(Zaman Al Wasl)- ISIS has fortified its self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa as Kurdish-led forces backed by US airstrikes have been advancing in the northern and western countryside, activists said Thursday. More shields have been installed, landmines have been planted and suicide bombers are...

Reporting by Faris Rifai (Zaman Al Wasl)- Bashar Manaa, a 16-year-old boy from Idlib province have been suffering of almost complete paralysis due to an injury happened 3 months ago when he was removing a rubble of regime airstrikes. Bashar’s uncle said that he was injured when his family...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Clashes flared again between Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa in Idlib and Hama provinces as negotiations to end the infighting failed on Wednesday, local activist said. The activist who spoke on condition of anonymity attributed the erupting clashes to Jund al-Aqsa...

    (Zaman Al Wasl)- Al Farouq brigade, key unit in Ahrar al-Sham movement, said Wednesday it had evacuated all bases in Idlib to end the indiscriminate killing of civilians by regime and Russian warplanes in the northern city, rebel commander told Zaman al-Wasl. Abdul Rauouf...

Syria's government Wednesday fiercely denied accusations by Human Rights Watch that it used chemical weapons in its battle for Aleppo, shrugging off the group's report as "unprofessional and unscientific." In a major report released Monday, Human Rights Watch said Syrian government forces...

Syria peace talks set for next week in Geneva will be a failure unless the Kurds are at the table, a representative of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) told AFP on Wednesday. "It's clear that if we want to resolve the Syrian crisis, everyone must take part," said party co-chair Asya...

The main Syrian opposition body said on Wednesday it wanted face-to-face negotiations with the Damascus government about a political transition at peace talks that are due to begin in Geneva next week. Salim al-Muslit, spokesman of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), also told Reuters the...

The United Nations is warning of catastrophic flooding in Syria from the Tabqa dam, which is at risk from high water levels, deliberate sabotage by Islamic State (IS) and further damage from air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition. The earth-filled dam holds back the Euphrates River 40 km (25...

Kazakhstan said Wednesday a new round of Astana talks on the Syria conflict led by Russia, Turkey and Iran scheduled to begin Feb. 15 would be delayed by a day due to unexplained "technical reasons". "The negotiations have been moved to Feb. 16 for technical reasons," a spokeswoman for the...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian rebels fighting regime forces in southern Daraa city have demanded people to avoid clashes areas in al-Manshiya neighborhood as death toll tops to 19 civilians, including 7 children and 5 women. The Free Syrian Army fighters said on Wednesday at least 30 regime troops...

Almost six years into a war that has devastated their country, Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon say they expect nothing of peace talks this month but still dream of going home. "I don't think anything will come of the talks" this week in Kazakhstan and the next in Switzerland, says...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Unidentified jets raided locations of Kurdish PYD militia and supporting militias in surrounding of al-Jawadiye town in Hasaka countryside whereas Qamishli witnessed security tensions as regime militia member was killed in the city, local sources reported. Activist Malaz...

Kazakhstan said Tuesday that a new round of Astana talks on the Syria conflict led by Russia, Turkey and Iran will take place behind closed doors, as the make-up of any rebel delegation remained unclear. The "closed format" negotiations are set to start Wednesday in the Kazakh capital some...

Reporting by Orwa al-Sousi (Zaman Al Wasl)- Several Tunisian youth have been fighting along with the Syrian regime under the banner the Arab National Guards, the militia official said. Basil Kharat, the political responsible of the “Arab National Guards” confessed that Tunisian young men...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Teaching has been suspended in the schools of southern Daraa city as regime warplanes randomly pound the city, a local governing council said Tuesday. The statement of the Free Daraa Council said the school will be temporarily shut until Thursday unless the aerial bombing...

The Trump administration on Monday slapped sanctions on Venezuela’s new vice president, Tareck El Aissami, accusing him of being an international drug kingpin. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said that El Aissami, who was named vice president just last...

Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and President Bashar Assad's forces have created a security corridor to avoid clashes in the battle to capture the flashpoint town of Al-Bab from ISIS extremists, a newspaper reported Tuesday. If confirmed, it would mark a rare case of contact in the conflict...

Turkey-backed rebels have largely taken control of the Syrian town of al-Bab from Islamic State militants, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday. "Al-Bab has been largely taken under control. Our aim is to prevent the opening of corridors from territories controlled by...

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...