UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Al-Qaida’s past ties to the recently empowered Taliban have the potential of making Afghanistan a safe haven for extremists, and “terrorist groups enjoy greater freedom there than at any time in recent history,” U.N. experts said in a report circulated Monday....

DUBAI: Fawaz Qetaifan, a six-year-old Syrian boy who was kidnapped on his way to school in Daraa four months ago, could be returned to his parents in the coming hours or days after his family raised the ransom to secure his release, sources have told Arab News. “It seems that the issue...

Belarus plans to deploy up to 200 troops to Syria to serve alongside Russian forces in the country, according to a Russian government document released Monday, a move strongly condemned by Belarus' opposition leader. A draft agreement between Russia and its ally Belarus endorsed by Russian...

Women held in a camp housing families of Islamic State group militants in northeast Syria tried to kidnap their Kurdish guards Monday, an opposition war monitor said. The attempt led to a shooting that left one child dead and several other people wounded. A Kurdish official confirmed there...