An Iraqi Shi&#39;ite force backed by Iran said it pushed Islamic State out of several villages on the border with Syria on Monday, potentially reopening a supply route to send Iranian weapons to President Bashar al-Assad.

The manoeuvre could also be the prelude to a connection with the Assad&#39;s Iranian-backed forces, although they are yet to reach the Iraqi border from the Syrian side.

Syrian rebel sources have warned of advances by the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militia to reach the border.

The territory taken by the Popular Mobilisation force on Monday is located north of the Islamic State-held town of Baaj.

For Popular Mobilisation, it is a step towards achieving a linkup with Assad forces, giving him a significant advantage in fighting the six-year rebellion against his rule.

But the territory is connected with land held by US-backed Syrian Kurdish groups on the Syrian side, who are more focused on fighting Islamic State than Assad.

It is not known whether the Syrian Kurds would allow the Iraqi Shi&#39;ite force to use their territory to reach Assad&#39;s troops, deployed further south and further west.

In a statement on its website, Popular Mobilisation described its advance to the border with Syria as &quot;a Ramadan miracle&quot;, referring to the Muslim fasting month which started over the weekend.

Popular Mobilisation is taking part in the US-backed Iraqi campaign to defeat Islamic State in the city of Mosul and the surrounding province of Nineveh.

Iraqi government armed forces are focusing their effort on dislodging insurgents from the city of Mosul, Islamic State&#39;s de-facto capital in Iraq.

While reporting nominally to Iraq&#39;s Shi&#39;ite-led government, Popular Mobilisation has Iranian military advisers, one of whom died last week fighting near Baaj.

&nbsp;

MOSUL CAMPAIGN

Iran has helped to train and organise thousands of Shi&#39;ite militia fighters from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Syrian conflict. Fighters from Lebanon&#39;s Hezbollah are also working closely with Iranian military commanders in Syria.

Eight months into the Mosul campaign, Islamic State fighters have been dislodged from all of the city except an enclave by the western bank of the Tigris river.

Iraq&#39;s army on Saturday launched a new offensive to take the militants&#39; enclave, which includes the densely populated Old City, amid concern over the fate of the civilians trapped there.

Up to 200,000 people still live behind Islamic State lines in Mosul, struggling to get food, water and medicine, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande told Reuters.

Government forces have been dropping leaflets over the districts telling families to flee, but many have remained out of fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

&quot;We have been informed by authorities that the evacuation is not compulsory ... If civilians decide to stay ... they will be protected by Iraqi security forces,&quot; said Grande.

&quot;People who choose to flee will be directed to safe routes. The location of these will change depending on which areas are under attack and dynamics on the battlefield,&quot; she added.

&quot;The fighting is extremely intense,&quot; a government advisor told Reuters. &quot;The presence of civilians means we have to be very cautious,&quot; he said, speaking on condition of anonymity, explaining the slow progress of the campaign.

(Reuters)

This could potentially reopen a supply route to send Iranian weapons to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

An Iraqi Shi'ite force backed by Iran said it pushed Islamic State out of several villages on the border with Syria on Monday, potentially reopening a supply route to send Iranian weapons to President Bashar al-Assad. The manoeuvre could also be the prelude to a connection with the Assad's Iranian-backed forces, although they are yet to reach the Iraqi border from the Syrian side. Syrian rebel sources have warned of advances by the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militia to reach the border. The territory taken by the Popular Mobilisation force on Monday is located north of the Islamic State-held town of Baaj. For Popular Mobilisation, it is a step towards achieving a linkup with Assad forces, giving him a significant advantage in fighting the six-year rebellion against his rule. But the territory is connected with land held by US-backed Syrian Kurdish groups on the Syrian side, who are more focused on fighting Islamic State than Assad. It is not known whether the Syrian Kurds would allow the Iraqi Shi'ite force to use their territory to reach Assad's troops, deployed further south and further west. In a statement on its website, Popular Mobilisation described its advance to the border with Syria as "a Ramadan miracle", referring to the Muslim fasting month which started over the weekend. Popular Mobilisation is taking part in the US-backed Iraqi campaign to defeat Islamic State in the city of Mosul and the surrounding province of Nineveh. Iraqi government armed forces are focusing their effort on dislodging insurgents from the city of Mosul, Islamic State's de-facto capital in Iraq. While reporting nominally to Iraq's Shi'ite-led government, Popular Mobilisation has Iranian military advisers, one of whom died last week fighting near Baaj. MOSUL CAMPAIGN Iran has helped to train and organise thousands of Shi'ite militia fighters from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Syrian conflict. Fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah are also working closely with Iranian military commanders in Syria. Eight months into the Mosul campaign, Islamic State fighters have been dislodged from all of the city except an enclave by the western bank of the Tigris river. Iraq's army on Saturday launched a new offensive to take the militants' enclave, which includes the densely populated Old City, amid concern over the fate of the civilians trapped there. Up to 200,000 people still live behind Islamic State lines in Mosul, struggling to get food, water and medicine, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande told Reuters. Government forces have been dropping leaflets over the districts telling families to flee, but many have remained out of fear of getting caught in the crossfire. "We have been informed by authorities that the evacuation is not compulsory ... If civilians decide to stay ... they will be protected by Iraqi security forces," said Grande. "People who choose to flee will be directed to safe routes. The location of these will change depending on which areas are under attack and dynamics on the battlefield," she added. "The fighting is extremely intense," a government advisor told Reuters. "The presence of civilians means we have to be very cautious," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity, explaining the slow progress of the campaign. (Reuters)

Iran-backed Iraqi force says takes Islamic State villages near Syria

Reports of civilian deaths from US-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria have soared in recent months, raising questions about whether President Donald Trump&#39;s order to &quot;annihilate&quot; the Islamic State group is fueling the increase.

The Pentagon vehemently denies this, and insists its targeting procedures and protocols to avoid civilian casualties have not changed.&nbsp;

Here is a look at what is going on.

How many are dying? -

Since the campaign to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria began in August 2014, the coalition has conducted 21,663 strikes -- 12,740 Iraq in and 8,923 Syria.

According to an official tally at the end of April, the Pentagon confirmed at least 352 civilians had been killed.

That toll came before Thursday&#39;s announcement that at least 105 people were killed in an anti-IS strike in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March. The official numbers are also dwarfed by claims from monitoring groups.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights this week reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition&#39;s operations in Syria.

It said between April 23 and May 23, coalition strikes killed 225 civilians in Syria, including dozens of children.

Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, claims a minimum of 3,681 people have died in coalition strikes -- between 283 and 366 of them in April alone.

What has changed?&nbsp;

Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to quickly defeat IS, ordered his generals to come up with a revised plan to defeat the jihadist group.

The review resulted in an &quot;annihilation campaign&quot; to kill all IS fighters, and saw commanders gain greater autonomy to make battlefield decisions.

Observers worry this is translating to a greater willingness to risk civilian life.&nbsp;

Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project, voiced concerns the White House can&#39;t be trusted to provide accurate information about civilian deaths, and whether guidance has changed.

&quot;Even in war, there are rules and those rules are aimed at protecting civilian life,&quot; she told AFP.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s not at all clear that all feasible precautions are being taken to protect civilian life.&quot;

What does the Pentagon say?&nbsp;

The Pentagon strongly disputes such assertions, and says that protecting civilians is&nbsp;a top priority in assessing targets.

&quot;Throughout this fight, every target goes through our refined process to ensure it&#39;s not only a legitimate target under the law of armed conflict, but that it meets a threshold of proportionality and necessity,&quot; said Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command.

Only 0.24 per cent of engagements have resulted in a &quot;credible&quot; report of civilian casualties, according to the Pentagon.&nbsp;

So what is happening?&nbsp;

The battlefield is changing, and in some places very quickly.

Whereas at the start of the campaign, the coalition was primarily striking IS fighters as they moved across large areas of open terrain, the fight is now focused on predominantly urban areas.&nbsp;

In Iraq&#39;s second city Mosul, for instance, IS jihadists are operating from tightly populated areas. The March 17 strike that resulted in the death of at least 105 civilians came when IS snipers were spotted in a building.&nbsp;

The air strike on the snipers inadvertently caused a stash of IS munitions to blow up, triggering the building&#39;s collapse, according to the Pentagon.&nbsp;

Brian McKeon, a senior Pentagon policy official at the end of the Obama administration, said the increasing civilian toll is due to fighting in a city, rather than any policy change under Trump.&nbsp;

&quot;They are trying very hard to avoid civilian casualties because,&quot; he said.

&quot;It&#39;s what the law tells them, and they want to avoid handing ISIS propaganda victories. But the risk of making mistakes is going to go up when you are operating in an urban environment.&quot;

(AFP)

Civilian casualties have alarmingly increased in recent months

Reports of civilian deaths from US-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria have soared in recent months, raising questions about whether President Donald Trump's order to "annihilate" the Islamic State group is fueling the increase. The Pentagon vehemently denies this, and insists its targeting procedures and protocols to avoid civilian casualties have not changed. Here is a look at what is going on. How many are dying? - Since the campaign to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria began in August 2014, the coalition has conducted 21,663 strikes -- 12,740 Iraq in and 8,923 Syria. According to an official tally at the end of April, the Pentagon confirmed at least 352 civilians had been killed. That toll came before Thursday's announcement that at least 105 people were killed in an anti-IS strike in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March. The official numbers are also dwarfed by claims from monitoring groups. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights this week reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition's operations in Syria. It said between April 23 and May 23, coalition strikes killed 225 civilians in Syria, including dozens of children. Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, claims a minimum of 3,681 people have died in coalition strikes -- between 283 and 366 of them in April alone. What has changed? Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to quickly defeat IS, ordered his generals to come up with a revised plan to defeat the jihadist group. The review resulted in an "annihilation campaign" to kill all IS fighters, and saw commanders gain greater autonomy to make battlefield decisions. Observers worry this is translating to a greater willingness to risk civilian life. Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project, voiced concerns the White House can't be trusted to provide accurate information about civilian deaths, and whether guidance has changed. "Even in war, there are rules and those rules are aimed at protecting civilian life," she told AFP. "It's not at all clear that all feasible precautions are being taken to protect civilian life." What does the Pentagon say? The Pentagon strongly disputes such assertions, and says that protecting civilians is a top priority in assessing targets. "Throughout this fight, every target goes through our refined process to ensure it's not only a legitimate target under the law of armed conflict, but that it meets a threshold of proportionality and necessity," said Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command. Only 0.24 per cent of engagements have resulted in a "credible" report of civilian casualties, according to the Pentagon. So what is happening? The battlefield is changing, and in some places very quickly. Whereas at the start of the campaign, the coalition was primarily striking IS fighters as they moved across large areas of open terrain, the fight is now focused on predominantly urban areas. In Iraq's second city Mosul, for instance, IS jihadists are operating from tightly populated areas. The March 17 strike that resulted in the death of at least 105 civilians came when IS snipers were spotted in a building. The air strike on the snipers inadvertently caused a stash of IS munitions to blow up, triggering the building's collapse, according to the Pentagon. Brian McKeon, a senior Pentagon policy official at the end of the Obama administration, said the increasing civilian toll is due to fighting in a city, rather than any policy change under Trump. "They are trying very hard to avoid civilian casualties because," he said. "It's what the law tells them, and they want to avoid handing ISIS propaganda victories. But the risk of making mistakes is going to go up when you are operating in an urban environment." (AFP)

Reasons for surge in death toll in Iraq, Syria

US-led coalition air strikes on Thursday killed at least 35 civilians in an eastern Syrian town held by the Islamic State group, a monitor said.&nbsp;

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit a series of residential buildings in Mayadeen, a town in Syria&#39;s oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor.&nbsp;

&quot;Among the dead are at least 26 relatives of IS fighters, many of them women and children, including Syrians and Moroccans,&quot; said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.&nbsp;

&quot;The other nine are Syrian civilians and include five children,&quot; Abdel Rahman told AFP.&nbsp;

Thursday&#39;s toll brought the known deaths from two days of coalition bombing raids on Mayadeen to 50, the Observatory said, after 15 people were killed in US-led strikes on the town on Wednesday.&nbsp;

The Britain-based monitor this week reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition since it began bombing Syria on September 23, 2014.&nbsp;

Between April 23 and May 23 of this year, coalition strikes killed a total of 225 civilians in Syria, the Observatory said.&nbsp;

The international alliance is providing air cover for twin offensives on IS&#39;s remaining bastion cities: Raqa in northern Syria and Mosul in neighbouring Iraq.&nbsp;

On Thursday, a Pentagon investigation concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-jihadist air strike on an IS weapons cache in Mosul in March.&nbsp;

Prior to the new relevation, the US military had said coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria had &quot;unintentionally&quot; killed a total of 352 civilians since 2014.&nbsp;

More than 320,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced since Syria&#39;s conflict broke out in March 2011. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(AFP)&nbsp;

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit a series of residential buildings in Mayadeen, a town in Syria's oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

US-led coalition air strikes on Thursday killed at least 35 civilians in an eastern Syrian town held by the Islamic State group, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit a series of residential buildings in Mayadeen, a town in Syria's oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor. "Among the dead are at least 26 relatives of IS fighters, many of them women and children, including Syrians and Moroccans," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. "The other nine are Syrian civilians and include five children," Abdel Rahman told AFP. Thursday's toll brought the known deaths from two days of coalition bombing raids on Mayadeen to 50, the Observatory said, after 15 people were killed in US-led strikes on the town on Wednesday. The Britain-based monitor this week reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition since it began bombing Syria on September 23, 2014. Between April 23 and May 23 of this year, coalition strikes killed a total of 225 civilians in Syria, the Observatory said. The international alliance is providing air cover for twin offensives on IS's remaining bastion cities: Raqa in northern Syria and Mosul in neighbouring Iraq. On Thursday, a Pentagon investigation concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-jihadist air strike on an IS weapons cache in Mosul in March. Prior to the new relevation, the US military had said coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria had "unintentionally" killed a total of 352 civilians since 2014. More than 320,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced since Syria's conflict broke out in March 2011. (AFP)

US-led coalition air strikes kill at least 35 civilians in Syria: Monitor

More than 1,500 rebels and their family members left the devastated district of Qaboun on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus after more than two months of aerial strikes and artillery shelling, rebels and state media said on Sunday.

The rebels had agreed overnight to a secret evacuation deal after being cornered in a small pocket of Qaboun, which lies on the northeastern edge of Damascus.

The area has been largely reduced to rubble after being struck by hundreds of aerial strikes and missiles over a period of about 80 days.

The Syrian army had resumed its intensive bombardment of the district on Wednesday after a one-day ultimatum it gave the rebels mainly drawn from the area to surrender and agree to evacuate to rebel-held areas in northern Syria.&nbsp;

&quot;The regime has threatened to destroy what is left of Qaboun and will not accept anything but a military solution,&quot; Abdullah al Qabouni from the local council of the district told Reuters.

Hundreds of rebels and their families were evacuated this week from the adjacent Barzeh district after rebels there decided to lay down their arms and leave to rebel-held Idlib province.

Syrian state media said evacuations had almost been completed and the district was now securely in army hands.

Most of the residents of the once-bustling area, which had sheltered thousands of displaced people from other parts of Syria in the course of the conflict, fled in the last two months as the bombing escalated.

Rebels under pressure

The loss of Qaboun following Barzeh is another blow to rebels as they battle to keep a foothold in the capital and face government troops who are supported by Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias.&nbsp;

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has promoted the use of evacuation deals, along with what his government calls &quot;reconciliation&quot; accords, for rebel-held areas that surrender to the government as a way of reducing bloodshed.&nbsp;

But the United Nations has criticised both the use of siege tactics which precede such deals and the evacuations themselves as amounting to forcible displacement.

The Sunni Muslim rebels accuse the government of seeking to evict Sunni inhabitants in these areas in demographic changes they say would eventually pave the way for Iranian-backed Shi`ites who back Assad`s rule to take over their homes, a claim the authorities deny.

Army advances were made possible after tunnels between Qaboun and Barzeh were cut and the army isolated the areas from the rest of the main rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

The tightening of the siege in Qaboun and Barzeh, where tens of thousands of people lived, forced the hands of rebels to eventually agree to deals worked out elsewhere that force them to pull back to northern Syria.

&quot;They besieged us and even medicines for children or any supplies were no longer left ... and people died of hunger,&quot; said Ahmad Khatib, who was among those who left on Friday.&nbsp;

The densely populated rural Eastern Ghouta district of farms and towns has been besieged since 2013.

It remains the only major rebel bastion near Damascus and the fall of Qaboun and Barzeh have removed a main line of defence that protected it, rebels say.

(Reuters)

Syrian state media said evacuations had almost been completed and the district was now securely in army hands.

