Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been conducting a nearly four-year bloody crackdown on his own people, said US plans to train vetted rebels to fight Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists were "illusory" as they would eventually defect to the jihadists, in an interview published Monday. The Syrian leader also questioned talks to be held
France arrested five Russians Tuesday accused of plotting a new attack as four men suspected of helping the gunmen behind the Paris shootings were brought before anti-terrorist judge. European nations, on high alert after the attacks that shook France to its core, have launched a wave of raids targeting suspected jihadist cells. French
A Rome court on Tuesday convicted six men of spreading pro-fascist and anti-Semitic ideas with banners, posters and graffiti in the Italian capital, according to The Associated Press (AP). A 1993 law forbids use of slogans, gestures and actions evoking Nazi and fascist ideologies or inciting racial hatred. Sentences for the convictions ranged
At least 15 people are dead in Cairo, according to Reuters, following clashes Sunday between police and Islamist protesters, marking the fourth anniversary of the uprising that ousted then-President Hosni Mubarak. {youtube}Sz4Cj0hitLA{/youtube} The AP said 13 more people were injured in clashes in the Matariyah area of the capital. Al-Ahram reported that
As yet another round of talks between Western countries and Iran on the latter country's scaling back its uranium enrichment program wrapped up with no progress last week, Iran announced that it would seek to enrich uranium to even greater levels. Iranian parliamentarians said over the weekend they would draft a new law to
Libya's Ansar al-Sharia jihadist group on Saturday confirmed the death of its leader, Mohammed al-Zehawi, after Islamist websites reported he had been mortally wounded in fighting in October. "We mourn the death of the Emir of Ansar al-Sharia Sheikh Mohamed al-Zehawi," the group said in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency, without
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has declared that the PA’s membership of the International Criminal Court (ICC) would be fully active by April, the Ma’an news agency reports. Abbas said the most important issues to bring to the ICC were “Israeli settlements and assaults.” The comments, which were made Friday, came during
Syria's opposition factions called Saturday for "radical democratic change" in the war-torn country ahead of April talks aimed at unifying their plan for a political solution to the conflict, AFP reports. In a two-day conference held in Cairo, the regime-tolerated opposition met with members of the exiled National Coalition and agreed on a 10-point
The Islamic State (ISIS) branch in "Bayt al-Maqdis," an Arabization of the Hebrew Holy Temple and a term for Jerusalem, has started distributing publications explaining ISIS's platform, in a campaign to expand its influence in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. On the opening page of the publication by ISIS in "Palestine" is written "this is
Iranian officials repeatedly broadcast daily threats toward Israel following the attack carried out last week in Syria, which killed six Iranian soldiers, including commanders, as well as six members of Hezbollah. Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said Israel should expect a strong reaction against it, as proven in the past
