hatay, who is also responsible for Afrin. “Keep schools open, and hospitals working so people can resume their lives.”

But Turkey is also in Syria so that the Syrians do not end up in Turkey. Already the host of the largest Syrian refugee community in the world — 3.6 million Syrians are registered inside Turkey — Erdogan has long called for the establishment of a no-fly zone, or an internationally protected safe zone, in northern Syria.

As it stands, his forces have carved it out for themselves. While the U.N. supplies much of the assistance to the Syrians, Turkey has forced out many international aid groups to keep closer control itself.

Turkey first intervened in Syria in 2016 in a joint operation with the U.S. Army against the Islamic State group, then in Afrin in 2018, and again in 2019, after then-President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. forces from the region.

Erdogan’s agreement with Trump allowed Russia and the Syrian government to regain a footing in northeastern Syria, which was disastrous for the opposition. But then Ankara took an unexpected stand against a Russian and Syrian government offensive last year in the province of Idlib, showing the Turkish military was not only willing but able to defend the line.

Setting a red line in Idlib turned Turkey from a bad actor in the region to a good one, or at least one that shares mutual interests with Washington, said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a Washington-based organization involved in advocacy for Syria.

He called for the Biden administration to restart military-to-military communication with Turkey and provide it with logistical and intelligence support to bolster its defense of the part of Idlib that is still in rebel hands.

“Northwest Syria and Idlib is key to the whole,” he said. With 4 million people, 1 million of them children, crammed into an ever shrinking space, Idlib represents both a humanitarian and strategic necessity, he said. “Idlib alone, if attacked, would double the refugees in Europe.”

The Turks’ control, though welcomed by many Syrians who have fled from Assad’s government, is not uncontested. Turkey’s task in Afrin, in fact, has since been bedeviled by persistent terror attacks — 134 in 2 1/2 years — including four car bombs in the region this month. Security forces have thwarted hundreds more, Akturk said.

The Turkish police chief in Afrin said 99% of the attacks were the work of the PKK, the Kurdish separatist movement, and its affiliate in Syria, the YPG, which is allied with U.S. forces in combating the Islamic State.

The recent car bombs were concealed in trucks brought in from the Kurdish-controlled area of Manbij by unwitting traders, one of whom lost his own son in an explosion in Afrin’s industrial area, Akturk said.

Turkey will raise the issue of U.S. support for the Kurdish militia as a priority with the Biden administration, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said last week.

In Afrin the Turks have handled security like any NATO force, surrounding their administration building with high concrete blast walls and sealing off a “green zone” that encompasses the main shopping street in the center of the city.

The Syrian shopkeepers complain that business has dwindled as a consequence.

“We are surviving, but it is very difficult,” said Ibrahim Haji Khalil, owner of the Five Stars Ice Cream shop. Customers dropped dramatically after a massive fuel truck bomb hit the market last April, he said. “We used to have people in lines up the street but now there is no one.”

Said Sulaiman, the leader of the local council, pleaded for more assistance beyond what Turkey can provide. “We need more international support and more nongovernmental organizations to help,” he said.

For millions though, Turkey offers the only opportunity.

Syrian students are busy learning the Turkish language and seeking ways to get to Turkey to study or work, said Nour Hallak, a Syrian activist living in the Turkish-controlled part of Aleppo province. “It’s something that makes me laugh and cry at the same time,” he said. “Turkish language is spreading, it’s the choice of the people.”

For the families in the tented camp above the city, seeking protection from Turkey was their only option.

“We are 16 in one tent. Everything is very hard, to find wood, and food,” said Rasmia Hunan al-Abdullah, carrying a toddler in her arms. Her husband is bedridden and blind, she said. “Sometimes the children work and collect plastic.”

Families pressed forward asking for help in tracing relatives detained in the vast Syrian government prison system. Almost everyone had a family member detained by the Assad government, the camp organizer said.

“If we were not scared, we would not have come here,” said Jarir Sulaiman, one of a group of elders leaning on canes outside their communal tent.

Once a wealthy landowner, he said the Syrian government had cut down his olive groves after seizing control of their village, Khiara, south of Damascus. He ruled out returning home while Assad remained in power.

“We won’t go back to our villages until Turkey gives us protection,” he said. “Without the Turks we cannot survive.”

