Syria

Read recent Syrian news stories and current events on Newser.com

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Stunning Fall: Assad Family's 54-Year Reign Ends in Syria

Rebels take the capital of Damascus, and the president has fled the country

(Newser) - The Assad family's 54-year authoritarian rule has come to an end in Syria. Rebels took control of the capital of Damascus without a fight, and President Bashar al-Assad is nowhere to be seen, reports the BBC . Russia's foreign ministry confirmed Sunday that Assad had resigned and left his...

Syrian Troops Withdraw From the South
Opposition Troops Reach
Damascus Suburbs
updated
Dec 7, 2024 5:30 PM CST

Opposition Troops Reach Damascus Suburbs

Syrian army abandons the key city of Homs

(Newser) - The rebel offensive in Syria has picked up speed, with forces moving into the suburbs of the capital, Damascus. Government forces have abandoned the central city of Homs, per the AP , and the location of President Bashar Assad was unknown. The army withdrew from much of southern Syria earlier Saturday,...

Mom of Journalist Captured in 2012 Says Son Is Alive

Austin Tice disappeared in Syria in August of that year

(Newser) - The mother of Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in Syria for more than a decade, said Friday that she was confident her son was alive, reports the AP . Debra Tice said she received information from a "significant source" that had been vetted by the US government and treated...

'If Homs Falls, I Don't See How the Regime Can Survive'

Anti-government forces in Syria close in on third major city

(Newser) - Rebel forces in Syria continue to win so much territory that it's posing a genuine threat to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. First, the nation's largest city, Aleppo , fell last week. Then came another major city, Hama. Now rebels led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) are...

Understanding Syrian Unrest Starts With 3 Letters: HTS

Rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led the right to seize Aleppo from the government

(Newser) - Syria's long-running civil war has been off the radar for a while, but the stunning, out-of-the-blue capture of Aleppo —the nation's largest city—by rebels has changed that in a hurry. Those catching up with events will have to get familiar with a new acronym, HTS, short...

Aleppo Takeover a 'Huge Embarrassment' for Assad

Syria's armed forces are now prepping for counterattack on insurgents

(Newser) - Thousands of Syrian insurgents fanned out inside Aleppo in vehicles with improvised armor and pickups, a day after they entered Syria's largest city facing little resistance from government troops, according to residents and fighters. Witnesses said two airstrikes on the city's edge late Friday targeted insurgent reinforcements and...

US Strikes at Islamic State
US Strikes at Islamic State
Oct 12, 2024 3:30 PM CDT

US Strikes at Islamic State

Attack on camps will disrupt militant group, military says

(Newser) - A series of airstrikes has targeted several camps run by the Islamic State group in Syria in an operation the US military said will disrupt the extremists from conducting attacks in the region and beyond. The US Central Command said the airstrikes were conducted Friday, without specifying in which parts...

Man Who Ran Infamous Syrian Prison Has Been Living in LA

Samir Ousman al-Sheikh was arrested as he was about to board one-way flight to Beirut

(Newser) - A 72-year-old man who was scheduled to fly out of Los Angeles last Wednesday was arrested and accused of lying about his role at the helm of one of Syria's most notorious prisons in a bid to gain US citizenship. Samir Ousman al-Sheikh has been a permanent resident of...

Gunman Attacks US Embassy in Lebanon

No casualties reported among staff

(Newser) - The Lebanese army said Wednesday a gunman attempted to attack the US embassy near Beirut, the AP reports. The Lebanese military in a statement said that soldiers shot an assailant, who they only described as a Syrian national. The gunman was wounded and taken to a hospital.

Syria: Israeli Strike Destroyed Part of Iran's Embassy

Airstrike killed senior Iranian military adviser, according to Syrian state media

(Newser) - An Israeli airstrike has destroyed the consular section of Iran's embassy in Syria, killing a senior Iranian military adviser and several other people, Syrian state media said Monday. The strike on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus could mark an escalation of the Israeli military's ongoing targeting of...

Report: Biden Settles On His Iran Retaliation

US will reportedly strike Iranian targets, but not those inside the country itself

(Newser) - The US has approved a series of strikes in response to the drone attack that killed three service members in Jordan last weekend, CBS News reports, citing US officials—but the plan is to hit Iran-linked facilities in Iraq and Syria, not targets in Iran itself. The officials say the...

Biden Promises Response After Drone Strike Kills 3 US Troops

President blames Iran-backed militias for attack that wounded 34 Americans based in Jordan

(Newser) - A drone attack killed three US soldiers stationed in Jordan, near the Syrian border, and at least 34 were injured, US Central Command reported Sunday. President Biden said the attack was carried out Saturday night by Iran-backed militia groups. He called the three Army troops "patriots in the highest...

Iran Threatens Israel After Fatal Airstrike

US fires again on Houthi target, and American troops are injured in Iraq

(Newser) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed Israel on Saturday for an airstrike that killed five senior members of his nation's security forces and warned of retaliation. Syrian civilians also died in the attack on Damascus, with the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying that 10 people in all were...

France's Arrest Warrant for Assad May Mark a First

Syrian president is accused of war crimes in connection with 2013 chemical attack

(Newser) - French investigative judges have issued an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad and those close to him. The warrants for Assad, his brother, and two army generals accuse them of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with August 2013 chemical attacks on rebel-held Damascus...

'Deconfliction Phone' Used Before Latest US Airstrike on Syria

Russian forces in Syria were alerted to the attack

(Newser) - The US carried out an airstrike on a weapons warehouse in eastern Syria used by Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for what has been a growing number of attacks on bases housing US troops in the region for the past several weeks, the Pentagon said. In Wednesday's strike, two US...

Pentagon Says Strikes Hit Iran-Linked Targets in Syria

Austin says 'narrowly tailored' airstrikes were response to attacks that injured US forces

(Newser) - The Pentagon says it launched airstrikes early Friday against targets in eastern Syria linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and militias it supports. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes were in response to drone and missile attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria and the action...

US: Downing Turkey's Drone 'Regrettable'

Pentagon says armed drone came close to American troops in Syria

(Newser) - Pentagon officials said several warnings were issued before a US fighter jet shot down an armed drone belonging to Turkey on Thursday. The drone was flying close to American ground forces in northeast Syria, US officials said. Fearing the downing will increase the already rising tensions between the two nations,...

China Warmly Welcomes Leader Shunned by the US

Syria's Bashar al-Assad visits as Beijing tries to strengthen its influence in the Mideast

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in China on Thursday on his first visit to the country since the start of Syria's 12-year conflict, one in which Beijing has been one of his main backers. China's Foreign Ministry said Assad would join other foreign leaders attending the opening ceremony...

Highly Addictive Drug Used by Militants May Be Bound for US
'Poor Man's Cocaine'
May Be Headed for US
in case you missed it
Aug 20, 2023 12:55 PM CDT

'Poor Man's Cocaine' May Be Headed for US

Officials fear spread of highly-addictive captagon amid crackdowns in Middle East

(Newser) - US officials are increasingly concerned about the likelihood of an illegal, highly-addictive drug wreaking havoc in the US as its Middle East producers, hungry for cash, face roadblocks in trafficking the drug at home. Produced and distributed by groups tied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the allied Hezbollah in...

US: Harassed Drones Later Killed ISIS Leader

Usamah al-Muhajir was riding a motorcycle near Aleppo, official says

(Newser) - A US drone strike killed an Islamic State group leader in Syria hours after the same MQ-9 Reaper drones were harassed by Russian military jets over the western part of the country, the Defense Department reported Sunday. Three Reapers had been flying overhead searching for the militant on Friday, a...

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