More than 1,500 rebels and their family members left the devastated district of Qaboun on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus after more than two months of aerial strikes and artillery shelling, rebels and state media said on Sunday. The rebels had agreed overnight to a secret evacuation deal after being cornered in a small pocket of Qaboun, which lies on the northeastern edge of Damascus. The area has been largely reduced to rubble after being struck by hundreds of aerial strikes and missiles over a period of about 80 days. The Syrian army had resumed its intensive bombardment of the district on Wednesday after a one-day ultimatum it gave the rebels mainly drawn from the area to surrender and agree to evacuate to rebel-held areas in northern Syria. "The regime has threatened to destroy what is left of Qaboun and will not accept anything but a military solution," Abdullah al Qabouni from the local council of the district told Reuters. Hundreds of rebels and their families were evacuated this week from the adjacent Barzeh district after rebels there decided to lay down their arms and leave to rebel-held Idlib province. Syrian state media said evacuations had almost been completed and the district was now securely in army hands. Most of the residents of the once-bustling area, which had sheltered thousands of displaced people from other parts of Syria in the course of the conflict, fled in the last two months as the bombing escalated. Rebels under pressure The loss of Qaboun following Barzeh is another blow to rebels as they battle to keep a foothold in the capital and face government troops who are supported by Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has promoted the use of evacuation deals, along with what his government calls "reconciliation" accords, for rebel-held areas that surrender to the government as a way of reducing bloodshed. But the United Nations has criticised both the use of siege tactics which precede such deals and the evacuations themselves as amounting to forcible displacement. The Sunni Muslim rebels accuse the government of seeking to evict Sunni inhabitants in these areas in demographic changes they say would eventually pave the way for Iranian-backed Shi`ites who back Assad`s rule to take over their homes, a claim the authorities deny. Army advances were made possible after tunnels between Qaboun and Barzeh were cut and the army isolated the areas from the rest of the main rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta. The tightening of the siege in Qaboun and Barzeh, where tens of thousands of people lived, forced the hands of rebels to eventually agree to deals worked out elsewhere that force them to pull back to northern Syria. "They besieged us and even medicines for children or any supplies were no longer left ... and people died of hunger," said Ahmad Khatib, who was among those who left on Friday. The densely populated rural Eastern Ghouta district of farms and towns has been besieged since 2013. It remains the only major rebel bastion near Damascus and the fall of Qaboun and Barzeh have removed a main line of defence that protected it, rebels say. (Reuters)

More than 1,500 rebels, families evacuate devastated Damascus district

For nearly four years, food, fuel and medicine have travelled across frontlines into the besieged eastern suburbs of Damascus through a network of underground tunnels.&nbsp;

But an army offensive near the Syrian capital has shut the routes into the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, causing supplies to dwindle and prices to rocket, residents say.&nbsp;

&quot;The price of fuel went up like crazy,&quot; said Adnan, 30, the head of a local aid group that distributes food.

A cooking gas canister now costs 50,000 Syrian pounds, nearly four times its price before the attack and almost 20 times the state-regulated price in nearby Damascus.&nbsp;

Adnan, whose aid group buys rice, lentils and other goods that arrive via the tunnels, said the shutdown and steep price hikes had triggered rising despair in the suburbs.&nbsp;

As the army tightens the noose, fighters and civilians are bracing for a full-blown assault and bitter shortages that could last through the winter.

&quot;The operation aims to strangle the Ghouta ... by closing off the crossings and tunnels,&quot; Hamza Birqdar, military spokesman for the Jaish al-Islam rebel group, told Reuters.

&quot;Trade through the tunnels has completely stopped.&quot;&nbsp;

Government forces have blockaded Eastern Ghouta, a densely populated pocket of satellite towns and farms, since 2013. It remains the only major rebel bastion near Damascus, though it has shrunk by almost half over the past year.&nbsp;

President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s government has been steadily defeating pockets of armed rebellion near the capital, with the help of Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias.

It ultimately aims to seize the Ghouta, pushing fighters to accept state rule or leave for rebel territory in the north, in a type of negotiated withdrawal that has helped shore up its rule over Syria&#39;s main urban centres.

Tunnel crackdown

Heavy fighting and air strikes have rocked the districts that stand between Damascus and Eastern Ghouta, severing smuggling routes that provided a lifeline for around 300,000 people in the besieged suburbs.

The army assault entered a higher gear in recent months in the districts of Barzeh and Qaboun, at the capital&#39;s eastern edges, which abruptly ended a local truce that had been in place with rebels there since 2014.&nbsp;

Their relative calm and location had turned them into a transit point where traders brought supplies from the capital and shuttled them underground into the opposition enclave. Government forces have now swept into most of the two districts.&nbsp;

The siege generated a black market economy and profiteers who traded across frontlines, says an activist who has smuggled medicine through one of the tunnels.

Goods prices were ramped up by payments to checkpoints in government-held areas and rebels that control the tunnels, the activist and other residents said.&nbsp;

Syrian officials were not available for comment on such allegations.&nbsp;

Syrian state media says Ghouta militants dug tunnels hundreds of metres long to move weapons and ambush army positions. The tunnels have been a target of army operations, with several blown up in recent months, it has said.&nbsp;

The wide array of rebels - including hardline jihadists and other groups supported by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies - have been on the back-foot across Syria.&nbsp;

In Eastern Ghouta, a bout of renewed rebel infighting, after a rebel attack at the fringes of Damascus quickly fizzled out in March, could play into the government&#39;s hands.&nbsp;

Birqdar said rebels faced &quot;heavy shelling, air strikes, and incoming tanks&quot; every day. &quot;We must prepare for every scenario that could happen on the battlefield,&quot; he said.

&quot;We are fully ready to negotiate over stopping the bloodshed by the regime, but will not accept any talks that lead to surrender.&quot; He ruled out a local evacuation deal.

The government says such deals have succeeded where UN-based peace talks failed. The opposition describes it as a strategy of forced displacement after years of siege - a method of warfare the United Nations has condemned as a war crime.

When winter comes

The UN&nbsp;has warned of impending starvation if aid does not reach Eastern Ghouta, where international deliveries have long been erratic and obstructed. A convoy that entered last week, for the first time in months, carried food and supplies for just about 10 per cent of the estimated population.&nbsp;

&quot;People have rushed to the markets to stock up,&quot; said Adnan. &quot;Because they have bitter memories of 2013,&quot; when their towns first came under siege.&nbsp;

Merchants inside the Ghouta had filled up large warehouses that would last months, and residents would harvest crops in the area&#39;s remaining farmland in the summer, he said. &quot;Things will get worse when winter comes.&quot;&nbsp;

The Wafideen crossing at the outskirts, where checkpoints allowed food to enter, has also been restricted since February, Adnan and others said.&nbsp;

One resident said rebel fighters also ran their own hidden routes through which they had moved unnoticed or smuggled arms.

Medics relied on the tunnels for antibiotics, anaesthetics, and other supplies, said Abu Ibrahim Baker, a surgeon in Eastern Ghouta. Hospitals would be &quot;able to hold out, God willing, but not for very long,&quot; he said.

(Reuters)

Heavy fighting and air strikes have rocked the districts that stand between Damascus and Eastern Ghouta, severing smuggling routes that provided a lifeline for around 300,000 people in the besieged suburbs.

For nearly four years, food, fuel and medicine have travelled across frontlines into the besieged eastern suburbs of Damascus through a network of underground tunnels. But an army offensive near the Syrian capital has shut the routes into the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, causing supplies to dwindle and prices to rocket, residents say. "The price of fuel went up like crazy," said Adnan, 30, the head of a local aid group that distributes food. A cooking gas canister now costs 50,000 Syrian pounds, nearly four times its price before the attack and almost 20 times the state-regulated price in nearby Damascus. Adnan, whose aid group buys rice, lentils and other goods that arrive via the tunnels, said the shutdown and steep price hikes had triggered rising despair in the suburbs. As the army tightens the noose, fighters and civilians are bracing for a full-blown assault and bitter shortages that could last through the winter. "The operation aims to strangle the Ghouta ... by closing off the crossings and tunnels," Hamza Birqdar, military spokesman for the Jaish al-Islam rebel group, told Reuters. "Trade through the tunnels has completely stopped." Government forces have blockaded Eastern Ghouta, a densely populated pocket of satellite towns and farms, since 2013. It remains the only major rebel bastion near Damascus, though it has shrunk by almost half over the past year. President Bashar al-Assad's government has been steadily defeating pockets of armed rebellion near the capital, with the help of Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias. It ultimately aims to seize the Ghouta, pushing fighters to accept state rule or leave for rebel territory in the north, in a type of negotiated withdrawal that has helped shore up its rule over Syria's main urban centres. Tunnel crackdown Heavy fighting and air strikes have rocked the districts that stand between Damascus and Eastern Ghouta, severing smuggling routes that provided a lifeline for around 300,000 people in the besieged suburbs. The army assault entered a higher gear in recent months in the districts of Barzeh and Qaboun, at the capital's eastern edges, which abruptly ended a local truce that had been in place with rebels there since 2014. Their relative calm and location had turned them into a transit point where traders brought supplies from the capital and shuttled them underground into the opposition enclave. Government forces have now swept into most of the two districts. The siege generated a black market economy and profiteers who traded across frontlines, says an activist who has smuggled medicine through one of the tunnels. Goods prices were ramped up by payments to checkpoints in government-held areas and rebels that control the tunnels, the activist and other residents said. Syrian officials were not available for comment on such allegations. Syrian state media says Ghouta militants dug tunnels hundreds of metres long to move weapons and ambush army positions. The tunnels have been a target of army operations, with several blown up in recent months, it has said. The wide array of rebels - including hardline jihadists and other groups supported by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies - have been on the back-foot across Syria. In Eastern Ghouta, a bout of renewed rebel infighting, after a rebel attack at the fringes of Damascus quickly fizzled out in March, could play into the government's hands. Birqdar said rebels faced "heavy shelling, air strikes, and incoming tanks" every day. "We must prepare for every scenario that could happen on the battlefield," he said. "We are fully ready to negotiate over stopping the bloodshed by the regime, but will not accept any talks that lead to surrender." He ruled out a local evacuation deal. The government says such deals have succeeded where UN-based peace talks failed. The opposition describes it as a strategy of forced displacement after years of siege - a method of warfare the United Nations has condemned as a war crime. When winter comes The UN has warned of impending starvation if aid does not reach Eastern Ghouta, where international deliveries have long been erratic and obstructed. A convoy that entered last week, for the first time in months, carried food and supplies for just about 10 per cent of the estimated population. "People have rushed to the markets to stock up," said Adnan. "Because they have bitter memories of 2013," when their towns first came under siege. Merchants inside the Ghouta had filled up large warehouses that would last months, and residents would harvest crops in the area's remaining farmland in the summer, he said. "Things will get worse when winter comes." The Wafideen crossing at the outskirts, where checkpoints allowed food to enter, has also been restricted since February, Adnan and others said. One resident said rebel fighters also ran their own hidden routes through which they had moved unnoticed or smuggled arms. Medics relied on the tunnels for antibiotics, anaesthetics, and other supplies, said Abu Ibrahim Baker, a surgeon in Eastern Ghouta. Hospitals would be "able to hold out, God willing, but not for very long," he said. (Reuters)

With tunnel lifeline cut, pressure mounts on Syrian rebel enclave

US-backed Syrian militias said they fully seized the town of&nbsp;Tabqa&nbsp;and Syria&#39;s largest dam from Islamic State on Wednesday, a major objective as they prepare to launch an assault on Raqqa city.&nbsp;

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, have been battling the jihadist group for weeks in&nbsp;Tabqa, some 40 km (25 miles) west of Raqqa, along the Euphrates river.&nbsp;

With air strikes and special forces from the US-led coalition, the SDF are advancing on Raqqa, Islamic State&#39;s base of operations in Syria, to ultimately take the city.&nbsp;

They captured&nbsp;Tabqa&nbsp;&quot;thanks to the sacrifices of the SDF&#39;s heroes and with the full, unlimited support of the US-led international coalition&quot;, said SDF spokesman Talal Silo.&nbsp;

Nasser Haj Mansour, an adviser to the SDF, said the town and the adjacent&nbsp;Tabqa&nbsp;dam were now &quot;completely liberated&quot; after the SDF drove all Islamic State militants out.&nbsp;

The Raqqa campaign appeared to have stalled around&nbsp;Tabqa, where the SDF made only slow progress after besieging the town. They pushed into the town nearly two weeks ago, capturing most of its districts and encircling Islamic State in the dam.&nbsp;

The battle for&nbsp;Tabqa&nbsp;began after US&nbsp;forces helped SDF fighters conduct an airborne landing on the southern bank of the Euphrates in late March, allowing them to gain control of an important nearby airbase.

Despite fierce objections from NATO ally Turkey, the United States this week approved supplying arms to the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, a key component of the SDF and their campaign.

Ankara strongly opposes US&nbsp;support of the YPG, viewing it as the Syrian extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency inside Turkey.

The YPG has emerged as a valuable partner for the United States in the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria. Washington says arming the Syrian Kurdish forces is necessary to capture Raqqa, which Islamic State has used a hub for planning attacks abroad.

Raqqa now lies in an Islamic State enclave on the northern bank of the Euphrates, after the SDF has closed in on the city from the north, east and west in recent months.&nbsp;

Islamic State&#39;s only means of crossing to its main territory south of the river is by boat after air strikes knocked the area&#39;s bridges out of service.&nbsp;

The jihadist group still controls swathes of Syria&#39;s vast eastern deserts and most of Deir al-Zor province near the border with Iraq, but it has lost tracts of its territory over the past year.

(Reuters)

The Raqqa campaign appeared to have stalled around?Tabqa, where the SDF made only slow progress after besieging the town. They pushed into the town nearly two weeks ago, capturing most of its districts and encircling Islamic State in the dam.?

US-backed Syrian militias said they fully seized the town of Tabqa and Syria's largest dam from Islamic State on Wednesday, a major objective as they prepare to launch an assault on Raqqa city. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, have been battling the jihadist group for weeks in Tabqa, some 40 km (25 miles) west of Raqqa, along the Euphrates river. With air strikes and special forces from the US-led coalition, the SDF are advancing on Raqqa, Islamic State's base of operations in Syria, to ultimately take the city. They captured Tabqa "thanks to the sacrifices of the SDF's heroes and with the full, unlimited support of the US-led international coalition", said SDF spokesman Talal Silo. Nasser Haj Mansour, an adviser to the SDF, said the town and the adjacent Tabqa dam were now "completely liberated" after the SDF drove all Islamic State militants out. The Raqqa campaign appeared to have stalled around Tabqa, where the SDF made only slow progress after besieging the town. They pushed into the town nearly two weeks ago, capturing most of its districts and encircling Islamic State in the dam. The battle for Tabqa began after US forces helped SDF fighters conduct an airborne landing on the southern bank of the Euphrates in late March, allowing them to gain control of an important nearby airbase. Despite fierce objections from NATO ally Turkey, the United States this week approved supplying arms to the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, a key component of the SDF and their campaign. Ankara strongly opposes US support of the YPG, viewing it as the Syrian extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency inside Turkey. The YPG has emerged as a valuable partner for the United States in the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria. Washington says arming the Syrian Kurdish forces is necessary to capture Raqqa, which Islamic State has used a hub for planning attacks abroad. Raqqa now lies in an Islamic State enclave on the northern bank of the Euphrates, after the SDF has closed in on the city from the north, east and west in recent months. Islamic State's only means of crossing to its main territory south of the river is by boat after air strikes knocked the area's bridges out of service. The jihadist group still controls swathes of Syria's vast eastern deserts and most of Deir al-Zor province near the border with Iraq, but it has lost tracts of its territory over the past year. (Reuters)

US-backed Syrian militias 'capture' Tabqa from Islamic State

A counter-terror operation conducted jointly by Spain and Morocco has led to the arrest of two suspected extremists in the Spanish region of Catalonia and another in the Moroccan city of Tangiers, the interior ministry said Monday.

In Spain, a 21-year-old man was arrested in Barcelona while a 32-year-old male was detained 100 kilometers (62 miles) down the coast in Tarragona; both allegedly intended to travel to conflicts zones in Syria and Iraq and had expressed a willingness to die fighting for the Islamic State terror organization.

The duo, both Moroccan nationals, are suspected of having maintained contact with IS members already fighting in the war-torn areas of the Middle East and had worked on behalf of the terror organization in Spain by spreading propaganda and trying to recruit people online and in person.

A third suspect, detained in the northern Moroccan city of Tangiers, allegedly belonged to an IS-affiliated group.

The operation was conducted by Spain&#39;s National Police in conjunction with Moroccan counter-terror units and the regional police forces in Barcelona and Tarragona.

It formed part of a wider operation launched in Oct. 2015.

Since the government raised the nation&#39;s terror alert status to the second-highest level (4) in June 2015, Spanish security agents have arrested 162 suspected extremists.

(EFE) 
&nbsp;

The operation was conducted by Spain's National Police in conjunction with Moroccan counter-terror units

A counter-terror operation conducted jointly by Spain and Morocco has led to the arrest of two suspected extremists in the Spanish region of Catalonia and another in the Moroccan city of Tangiers, the interior ministry said Monday. In Spain, a 21-year-old man was arrested in Barcelona while a 32-year-old male was detained 100 kilometers (62 miles) down the coast in Tarragona; both allegedly intended to travel to conflicts zones in Syria and Iraq and had expressed a willingness to die fighting for the Islamic State terror organization. The duo, both Moroccan nationals, are suspected of having maintained contact with IS members already fighting in the war-torn areas of the Middle East and had worked on behalf of the terror organization in Spain by spreading propaganda and trying to recruit people online and in person. A third suspect, detained in the northern Moroccan city of Tangiers, allegedly belonged to an IS-affiliated group. The operation was conducted by Spain's National Police in conjunction with Moroccan counter-terror units and the regional police forces in Barcelona and Tarragona. It formed part of a wider operation launched in Oct. 2015. Since the government raised the nation's terror alert status to the second-highest level (4) in June 2015, Spanish security agents have arrested 162 suspected extremists. (EFE)

Spanish police arrest 3 suspected extremists, all with links to IS

Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating from a district of Damascus for the first time on Monday, bringing the government closer to recapturing all of the capital.