In a tented camp on a hilltop above the city of Afrin, 300 Syrian families struggle to keep warm in the rain and mud. Displaced three times since they fled their farms near Damascus seven years ago, they survive on slim handouts and send the children out to scavenge.

In a tented camp on a hilltop above the city of Afrin, 300 Syrian families struggle to keep warm in the rain and mud. Displaced three times since they fled their farms near Damascus seven years ago, they survive on slim handouts and send the children out to scavenge. “The situation is very bad, rain comes into the tent,” said Bushra Sulaiman al-Hamdo, 65, lifting the ground sheet to show the sodden earth where her bedridden husband lay. “There’s not enough food, there is no assistance organization, no drinking water.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was widely criticized by the United Nations and Western leaders three years ago when he ordered Turkish troops across the Syrian border into Afrin, an action seen as opportunistic and destabilizing. Thousands of Kurdish families fled the Turkish invasion, along with the Kurdish fighters. In their place came hundreds of thousands of Syrians from other areas, who have swollen the population, taking over homes and camping on farming land. Also read| Turkish President Erdogan accuses US of backing 'terrorists' in Iraq Another Turkish intervention in 2019, farther east in Syria, met still more opprobrium amid accusations of human rights violations under Turkey’s watch. But as an end to the decadelong Syrian civil war still confounds the world, Turkey has become the only international force on the ground protecting some five million displaced and vulnerable civilians. Today, the Turkish soldiers are all that stand between them and potential slaughter at the hands of President Bashar Assad’s forces and those of his Russian allies. Turkish officials recently escorted journalists on a rare visit to Afrin, a district of northwestern Syria, where Turkey has created its own de facto safe zone along the border. The Turks were keen to show their achievements in infrastructure, education and health services. Also read: US imposes sanctions on Turkey over Russian S-400 missiles But they also did not hide the continuing plight of the Syrians under their charge, who despite their evident hardship made clear that they were glad the Turks were there, at least for now. “Here, at least I can stay alive,” said Amar Muhammad, 35, a porter in the market in Afrin. A former rebel fighter from Damascus, he said he risked death or detention by the Syrian government. “There, I would be dead. There, I would be thinking all the time, ‘Will they arrest me?’” The Turkish intervention in Afrin was not selfless. Turkey always had its own interests in mind. Its main aim was to root out Kurdish forces it considers a security threat and provide a space for the residual rebel forces fighting against Assad, a loathed rival. The Syrians who settled around Afrin have fled Syrian government forces. Muhammad and his cousin Muhammad Amar were among the rebel fighters evacuated in a convoy of buses from the Damascus suburb of Ghouta and brought to Afrin under a peace deal arranged between Russia and Turkey three years ago. “We were forcibly displaced,” Muhammad said. Refused a chance to join the Turkish-backed security forces, they were demobilized and left to make a living how they could. “I swear to God some people go to sleep hungry. We don’t know how we are surviving.” Turkey has set up its own administration, trained and incorporated friendly Syrian militias into a military police force and set up compliant local Syrian councils to run things. The city has been connected to the Turkish electricity grid, ending years of blackouts; uses Turkish cellphones and currency; and has registered 500 Syrian companies for cross-border trade. “Our main aim is to make their life more normal,” said Orhan Akturk, deputy governor of the adjoining Turkish province of Hatay, who is also responsible for Afrin. “Keep schools open, and hospitals working so people can resume their lives.” But Turkey is also in Syria so that the Syrians do not end up in Turkey. Already the host of the largest Syrian refugee community in the world — 3.6 million Syrians are registered inside Turkey — Erdogan has long called for the establishment of a no-fly zone, or an internationally protected safe zone, in northern Syria. As it stands, his forces have carved it out for themselves. While the U.N. supplies much of the assistance to the Syrians, Turkey has forced out many