The top U.N. official in Damascus has warned of a "looming humanitarian catastrophe" in four besieged towns in Syria, calling for immediate access to deliver aid to some 60,000 residents. In a statement late Monday, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Ali al-Za'atari, warned of dire...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- At least 17 people, 12 of them from the same family, were killed on Monday in suspected Turkish airstrikes on al-Bab city, the Islamic State’s last stronghold in northern Aleppo province, activists said as Turkey says al-Bab almost taken. Meanwhile, Turkey-backed Free Syrian...

(CNN)-A new report suggests that Russia and Syria deliberately targeted civilian-populated areas of Aleppo, including hospitals, in their joint aerial bombing campaign. Evidence presented in the report, released on Monday by the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based policy research center,...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- A rebel group, mostly tribesmen, took two ISIS strongholds in the Syrian desert east of the capital, killing 8 militants, commander told Zaman al-Wasl Monday. Younes al-Salameh, media in-charge of Asoud al-Sharqiya, or Linos of The East, said his group had captured al-Dayyatha...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Asayish militia, armed wing of Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) announced on Monday formation of Raqqa Operations Office during a meeting held in Ras al-Ayn in Hasaka whereas ISIS captured 4 villages following clashes with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) north of al-Tabaqa...

Syria's regime is ready to release detainees in exchange for hostages held by rebels, the official SANA news agency reported Monday, ahead of peace talks in the Kazakh capital. "The government is ready... as part of efforts towards the next meeting in Astana to exchange detainees for men,...

Syrian rebels cast doubt on Monday that they would attend Russian-backed peace talks in Kazakhstan this week, accusing Moscow of failing to get Damascus to fully comply with a ceasefire deal or release any prisoners. The Kazakh government said on Saturday it had invited the government and...

Syrian government forces used chemical weapons in opposition-controlled parts of Aleppo during battles to retake the city late last year, Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Monday. The findings add to mounting evidence of the use of banned chemical weapons in the six-year-old...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Free Syria Army fighters on Monday have captured half of al-Manshiya neighborhood in southern Daraa province after three days of fierce clashes. The Free Syria Army said 5 regime officers were killed and dozen wounded in al-Manshiya, the strategic neighborhood that situated at...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday a new round of Syria talks in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana would be held in the same format as last month. In comments reported by Russia’s official TASS news agency, Lavrov said the Astana meeting would be used to promote a cease-fire and...

A string of “compassion stores” have been opened by the Turkish Red Crescent to provide clothing to refugees in Syria’s Idlib, the charity said Monday. Three shops in the northwestern city will also provide toiletries, according to a statement. The supplies have been provided by Turkish...

Russia released drone footage Monday showing new destruction in Syria's historic town of Palmyra, which was recently recaptured by the Islamic State group, and warned that the militants could be planning the further demolition of antiquities. The Russian Defense Ministry says Syrian...

Syrian extremists seen as close to ISIS battled a rival hard-line Islamist faction Monday in northwestern Syria, activists and an official with another insurgent group said, in an escalating power struggle. Jund al-Aqsa and Tahrir al-Sham clashed around Kafr Zeita in the countryside north of...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- A pro-regime militia said 28 members were ambushed and killed by the Islamic State on Friday in the northern province of Aleppo. The Iran-backed Liwa al Quds said in statement the ultra-hardline group attacked their checkpoints in Khanaser district last week, killing and...

  (Zaman Al Wasl)- Islamic State has showed stubbornness on Sunday despite the gains made by the Turkish special forces and Free Syrian Army in its last stronghold of al-Bab in northern Aleppo province. FSA took new ground from ISIS in the northern neighborhood but its defeat still not...

Syria's opposition Sunday announced its 21-member delegation, including 10 rebel representatives, for a new round of U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Geneva scheduled for Feb. 20. The delegation will be headed by Nasr al-Hariri, a member of the National Coalition, replacing Assad al-Zoabi,...

One Turkish soldier was killed and three others wounded in clashes Sunday with ISIS in Syria's Al-Bab region, local media reported, citing military sources. Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies on Saturday entered Al-Bab to drive ISIS militants from the flash-point northern town, the...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Heavy clashes are ongoing in the southern city of Daraa as regime and rebels forces engage after months of calm, opposition and pro-regime news feeds said. Free Syrian Army said it had thwarted regime attack to capture al-Manshiya neighborhood. Pro-regime Al-Masdar news...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Five rebel groups operating in northern Hasaka province have merged on Friday in one armed group aims to confront powerful Kurdish PYD militia, calling for men in province to join their ranks, according to a video statement . Abu Humam, senior commander in the newly-formed...

Western-backed Syrian forces should isolate Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria "by the spring" before an offensive on the city itself, British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said on Saturday. The Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes the powerful Syrian Kurdish YPG militia,...