Russia is escalating Syria's civil war by targeting the moderate opposition, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday, comparing Moscow's effort to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to tethering itself to a sinking ship. "By taking military action in Syria against moderate groups...

Turkey said Monday its F-16 jets had at the weekend intercepted a Russian fighter plane which violated Turkish air space near the Syrian border, forcing the aircraft to turn back. Turkey summoned the Russian ambassador in Ankara to the foreign ministry and "strongly protested" the violation,...

Islamic State militants have blown up the Arch of Triumph, a major monument in the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Palmyra, Syria's antiquities chief said on Sunday, after they destroyed two ancient temples at the central Syrian site in recent months. Maamoun Abdulkarim told...

Bashar al-Assad said the success of a military campaign by Russia, Syria and its allies was vital to save the Middle East from destruction, a day after Moscow said it would step up air strikes against Islamic State targets across Syria. A year-long air campaign by Western and...