The evacuation began days after regime backers Russia and Iran and rebel supporter Turkey signed a deal to implement &quot;de-escalation zones&quot; where the government and opposition will halt hostilities.

Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Monday rejected any role for the United Nations or international forces in monitoring the zones.

The deal to evacuate Barzeh district mirrors similar agreements for opposition-held territory elsewhere, allowing fighters safe passage in exchange for surrender.

State television cited the Damascus provincial governor as saying a first wave of 1,022 people, including 568 fighters, had left Barzeh on Monday.

The channel said the evacuation would take five days, but that rebels who chose to stay could do so if they registered with the government.

Those leaving will head to the rebel-held province of Idlib, in Syria&#39;s northwest.

The evacuation deal was struck late Sunday night, and dozens of people gathered in Barzeh from Monday morning.

An AFP photographer saw rebel fighters carrying light weapons looking on as children and women in brightly-coloured headscarves pulled shabby suitcases and duffel bags.

A source from the pro-government National Defence Forces said rebel fighters would be allowed to take their &quot;personal weapons&quot; with them.

Negotiations were ongoing for a similar deal in the district of Qabun, in Damascus&#39;s northeast, which forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have been shelling heavily for weeks.

&#39;De-escalation&#39; zones

&quot;We are working on Qabun and there is the Yarmuk camp, where talks are underway for the evacuation of armed groups,&quot; said Muallem.

Assad&#39;s government controls all but six districts of Damascus: Barzeh, Qabun, Jobar, Tishreen, Tadamun, and Yarmuk camp.

The evacuation is a first in the capital, but the Barzeh agreement follows a model of &quot;reconciliation deals&quot; implemented across the country.

The government touts such deals as the best way to end the six-year conflict, which erupted in March 2011 with anti-regime protests and has killed more than 320,000 people.

But the opposition says it is forced into them by heavy government bombardment and siege tactics.

Monday&#39;s evacuation began as battlefronts quietened in Syrian territory included in four &quot;de-escalation zones&quot; agreed by Russia, Iran and Turkey.

The agreement, inked in the Kazakh capital Astana, excludes Damascus city.

It mandates an end to hostilities, including air strikes, in specified zones for six months.

The deal came into effect on midnight Friday, with fighting subsiding, but the co-sponsors have until June 4 to submit maps finalising the borders of the zones.

It calls for continued fighting against the Islamic State group, which is largely absent from the areas where the zones will be implemented, as well as former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front.

Fateh al-Sham has a powerful presence particularly in Idlib province, which is included in the zones, where it is allied with other opposition groups.

Russian draft resolution

The deal says the &quot;de-escalation zones&quot; would be bordered by security areas with checkpoints and observation centres &quot;ensured by the forces of the guarantors by consensus&quot;, but that &quot;third-party&quot; monitors could also be deployed.

But on Monday, Muallem rejected UN or international monitors.

&quot;We do not accept a role for the United Nations or international forces to monitor the agreement,&quot; he said.

He added there could be a role &quot;as the Russian guarantor has said, for military police&quot;, but it was unclear if he was referring to Syrian or foreign units.

Russia meanwhile said it had tabled a draft UN Security Council resolution backing the safe zone deal.

A source at the UN told Russia&#39;s Interfax news agency that &quot;a vote on the draft will take place possibly this week&quot;.

Western diplomats expressed reservations, saying it was premature to endorse the Astana deal until final arrangements for the proposed &quot;de-escalation zones&quot; were agreed.

The agreement has been received with caution by Washington, with US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis saying it was being studied.

&quot;Does this proposal have a hope for ending this war? We&#39;ll have to look at it. The devil is always in the details, so we are going to have to look at the details,&quot; he said.

Russia has said warplanes belonging to the US-led coalition fighting IS will be barred from operating in the four &quot;de-escalation zones&quot;.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov are set to discuss the agreement when they meet on Wednesday in Washington.

(AFP)

A first wave of 1,022 people, including 568 fighters, reportedly left Damascus' Barzeh on Monday.

Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating from a district of Damascus for the first time on Monday, bringing the government closer to recapturing all of the capital. The evacuation began days after regime backers Russia and Iran and rebel supporter Turkey signed a deal to implement "de-escalation zones" where the government and opposition will halt hostilities. Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Monday rejected any role for the United Nations or international forces in monitoring the zones. The deal to evacuate Barzeh district mirrors similar agreements for opposition-held territory elsewhere, allowing fighters safe passage in exchange for surrender. State television cited the Damascus provincial governor as saying a first wave of 1,022 people, including 568 fighters, had left Barzeh on Monday. The channel said the evacuation would take five days, but that rebels who chose to stay could do so if they registered with the government. Those leaving will head to the rebel-held province of Idlib, in Syria's northwest. The evacuation deal was struck late Sunday night, and dozens of people gathered in Barzeh from Monday morning. An AFP photographer saw rebel fighters carrying light weapons looking on as children and women in brightly-coloured headscarves pulled shabby suitcases and duffel bags. A source from the pro-government National Defence Forces said rebel fighters would be allowed to take their "personal weapons" with them. Negotiations were ongoing for a similar deal in the district of Qabun, in Damascus's northeast, which forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have been shelling heavily for weeks. 'De-escalation' zones "We are working on Qabun and there is the Yarmuk camp, where talks are underway for the evacuation of armed groups," said Muallem. Assad's government controls all but six districts of Damascus: Barzeh, Qabun, Jobar, Tishreen, Tadamun, and Yarmuk camp. The evacuation is a first in the capital, but the Barzeh agreement follows a model of "reconciliation deals" implemented across the country. The government touts such deals as the best way to end the six-year conflict, which erupted in March 2011 with anti-regime protests and has killed more than 320,000 people. But the opposition says it is forced into them by heavy government bombardment and siege tactics. Monday's evacuation began as battlefronts quietened in Syrian territory included in four "de-escalation zones" agreed by Russia, Iran and Turkey. The agreement, inked in the Kazakh capital Astana, excludes Damascus city. It mandates an end to hostilities, including air strikes, in specified zones for six months. The deal came into effect on midnight Friday, with fighting subsiding, but the co-sponsors have until June 4 to submit maps finalising the borders of the zones. It calls for continued fighting against the Islamic State group, which is largely absent from the areas where the zones will be implemented, as well as former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front. Fateh al-Sham has a powerful presence particularly in Idlib province, which is included in the zones, where it is allied with other opposition groups. Russian draft resolution The deal says the "de-escalation zones" would be bordered by security areas with checkpoints and observation centres "ensured by the forces of the guarantors by consensus", but that "third-party" monitors could also be deployed. But on Monday, Muallem rejected UN or international monitors. "We do not accept a role for the United Nations or international forces to monitor the agreement," he said. He added there could be a role "as the Russian guarantor has said, for military police", but it was unclear if he was referring to Syrian or foreign units. Russia meanwhile said it had tabled a draft UN Security Council resolution backing the safe zone deal. A source at the UN told Russia's Interfax news agency that "a vote on the draft will take place possibly this week". Western diplomats expressed reservations, saying it was premature to endorse the Astana deal until final arrangements for the proposed "de-escalation zones" were agreed. The agreement has been received with caution by Washington, with US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis saying it was being studied. "Does this proposal have a hope for ending this war? We'll have to look at it. The devil is always in the details, so we are going to have to look at the details," he said. Russia has said warplanes belonging to the US-led coalition fighting IS will be barred from operating in the four "de-escalation zones". US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov are set to discuss the agreement when they meet on Wednesday in Washington. (AFP)

Syria: First evacuations from Damascus rebel district

Syrian regime allies Russia and Iran and rebel-backer Turkey on Thursday signed a memorandum on a Moscow-backed plan to create safe zones in Syria, AFP news agency reported.&nbsp;

An AFP reporter at peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana saw the heads of the delegations - who represent the three countries sponsoring the negotiations - sign the document.&nbsp;

The move is being seen as a breakthrough although the opposition hasn&#39;t backed the initiative.&nbsp;

Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin while meeting &nbsp;Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan had&nbsp;proposed that safe zones in Syria should become no-fly areas if fighting on the ground stops entirely.

&quot;If there is a de-escalation zone, then planes will not fly there on condition that no military activity emanates from these zones,&quot; Putin had said at a press conference with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Russia was hoping&nbsp;to negotiate a memorandum with&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;and&nbsp;Iran to establish four de-escalation zones in Syria,&nbsp;Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev had said earlier.

&quot;These are the zones where most intensive fighting is taking place between the government forces, Jabhat al Nusra and a moderate opposition,&quot; Lavrentyev told reporters this morning.&nbsp;

Turkey&#39;s president had said on Wednesday&nbsp;(May 3) that he believed his&nbsp;Russian counterpart would play a major role in establishing a ceasefire in Syria.

(WION with Agency inputs)

The move is being seen as a breakthrough although the opposition hasn't backed the initiative

Syrian regime allies Russia and Iran and rebel-backer Turkey on Thursday signed a memorandum on a Moscow-backed plan to create safe zones in Syria, AFP news agency reported. An AFP reporter at peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana saw the heads of the delegations - who represent the three countries sponsoring the negotiations - sign the document. The move is being seen as a breakthrough although the opposition hasn't backed the initiative. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin while meeting Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan had proposed that safe zones in Syria should become no-fly areas if fighting on the ground stops entirely. "If there is a de-escalation zone, then planes will not fly there on condition that no military activity emanates from these zones," Putin had said at a press conference with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Russia was hoping to negotiate a memorandum with Turkey and Iran to establish four de-escalation zones in Syria, Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev had said earlier. "These are the zones where most intensive fighting is taking place between the government forces, Jabhat al Nusra and a moderate opposition," Lavrentyev told reporters this morning. Turkey's president had said on Wednesday (May 3) that he believed his Russian counterpart would play a major role in establishing a ceasefire in Syria. (WION with Agency inputs)

Astana peace talks: Russia, Turkey, Iran sign pact on safe zones in Syria

An Islamic State attack in an area held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria killed at least 38 people on Tuesday including 23 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The attack on Rajm al-Salibi, the location of a checkpoint and refugee camp near the border with Iraq, led to fierce clashes, injuring dozens, the Britain-based war monitor said.

The SDF battled Islamic State since dawn in nearby areas of Hasaka province, which Kurdish forces largely control, it said.

An adviser to the SDF, Nasser Haj Mansour, confirmed that several civilians died, including people escaping Islamic State in Syria&#39;s Deir al-Zor and in Iraq.

The International Rescue Committee said the wounded were taken to hospital inside Hasaka and several children were killed. Thousands of people have fled Iraq for the Rajm al-Salibi border crossing and another camp further north in recent months, the global aid agency said.

The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, has seized large swathes of northern Syria from Islamic State in a campaign to drive the jihadist group out of Raqqa city, its base of operations in Syria.

This week, the SDF said it captured most of the strategic town of Tabqa, 40 km (25 miles) west of Raqqa along the Euphrates.

The SDF said fighting continued on Tuesday to capture the last district of Tabqa as well as an adjacent dam, Syria&#39;s largest, and the last major obstacle as the militias prepare to launch an assault on Raqqa.

The Islamic State attack in Hasaka was targeted at the Asayish, a Kurdish internal security force that operates in northeast Syria, the Observatory said. 
 
(Reuters)

Several civilians died, including people escaping IS in Syria's Deir al-Zor and in Iraq

An Islamic State attack in an area held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria killed at least 38 people on Tuesday including 23 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The attack on Rajm al-Salibi, the location of a checkpoint and refugee camp near the border with Iraq, led to fierce clashes, injuring dozens, the Britain-based war monitor said. The SDF battled Islamic State since dawn in nearby areas of Hasaka province, which Kurdish forces largely control, it said. An adviser to the SDF, Nasser Haj Mansour, confirmed that several civilians died, including people escaping Islamic State in Syria's Deir al-Zor and in Iraq. The International Rescue Committee said the wounded were taken to hospital inside Hasaka and several children were killed. Thousands of people have fled Iraq for the Rajm al-Salibi border crossing and another camp further north in recent months, the global aid agency said. The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, has seized large swathes of northern Syria from Islamic State in a campaign to drive the jihadist group out of Raqqa city, its base of operations in Syria. This week, the SDF said it captured most of the strategic town of Tabqa, 40 km (25 miles) west of Raqqa along the Euphrates. The SDF said fighting continued on Tuesday to capture the last district of Tabqa as well as an adjacent dam, Syria's largest, and the last major obstacle as the militias prepare to launch an assault on Raqqa. The Islamic State attack in Hasaka was targeted at the Asayish, a Kurdish internal security force that operates in northeast Syria, the Observatory said. (Reuters)

38 killed in IS attack on Syrian refugee camp

US-backed militias said on Monday they had pushed Islamic State fighters out of the old quarters of Tabqa, a strategically vital town controlling Syria&#39;s largest dam, hemming the militants into the remaining modern district along the shore.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance made up of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighting groups, are fighting a multi-phased campaign to drive Islamic State from its stronghold of Raqqa, 40km (25 miles) downstream and east of Tabqa.

The SDF will wait to assault Raqqa until it seizes Tabqa, its military officials have previously said, but it had made slow progress since besieging the town in early April.

This changed on Thursday when the SDF began to advance north into the old city.

On Monday the SDF said in an online statement it had taken the last three neighbourhoods of the old city and an adjoining industrial district.

SDF forces were now fighting Islamic State in the three modern quarters of the town which lie along the Tabqa reservoir, SDF spokesman Talal Silo said.

Islamic State still control the dam.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said on Monday the SDF now controls about 80 per cent of Tabqa.

In recent weeks the SDF has also squeezed Islamic State&#39;s pocket of territory around Raqqa, which the jihadist group has used as a base to plot attacks and manage much of its self-declared caliphate since seizing the city in 2014.

(Reuters)

The Syrian Democratic Forces have taken the old quarters of Tabqa, which has Syria's largest dam. But the dam remains under IS' control despite them having control of just 20% of the city

US-backed militias said on Monday they had pushed Islamic State fighters out of the old quarters of Tabqa, a strategically vital town controlling Syria's largest dam, hemming the militants into the remaining modern district along the shore. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance made up of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighting groups, are fighting a multi-phased campaign to drive Islamic State from its stronghold of Raqqa, 40km (25 miles) downstream and east of Tabqa. The SDF will wait to assault Raqqa until it seizes Tabqa, its military officials have previously said, but it had made slow progress since besieging the town in early April. This changed on Thursday when the SDF began to advance north into the old city. On Monday the SDF said in an online statement it had taken the last three neighbourhoods of the old city and an adjoining industrial district. SDF forces were now fighting Islamic State in the three modern quarters of the town which lie along the Tabqa reservoir, SDF spokesman Talal Silo said. Islamic State still control the dam. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said on Monday the SDF now controls about 80 per cent of Tabqa. In recent weeks the SDF has also squeezed Islamic State's pocket of territory around Raqqa, which the jihadist group has used as a base to plot attacks and manage much of its self-declared caliphate since seizing the city in 2014. (Reuters)

US coalition ousts IS from vital town in Syria as part of Raqqa offensive

Syrian government forces used deadly nerve gas in Khan Sheikhun and in three other recent attacks, Human Rights Watch said Monday, describing a &quot;clear pattern&quot; of chemical weapons use that could amount to crimes against humanity.

President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s forces are also stepping up chlorine gas attacks and have begun using surface-fired rockets filled with chlorine in fighting near Damascus, the US-based rights group said in a new report.

&quot;The government&#39;s use of nerve agents is a deadly escalation -- and a part of a clear pattern,&quot; said Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch.&nbsp;

&quot;In the last six months, the government has used warplanes, helicopters, and ground forces to deliver chlorine and sarin in Damascus, Hama, Idlib and Aleppo.&quot;

&quot;That&#39;s widespread and systematic use of chemical weapons,&quot; he said.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 60 witnesses and collected photos and videos providing information on the suspected chemical attack in Khan Sheikhun on April 4 and on three other alleged uses of nerve gases in December 2016 and March 2017.

At least 92 people including 30 children died in the suspected sarin gas attack in Khan Sheikhun on April 4, according to local residents and activists. Hundreds more were injured.

Residents said a first bomb believed to be carrying the deadly agent sarin was dropped near the town&#39;s central bakery and was followed by three or four high-explosive bombs a few minutes later.

Dozens of photos and videos provided by residents of a crater from the first bomb showed a green-colored metal fragment that Human Rights Watch said was likely the Soviet-produced KhAB-250 bomb.

Three suspected attacks in Hama&nbsp;

Human Rights Watch said 64 people died from exposure to nerve agents after warplanes attacked territory controlled by the Islamic State in eastern Hama on December 11 and December 12.&nbsp;

Activists and local residents provided names of the victims, while Human Rights Watch interviewed four witnesses and two medical personnel about the alleged attack.

A third suspected nerve agent attack in northern Hama on March 30 caused no deaths but injured dozens of civilians and combatants, according to residents and medical personnel, the report said.

All four suspected nerve agent attacks were in areas where anti-government fighters were threatening government military air bases, according to Human Rights Watch.

The alleged attacks were systematic and in some cases directed against civilians, which would meet the legal criteria to be characterized as crimes against humanity, the rights group said.

Last month, Assad told AFP in an interview that the suspected sarin attack in Khan Sheikhun was &quot;100 percent&quot; fabricated, serving as a pretext for US missile strikes on a Syrian air field.

The rights group said the string of suspected attacks cast doubt over Syrian and Russian claims that toxic agents were released in Khan Sheikhun after a bomb struck a chemical weapons depot on the ground.