international aid groups to keep closer control itself. Turkey first intervened in Syria in 2016 in a joint operation with the U.S. Army against the Islamic State group, then in Afrin in 2018, and again in 2019, after then-President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. forces from the region. Erdogan’s agreement with Trump allowed Russia and the Syrian government to regain a footing in northeastern Syria, which was disastrous for the opposition. But then Ankara took an unexpected stand against a Russian and Syrian government offensive last year in the province of Idlib, showing the Turkish military was not only willing but able to defend the line. Setting a red line in Idlib turned Turkey from a bad actor in the region to a good one, or at least one that shares mutual interests with Washington, said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a Washington-based organization involved in advocacy for Syria. He called for the Biden administration to restart military-to-military communication with Turkey and provide it with logistical and intelligence support to bolster its defense of the part of Idlib that is still in rebel hands. “Northwest Syria and Idlib is key to the whole,” he said. With 4 million people, 1 million of them children, crammed into an ever shrinking space, Idlib represents both a humanitarian and strategic necessity, he said. “Idlib alone, if attacked, would double the refugees in Europe.” The Turks’ control, though welcomed by many Syrians who have fled from Assad’s government, is not uncontested. Turkey’s task in Afrin, in fact, has since been bedeviled by persistent terror attacks — 134 in 2 1/2 years — including four car bombs in the region this month. Security forces have thwarted hundreds more, Akturk said. The Turkish police chief in Afrin said 99% of the attacks were the work of the PKK, the Kurdish separatist movement, and its affiliate in Syria, the YPG, which is allied with U.S. forces in combating the Islamic State. The recent car bombs were concealed in trucks brought in from the Kurdish-controlled area of Manbij by unwitting traders, one of whom lost his own son in an explosion in Afrin’s industrial area, Akturk said. Turkey will raise the issue of U.S. support for the Kurdish militia as a priority with the Biden administration, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said last week. In Afrin the Turks have handled security like any NATO force, surrounding their administration building with high concrete blast walls and sealing off a “green zone” that encompasses the main shopping street in the center of the city. The Syrian shopkeepers complain that business has dwindled as a consequence. “We are surviving, but it is very difficult,” said Ibrahim Haji Khalil, owner of the Five Stars Ice Cream shop. Customers dropped dramatically after a massive fuel truck bomb hit the market last April, he said. “We used to have people in lines up the street but now there is no one.” Said Sulaiman, the leader of the local council, pleaded for more assistance beyond what Turkey can provide. “We need more international support and more nongovernmental organizations to help,” he said. For millions though, Turkey offers the only opportunity. Syrian students are busy learning the Turkish language and seeking ways to get to Turkey to study or work, said Nour Hallak, a Syrian activist living in the Turkish-controlled part of Aleppo province. “It’s something that makes me laugh and cry at the same time,” he said. “Turkish language is spreading, it’s the choice of the people.” For the families in the tented camp above the city, seeking protection from Turkey was their only option. “We are 16 in one tent. Everything is very hard, to find wood, and food,” said Rasmia Hunan al-Abdullah, carrying a toddler in her arms. Her husband is bedridden and blind, she said. “Sometimes the children work and collect plastic.” Families pressed forward asking for help in tracing relatives detained in the vast Syrian government prison system. Almost everyone had a family member detained by the Assad government, the camp organizer said. “If we were not scared, we would not have come here,” said Jarir Sulaiman, one of a group of elders leaning on canes outside their communal tent. Once a wealthy landowner, he said the Syrian government had cut down his olive groves after seizing control of their village, Khiara, south of Damascus. He ruled out returning home while Assad remained in power. “We won’t go back to our villages until Turkey gives us protection,” he said. “Without the Turks we cannot survive.”

