At least 12 migrants died off the coast of Libya Wednesday after they put to sea in stormy weather, the Italian coastguard said, adding that many others might have died in the incident. Some 29 people were rescued when their rubber dinghy started to take in water 25 miles (40 km) north...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday accused Syrian government troops of committing "crimes against humanity" that could not be overlooked. Human rights groups and Western countries have previously accused Syria's army, backed by Russia's air force, of targeting hospitals, bakeries and...

The Pentagon says a U.S. airstrike in Syria this month killed what the Defense Department describes as a senior al-Qaeda leader who once had ties to Osama bin Laden. A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, identifies the target as Haydar Kirkan. The spokesman says Kirkan oversaw the...

Syrian rebels on Wednesday rejected Russian demands that they withdraw from Aleppo by Friday evening, an official in one insurgent faction said. "This is completely out of the question. We will not give up the city of Aleppo to the Russians and we won't surrender," Zakaria Malahifji of the...