Islamic State group fighters advanced to the gates of ancient Palmyra Thursday, raising fears the Syrian world heritage site could face destruction of the kind the jihadists have already wreaked in Iraq. IS fighters were battling Syrian troops less than two kilometers (barely a mile) from the remains of one of the most important
President Barack Obama on Wednesday hailed America's "extraordinary friendship" with Saudi Arabia as he hosted skeptical Gulf leaders for a summit beset by disagreements and royal no-shows, AFP reports. Describing "an extraordinary friendship and relationship that dates back to Franklin Roosevelt and King Faisal," in the 1940s, Obama heaped praise on two the powerful
Islamic State (ISIS)'s second-in-command has been killed in a US-led airstrike in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, the Iraqi Defense Ministry stated Wednesday. Abdul Rahman Mustafa Mohammed, also known as Abu Alaa al-Afri, was in a mosque struck by US and coalition forces, they said. According to Iraqi government spokesman Tahsin Ibrahim, he
Islamic State has seized large parts of a strategically located town in Syria's central Homs province in clashes that killed 48 soldiers and terrorists, a monitor said Wednesday, according to AFP. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the extremist group had captured areas of Al-Sukhnah and its surroundings in fighting that began overnight.
President Barack Obama expects Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s new government to work towards the “two-state solution”, he told the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper in an interview. “I will never give up on the hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and the United States will never stop working to realize that goal,” Obama said in
At least 72 fighters were killed in a single day as the Syrian army battled to relieve some 250 besieged regime loyalists under rebel assault, a monitoring group said Monday. President Bashar al-Assad had personally pledged to rescue the trapped troops and civilians, who are said to include senior figures and have been holed
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will skip a May 14 summit of Persian Gulf leaders with President Barack Obama, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. At the summit Obama is expected to offer the Gulf leaders reassurances over the efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. The decision marks a diplomatic snub
Palestinian Authority (PA) security officials have warned that Islamic State is acting to mobilize in Gaza to serve as an extension of its activities in the Sinai Peninsula. Journalist Gal Berger reports that the PA knows of eight extremist Salafi groups operating in Gaza in recent years with several hundred members total. Many
A senior Hezbollah commander has reportedly been killed battling Syrian rebels in the Qalamoun mountains on the border with Lebanon. Syrian opposition-affiliated sources are claiming Marwan Mughniyeh was killed along with seven other Hezbollah terrorists during fierce fighting with the Army of Conquest - a rebel alliance led in great part by Al Qaeda's
An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced ousted president Hosni Mubarak to three years in prison on corruption accusations, after he was cleared of murder charges in another case, AFP reports. Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal, also sentenced to three years, were present in the caged dock, wearing suits and sunglasses. Their lawyers