&quot;It would not be plausible that conventional bombs struck chemical caches repeatedly across the country,&quot; said in the report titled &quot;Death by Chemicals.&quot;

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is investigating allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria along with the joint UN-OPCW panel (JIM) which is tasked with assigning responsibility for the attacks.

Citing mounting evidence of repeated chemical weapons use, Human Rights Watch said the UN Security Council should once again ask the International Criminal Court to open a war crimes investigation.

Such a move by the council in 2014 was blocked by Russia, Assad&#39;s top ally, and China.

(AFP)

Assad's forces are also stepping up chlorine gas attacks and have begun using surface-fired rockets filled with chlorine in fighting near Damascus

Syrian government forces used deadly nerve gas in Khan Sheikhun and in three other recent attacks, Human Rights Watch said Monday, describing a "clear pattern" of chemical weapons use that could amount to crimes against humanity. President Bashar al-Assad's forces are also stepping up chlorine gas attacks and have begun using surface-fired rockets filled with chlorine in fighting near Damascus, the US-based rights group said in a new report. "The government's use of nerve agents is a deadly escalation -- and a part of a clear pattern," said Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch. "In the last six months, the government has used warplanes, helicopters, and ground forces to deliver chlorine and sarin in Damascus, Hama, Idlib and Aleppo." "That's widespread and systematic use of chemical weapons," he said. Human Rights Watch interviewed 60 witnesses and collected photos and videos providing information on the suspected chemical attack in Khan Sheikhun on April 4 and on three other alleged uses of nerve gases in December 2016 and March 2017. At least 92 people including 30 children died in the suspected sarin gas attack in Khan Sheikhun on April 4, according to local residents and activists. Hundreds more were injured. Residents said a first bomb believed to be carrying the deadly agent sarin was dropped near the town's central bakery and was followed by three or four high-explosive bombs a few minutes later. Dozens of photos and videos provided by residents of a crater from the first bomb showed a green-colored metal fragment that Human Rights Watch said was likely the Soviet-produced KhAB-250 bomb. Three suspected attacks in Hama Human Rights Watch said 64 people died from exposure to nerve agents after warplanes attacked territory controlled by the Islamic State in eastern Hama on December 11 and December 12. Activists and local residents provided names of the victims, while Human Rights Watch interviewed four witnesses and two medical personnel about the alleged attack. A third suspected nerve agent attack in northern Hama on March 30 caused no deaths but injured dozens of civilians and combatants, according to residents and medical personnel, the report said. All four suspected nerve agent attacks were in areas where anti-government fighters were threatening government military air bases, according to Human Rights Watch. The alleged attacks were systematic and in some cases directed against civilians, which would meet the legal criteria to be characterized as crimes against humanity, the rights group said. Last month, Assad told AFP in an interview that the suspected sarin attack in Khan Sheikhun was "100 percent" fabricated, serving as a pretext for US missile strikes on a Syrian air field. The rights group said the string of suspected attacks cast doubt over Syrian and Russian claims that toxic agents were released in Khan Sheikhun after a bomb struck a chemical weapons depot on the ground. "It would not be plausible that conventional bombs struck chemical caches repeatedly across the country," said in the report titled "Death by Chemicals." The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is investigating allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria along with the joint UN-OPCW panel (JIM) which is tasked with assigning responsibility for the attacks. Citing mounting evidence of repeated chemical weapons use, Human Rights Watch said the UN Security Council should once again ask the International Criminal Court to open a war crimes investigation. Such a move by the council in 2014 was blocked by Russia, Assad's top ally, and China. (AFP)

Syrian regime used deadly nerve agent in four recent attacks: HRW

Israel&nbsp;shot down what it identified only as&nbsp;&quot;a target&quot; over the occupied Golan Heights on Thursday, hours after Syria accused them of hitting a military position near Damascus airport.

&quot;The Patriot Aerial Defence System intercepted a target above the Golan Heights,&quot; the official Israeli army Twitter account said, without elaborating.

A military spokeswoman refused to comment on Israeli media reports that the object was a drone.

Syria&#39;s state news agency SANA said earlier that several Israeli missiles hit near Damascus airport at dawn.

Israel&nbsp;has not confirmed or denied the reported Damascus attack.

But Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said it was consistent with&nbsp;Israel&#39;s policy to prevent arms transfers through to Hezbollah, while stopping short of confirming his country was behind the incident.

&quot;We are acting to prevent the transfer of sophisticated weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon by Iran,&quot; Katz told army radio.

&quot;When we receive serious information about the intention to transfer weapons to Hezbollah, we will act. This incident is totally consistent with this policy.&quot;

In Moscow, the Kremlin called for restraint and the foreign ministry condemned the attack.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not say if&nbsp;Israel&nbsp;had warned Moscow of the strike, saying only that their defence ministries &quot;are in constant dialogue&quot;.

In Moscow, visiting Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu that the Jewish state would not allow &quot;concentration of Iranian or Hezbollah forces on the Golan border,&quot; Lieberman&rsquo;s office said.

Israel&nbsp;has conducted multiple air strikes in Syria since that country&#39;s civil war erupted in 2011, most of which it has said targeted arms convoys or warehouses of its Lebanese arch-foe Hezbollah, which is a key supporter of the Syrian regime.

Last month, it said it had carried out several strikes near the Syrian desert city of Palmyra, targeting what it said were &quot;advanced weapons&quot; belonging to Hezbollah.

The strikes prompted Syria to launch ground-to-air missiles, one of which was intercepted over Israeli territory in the most serious flare-up between the two neighbours since the Syrian civil war began six years ago.

Israel&nbsp;seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

Around 510 square kilometres of the Golan are under Syrian control.

The two countries are still technically at war, although the border remained largely quiet for decades until 2011, when the Syrian conflict broke out.

(AFP)

This comes hours after Syria accused Israel of hitting a military position near Damascus airport

Israel shot down what it identified only as "a target" over the occupied Golan Heights on Thursday, hours after Syria accused them of hitting a military position near Damascus airport. "The Patriot Aerial Defence System intercepted a target above the Golan Heights," the official Israeli army Twitter account said, without elaborating. A military spokeswoman refused to comment on Israeli media reports that the object was a drone. Syria's state news agency SANA said earlier that several Israeli missiles hit near Damascus airport at dawn. Israel has not confirmed or denied the reported Damascus attack. But Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said it was consistent with Israel's policy to prevent arms transfers through to Hezbollah, while stopping short of confirming his country was behind the incident. "We are acting to prevent the transfer of sophisticated weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon by Iran," Katz told army radio. "When we receive serious information about the intention to transfer weapons to Hezbollah, we will act. This incident is totally consistent with this policy." In Moscow, the Kremlin called for restraint and the foreign ministry condemned the attack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not say if Israel had warned Moscow of the strike, saying only that their defence ministries "are in constant dialogue". In Moscow, visiting Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu that the Jewish state would not allow "concentration of Iranian or Hezbollah forces on the Golan border," Lieberman’s office said. Israel has conducted multiple air strikes in Syria since that country's civil war erupted in 2011, most of which it has said targeted arms convoys or warehouses of its Lebanese arch-foe Hezbollah, which is a key supporter of the Syrian regime. Last month, it said it had carried out several strikes near the Syrian desert city of Palmyra, targeting what it said were "advanced weapons" belonging to Hezbollah. The strikes prompted Syria to launch ground-to-air missiles, one of which was intercepted over Israeli territory in the most serious flare-up between the two neighbours since the Syrian civil war began six years ago. Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. Around 510 square kilometres of the Golan are under Syrian control. The two countries are still technically at war, although the border remained largely quiet for decades until 2011, when the Syrian conflict broke out. (AFP)

Israel shoots down 'target' over Golan heights: Army

A massive explosion hit near the Damascus International Airport in the early hours of Thursday morning, a monitoring group said, without specifying the cause.&nbsp;

&quot;The blast was huge and could be heard in Damascus,&quot; said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Damascus International Airport lies about 25 kilometres southeast of Syria&#39;s capital. &nbsp;

The Britain-based Observatory, which gathers information from sources across war-ravaged Syria, said it had confirmed the explosion had not taken place inside the airport itself.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s unclear what caused the explosion, but there fires raging at the site,&quot; Abdel Rahman told AFP.&nbsp;

More than 320,000 people have been killed since Syria&#39;s conflict erupted in 2011 with widespread anti-government protests.

While Damascus has remained relatively insulated from the violence, fierce fighting has raged on the outskirts of the capital in recent months between rebel groups and government forces.&nbsp;

(AFP)

A massive explosion hit near the Damascus International Airport in the early hours of Thursday morning, a monitoring group said, without specifying the cause. "The blast was huge and could be heard in Damascus," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Damascus International Airport lies about 25 kilometres southeast of Syria's capital. The Britain-based Observatory, which gathers information from sources across war-ravaged Syria, said it had confirmed the explosion had not taken place inside the airport itself. "It's unclear what caused the explosion, but there fires raging at the site," Abdel Rahman told AFP. More than 320,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011 with widespread anti-government protests. While Damascus has remained relatively insulated from the violence, fierce fighting has raged on the outskirts of the capital in recent months between rebel groups and government forces. (AFP)

'Huge' explosion near Damascus Airport: Monitor

Islam Maytat thought marrying an Afghan-British businessman was her ticket to a new life as a fashionista in London. Instead she became a&nbsp;widow&nbsp;living under jihadist rule in Syria.

At just 23, the young Moroccan spent three traumatic years in northern Syria under the Islamic State group&#39;s so-called &quot;caliphate&quot;.

Tens of thousands of foreigners have joined jihadist groups in Syria, including women who are encouraged to marry and raise the children of IS fighters.

Some, like Maytat, have been lured unknowingly into marriages with would-be jihadists.

Maytat spoke to AFP after fleeing IS&#39;s northern stronghold of Raqa to territory controlled by a US-backed alliance fighting the extremist group.

Now safe in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli, Maytat holds her gurgling 10-month-old daughter Maria in her lap as she tells her story.

&quot;Meeting my husband was one of the things that motivated me to study fashion design in Europe, but I had no luck. Everything went wrong,&quot; she said.

She first met Khalil Ahmed, an Afghan-British trader who worked in Dubai, online in early 2014, and they married two months later.

He flew to Morocco to marry her and they then went to Dubai, stepping into a complex web of lies and journeys across the Middle East that would eventually take her to Syria.

&#39;Going to the caliphate&#39;

Ahmed proved to be a strict, controlling husband who did not allow her to wear makeup or bright clothes.

After a brief trip to Afghanistan to meet his family, Maytat was eager to get to London and start working as a stylist.

Ahmed proposed travelling to Istanbul, convincing a reluctant Maytat that it would be easier to move to London from there.

But as soon as they landed in Turkey, Ahmed immediately drove her to the southeastern city of Gaziantep near the border with Syria.

Ankara has long been accused of turning a blind eye to IS fighters using the porous Syrian-Turkish border to transport people, goods, and funds, allegations it vehemently denies.

In Gaziantep, Maytat and Ahmed moved into a large house full of ecstatic couples from countries including Saudi Arabia, Algeria and France.

&quot;I asked them &#39;Why are you here?&#39; And they told me they were there to migrate to the caliphate in Syria,&quot; Maytat recalls.

In June 2014, IS declared a self-styled &quot;caliphate&quot; across Syria and Iraq, where it implemented its literal interpretation of Islamic law.

&quot;I began to cry. It was two weeks after the caliphate was declared and the women kept saying &#39;We&#39;re going to the land of the caliphate, the land of the Muslims&#39;, and they were all happy,&quot; Maytat says.

In August, Ahmed and Maytat made their own journey across the border into war-ravaged northern Syria.

&#39;I had no choice&#39;&nbsp;

They settled in the northern Syrian town of Manbij, where Ahmed&#39;s brother was already living with his family.

&quot;I said to my husband &#39;Why did you destroy my life like this? You should have told me from the beginning that this is what we were going to do&#39;,&quot;&nbsp;Maytat recalls.&nbsp;

&quot;And he said &#39;You&#39;re my wife, you have to listen to what I say&#39;.&quot;

Tears welling, Maytat says she had felt powerless to resist Ahmed, her only link to her previous life.

By September, she was pregnant with her first child, Abdullah, and Ahmed was sent to a month-long military training before deploying to IS&#39;s front in Kobane.

On October 8, 2014, Ahmed&#39;s brother told Maytat her husband had been killed in combat.

&quot;I became more depressed. I said to myself, this is the only person I knew in this foreign land, and now I&#39;m alone here,&quot; she tells AFP.

Pregnant and alone, Maytat moved into a shared &quot;guest house&quot; for widows of jihadists, mostly Uzbeks and Russians.

This is when the military training started.

&quot;When they forced us to do weapons training I was pregnant, but I had no choice,&quot; she says.

Unable to communicate with many other widows, Maytat was allowed to move into a building housing other Arabic-speakers.

&quot;There were French, Tunisians, Moroccans and Algerians. I stayed there until I gave birth to Abdullah.&quot;

&#39;Secret route&#39; to safety

Less than a year after her first husband died, Maytat remarried in order to escape the shelter.

Her second husband, an Afghan known as Abu Abdullah, took her to Raqa, the de facto capital of IS&#39;s caliphate.

&quot;I couldn&#39;t deal with life there, he wouldn&#39;t let me leave the house, so I asked him for a divorce two months later,&quot; she says.

She then married for the third time in three years, this time to an Indian fighter in Raqa known as Abu Talha al-Hindi.

That 18-month marriage produced her daughter, Maria.

When Maytat learned Abu Talha had been killed battling the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, she joined up with another jihadist&nbsp;widow, a Yazidi woman.

They escaped IS territory via &quot;a secret route&quot; that she refused to divulge.

Traumatised by her past, Maytat is now also worried about her future and that of her two young children.

&quot;I still don&#39;t know what to do with my life.

&quot;I hope to return to Morocco with both of my children, but I don&#39;t know if I&#39;ll have a future or not there.&quot;

(AFP)

Islam Maytat, a 23-year-old Moroccan, was lured unknowingly into marriage with a would-be jihadist. This is her story

Islam Maytat thought marrying an Afghan-British businessman was her ticket to a new life as a fashionista in London. Instead she became a widow living under jihadist rule in Syria. At just 23, the young Moroccan spent three traumatic years in northern Syria under the Islamic State group's so-called "caliphate". Tens of thousands of foreigners have joined jihadist groups in Syria, including women who are encouraged to marry and raise the children of IS fighters. Some, like Maytat, have been lured unknowingly into marriages with would-be jihadists. Maytat spoke to AFP after fleeing IS's northern stronghold of Raqa to territory controlled by a US-backed alliance fighting the extremist group. Now safe in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli, Maytat holds her gurgling 10-month-old daughter Maria in her lap as she tells her story. "Meeting my husband was one of the things that motivated me to study fashion design in Europe, but I had no luck. Everything went wrong," she said. She first met Khalil Ahmed, an Afghan-British trader who worked in Dubai, online in early 2014, and they married two months later. He flew to Morocco to marry her and they then went to Dubai, stepping into a complex web of lies and journeys across the Middle East that would eventually take her to Syria. 'Going to the caliphate' Ahmed proved to be a strict, controlling husband who did not allow her to wear makeup or bright clothes. After a brief trip to Afghanistan to meet his family, Maytat was eager to get to London and start working as a stylist. Ahmed proposed travelling to Istanbul, convincing a reluctant Maytat that it would be easier to move to London from there. But as soon as they landed in Turkey, Ahmed immediately drove her to the southeastern city of Gaziantep near the border with Syria. Ankara has long been accused of turning a blind eye to IS fighters using the porous Syrian-Turkish border to transport people, goods, and funds, allegations it vehemently denies. In Gaziantep, Maytat and Ahmed moved into a large house full of ecstatic couples from countries including Saudi Arabia, Algeria and France. "I asked them 'Why are you here?' And they told me they were there to migrate to the caliphate in Syria," Maytat recalls. In June 2014, IS declared a self-styled "caliphate" across Syria and Iraq, where it implemented its literal interpretation of Islamic law. "I began to cry. It was two weeks after the caliphate was declared and the women kept saying 'We're going to the land of the caliphate, the land of the Muslims', and they were all happy," Maytat says. In August, Ahmed and Maytat made their own journey across the border into war-ravaged northern Syria. 'I had no choice' They settled in the northern Syrian town of Manbij, where Ahmed's brother was already living with his family. "I said to my husband 'Why did you destroy my life like this? You should have told me from the beginning that this is what we were going to do'," Maytat recalls. "And he said 'You're my wife, you have to listen to what I say'." Tears welling, Maytat says she had felt powerless to resist Ahmed, her only link to her previous life. By September, she was pregnant with her first child, Abdullah, and Ahmed was sent to a month-long military training before deploying to IS's front in Kobane. On October 8, 2014, Ahmed's brother told Maytat her husband had been killed in combat. "I became more depressed. I said to myself, this is the only person I knew in this foreign land, and now I'm alone here," she tells AFP. Pregnant and alone, Maytat moved into a shared "guest house" for widows of jihadists, mostly Uzbeks and Russians. This is when the military training started. "When they forced us to do weapons training I was pregnant, but I had no choice," she says. Unable to communicate with many other widows, Maytat was allowed to move into a building housing other Arabic-speakers. "There were French, Tunisians, Moroccans and Algerians. I stayed there until I gave birth to Abdullah." 'Secret route' to safety Less than a year after her first husband died, Maytat remarried in order to escape the shelter. Her second husband, an Afghan known as Abu Abdullah, took her to Raqa, the de facto capital of IS's caliphate. "I couldn't deal with life there, he wouldn't let me leave the house, so I asked him for a divorce two months later," she says. She then married for the third time in three years, this time to an Indian fighter in Raqa known as Abu Talha al-Hindi. That 18-month marriage produced her daughter, Maria. When Maytat learned Abu Talha had been killed battling the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, she joined up with another jihadist widow, a Yazidi woman. They escaped IS territory via "a secret route" that she refused to divulge. Traumatised by her past, Maytat is now also worried about her future and that of her two young children. "I still don't know what to do with my life. "I hope to return to Morocco with both of my children, but I don't know if I'll have a future or not there." (AFP)

She wanted to be a stylist, ended up becoming a jihadist widow in Syria

An Israeli attack on a Syrian camp for pro-government forces killed three fighters near the Golan Heights today, an official from the forces said.