In Turkey’s safe zone in Syria, security and misery go hand in hand

Syrian state media said on Monday that Israel launched missile strikes against several targets near Damascus. The report said that the strike prompted activation of Syrian air defences. Israel has routinely carried out raids in Syria since the outbreak of Syrian war in 2011. These strikes have mostly targetted Iranian, Hezbollah forces and government troops.

Shortly after midnight, "the Israeli enemy launched an assault, firing missiles from the occupied Golan and Galilee," the SANA news agency reported, citing a military source.

The strikes were aimed at targets near Damascus, the source said, adding that defences shot down "most" of the missiles.

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According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israeli strikes on eastern Syria killed 57 government and allied fighters on January 13.

The Observatory is a Britain-based monitor that relies on sources on the ground in Syria for its reports.

Israel rarely confirms strikes in Syria, but the army said it hit about 50 targets in the war-torn country in 2020, without providing details.

It has consistently vowed to prevent its arch-enemy Iran from gaining a foothold in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad throughout the nearly decade-long war.

(With AFP inputs)

Syrian state media said on Monday that Israel launched missile strikes against several targets near Damascus. The report said that the strike prompted activation of Syrian air defences.

Syrian state media said on Monday that Israel launched missile strikes against several targets near Damascus. The report said that the strike prompted activation of Syrian air defences. Israel has routinely carried out raids in Syria since the outbreak of Syrian war in 2011. These strikes have mostly targetted Iranian, Hezbollah forces and government troops. Shortly after midnight, "the Israeli enemy launched an assault, firing missiles from the occupied Golan and Galilee," the SANA news agency reported, citing a military source. The strikes were aimed at targets near Damascus, the source said, adding that defences shot down "most" of the missiles. × According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israeli strikes on eastern Syria killed 57 government and allied fighters on January 13. The Observatory is a Britain-based monitor that relies on sources on the ground in Syria for its reports. Israel rarely confirms strikes in Syria, but the army said it hit about 50 targets in the war-torn country in 2020, without providing details. It has consistently vowed to prevent its arch-enemy Iran from gaining a foothold in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad throughout the nearly decade-long war. (With AFP inputs)

Syria intercepted Israeli missiles over Damascus, says state media

A record 12.4 million people in war-torn Syria are struggling to find enough food to eat, the UN food agency has said, in an increase it described Saturday as "alarming".

The figure means "60 percent of the Syrian population are now food insecure", the World Food Programme said, based on results of a nationwide assessment in late 2020.

It marks a sharp increase from 9.3 million people who were food insecure in May last year.

"More Syrians are slipping deeper into hunger, poverty and food insecurity than ever before," WFP spokeswoman Jessica Lawson told AFP.

"It is alarming that a basic meal is now beyond the reach of the majority of families."

Syria's almost ten-year-old war has ravaged the economy and sent inflation soaring across the country.

In early 2021, food prices nationwide were 33 times higher than the five-year pre-war average, WFP says.

A dire financial crisis in neighbouring Lebanon that has slowed dollar inflows and lockdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic have further increased economic woes.

"The economic situation in Syria is putting immense pressure on families who have nothing left after years of conflict and many depend entirely on humanitarian assistance to survive," Lawson said.

The Syrian conflict has killed more than 387,000 people and displaced millions more from their homes since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

A record 12.4 million people in war-torn Syria are struggling to find enough food to eat, the UN food agency has said, in an increase it described Saturday as "alarming".

A record 12.4 million people in war-torn Syria are struggling to find enough food to eat, the UN food agency has said, in an increase it described Saturday as "alarming". The figure means "60 percent of the Syrian population are now food insecure", the World Food Programme said, based on results of a nationwide assessment in late 2020. It marks a sharp increase from 9.3 million people who were food insecure in May last year. "More Syrians are slipping deeper into hunger, poverty and food insecurity than ever before," WFP spokeswoman Jessica Lawson told AFP. "It is alarming that a basic meal is now beyond the reach of the majority of families." Syria's almost ten-year-old war has ravaged the economy and sent inflation soaring across the country. In early 2021, food prices nationwide were 33 times higher than the five-year pre-war average, WFP says. A dire financial crisis in neighbouring Lebanon that has slowed dollar inflows and lockdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic have further increased economic woes. "The economic situation in Syria is putting immense pressure on families who have nothing left after years of conflict and many depend entirely on humanitarian assistance to survive," Lawson said. The Syrian conflict has killed more than 387,000 people and displaced millions more from their homes since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

12.4 mln people food insecure in war-torn Syria: WFP

India has once again stepped up to help a country in need. This time, India is gifting 2,000 tonnes of rice to Syria where people have been starving due to economic collapse and constant violence.

The war-torn country has been struggling to meet ends meet with the majority of the population falling below the poverty line.&nbsp;

In order to help the ailing country, India is delivering 2,000 tonnes of rice as a response to the request for emergency humanitarian assistance from the Syrian government, the external affairs ministry said.

