BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government warplanes and artillery pounded rebel-held districts of Aleppo for the second day Wednesday, killing at least 11 people and damaging two hospitals, a blood bank and several residential buildings in the city’s eastern neighborhoods. Residents rushed for cover and doctors cowered with their patients in a hospital basement amid the … Continue reading
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Ahead of a visit by Turkey’s president, Islamabad ordered 400 Turkish nationals affiliated with a chain of international schools in Pakistan to leave the country within 72 hours, officials said Wednesday. The move was announced on the website of the Pak-Turk International chain of schools and colleges, and confirmed by two school … Continue reading
NIMRUD, Iraq (AP) — Heavy fighting broke out in Mosul’s eastern Tahrir neighborhood on Wednesday, where Iraqi special forces said a suicide car bomber from the Islamic State group disabled an Abrams tank belonging to the Iraqi army. Backed by U.S.-led airstrikes but under fire from heavy weapons, the troops drove deeper into the neighborhood … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian warships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday drove away a Dutch submarine shadowing the squadron, the military said. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said two Russian navy destroyers spotted the Walrus-class submarine Wednesday while it was 20 kilometers (some 11 nautical miles) away from the Admiral Kuznetsov … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the Syrian conflict (all times local): 9:15 p.m. A Syrian search-and-rescue group says 21 civilians have been killed in two separate airstrikes on the northwestern rebel-held province of Idlib. The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, says 10 members of the same family were killed in … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Improvised land mines planted by the Islamic State group have killed and wounded hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children, in a town recently freed of the militants in northern Syria, a leading human rights group said Wednesday. Civilians returning to the town of Manbij since it was liberated from the extremists … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Airstrikes in Syria killed up to 22 people, mostly children, on Wednesday when warplanes struck a residential area housing a school complex in the northern rebel-held province of Idlib, activists and rescue workers said. A team of first responders, the Syrian Civil Defense in Idlib, said 22 people were killed and at … Continue reading
CALAIS, France (AP) — Carrying their belongings in bags and suitcases, long lines of migrants waited calmly in chilly temperatures Monday to board buses in the French port city of Calais, as authorities began evacuating and dismantling the squalid camp they call home. French authorities were beginning a complex operation to shut down the makeshift … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military member assisting Iraqi forces in their push to retake Mosul was killed by a roadside bomb Thursday, marking the first American combat casualty in the campaign to oust the Islamic State group from its last major stronghold in northern Iraq. U.S. officials said the American was fatally wounded near … Continue reading
KIRKUK, Iraq (AP) — Islamic State militants armed with assault rifles and explosives attacked targets in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk early Friday, in an assault that appeared aimed at diverting Iraqi security forces from a massive offensive against the IS-held city of Mosul. At least 13 workers, including four Iranians, were … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Airstrikes on rebel-held areas in the northern province of Aleppo Monday killed at least 36 people, including children, opposition activists said, as violence in Syria continued while a major operation began against the Islamic State group in neighboring Iraq. Most of the deaths were in the village of Oweijel just west of … Continue reading
KHAZER, Iraq (AP) — Columns of Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led airstrikes slowly advanced on Mosul from several directions on Monday, launching a long-awaited operation to retake Iraq’s second largest city from the Islamic State group. As airstrikes sent plumes of smoke into the air and heavy artillery rounds rumbled, troops pushed into … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the developments in Syria’s civil war (all times local): 3:52 p.m. Syrian opposition monitoring groups say an airstrike on a rebel-held village in northern Syria has killed at least 23 people. The activists said the attack on the village of Oweijel in the northern province of Aleppo occurred on … Continue reading
KHAZIR, Iraq (AP) — The US-led coalition is increasing airstrikes in and around the militant-held city of Mosul as Iraqi ground forces build up ahead of a planned operation to retake the city, it said in a statement Friday. The coalition said its planes had conducted more than 50 airstrikes against the Islamic State group … Continue reading
EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Suspected Islamic militants in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula attacked an army checkpoint on Friday, killing 12 soldiers and wounding eight, according to security and medical officials. The officials said the attack took place about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of the Suez Canal, near the town of Bir el-Abd, where the wounded … Continue reading
JERUSALEM (AP) — The world’s oldest man has finally celebrated his bar mitzvah — a hundred years later than usual. Israel Kristal, 113, has lived through both World Wars and survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. Earlier this year, Guinness World Records awarded him a certificate as the world’s oldest man. But there was a ceremony … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the civil war in Syria (all times local): 11:45 a.m. Pope Francis has decried the assault on the Syrian city of Aleppo, saying those responsible for the bombing must answer to God. Francis said at his public audience Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square that he’s “united in suffering through … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is preparing to send more troops to Iraq to help reclaim the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The troops will train and advise Iraqi forces as planning for the Mosul operation ramps up, officials said. Though the precise number of troops was … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — Current and former world leaders mourned the passing of Israeli statesman Shimon Peres on Wednesday, praising him as visionary who committed his life to the elusive goal of lasting peace in the Middle East. President Barack Obama described Peres as “soldier for Israel, for the Jewish people, for justice, for peace, and … Continue reading
ROSETTA, Egypt (AP) — The bodies of 148 people had been pulled from the waters off the Egyptian coast by Friday, three days after a boat carrying hundreds of migrants capsized in the Mediterranean while attempting to head to Europe. Wahdan el-Sayyed, the spokesman of the Nile Delta province of Beheira, provided the latest figures … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s week-long cease-fire, brokered by the United States and Russia, was in doubt Monday amid repeated violations and with no aid deliveries to the besieged rebel-held part of the northern city of Aleppo, a key point in the truce agreement. The uncertainty cast doubts on a U.S.-Russian plan to set up a … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will strategize about the upcoming offensive to take back the northern city of Mosul when they meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Increasingly, and not without irony, Iraq has become the bright spot in Obama’s campaign against the Islamic … Continue reading
JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Palestinians were killed on Monday as they tried to stab Israeli police in the West Bank city of Hebron while a third Palestinian was shot and wounded after stabbing and wounding two Israeli police officers in Jerusalem, police said. The two attacks followed a bloody weekend in which four Palestinians were … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Rebel factions in Syria expressed deep reservations on Sunday about the terms of a U.S.-Russian deal that seeks to restart the peace process for the war-torn country, with the leader of at least one U.S.-backed rebel faction publicly calling the offer a “trap.” The second in command of the powerful, ultraconservative Ahrar … Continue reading
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The United Nations says hunger in South Sudan has reached “unprecedented” levels, with nearly 5 million people suffering from severe food insecurity. The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday that without a return to stability that will allow agricultural production to continue, “the situation could rapidly become catastrophic.” The … Continue reading