The official told AFP that two fighters were also wounded in the attack on the Al-Fawwar camp near Quneitra in southwestern Syria, adding that it was unclear whether the damage was inflicted by an air strike or shelling.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group confirmed today&#39;s attack but had no further details.

Israel&#39;s army on Friday said it targeted positions inside Syria in retaliation for mortar fire that hit the northern part of the Golan Heights.

Syria&#39;s official news agency SANA said Israel had struck a Syrian army position in the province of Quneitra on the Golan plateau, &quot;causing damage&quot;.

The Syrian government labels rebel groups and jihadists fighting the regime as &quot;terrorists&quot; and accuses Israel of backing them.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. Around 510 square kilometres of the Golan are under Syrian control.

The two countries are still technically at war, although the border remained largely quiet for decades until 2011, when the Syrian conflict broke out.

The Israeli side is hit sporadically by what are usually deemed to be stray rounds, and Israel has recently taken to opening fire in retaliation.

(AFP)

An official said two fighters were also wounded in the attack, but said it was unclear whether an air strike or shelling caused the damage

An Israeli attack on a Syrian camp for pro-government forces killed three fighters near the Golan Heights today, an official from the forces said. The official told AFP that two fighters were also wounded in the attack on the Al-Fawwar camp near Quneitra in southwestern Syria, adding that it was unclear whether the damage was inflicted by an air strike or shelling. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group confirmed today's attack but had no further details. Israel's army on Friday said it targeted positions inside Syria in retaliation for mortar fire that hit the northern part of the Golan Heights. Syria's official news agency SANA said Israel had struck a Syrian army position in the province of Quneitra on the Golan plateau, "causing damage". The Syrian government labels rebel groups and jihadists fighting the regime as "terrorists" and accuses Israel of backing them. Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. Around 510 square kilometres of the Golan are under Syrian control. The two countries are still technically at war, although the border remained largely quiet for decades until 2011, when the Syrian conflict broke out. The Israeli side is hit sporadically by what are usually deemed to be stray rounds, and Israel has recently taken to opening fire in retaliation. (AFP)

Israeli attack on Syria military camp kills three

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday accused Iran of &#39;alarming ongoing provocations&#39; to destabilise countries in the Middle East as the Trump administration launched a review of its policy towards Tehran.

Tillerson told reporters the review, which he announced on Tuesday, would not only look at Tehran&#39;s compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal but also its behaviour in the region which he said undermined US interests in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.

His tough words matched those of US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who said in a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that Iran&#39;s destabilising influence would have to be overcome to end the conflict in Yemen.

President Donald Trump ordered the review to evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to the nuclear deal was &quot;vital to the national security interests of the United States,&quot; Tillerson said

Though there was no sign the Trump administration intended to walk away from the deal, Tillerson twice cautioned that if left unchecked Tehran could become a threat like North Korea, which is also under pressure over its nuclear ambitions.

In a letter to US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan released late on Tuesday, Tillerson declared that Iran was meeting its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal but there were concerns about Tehran&#39;s role as a state sponsor of terrorism.

&quot;A comprehensive Iran policy requires we address all of the threats posed by Iran and it is clear there are many,&quot; Tillerson told reporters at the State Department.

Tillerson said the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers failed &quot;to achieve the objective of a non-nuclear Iran and only delays their goal of becoming a nuclear state.&quot;

Failed approach

Iran has yet to comment on the Trump administration&#39;s review, but Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned in November that Tehran would retaliate if the United States breached the nuclear agreement.

Tillerson said one of the mistakes in the way the agreement was put together was that it ignored all the other serious threats Iran posed outside of its nuclear programme.

&quot;That is why we have to look at Iran in a very comprehensive way in terms of the threat it poses in all areas of the region and the world,&quot; he added.

&quot;This deal represents the same failed approach of the past that brought us to the current imminent threat we face from North Korea,&quot; Tillerson said of the nuclear deal.

The nuclear agreement, negotiated during Barack Obama&#39;s presidency, placed limitations on Iran&#39;s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against Iran.

Tillerson&#39;s notice to Congress was part of a 90-day process in which the president has to certify that Iran is complying with the nuclear accord. It is the first update under the Trump administration.

The next test of Trump&#39;s attitude towards the nuclear deal will be in May when he must decide whether to extend sanctions waivers for Iran first signed by President Barack Obama.

During his presidential campaign, Trump called the agreement &quot;the worst deal ever negotiated&quot; and said he would review it once he reached office.

The European Union&#39;s foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini, said last month after meetings with senior Trump administration officials she was reassured in the talks that the US&nbsp;was committed to fully implementing the deal.

(Reuters)

Tillerson said that the review will not only look at Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal but also at its behaviour in the region

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday accused Iran of 'alarming ongoing provocations' to destabilise countries in the Middle East as the Trump administration launched a review of its policy towards Tehran. Tillerson told reporters the review, which he announced on Tuesday, would not only look at Tehran's compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal but also its behaviour in the region which he said undermined US interests in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. His tough words matched those of US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who said in a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that Iran's destabilising influence would have to be overcome to end the conflict in Yemen. President Donald Trump ordered the review to evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to the nuclear deal was "vital to the national security interests of the United States," Tillerson said Though there was no sign the Trump administration intended to walk away from the deal, Tillerson twice cautioned that if left unchecked Tehran could become a threat like North Korea, which is also under pressure over its nuclear ambitions. In a letter to US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan released late on Tuesday, Tillerson declared that Iran was meeting its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal but there were concerns about Tehran's role as a state sponsor of terrorism. "A comprehensive Iran policy requires we address all of the threats posed by Iran and it is clear there are many," Tillerson told reporters at the State Department. Tillerson said the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers failed "to achieve the objective of a non-nuclear Iran and only delays their goal of becoming a nuclear state." Failed approach Iran has yet to comment on the Trump administration's review, but Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned in November that Tehran would retaliate if the United States breached the nuclear agreement. Tillerson said one of the mistakes in the way the agreement was put together was that it ignored all the other serious threats Iran posed outside of its nuclear programme. "That is why we have to look at Iran in a very comprehensive way in terms of the threat it poses in all areas of the region and the world," he added. "This deal represents the same failed approach of the past that brought us to the current imminent threat we face from North Korea," Tillerson said of the nuclear deal. The nuclear agreement, negotiated during Barack Obama's presidency, placed limitations on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against Iran. Tillerson's notice to Congress was part of a 90-day process in which the president has to certify that Iran is complying with the nuclear accord. It is the first update under the Trump administration. The next test of Trump's attitude towards the nuclear deal will be in May when he must decide whether to extend sanctions waivers for Iran first signed by President Barack Obama. During his presidential campaign, Trump called the agreement "the worst deal ever negotiated" and said he would review it once he reached office. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini, said last month after meetings with senior Trump administration officials she was reassured in the talks that the US was committed to fully implementing the deal. (Reuters)

Tillerson accuses Iran of 'alarming provocations' amid review of nuclear deal

UK lawmakers are calling on the government to strip Syrian President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s wife of her British citizenship, for supporting her husband&#39;s regime during the country&#39;s ongoing war.

The Liberal Democrats&#39; foreign affairs spokesman, MP Tom Brake, today accused Assad of using her international profile to defend &quot;a barbarous regime&quot;.

&quot;(Foreign Secretary) Boris Johnson has urged other countries to do more about Syria, but the British government could say to Asma Al-Assad -- either stop using your position to defend barbaric acts, or be stripped of your citizenship,&quot; Brake said.

His remarks follow Johnson branding the Syrian president an &quot;arch-terrorist&quot;, in a Sunday Telegraph newspaper article calling on Syria ally Russia to end its support for Bashar al-Assad.

Brake&#39;s comments echoed those of MP Nadhim Zahawi, from the ruling Conservative Party.

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<h5>Brake&#39;s comments echoed those of MP Nadhim Zahawi, from the ruling Conservative Party. &#39;The time has come where we go after (Bashar) Assad in every which way, including people like Mrs Assad, who is very much part of the propaganda machine that is committing war crimes,&#39; he was quoted in the Sunday Times newspaper as saying</h5>
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&quot;The time has come where we go after (Bashar) Assad in every which way, including people like Mrs Assad, who is very much part of the propaganda machine that is committing war crimes,&quot; he was quoted in the Sunday Times newspaper as saying.

Once hailed as a progressive rights advocate, Assad has fallen from international grace during Syria&#39;s ongoing war which has killed more than 320,000 people since erupting in 2011.

The 41-year-old, who is believed to hold joint British-Syrian nationality, has stood by her husband&#39;s side in his rare public appearances, posing for selfies with supporters in photos posted to the presidency&#39;s Instagram account.

The couple&#39;s marriage was announced six months after he assumed the country&#39;s leadership in July 2000. They had met at a party hosted by the British Syrian community in London.

Assad&#39;s ongoing support for her husband allows Britain to deprive her of her UK citizenship, according to the Liberal Democrats, which served in an uneasy five-year coalition government with the Conservative Party until 2015.

&quot;If Asma continues defending the Assad regime&#39;s murderous actions, the onus will be on the UK Government to deprive her of her citizenship or demonstrate that her actions are not seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the United Kingdom,&quot; said Brake.

He is due to write to Home Secretary Amber Rudd outlining the view of the Liberal Democrats, which holds nine seats in British parliament.

The home office would not comment on whether the government would take action against Assad, who previously worked as an analyst for Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.

&quot;The Government takes its duty to protect the British public exceptionally seriously.

&quot;We cannot discuss individual cases but the Home Secretary can deprive individuals of their citizenship where it is conducive to the public good to do so,&quot; a spokesman told AFP.

(AFP)

The Liberal Democrats MP Tom Brake accused Assad of using her international profile to defend 'a barbarous regime'

UK lawmakers are calling on the government to strip Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's wife of her British citizenship, for supporting her husband's regime during the country's ongoing war. The Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesman, MP Tom Brake, today accused Assad of using her international profile to defend "a barbarous regime". "(Foreign Secretary) Boris Johnson has urged other countries to do more about Syria, but the British government could say to Asma Al-Assad -- either stop using your position to defend barbaric acts, or be stripped of your citizenship," Brake said. His remarks follow Johnson branding the Syrian president an "arch-terrorist", in a Sunday Telegraph newspaper article calling on Syria ally Russia to end its support for Bashar al-Assad. Brake's comments echoed those of MP Nadhim Zahawi, from the ruling Conservative Party. Brake's comments echoed those of MP Nadhim Zahawi, from the ruling Conservative Party. 'The time has come where we go after (Bashar) Assad in every which way, including people like Mrs Assad, who is very much part of the propaganda machine that is committing war crimes,' he was quoted in the Sunday Times newspaper as saying × "The time has come where we go after (Bashar) Assad in every which way, including people like Mrs Assad, who is very much part of the propaganda machine that is committing war crimes," he was quoted in the Sunday Times newspaper as saying. Once hailed as a progressive rights advocate, Assad has fallen from international grace during Syria's ongoing war which has killed more than 320,000 people since erupting in 2011. The 41-year-old, who is believed to hold joint British-Syrian nationality, has stood by her husband's side in his rare public appearances, posing for selfies with supporters in photos posted to the presidency's Instagram account. The couple's marriage was announced six months after he assumed the country's leadership in July 2000. They had met at a party hosted by the British Syrian community in London. Assad's ongoing support for her husband allows Britain to deprive her of her UK citizenship, according to the Liberal Democrats, which served in an uneasy five-year coalition government with the Conservative Party until 2015. "If Asma continues defending the Assad regime's murderous actions, the onus will be on the UK Government to deprive her of her citizenship or demonstrate that her actions are not seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the United Kingdom," said Brake. He is due to write to Home Secretary Amber Rudd outlining the view of the Liberal Democrats, which holds nine seats in British parliament. The home office would not comment on whether the government would take action against Assad, who previously worked as an analyst for Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. "The Government takes its duty to protect the British public exceptionally seriously. "We cannot discuss individual cases but the Home Secretary can deprive individuals of their citizenship where it is conducive to the public good to do so," a spokesman told AFP. (AFP)

UK lawmakers call on govt to strip Assad's wife of British citizenship

Buses carrying thousands of evacuees from besieged Syrian towns resumed their journey Saturday after an hours-long delay and a deadly bomb attack, a monitor said. 
 
The car bombing killed at least 112&nbsp;people, most of them from regime-held Fuaa and Kafraya, as the buses were held up in a rebel-controlled zone, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 
 
The evacuation had been interrupted Friday over disagreements between rebels and the regime.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast targeted buses carrying residents evacuated from the northern towns of Fuaa and Kafraya under a deal reached between the regime and rebels.

Bodies were still being recovered from the attack at a transit point in Rashidin, west of Aleppo, according to the Observatory.

&quot;The suicide bomber was driving a van supposedly carrying aid supplies and detonated near the buses,&quot; the monitoring group said.

It said that most of the dead were evacuees, but also included several rebels who had been guarding the buses.

Thousands of evacuees had been stuck on the road because of a disagreement over the number of rebels allowed to leave two other towns included in the deal, but the process restarted following the blast, the Observatory said.

AFP&#39;s reporter in rebel-held Rashidin saw several bodies, body parts and blood scattered on the ground.

The bombing took place as thousands of evacuees from Fuaa and Kafraya waited to continue their journey to regime-controlled Aleppo, the coastal province of Latakia, or Damascus.&nbsp;

More than 5,000 people who had lived under crippling siege for more than two years left the two towns, along with 2,200 evacuated from rebel-held Madaya and Zabadani, on Friday.

Syria&#39;s war has left more than 320,000 people dead since erupting in 2011, with more than half the population forced from their homes and hundreds of thousands enduring siege-like conditions.

It has sucked in regional and international powers and allowed jihadist groups to seize vast areas of the country.&nbsp;

US-backed fighters reached the outskirts of a key jihadist-held town in northern Syria on Saturday as part of an offensive aimed at the IS bastion of Raqa.The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alliance supported by US-led coalition air strikes and special forces advisers, surrounded Tabqa in early April and have cut its main supply routes.

The town and a vast nearby dam are considered key prizes in the broader offensive for Raqa, the de facto Syrian capital of IS`s self-proclaimed &quot;caliphate&quot;, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) to the east.

An SDF military source said Saturday that clashes were fierce and that the alliance`s forces were &quot;trying to penetrate the town from the east and west&quot;.

The alliance was reported to have advanced overnight after driving the jihadists from two areas just southeast and southwest of the town.

SDF fighters are within a few hundred metres (yards) of Tabqa, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

He said heavy clashes were under way around the two suburbs as IS attempted to counter-attack.

The SDF launched its campaign for Raqa in November and has since captured most of the surrounding province.

It has been backed by US-led coalition air strikes, along with advisers and even an American Marines artillery battery.

Raqa was home to around 240,000 residents before 2011 and more than 80,000 people have fled to the city from other parts of the country since the start of Syria`s civil war.

Tabqa sits on a key supply route into Raqa and served as an important IS command base, housing the group&#39;s main prison.Backed by Russia and local militias, pro-government forces have made a string of recent gains.

The government and rebels have brokered a series of deals to evacuate people from besieged areas, which Damascus touts as the best way to end the violence. Rebels say they are forced out by siege and bombardment.

The deal involving the evacuees targeted on Saturday has been beset by delays, and the 5,000 Fuaa and Kafraya residents had waited in Rashidin for more than a day without moving before the bomb went off, an AFP correspondent said.

Around 2,220 evacuees from Madaya and Zabadani were similarly blocked at a transit point in government-held territory, one of them told AFP by telephone.

State television said the car bombing had been carried out by &quot;terrorist groups&quot;, a term the regime applies to all armed opposition groups.

Many residents had earlier expressed regret over not knowing when, if ever, they would be able to return to their homes. 
&quot;It&#39;s terrible to be uprooted like this, to go and live in a place that is not ours,&quot; said Jama Nayef, a vet from Fuaa. 
 