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Govt. of India’s humanitarian assistance of 2000 MT rice as Gift for People &amp; Govt of Syria arrives in Latakia. Amb Hifzur Rahman presents the gift to Syrian Minister of Local Admin, Head of Supreme Relief Com. Eng Makhlouf<a href="https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrSJaishankar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MEAIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MEAIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SecySanjay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecySanjay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IndianDiplomacy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IndianDiplomacy</a> <a href="https://t.co/ivoUnjSXsN">pic.twitter.com/ivoUnjSXsN</a>
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The Indian ambassador Hifzur Rahman handed over the first 1,000 tonnes of rice to Hussain Makhlouf, Syria’s minister of local administration and head of the Supreme Relief Committee on Friday at Latakia port. Next 1,000 tonnes of rice will be delivered to Syria by February 18.

"India and Syria have historically enjoyed close and friendly relations. The government of India has always stood in solidarity with the people of Syria, and our bilateral engagement has continued apace even during the years of internal conflict there through a number of development and capacity building projects," the external affairs ministry said.

Last year in July, the Indian government had gifted nearly 10 tonnes of medicines to Syria to assist them through the coronavirus pandemic, which had stopped several aides to the war-torn country.

In addition to this, a camp was also set up in January 2020, called 'Jaipur foot', for artificial limbs. Organised by the Indian external affairs ministry in partnership with Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, this camp, organised in Damascus, benefited nearly 500 Syrian nationals.

India has once again stepped up to help a country in need. This time, India is gifting 2,000 tonnes of rice to Syria where people have been starving due to economic collapse and constant violence.

India has once again stepped up to help a country in need. This time, India is gifting 2,000 tonnes of rice to Syria where people have been starving due to economic collapse and constant violence. The war-torn country has been struggling to meet ends meet with the majority of the population falling below the poverty line. In order to help the ailing country, India is delivering 2,000 tonnes of rice as a response to the request for emergency humanitarian assistance from the Syrian government, the external affairs ministry said. Govt. of India’s humanitarian assistance of 2000 MT rice as Gift for People & Govt of Syria arrives in Latakia. Amb Hifzur Rahman presents the gift to Syrian Minister of Local Admin, Head of Supreme Relief Com. Eng Makhlouf@DrSJaishankar @MEAIndia @SecySanjay @IndianDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/ivoUnjSXsN — India in Damascus (@eoidamascus) February 11, 2021 × The Indian ambassador Hifzur Rahman handed over the first 1,000 tonnes of rice to Hussain Makhlouf, Syria’s minister of local administration and head of the Supreme Relief Committee on Friday at Latakia port. Next 1,000 tonnes of rice will be delivered to Syria by February 18. "India and Syria have historically enjoyed close and friendly relations. The government of India has always stood in solidarity with the people of Syria, and our bilateral engagement has continued apace even during the years of internal conflict there through a number of development and capacity building projects," the external affairs ministry said. Last year in July, the Indian government had gifted nearly 10 tonnes of medicines to Syria to assist them through the coronavirus pandemic, which had stopped several aides to the war-torn country. In addition to this, a camp was also set up in January 2020, called 'Jaipur foot', for artificial limbs. Organised by the Indian external affairs ministry in partnership with Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, this camp, organised in Damascus, benefited nearly 500 Syrian nationals.

India gifts 2,000 tonnes of rice to Syria as 'humanitarian assistance'

Islamic State group jihadists killed 19 Syrian regime personnel and allied militia fighters in the central province of Hama on Wednesday, a Britain-based war monitor said.

"Nineteen regime fighters and allied militia forces were killed in an IS attack, including 11 members of the Baqir Brigade," a local Iran-backed militia, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The war monitor said the "surprise attack" on Wednesday morning targeted regime positions in eastern Hama, the site of recent clashes between regime forces and jihadists.

Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman called it the deadliest IS attack this year.

IS overran large parts of Syria and Iraq and proclaimed a cross-border "caliphate" in 2014, before multiple offensives in the two countries led to its territorial defeat.

The group lost its last scrap of territory in Syria in March 2019, but in recent months it has ramped up attacks against regime forces, especially in the east of the country bordering Iraq.

In December last year, IS killed nearly 40 Syrian troops in an ambush of a bus carrying soldiers travelling home for the holidays.&nbsp;

According to the Observatory, IS attacks have killed more than 1,200 regime fighters and allied militia forces since March 2019.

The war in Syria has killed more than 387,000 people since it started in 2011, the Observatory says.

Islamic State group jihadists killed 19 Syrian regime personnel and allied militia fighters in the central province of Hama on Wednesday, a Britain-based war monitor said.

