Author: Zeina Karam
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Syrian TV reports Israeli attack near capital Damascus
BEIRUT — Syrian state-run media is reporting an Israeli attack near the capital Damascus, saying Syrian air defenses shot down two missiles. The official news agency SANA says Tuesday night’s attack occurred in the countryside in Kisweh, just south of Damascus. It took place about an hour after President Donald Trump announced he was withdrawing…
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Syrian rescuers, medics say gas attack near capital kills dozens
BEIRUT — Syrian opposition activists and rescuers said Sunday that a poison gas attack on a rebel-held town near the capital killed at least 40 people, allegations denied by the Syrian government. The alleged attack in the town of Douma occurred late Saturday amid a resumed offensive by Syrian government forces after the collapse of…
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IS latches on to global attacks as it fights for survival
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BEIRUT — Just hours after Stephen Paddock unleashed a hail of bullets on a country music festival in Las Vegas, the Islamic State group issued a flurry of statements claiming the 64-year-old gunman as one of its own. The quick responsibility claim — discounted by FBI officials — is the latest in a series of…
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US strike on Syria is widely hailed, but angers Russia
BEIRUT — World leaders rallied around the United States after it launched a missile strike early Friday on a Syrian air base in response to this week’s chemical attack, while Russia condemned the move as “aggression” and suspended crucial coordination with Washington in Syria’s congested skies. The overnight missile attack, which marked the first time…
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Rebels to evacuate Aleppo in surrender deal as fighting ends
BEIRUT — Syrian rebels reached a cease-fire deal to evacuate from eastern Aleppo in an effective surrender on Tuesday, as Russia declared all military action had stopped and the Syrian government had assumed control of the former rebel enclave. The dramatic developments, which appeared to restore the remainder of what was once Syria’s largest city…
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Some Christians arm as Mideast perils mount
QAA, Lebanon (AP) — Every day around sunset, dozens of residents of this small Lebanese Christian village on the border carry their automatic rifles and deploy on surrounding hills, taking up positions and laying ambushes in case Muslim extremists from neighboring Syria attack. “We all know that if they come, they will slit our throats…