(AFP)

The blast targeted buses carrying residents evacuated from the towns of Fuaa and Kafraya under a deal reached between the regime and rebels

Buses carrying thousands of evacuees from besieged Syrian towns resumed their journey Saturday after an hours-long delay and a deadly bomb attack, a monitor said. The car bombing killed at least 112 people, most of them from regime-held Fuaa and Kafraya, as the buses were held up in a rebel-controlled zone, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The evacuation had been interrupted Friday over disagreements between rebels and the regime. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast targeted buses carrying residents evacuated from the northern towns of Fuaa and Kafraya under a deal reached between the regime and rebels. Bodies were still being recovered from the attack at a transit point in Rashidin, west of Aleppo, according to the Observatory. "The suicide bomber was driving a van supposedly carrying aid supplies and detonated near the buses," the monitoring group said. It said that most of the dead were evacuees, but also included several rebels who had been guarding the buses. Thousands of evacuees had been stuck on the road because of a disagreement over the number of rebels allowed to leave two other towns included in the deal, but the process restarted following the blast, the Observatory said. AFP's reporter in rebel-held Rashidin saw several bodies, body parts and blood scattered on the ground. The bombing took place as thousands of evacuees from Fuaa and Kafraya waited to continue their journey to regime-controlled Aleppo, the coastal province of Latakia, or Damascus. More than 5,000 people who had lived under crippling siege for more than two years left the two towns, along with 2,200 evacuated from rebel-held Madaya and Zabadani, on Friday. Syria's war has left more than 320,000 people dead since erupting in 2011, with more than half the population forced from their homes and hundreds of thousands enduring siege-like conditions. It has sucked in regional and international powers and allowed jihadist groups to seize vast areas of the country. US-backed fighters reached the outskirts of a key jihadist-held town in northern Syria on Saturday as part of an offensive aimed at the IS bastion of Raqa.The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alliance supported by US-led coalition air strikes and special forces advisers, surrounded Tabqa in early April and have cut its main supply routes. The town and a vast nearby dam are considered key prizes in the broader offensive for Raqa, the de facto Syrian capital of IS`s self-proclaimed "caliphate", about 55 kilometres (35 miles) to the east. An SDF military source said Saturday that clashes were fierce and that the alliance`s forces were "trying to penetrate the town from the east and west". The alliance was reported to have advanced overnight after driving the jihadists from two areas just southeast and southwest of the town. SDF fighters are within a few hundred metres (yards) of Tabqa, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. He said heavy clashes were under way around the two suburbs as IS attempted to counter-attack. The SDF launched its campaign for Raqa in November and has since captured most of the surrounding province. It has been backed by US-led coalition air strikes, along with advisers and even an American Marines artillery battery. Raqa was home to around 240,000 residents before 2011 and more than 80,000 people have fled to the city from other parts of the country since the start of Syria`s civil war. Tabqa sits on a key supply route into Raqa and served as an important IS command base, housing the group's main prison.Backed by Russia and local militias, pro-government forces have made a string of recent gains. The government and rebels have brokered a series of deals to evacuate people from besieged areas, which Damascus touts as the best way to end the violence. Rebels say they are forced out by siege and bombardment. The deal involving the evacuees targeted on Saturday has been beset by delays, and the 5,000 Fuaa and Kafraya residents had waited in Rashidin for more than a day without moving before the bomb went off, an AFP correspondent said. Around 2,220 evacuees from Madaya and Zabadani were similarly blocked at a transit point in government-held territory, one of them told AFP by telephone. State television said the car bombing had been carried out by "terrorist groups", a term the regime applies to all armed opposition groups. Many residents had earlier expressed regret over not knowing when, if ever, they would be able to return to their homes. "It's terrible to be uprooted like this, to go and live in a place that is not ours," said Jama Nayef, a vet from Fuaa. (AFP)

Syria: 112 evacuees killed in bomb attack on convoy

Pope Francis denounced &quot;oppressive regimes&quot; in his Easter message on Sunday but in an apparent call for restraint urged world leaders to prevent the spread of conflicts, as tensions rose in North Korea and Syria.

Francis, marking the fifth Easter season of his pontificate, said Mass before tens of thousands of people under exceptional security measures in St Peter&#39;s Square following recent vehicle attacks against pedestrians in London and Stockholm.

More police vans and army vehicles than usual were positioned at the entrances to the Vatican area and the faithful were stopped at several check points leading into the square, which was decorated with 35,000 flowers and trees.

In his Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) message, delivered from the central balcony of St Peter&#39;s Basilica, Francis spoke of a world lacerated by conflicts and laced with tensions.

From the same balcony from where he first appeared to the world on the night of his election in 2013, Francis spoke of God walking &quot;beside all those forced to leave their homelands as a result of armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, famine and oppressive regimes&quot;.

He did not name any specific governments.

&quot;In the complex and often dramatic situations of today&#39;s world, may the Risen Lord guide the steps of all those who work for justice and peace. May he grant the leaders of nations the courage they need to prevent the spread of conflicts and to put a halt to the arms trade,&quot; he said.

Francis spoke hours after North Korea warned the United States to end its &quot;military hysteria&quot; or face retaliation as a US aircraft carrier group steamed towards the region and the reclusive state marked the 105th birth anniversary of its founding father.

Concern has grown since the US Navy fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield last week in response to a deadlygas attack. That raised questions about US President DonaldTrump&#39;s plans for North Korea, which has conducted missile andnuclear tests in defiance of United Nations and unilateral sanctions.

Francis also condemned the bomb blast on a crowded Syrian bus convoy that killed at least 112 people outside Aleppo as an &quot;ignoble&quot; attack, asking God to bring healing and comfort to civilian population in what he called the &quot;beloved and martyred Syria&quot;.

Speaking on the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar, he called for peace in South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine.

A surprise downpour hit Rome as the Mass was held but it passed quickly, allowing Francis to ride around in an open popemobile so people at the back of the crowd could see him.

Repeatedly during Holy Week services, Francis has drawn attention to the plight of war victims, refugees and migrants.

On Good Friday, he spoke of the &quot;shame&quot; of humanity becoming inured to daily scenes of bombed cities and drowning migrants.

(Reuters)

Francis urged world leaders to prevent spread of conflict as tensions are on the rise in the Korean peninsula and Syria

Pope Francis denounced "oppressive regimes" in his Easter message on Sunday but in an apparent call for restraint urged world leaders to prevent the spread of conflicts, as tensions rose in North Korea and Syria. Francis, marking the fifth Easter season of his pontificate, said Mass before tens of thousands of people under exceptional security measures in St Peter's Square following recent vehicle attacks against pedestrians in London and Stockholm. More police vans and army vehicles than usual were positioned at the entrances to the Vatican area and the faithful were stopped at several check points leading into the square, which was decorated with 35,000 flowers and trees. In his Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) message, delivered from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica, Francis spoke of a world lacerated by conflicts and laced with tensions. From the same balcony from where he first appeared to the world on the night of his election in 2013, Francis spoke of God walking "beside all those forced to leave their homelands as a result of armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, famine and oppressive regimes". He did not name any specific governments. "In the complex and often dramatic situations of today's world, may the Risen Lord guide the steps of all those who work for justice and peace. May he grant the leaders of nations the courage they need to prevent the spread of conflicts and to put a halt to the arms trade," he said. Francis spoke hours after North Korea warned the United States to end its "military hysteria" or face retaliation as a US aircraft carrier group steamed towards the region and the reclusive state marked the 105th birth anniversary of its founding father. Concern has grown since the US Navy fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield last week in response to a deadlygas attack. That raised questions about US President DonaldTrump's plans for North Korea, which has conducted missile andnuclear tests in defiance of United Nations and unilateral sanctions. Francis also condemned the bomb blast on a crowded Syrian bus convoy that killed at least 112 people outside Aleppo as an "ignoble" attack, asking God to bring healing and comfort to civilian population in what he called the "beloved and martyred Syria". Speaking on the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar, he called for peace in South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine. A surprise downpour hit Rome as the Mass was held but it passed quickly, allowing Francis to ride around in an open popemobile so people at the back of the crowd could see him. Repeatedly during Holy Week services, Francis has drawn attention to the plight of war victims, refugees and migrants. On Good Friday, he spoke of the "shame" of humanity becoming inured to daily scenes of bombed cities and drowning migrants. (Reuters)

On Easter, Pope Francis denounces 'oppressive regimes'

Hundreds of civilians and fighters who have been under crippling siege for more than two years left four Syrian towns in fleets of buses Friday under a delayed evacuation deal.

Men, women and children packed onto buses leaving government-controlled Fuaa and Kafraya and rebel-held Madaya and Zabadani, with many expressing despair at not knowing when they might return.

&quot;When I first went onto the bus, I broke down from sadness, I fell on the ground and they had to help me,&quot; said Fuaa resident Abu Hussein.

&quot;I just couldn&#39;t bear it.&quot;

The deal to evacuate the towns is the latest in a string of such agreements through Syria&#39;s six-year civil war.&nbsp;

They have been touted by the government as the best way to end the fighting but rebels say they are forced out by siege and bombardment.

Critics say deals are permanently changing the ethnic and religious map, but in an exclusive interview with AFP this week President Bashar al-Assad insisted the evacuations were only temporary and people would return once the &quot;terrorists&quot; had been defeated.

At least 80 buses left Fuaa and Kafraya in Idlib province in the northwest, an AFP correspondent in rebel-held territory said.

They arrived at a marshalling point in Rashidin, west of second city Aleppo, followed by 20 ambulances.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 5,000 people had left the two towns, including 1,300 pro-government fighters.

&nbsp;&#39;Madaya cried today&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The Observatory said 2,200 people from Zabadani and Madaya had left, among them 400 rebels.

Madaya resident Amjad al-Maleh, speaking from a departing bus, told AFP that rebels among the evacuees had been allowed to keep light weapons.

&quot;It is a very bad feeling when you see those who besieged you and killed you with hunger and bombardment right in front of you,&quot; Maleh said.&nbsp;

&quot;Madaya cried today -- the ones who stayed and the ones who left.&quot;

Late Friday, the buses from Madaya arrived in Rashidin, where the evacuees from Fuaa and Kefraya were waiting, according to a resident aboard one of the buses.

The Observatory said the Fuaa and Kafraya buses were expected to head to government-held Aleppo city, while the Madaya evacuees were to head to Idlib.

More than 30,000 people are expected to be evacuated under the deal, which began on Wednesday with an exchange of prisoners.

All 16,000 residents of Fuaa and Kafraya are expected to leave, heading to Aleppo, the coastal province of Latakia, or Damascus.&nbsp;

Civilians from Madaya and Zabadani will reportedly be allowed to remain if they choose. Those who opt to leave will head to rebel-held territory in Idlib.

The four towns are party to a longstanding agreement reached in 2015 that requires aid deliveries and evacuations to be carried out simultaneously.

But access has been limited, with food and medical shortages causing malnutrition, illness and even death among besieged residents.

The UN says 4.72 million Syrians are in hard-to-reach areas, including 600,000 people under siege, mostly by the Syrian army, but also by rebels or the Islamic State group.

&#39;They&#39;re going back&#39; 
 
There has been a series of evacuations in recent month, mostly around the capital Damascus but also from the last rebel-held district of Syria&#39;s third city Homs.

The rebels have charged that Assad&#39;s regime is deliberately forcing civilians to leave to alter the country&#39;s sectarian map.

But in Wednesday&#39;s interview, the president told AFP that it was the rebels who were driving people from their homes.

&quot;We wish that everyone could stay in his village and his city, but those people like many other civilians in different areas were surrounded and besieged by the terrorists, and they&#39;ve been killed on (a) daily basis, so they had to leave,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

&quot;But of course they&#39;re going to go back to their cities after the liberation.&quot;

Assad is facing renewed international pressure after accusations his government carried out a suspected April 4 chemical weapons attack on a northern rebel-held town.

He told AFP that reports of the attack were a &quot;fabrication.&quot;

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Friday dismissed Assad&#39;s comments as &quot;100 percent lies and propaganda.&quot;

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is probing the incident, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday criticised the watchdog for failing to go to the site.

&quot;We consider it unacceptable to analyse events from a distance,&quot; he said after meeting his Syrian and Iranian counterparts.

&quot;They say still that it is not very safe, but they cannot put forward convincing arguments,&quot; Lavrov said. 
 
(AFP)

Buses carrying residents left the majority Shi'ite towns of al-Foua and Kefraya, Monitor said

Hundreds of civilians and fighters who have been under crippling siege for more than two years left four Syrian towns in fleets of buses Friday under a delayed evacuation deal. Men, women and children packed onto buses leaving government-controlled Fuaa and Kafraya and rebel-held Madaya and Zabadani, with many expressing despair at not knowing when they might return. "When I first went onto the bus, I broke down from sadness, I fell on the ground and they had to help me," said Fuaa resident Abu Hussein. "I just couldn't bear it." The deal to evacuate the towns is the latest in a string of such agreements through Syria's six-year civil war. They have been touted by the government as the best way to end the fighting but rebels say they are forced out by siege and bombardment. Critics say deals are permanently changing the ethnic and religious map, but in an exclusive interview with AFP this week President Bashar al-Assad insisted the evacuations were only temporary and people would return once the "terrorists" had been defeated. At least 80 buses left Fuaa and Kafraya in Idlib province in the northwest, an AFP correspondent in rebel-held territory said. They arrived at a marshalling point in Rashidin, west of second city Aleppo, followed by 20 ambulances. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 5,000 people had left the two towns, including 1,300 pro-government fighters. 'Madaya cried today' The Observatory said 2,200 people from Zabadani and Madaya had left, among them 400 rebels. Madaya resident Amjad al-Maleh, speaking from a departing bus, told AFP that rebels among the evacuees had been allowed to keep light weapons. "It is a very bad feeling when you see those who besieged you and killed you with hunger and bombardment right in front of you," Maleh said. "Madaya cried today -- the ones who stayed and the ones who left." Late Friday, the buses from Madaya arrived in Rashidin, where the evacuees from Fuaa and Kefraya were waiting, according to a resident aboard one of the buses. The Observatory said the Fuaa and Kafraya buses were expected to head to government-held Aleppo city, while the Madaya evacuees were to head to Idlib. More than 30,000 people are expected to be evacuated under the deal, which began on Wednesday with an exchange of prisoners. All 16,000 residents of Fuaa and Kafraya are expected to leave, heading to Aleppo, the coastal province of Latakia, or Damascus. Civilians from Madaya and Zabadani will reportedly be allowed to remain if they choose. Those who opt to leave will head to rebel-held territory in Idlib. The four towns are party to a longstanding agreement reached in 2015 that requires aid deliveries and evacuations to be carried out simultaneously. But access has been limited, with food and medical shortages causing malnutrition, illness and even death among besieged residents. The UN says 4.72 million Syrians are in hard-to-reach areas, including 600,000 people under siege, mostly by the Syrian army, but also by rebels or the Islamic State group. 'They're going back' There has been a series of evacuations in recent month, mostly around the capital Damascus but also from the last rebel-held district of Syria's third city Homs. The rebels have charged that Assad's regime is deliberately forcing civilians to leave to alter the country's sectarian map. But in Wednesday's interview, the president told AFP that it was the rebels who were driving people from their homes. "We wish that everyone could stay in his village and his city, but those people like many other civilians in different areas were surrounded and besieged by the terrorists, and they've been killed on (a) daily basis, so they had to leave," he said. "But of course they're going to go back to their cities after the liberation." Assad is facing renewed international pressure after accusations his government carried out a suspected April 4 chemical weapons attack on a northern rebel-held town. He told AFP that reports of the attack were a "fabrication." French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Friday dismissed Assad's comments as "100 percent lies and propaganda." The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is probing the incident, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday criticised the watchdog for failing to go to the site. "We consider it unacceptable to analyse events from a distance," he said after meeting his Syrian and Iranian counterparts. "They say still that it is not very safe, but they cannot put forward convincing arguments," Lavrov said. (AFP)

Buses evacuate hundreds from four besieged Syria towns under evacuation deal

A US missile strike targeting an airbase in central Syria killed nine civilians, including four children, on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

The news agency said five of the civilians, among them three children, were killed in the village of Shayrat just outside the base of the same name.

&quot;An American missile also hit the village of Al-Hamrat, which killed four civilians including a child,&quot; it added.&nbsp;

&quot;Another seven civilians were wounded when a missile hit homes in Al-Manzul, four kilometres (two and a half miles) away from the Shayrat air base,&quot; it added.&nbsp;

Washington said it fired a barrage of 59 cruise missiles at the Shayrat base in response to what President Donald Trump called a &quot;barbaric&quot; chemical attack on a rebel-held town on Tuesday that he blamed on the Damascus regime.

The Pentagon said it believed the aircraft that carried out the deadly attack on Khan Sheikhun came from the Shayrat base.&nbsp;

US officials said Russian commanders in Syria were informed of the strike beforehand in order to avoid casualties that could prompt a broader crisis.

The Syrian army had said earlier that six people were killed in the strike on the base &nbsp;-- the first time that the US has directly attacked the government of President Bashar al-Assad.&nbsp;

(AFP)

US officials said Russian commanders in Syria were informed of the strike beforehand in order to avoid casualties

A US missile strike targeting an airbase in central Syria killed nine civilians, including four children, on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. The news agency said five of the civilians, among them three children, were killed in the village of Shayrat just outside the base of the same name. "An American missile also hit the village of Al-Hamrat, which killed four civilians including a child," it added. "Another seven civilians were wounded when a missile hit homes in Al-Manzul, four kilometres (two and a half miles) away from the Shayrat air base," it added. Washington said it fired a barrage of 59 cruise missiles at the Shayrat base in response to what President Donald Trump called a "barbaric" chemical attack on a rebel-held town on Tuesday that he blamed on the Damascus regime. The Pentagon said it believed the aircraft that carried out the deadly attack on Khan Sheikhun came from the Shayrat base. US officials said Russian commanders in Syria were informed of the strike beforehand in order to avoid casualties that could prompt a broader crisis. The Syrian army had said earlier that six people were killed in the strike on the base -- the first time that the US has directly attacked the government of President Bashar al-Assad. (AFP)

4 children among 9 civilians dead in US Syria strike: Syrian state media

Russian President Vladimir&nbsp;Putin&nbsp;believes that US&nbsp;cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base broke international law and have seriously hurt US-Russia relations, Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin on Friday.&nbsp;

Putin, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saw the US&nbsp;action as &quot;aggression against a sovereign nation&quot; on a &quot;made-up pretext&quot; and &nbsp;a cynical attempt to distract the world from civilian deaths in Iraq, Dmitry Peskov,&nbsp;Putin&#39;s spokesman, was cited as saying, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

&quot;Putin&nbsp;views the US&nbsp;strikes on Syria as aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law and on a made-up up pretext,&quot; Peskov was cited as saying, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

&quot;Washington&#39;s step will inflict major damage on US-Russia ties.&quot;

Russia will now call for an urgent meeting of the UN&nbsp;Security Council to discuss the matter, the RIA news agency cited Viktor Ozerov, the head of the upper house of parliament&#39;s defence and security committee&nbsp;as saying.