Islamic State group jihadists killed 19 Syrian regime personnel and allied militia fighters in the central province of Hama on Wednesday, a Britain-based war monitor said. "Nineteen regime fighters and allied militia forces were killed in an IS attack, including 11 members of the Baqir Brigade," a local Iran-backed militia, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The war monitor said the "surprise attack" on Wednesday morning targeted regime positions in eastern Hama, the site of recent clashes between regime forces and jihadists. Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman called it the deadliest IS attack this year. IS overran large parts of Syria and Iraq and proclaimed a cross-border "caliphate" in 2014, before multiple offensives in the two countries led to its territorial defeat. The group lost its last scrap of territory in Syria in March 2019, but in recent months it has ramped up attacks against regime forces, especially in the east of the country bordering Iraq. In December last year, IS killed nearly 40 Syrian troops in an ambush of a bus carrying soldiers travelling home for the holidays. According to the Observatory, IS attacks have killed more than 1,200 regime fighters and allied militia forces since March 2019. The war in Syria has killed more than 387,000 people since it started in 2011, the Observatory says.

IS attack kills 19 in central Syria

A car bomb exploded leaving at least five people dead and more than 25 injured in Northern Aleppo, Syria`s al-Watan newspaper reported on Sunday.

State news agency SANA reported the bombing in the city of Azaz but did not say how many people had been killed or injured.

Turkey, which is allied with some rebel groups opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is in control of the area where the explosion occurred.

A separate suicide car bombing at a checkpoint manned by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the Bezaa area, also in Northern Aleppo, killed six FSA members and injured four, FSA sources said.

Turkish forces and their Syrian insurgent allies seized territory in the region in an offensive in 2019 against the Kurdish YPG militia which holds swathes of north and east Syria.

Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group tied to the PKK inside its own borders.

Turkish state-owned Anadolu agency said 10 people had died and 24 were injured in two attacks in Northern Syria on Sunday, adding that a car bomb had exploded in the centre of Azaz.

A car bomb exploded leaving at least five people dead and more than 25 injured in Northern Aleppo, Syria`s al-Watan newspaper reported on Sunday. State news agency SANA reported the bombing in the city of Azaz but did not say how many people had been killed or injured.

A car bomb exploded leaving at least five people dead and more than 25 injured in Northern Aleppo, Syria`s al-Watan newspaper reported on Sunday. State news agency SANA reported the bombing in the city of Azaz but did not say how many people had been killed or injured. Turkey, which is allied with some rebel groups opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is in control of the area where the explosion occurred. A separate suicide car bombing at a checkpoint manned by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the Bezaa area, also in Northern Aleppo, killed six FSA members and injured four, FSA sources said. Turkish forces and their Syrian insurgent allies seized territory in the region in an offensive in 2019 against the Kurdish YPG militia which holds swathes of north and east Syria. Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group tied to the PKK inside its own borders. Turkish state-owned Anadolu agency said 10 people had died and 24 were injured in two attacks in Northern Syria on Sunday, adding that a car bomb had exploded in the centre of Azaz.

Two car bombs kill at least 11 in Syria's Northern Aleppo

At least five people were killed and scores wounded when a car bomb detonated in the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Saturday, the Turkish defence ministry and local civil defence said.

The ministry said in a statement the bomb attack took place in an industrial site at the center of the town and wounded 22 people, blaming the attack on the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.

There was no immediate comment from the YPG.

Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group tied to the 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 retains a large military presence in the area deploying thousands of troops in the last rebel enclave.

The local civil defence said the death toll due to the bomb stood at six, including children.

At least five people were killed and scores wounded when a car bomb detonated in the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Saturday, the Turkish defence ministry and local civil defence said.

At least five people were killed and scores wounded when a car bomb detonated in the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Saturday, the Turkish defence ministry and local civil defence said. The ministry said in a statement the bomb attack took place in an industrial site at the center of the town and wounded 22 people, blaming the attack on the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. There was no immediate comment from the YPG. Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group tied to the 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 retains a large military presence in the area deploying thousands of troops in the last rebel enclave. The local civil defence said the death toll due to the bomb stood at six, including children.

Bomb blast kills at least five people in northern Syrian town of Afrin

An artist in Syria is using his architecture background to add a modern twist to his most favourite art: Arabic calligraphy.

Syrian artist gives new depths to paintings with calligraphy

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