Activists and rebels said an al Qaeda splinter group had withdrawn its forces from Syria's oil-rich eastern province of Deir al-Zour on Monday after days of heavy fighting with its rivals, Reuters said. Islamist opposition groups joined forces with some secular...

  A second round of  Syria  peace talks got off to a shaky start on Monday with the international mediator meeting the two sides separately after violations of a local ceasefire and an Islamist offensive set back his efforts. Ahead of the talks, mediator Lakhdar Brahimi...

An Alawite village in the central province of Hama was seized by Islamist fighters on Sunday, Reuters news agency reported, adding that the fighting was “part of an offensive to try to cut off supply routes from Damascus to the north of the country.” The fighters,...

Iran has agreed to take seven "practical steps" as part of its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a joint statement of Iran and IAEA said Sunday. Based on the agreement, Iran will allow IAEA access to a uranium mine and yellow cake complex in the central...