Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told his U.S. counterpart on Friday that Moscow's military activities in Syria were "defensive in nature," a senior U.S. defense official said after the 50-minute phone call. "He said that the Russian activities were defensive in nature and that...

 Fatah Army has fired nearly 400 rockets on two besieged Shiite villages in the northwestern province of Idlib and detonated at least nine car bombs, as regime air force steps up air attacks on Idlib, killing 17 people, a monitor said on Friday. The renewed attacks on the...

The newly-appointed leader of the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham rebel group has vowed to defeat any planned Russian intervention in Syria during his inaugural public address.   “We owe it to you to restore freedom to Syria after the invasion of the rejectionists [Shiites] from all...

Syrian army jets carried out at least 25 air strikes on the Islamic State-held city of Palmyra on Friday, a group monitoring the war said, the second intense bombardment of territory held by the militants in two days. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was one of the most...