Russia was informed

Pentagon spokesman&nbsp;Captain Jeff Davis earlier told reporters that the US&nbsp;military had given Russian forces advanced notice of its strikes on the&nbsp;airbase and did not hit sections of the base where the&nbsp;Russians were believed to be present. Reuters reported,

Davis added that the US&nbsp;military had &quot;multiple&quot; conversations with&nbsp;Russian forces using a line of communication that had previously been established to prevent an accidental clash in Syria during the fight against Islamic State.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

Pentagon spokesman?Captain Jeff Davis earlier told reporters that the US?military had given Russian forces advanced notice of its strikes

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that US cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base broke international law and have seriously hurt US-Russia relations, Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin on Friday. Putin, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saw the US action as "aggression against a sovereign nation" on a "made-up pretext" and a cynical attempt to distract the world from civilian deaths in Iraq, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, was cited as saying, Reuters reported. "Putin views the US strikes on Syria as aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law and on a made-up up pretext," Peskov was cited as saying, Reuters reported. "Washington's step will inflict major damage on US-Russia ties." Russia will now call for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the matter, the RIA news agency cited Viktor Ozerov, the head of the upper house of parliament's defence and security committee as saying. Russia was informed Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis earlier told reporters that the US military had given Russian forces advanced notice of its strikes on the airbase and did not hit sections of the base where the Russians were believed to be present. Reuters reported, Davis added that the US military had "multiple" conversations with Russian forces using a line of communication that had previously been established to prevent an accidental clash in Syria during the fight against Islamic State. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Strike on Syria will affect US-Russia ties: Kremlin

The US&nbsp;fired 59 Tomahawk cruise&nbsp;missiles at the Syrian airbase which it says was responsible for unleashing the chemical attack on Tuesday which killed at least 70 people.&nbsp;

The results of the US strike are still being determined, and the numbers known now will undoubtedly change.

AFP cites Syrian state media, SANA, as reporting&nbsp;that 9 people have been killed, four of them children. They say that all of the 9 are civilians. The Syrian army has said that several have been wounded. The precise number, and the extent of the injuries, is unknown.

The Guardian quotes Russian Defence Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenko as saying that &quot;the combat efficiency of the US strike was very low&quot;, adding, &quot;only 23 of the 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles reached the Shayrat air base in the province of Homs&quot;.

Konashenko said that six MiG-23 fighter jets that were under repairs had been destroyed, but that no war planes in the base were damaged.

(WION)

&nbsp;

This was the first time the US directly attacked Assad in 6 years of war. As far as is currently known, these are the results

The US fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian airbase which it says was responsible for unleashing the chemical attack on Tuesday which killed at least 70 people. The results of the US strike are still being determined, and the numbers known now will undoubtedly change. AFP cites Syrian state media, SANA, as reporting that 9 people have been killed, four of them children. They say that all of the 9 are civilians. The Syrian army has said that several have been wounded. The precise number, and the extent of the injuries, is unknown. The Guardian quotes Russian Defence Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenko as saying that "the combat efficiency of the US strike was very low", adding, "only 23 of the 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles reached the Shayrat air base in the province of Homs". Konashenko said that six MiG-23 fighter jets that were under repairs had been destroyed, but that no war planes in the base were damaged. (WION)

What did the US' strike against Syria achieve?

The UN&#39;s security council will meet today to discuss the US missile strikes on Syria, US diplomats said.

Russia&#39;s military on Friday said a US strike on a regime air base in Syria was ineffective but announced Syrian air defences would be strengthened to shield the country&#39;s key infrastructure.

WATCH VIDEO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxwXIYrLDlQ">Trump launches military strike against Syria</a>

&quot;To protect Syria&#39;s most sensitive infrastructure, complex measures will be implemented in the near future to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of the Syrian armed forces&#39; air defence system,&quot; defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

He added the strike had had an &quot;extremely low&quot; military impact, and fewer than half of the 59 reported US missiles had actually found their target.

&quot;Only 23 missiles reached the Syrian airbase,&quot; he said.

The strike on the Shayrat airbase, ordered by US President Donald Trump, destroyed six planes under repair and several buildings, including a storage depot and radio station, he said.

&quot;The runway, taxiways and Syrian Airforce planes at parking spaces are not damaged,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

&quot;The military effectiveness of the massive US missile strike on the Syrian airbase is therefore extremely low.&quot;

Separately, the Russian state channel Rossiya24, in a report from the base, said nine planes, as well as munition and fuel depots, had been destroyed but the facility&#39;s runway was intact.

Konashenkov&#39;s statement said the attack was a &quot;gross violation&quot; of a US-Russian memorandum aimed at avoiding clashes over Syria.

Moscow announced earlier it was halting the deal reached in 2015 in response to the strike, despite Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirming the US side had warned Russia of the impending attack through the channels it had established.&nbsp;

Trump ordered the strike - Washington&#39;s first direct military action against President Bashar Assad&#39;s government - in response to what he called a &quot;barbaric&quot; chemical attack this week that he blamed on Damascus. &nbsp;

Moscow has been flying a bombing campaign in support of Syrian forces since September 2015 and has sought to deflect blame from its ally over the alleged chemical attack.&nbsp;

Meanwhile,&nbsp;Turkey welcomed a US missile strike on a Syrian regime airbase in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack and called for a no-fly zone in the country to prevent further bloodshed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan&#39;s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the strike against the Sharyat airbase in Homs, northern Syria, was &quot;a positive response&quot; to the &quot;war crimes&quot; of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

&quot;In order to prevent similar massacres from happening again, it is necessary to enforce a no-fly zone and create safe zones in Syria without further delay,&quot; he added in a statement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said safe zones in Syria were &quot;now important more than ever&quot;.

Kalin said: &quot;The destruction of the Sharyat airbase marks an important step to ensure that chemical and conventional attacks against the civilian population do not go unpunished.&quot;

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The missiles were launched from two ships, the USS Porter and the USS Ross, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (WION)
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The Russian defense ministry said the US strikes had an 'extremely low' impact and only half of the 59 reported US missiles found the target

The UN's security council will meet today to discuss the US missile strikes on Syria, US diplomats said. Russia's military on Friday said a US strike on a regime air base in Syria was ineffective but announced Syrian air defences would be strengthened to shield the country's key infrastructure. WATCH VIDEO: Trump launches military strike against Syria "To protect Syria's most sensitive infrastructure, complex measures will be implemented in the near future to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of the Syrian armed forces' air defence system," defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement. He added the strike had had an "extremely low" military impact, and fewer than half of the 59 reported US missiles had actually found their target. "Only 23 missiles reached the Syrian airbase," he said. The strike on the Shayrat airbase, ordered by US President Donald Trump, destroyed six planes under repair and several buildings, including a storage depot and radio station, he said. "The runway, taxiways and Syrian Airforce planes at parking spaces are not damaged," he said. "The military effectiveness of the massive US missile strike on the Syrian airbase is therefore extremely low." Separately, the Russian state channel Rossiya24, in a report from the base, said nine planes, as well as munition and fuel depots, had been destroyed but the facility's runway was intact. Konashenkov's statement said the attack was a "gross violation" of a US-Russian memorandum aimed at avoiding clashes over Syria. Moscow announced earlier it was halting the deal reached in 2015 in response to the strike, despite Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirming the US side had warned Russia of the impending attack through the channels it had established. Trump ordered the strike - Washington's first direct military action against President Bashar Assad's government - in response to what he called a "barbaric" chemical attack this week that he blamed on Damascus. Moscow has been flying a bombing campaign in support of Syrian forces since September 2015 and has sought to deflect blame from its ally over the alleged chemical attack. Meanwhile, Turkey welcomed a US missile strike on a Syrian regime airbase in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack and called for a no-fly zone in the country to prevent further bloodshed. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the strike against the Sharyat airbase in Homs, northern Syria, was "a positive response" to the "war crimes" of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. "In order to prevent similar massacres from happening again, it is necessary to enforce a no-fly zone and create safe zones in Syria without further delay," he added in a statement. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said safe zones in Syria were "now important more than ever". Kalin said: "The destruction of the Sharyat airbase marks an important step to ensure that chemical and conventional attacks against the civilian population do not go unpunished." The missiles were launched from two ships, the USS Porter and the USS Ross, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (WION) ×

UN to meet today to discuss US strike on Syria

President Donald Trump does consider Russia a problem, his ambassador to the United Nations and rising US administration star Nikki Haley insisted before an often-hostile New York audience Wednesday.

&quot;I have hit Russia over the head more times than I can count and it&#39;s because if they do something wrong we&#39;re going to call them out on it,&quot; she told the annual Women in the World Summit.

&quot;The things they&#39;ve done with Crimea and Ukraine... and how they&#39;ve covered up for (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad, those types of things we&#39;re not going to give them a pass on,&quot; she said.

&quot;So I have had conversations with the president where he very much sees Russia as a problem.&quot;

The Republican president has come under sustained fire from political opponents for not voicing tougher criticism of Russia at a time when US law enforcement agencies and lawmakers are probing alleged ties between his campaign and the Kremlin.

&quot;Everybody wants to hear his (Trump&#39;s) words, but look at his actions,&quot; said Haley, adding that Russia opposed strengthening of the US military and US energy expansion.

&quot;The president has done both of those,&quot; she told the opening night of the eighth annual summit that was founded by journalist Tina Brown.&nbsp;

The remark was met by jeers from an, at times, hostile crowd in a largely Democratic-voting city where many dislike the president.

The United States and Russia are on a collision course over Syria after an horrific chemical attack early Tuesday killed at least 86 people in rebel-held Khan Sheikhun in northern Syria.

Trump came to office promising both to improve ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin but earlier Wednesday US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Russia to rethink its support for Assad.

Haley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina who endorsed Trump&#39;s primary election rival Marco Rubio last year, said she had &quot;a lot&quot; of interaction with the president.

&quot;I talked to him this morning,&quot; she said, adding that she was in Washington at least once if not twice a week for the president&#39;s National Security Council meetings and was also working to keep US senators informed.

Her conversation with a television anchor spanned just over 20 minutes and was several times interrupted by an apparent heckler. She was applauded for remarks in support of veterans and military families.

(AFP)

US and Russia are on a collision course over Syria after a chemical attack early Tuesday killed at least 86 people in northern Syria

President Donald Trump does consider Russia a problem, his ambassador to the United Nations and rising US administration star Nikki Haley insisted before an often-hostile New York audience Wednesday. "I have hit Russia over the head more times than I can count and it's because if they do something wrong we're going to call them out on it," she told the annual Women in the World Summit. "The things they've done with Crimea and Ukraine... and how they've covered up for (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad, those types of things we're not going to give them a pass on," she said. "So I have had conversations with the president where he very much sees Russia as a problem." The Republican president has come under sustained fire from political opponents for not voicing tougher criticism of Russia at a time when US law enforcement agencies and lawmakers are probing alleged ties between his campaign and the Kremlin. "Everybody wants to hear his (Trump's) words, but look at his actions," said Haley, adding that Russia opposed strengthening of the US military and US energy expansion. "The president has done both of those," she told the opening night of the eighth annual summit that was founded by journalist Tina Brown. The remark was met by jeers from an, at times, hostile crowd in a largely Democratic-voting city where many dislike the president. The United States and Russia are on a collision course over Syria after an horrific chemical attack early Tuesday killed at least 86 people in rebel-held Khan Sheikhun in northern Syria. Trump came to office promising both to improve ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin but earlier Wednesday US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Russia to rethink its support for Assad. Haley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina who endorsed Trump's primary election rival Marco Rubio last year, said she had "a lot" of interaction with the president. "I talked to him this morning," she said, adding that she was in Washington at least once if not twice a week for the president's National Security Council meetings and was also working to keep US senators informed. Her conversation with a television anchor spanned just over 20 minutes and was several times interrupted by an apparent heckler. She was applauded for remarks in support of veterans and military families. (AFP)

Trump does see Russia as 'problem': US envoy

While his supporters love Donald Trump for his allegedly blunt and&nbsp;no-nonsense speech, President Trump&nbsp;changes&nbsp;his public positions a lot. This is&nbsp;true about US&nbsp;military intervention&nbsp;in Syria.&nbsp;As a result, it&#39;s impossible to know what the US is poised to do in response to the horrific news that Assad has again attacked his people with chemical gas.

Today, Trump blames President Obama for not enforcing his own &quot;red line&quot;.&nbsp;In 2013--Obama had said that the county would intervene militarily in Syria in the event of a chemical attack against the civilian population. Then, when there was just such an attack, Obama balked. Instead, Obama&nbsp;made a <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/04/05/obama-was-right-to-abandon-red-line-on-syria-s-chemical-weapons.html" target="_blank">deal </a>between he and Putin, to have Assad admit he did in fact have&nbsp;chemical weapons, and to have them inspected and seized.&nbsp;But there was no military intervention in August and September 2013.&nbsp;

Whether you think the US should or should not have intervened in August 2013, it&#39;s reasonable to think Obama&nbsp;looked weak for backing down against Assad from his own ultimatum.&nbsp;

But in 2013, Trump also made at least 10 statements via Twitter between June 15 and September 9<a href="https://www.axios.com/trumps-2013-tweets-on-syria-tell-a-different-story-2344840197.html" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a>clearly and uniformly opposing any US&nbsp;military intervention in Syria. Here is a sample:

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The only reason President Obama wants to attack Syria is to save face over his very dumb RED LINE statement. Do NOT attack Syria,fix U.S.A.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/375577511473983488">September 5, 2013</a></blockquote>
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While this Tweet&nbsp;carries some hostility towards Obama (Trump never misses an opportunity to blame Obama),&nbsp;both men&nbsp;agreed&nbsp;that the US Army should not have entered Syria.

Yet here is the&nbsp;White House statement in response to the latest chemical attack in Syria:

Today&#39;s chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world. These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration&#39;s weakness and irresolution. President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a &quot;red line&quot; against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing. The United States stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this intolerable attack.

What does this mean? Criticising Obama for issuing an&nbsp;ultimatum he didn&#39;t live up to is fair, but Trump appears to be&nbsp;blaming Obama&nbsp;for &quot;then d[oing] nothing&quot;. This suggests that Trump believes now that Obama should have intervened then in Syria.

If so, this is Trump reversing his prior position. Now he is the president, not a guy on Twitter, and his precise position matters.&nbsp;

In trying to glean what his position is, the statement says the attack &quot;cannot be ignored&quot;, but does not say what the response will be.&nbsp;So what will the US do now under&nbsp;Trump?

On one hand, Trump&#39;s &quot;America First&quot; policy clearly opposes&nbsp;US&nbsp;militarily intervention. Either they will anyway, in opposition to both President Trump&#39;s previous stance and his current foreign policy. Or, like Obama, he will not.

There is one major&nbsp;difference between Trump and Obama though: Recently, both UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have made statements saying they could imagine a Syria&nbsp;with&nbsp;Bashar al-Assad in power after the war. This is in stark contrast to Obama, and pretty much every other country.

Except Russia, who has &quot;provided the military might behind Assad&#39;s grip on the country, which plunged into civil war six years ago,&quot; as&nbsp;<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/06/middleeast/syria-idlib-chemical-attack/" target="_blank">CNN </a>has it.&nbsp;

Yesterday Russia <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/after-trump-russia-blames-obama-red-line-for-syria-chemical-attack-at-un-security-council-meeting-14218" target="_blank">mirrored </a>Trump,&nbsp;saying that&nbsp;former US President Barack Obama&#39;s threat of military action if a &quot;red line&quot; was crossed and chemical weapons were used in Syria had provoked such attacks. This overlap in policy and in speech between the two countries should strike all as jarring and demanding explanation. After all, Trump is&nbsp;currently under FBI investigation for his and his administration&#39;s links to Russia.

But ignoring the Trump-Russia angle for now,&nbsp;it&#39;s not clear why Trump&#39;s White House&nbsp;could envision a Syria led by Assad after the latter killed hundreds, if not thousands, with&nbsp;Sarin gas in 2013, but is in another league of outrage after Assad&#39;s most recent chemical attack.

Trump has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/05/syria-chemical-gas-attack-donald-trump-nikki-haley-assad" target="_blank">said</a>, &quot;My attitude towards Syria and Assad has changed very much...You&#39;re now talking about a whole different level.&quot; Why is it on a &quot;whole different level&quot;, when Assad has done the exact same thing in 2013, but killing even more people? Why did this chemical attack cross &quot;many, many lines&quot;, but not the first?

Ultimately, those trying to judge Trump by his words will run into the infuriating fact&nbsp;that&nbsp;they&nbsp;cannot--his words change too much and too often.&nbsp;Even Trump&#39;s own administration&nbsp;advises people not&nbsp;to take the words of the president literally, but, instead, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-symbolically-anthony-scaramucci-232848" target="_blank">symbolically</a>. As if&nbsp;the president is not a man, but a poem.

Those inclined to take Trump&nbsp;at his word, who believe him when he says&nbsp;the US is genuinely opposed to military intervention the way &quot;America First&quot; suggests, must explain Trump&#39;s&nbsp;call to increase US military spending by $50 billion and&nbsp;the US ramping up its&nbsp;attacks in Yemen.

It&#39;s early in his presidency, but given his reversals on Syria, and the outlandish and baseless accusations and statements he has made elsewhere, the only way to learn what Donald Trump&nbsp;will actually do next is to wait.

But he cannot keep blaming Barack Obama forever.&nbsp;

(WION)

In 2013 Trump opposed Syrian intervention. Then he ran a campaign opposing military intervention. Today he blames Obama for not doing enough

While his supporters love Donald Trump for his allegedly blunt and no-nonsense speech, President Trump changes his public positions a lot. This is true about US military intervention in Syria. As a result, it's impossible to know what the US is poised to do in response to the horrific news that Assad has again attacked his people with chemical gas. Today, Trump blames President Obama for not enforcing his own "red line". In 2013--Obama had said that the county would intervene militarily in Syria in the event of a chemical attack against the civilian population. Then, when there was just such an attack, Obama balked. Instead, Obama made a deal between he and Putin, to have Assad admit he did in fact have chemical weapons, and to have them inspected and seized. But there was no military intervention in August and September 2013. Whether you think the US should or should not have intervened in August 2013, it's reasonable to think Obama looked weak for backing down against Assad from his own ultimatum. But in 2013, Trump also made at least 10 statements via Twitter between June 15 and September 9 clearly and uniformly opposing any US military intervention in Syria. Here is a sample: The only reason President Obama wants to attack Syria is to save face over his very dumb RED LINE statement. Do NOT attack Syria,fix U.S.A. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2013 × While this Tweet carries some hostility towards Obama (Trump never misses an opportunity to blame Obama), both men agreed that the US Army should not have entered Syria. Yet here is the White House statement in response to the latest chemical attack in Syria: Today's chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world. These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution. President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a "red line" against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing. The United States stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this intolerable attack. What does this mean? Criticising Obama for issuing an ultimatum he didn't live up to is fair, but Trump appears to be blaming Obama for "then d[oing] nothing". This suggests that Trump believes now that Obama should have intervened then in Syria. If so, this is Trump reversing his prior position. Now he is the president, not a guy on Twitter, and his precise position matters. In trying to glean what his position is, the statement says the attack "cannot be ignored", but does not say what the response will be. So what will the US do now under Trump? On one hand, Trump's "America First" policy clearly opposes US militarily intervention. Either they will anyway, in opposition to both President Trump's previous stance and his current foreign policy. Or, like Obama, he will not. There is one major difference between Trump and Obama though: Recently, both UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have made statements saying they could imagine a Syria with Bashar al-Assad in power after the war. This is in stark contrast to Obama, and pretty much every other country. Except Russia, who has "provided the military might behind Assad's grip on the country, which plunged into civil war six years ago," as CNN has it. Yesterday Russia mirrored Trump, saying that former US President Barack Obama's threat of military action if a "red line" was crossed and chemical weapons were used in Syria had provoked such attacks. This overlap in policy and in speech between the two countries should strike all as jarring and demanding explanation. After all, Trump is currently under FBI investigation for his and his administration's links to Russia. But ignoring the Trump-Russia angle for now, it's not clear why Trump's White House could envision a Syria led by Assad after the latter killed hundreds, if not thousands, with Sarin gas in 2013, but is in another league of outrage after Assad's most recent chemical attack. Trump has said, "My attitude towards Syria and Assad has changed very much...You're now talking about a whole different level." Why is it on a "whole different level", when Assad has done the exact same thing in 2013, but killing even more people? Why did this chemical attack cross "many, many lines", but not the first? Ultimately, those trying to judge Trump by his words will run into the infuriating fact that they cannot--his words change too much and too often. Even Trump's own administration advises people not to take the words of the president literally, but, instead, symbolically. As if the president is not a man, but a poem. Those inclined to take Trump at his word, who believe him when he says the US is genuinely opposed to military intervention the way "America First" suggests, must explain Trump's call to increase US military spending by $50 billion and the US ramping up its attacks in Yemen. It's early in his presidency, but given his reversals on Syria, and the outlandish and baseless accusations and statements he has made elsewhere, the only way to learn what Donald Trump will actually do next is to wait. But he cannot keep blaming Barack Obama forever. (WION)

Trump's flip-flop on Syria

Reactions to the news of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, which so far has killed 72 people,&nbsp;have&nbsp;unsurprisingly come gushing in from around the world.

Europe

Britian and France on Wednesday both renewed their call for Assad to go&nbsp;during an international conference on&nbsp;Syria, which the European Union convened in Brussels in a bid to shore up stalled peace talks between Assad and his rivals

Britiain&#39;s Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said, &quot;This is a barbaric regime that has made it impossible for us to imagine them continuing to be an authority over the people of Syria after this conflict is over.

The UK and France have blamed Assad for the attack.&nbsp;

Russia said it believed the toxic gas had leaked from a rebel chemical weapons depot struck by Syrian bombs, setting the stage for a diplomatic collision at the Security Council.

Germany on Wednesday accused Russia and Iran of carrying some responsibility for the&nbsp;suspected chemical weapons attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s forces.&nbsp;

&quot;The federal government sees responsibility lying with Russia and Iran as allies of the Assad regime,&quot; a German government spokeswoman told a regular news conference in Berlin. &quot;We are convinved that without their massive military support the regime would have long ago had to agree to serious negotiations about a political solution,&quot; she added.

Also See:<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pictures-children-become-victims-of-chemical-attack-in-syria-220">&nbsp;In Pictures: Children become victims of &#39;chemical attack&#39; in Syria</a>

Turkey

Turkey has reminded Russia and Iran of their responsibilities in preventing violations of a ceasefire in&nbsp;Syria, Turkey&#39;s foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Turkey had made representations to the Russian and Iranian embassies in Ankara over Tuesday&#39;s attack in the rebel-held province of Idlib, foreign ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said in a statement.

&nbsp;

America

The response from the US has been less than clear. In condemning Assad, Trump did not say how he would respond. The attack came a week after Trump&#39;s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN&nbsp;envoy Nikki Haley said their focus was on defeating Islamic State in Syria rather than pushing Assad out.

&quot;Under Obama, we agreed that Assad had to go, but now it is unclear where the Trump position lies,&quot; said a senior EU diplomat.

&nbsp;

The Pope

Pope Francis said he was horrified by the suspected chemical weapons attack. To the&nbsp;tens of thousands of people in St Peter&#39;s Square&nbsp;he expressed his &quot;firm deploration of the unacceptable massacre that took place yesterday,&quot; and said he was praying for &quot;the defenceless victims, including many children&quot;.

Francis appealed to &quot;the consciences of those who hold political power, both at the local and international levels so that these tragedies end.&quot;

&nbsp;

The UN

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said:&nbsp;&quot;The need for humanitarian aid and the protection of Syrian civilians has never been greater. The humanitarian appeal for a single crisis has never been higher.&quot;

Hours before the Brussels conference, Guterres had said,&nbsp;&quot;We have been asking for accountability on the crimes that have been committed and I am confident the Security Council will live up to its responsibilities&quot;.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

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The government denies the use of chemical weapons and has in turn accused rebels of using banned weapons (Reuters)
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&nbsp;

Not everybody condemned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Reactions to the news of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, which so far has killed 72 people, have unsurprisingly come gushing in from around the world. Europe Britian and France on Wednesday both renewed their call for Assad to go during an international conference on Syria, which the European Union convened in Brussels in a bid to shore up stalled peace talks between Assad and his rivals Britiain's Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said, "This is a barbaric regime that has made it impossible for us to imagine them continuing to be an authority over the people of Syria after this conflict is over. The UK and France have blamed Assad for the attack. Russia said it believed the toxic gas had leaked from a rebel chemical weapons depot struck by Syrian bombs, setting the stage for a diplomatic collision at the Security Council. Germany on Wednesday accused Russia and Iran of carrying some responsibility for the suspected chemical weapons attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces. "The federal government sees responsibility lying with Russia and Iran as allies of the Assad regime," a German government spokeswoman told a regular news conference in Berlin. "We are convinved that without their massive military support the regime would have long ago had to agree to serious negotiations about a political solution," she added. Also See: In Pictures: Children become victims of 'chemical attack' in Syria Turkey Turkey has reminded Russia and Iran of their responsibilities in preventing violations of a ceasefire in Syria, Turkey's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Turkey had made representations to the Russian and Iranian embassies in Ankara over Tuesday's attack in the rebel-held province of Idlib, foreign ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said in a statement. America The response from the US has been less than clear. In condemning Assad, Trump did not say how he would respond. The attack came a week after Trump's Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN envoy Nikki Haley said their focus was on defeating Islamic State in Syria rather than pushing Assad out. "Under Obama, we agreed that Assad had to go, but now it is unclear where the Trump position lies," said a senior EU diplomat. The Pope Pope Francis said he was horrified by the suspected chemical weapons attack. To the tens of thousands of people in St Peter's Square he expressed his "firm deploration of the unacceptable massacre that took place yesterday," and said he was praying for "the defenceless victims, including many children". Francis appealed to "the consciences of those who hold political power, both at the local and international levels so that these tragedies end." The UN The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said: "The need for humanitarian aid and the protection of Syrian civilians has never been greater. The humanitarian appeal for a single crisis has never been higher." Hours before the Brussels conference, Guterres had said, "We have been asking for accountability on the crimes that have been committed and I am confident the Security Council will live up to its responsibilities". (WION with inputs from Reuters) The government denies the use of chemical weapons and has in turn accused rebels of using banned weapons (Reuters) ×

World responds to suspected chemical attack in Syria, as death toll reaches 72

Russia said former US President Barack Obama&#39;s threat of military action if a &quot;red line&quot; was crossed and chemical weapons were used in Syria had provoked such attacks.

&quot;That decision served as a starting point for future provocations by terrorists and extremist structures with the use of chemical weapons, they sought to discredit the official Damascus regime and to create a pretext for the use of military force against a sovereign state,&quot; Deputy Russian UN Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told the UN Security Council.

Trump&#39;s initial response released by the White House said, &quot;Today&rsquo;s chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilised world.&quot;

&quot;These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration&rsquo;s weakness and irresolution,&quot; Trump said.&nbsp;

&quot;President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a &#39;red line&#39; against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing. The United States stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this intolerable attack.&quot;

Speaking just after the Russian ambassador, US Ambassador Nikki Haley lashed out at Russia for failing to rein in its ally Syria after a suspected chemical attack left scores dead including children.

&quot;How many more children have to die before Russia cares?&quot; Haley told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called to discuss the attack on a rebel-held town in Idlib province.

&quot;When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action,&quot; US&nbsp;Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the Security Council meeting on Syria.&nbsp;Meanwhile, US&nbsp;President Donald Trump described the &#39;chemical attack&#39;&nbsp;in Syria as &quot;horrible&quot; and &quot;unspeakable&quot; and called it a &quot;terrible affront to humanity.&quot;

Ahead of the emergency UN session, Russia&#39;s foreign ministry said: &quot;the text as presented is categorically unacceptable.&quot;&nbsp;Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow considered the resolution &quot;anti-Syrian,&quot; adding it &quot;pre-empts the results of an investigation and just immediately designates the guilty.&quot;

Moscow, which launched a military intervention in 2015 in support of Assad&#39;s forces, earlier defended Damascus against accusations of responsibility for the attack.

The emergency council meeting was called by France and Britain following the attack that killed at least 72 people, including 20 children, the worst in Syria since a 2013 sarin gas attack.&nbsp;

Britain, France and the United States have presented a draft resolution demanding a full investigation of the attack, but Russia said the text was &quot;categorically unacceptable.&quot;

The draft resolution calls for a full investigation by the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of the attack in the early hours of Tuesday in Khan Sheikhun.

Russia&#39;s Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told the council that the proposed resolution was hastily prepared and unnecessary, but voiced support for an inquiry.

(WION with Agency inputs: Reuters, AFP)

US Ambassador Nikki Haley lashed out at Russia for failing to rein in its ally Syria after a suspected chemical attack left several dead

Russia said former US President Barack Obama's threat of military action if a "red line" was crossed and chemical weapons were used in Syria had provoked such attacks. "That decision served as a starting point for future provocations by terrorists and extremist structures with the use of chemical weapons, they sought to discredit the official Damascus regime and to create a pretext for the use of military force against a sovereign state," Deputy Russian UN Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told the UN Security Council. Trump's initial response released by the White House said, "Today’s chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilised world." "These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution," Trump said. "President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a 'red line' against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing. The United States stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this intolerable attack." Speaking just after the Russian ambassador, US Ambassador Nikki Haley lashed out at Russia for failing to rein in its ally Syria after a suspected chemical attack left scores dead including children. "How many more children have to die before Russia cares?" Haley told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called to discuss the attack on a rebel-held town in Idlib province. "When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action," US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the Security Council meeting on Syria. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump described the 'chemical attack' in Syria as "horrible" and "unspeakable" and called it a "terrible affront to humanity." Ahead of the emergency UN session, Russia's foreign ministry said: "the text as presented is categorically unacceptable." Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow considered the resolution "anti-Syrian," adding it "pre-empts the results of an investigation and just immediately designates the guilty." Moscow, which launched a military intervention in 2015 in support of Assad's forces, earlier defended Damascus against accusations of responsibility for the attack. The emergency council meeting was called by France and Britain following the attack that killed at least 72 people, including 20 children, the worst in Syria since a 2013 sarin gas attack. Britain, France and the United States have presented a draft resolution demanding a full investigation of the attack, but Russia said the text was "categorically unacceptable." The draft resolution calls for a full investigation by the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of the attack in the early hours of Tuesday in Khan Sheikhun. Russia's Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told the council that the proposed resolution was hastily prepared and unnecessary, but voiced support for an inquiry. (WION with Agency inputs: Reuters, AFP)

After Trump, Russia blames Obama 'Red Line' for Syria chemical attack at UN Security Council meeting

The top US general in Iraq told reporters on Tuesday that a strike near the Islamic-State-held Syrian city of Raqqa last week appears to have killed dozens of militants and not civilians.

Last week the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air strike that hit a school sheltering displaced people killed at least 33 people, adding it believed the strike was carried out by the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State in the area.

&quot;I would tell you that we haven`t completed our assessment of that event yet, but my initial read is (it is) not credible,&quot; Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told reporters at a Pentagon via teleconference.&nbsp;

&quot;I think that was a clean strike,&quot; Townsend said.&nbsp;

&quot;We had multiple corroborating intelligence sources from various types of intelligence that told us the enemy was using that school and we observed it and we saw what we expected to see,&quot; Townsend said, adding that it appeared to have hit about 30 Islamic State militants.

(Reuters)

Last week the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air strike that hit a school sheltering displaced people killed at least 33 people

The top US general in Iraq told reporters on Tuesday that a strike near the Islamic-State-held Syrian city of Raqqa last week appears to have killed dozens of militants and not civilians. Last week the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air strike that hit a school sheltering displaced people killed at least 33 people, adding it believed the strike was carried out by the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State in the area. "I would tell you that we haven`t completed our assessment of that event yet, but my initial read is (it is) not credible," Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told reporters at a Pentagon via teleconference. "I think that was a clean strike," Townsend said. "We had multiple corroborating intelligence sources from various types of intelligence that told us the enemy was using that school and we observed it and we saw what we expected to see," Townsend said, adding that it appeared to have hit about 30 Islamic State militants. (Reuters)

Strike in Syria hit militants, not civilians : US general

A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters took full control Sunday of the Tabqa military airport in the country&#39;s north from the Islamic State group, a spokesman said.

The advance comes as the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance prepares for an assault on the jihadist group&#39;s de facto Syrian capital Raqa, some 55 kilometres (35 miles) east of Tabqa.

The SDF is seeking to effectively encircle Raqa city before attacking the stronghold.

&quot;The Syrian Democratic Forces have full control of Tabqa military airport and operations to clear and demine are under way in order to secure the airport fully,&quot; spokesman Talal Sello told AFP.

The SDF entered the airport earlier Sunday, with Sello saying the alliance&#39;s forces were engaged in fierce clashes with IS.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, which also confirmed the airport&#39;s capture, said the SDF fighters were backed by US-led coalition strikes.

US forces airlifted SDF fighters behind IS lines around Tabqa earlier this week in advance of the assault, which is also targeting the town of Tabqa and the nearby Tabqa dam, Syria&#39;s largest.

(AFP)

The advance comes as the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance prepares for an assault on the jihadist group's de facto Syrian capital Raqa

A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters took full control Sunday of the Tabqa military airport in the country's north from the Islamic State group, a spokesman said. The advance comes as the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance prepares for an assault on the jihadist group's de facto Syrian capital Raqa, some 55 kilometres (35 miles) east of Tabqa. The SDF is seeking to effectively encircle Raqa city before attacking the stronghold. "The Syrian Democratic Forces have full control of Tabqa military airport and operations to clear and demine are under way in order to secure the airport fully," spokesman Talal Sello told AFP. The SDF entered the airport earlier Sunday, with Sello saying the alliance's forces were engaged in fierce clashes with IS. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, which also confirmed the airport's capture, said the SDF fighters were backed by US-led coalition strikes. US forces airlifted SDF fighters behind IS lines around Tabqa earlier this week in advance of the assault, which is also targeting the town of Tabqa and the nearby Tabqa dam, Syria's largest. (AFP)

US-backed Syria force takes airport from Islamic State: Spokesman

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