BY DAN DE LUCE, PAUL MCLEARY ( Foreign Policy )- A U.S. air raid against Iranian-backed fighters in southern Syria last week represents a volatile new phase of the conflict that could trigger a wider confrontation between the United States and Iran — and their allies on the ground....

A team from the international chemical weapons watchdog found exposure "to sarin or a sarin-like substance" in samples from an April 4 attack in northern Syria that killed over 90 people and now wants to visit the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, a senior U.N. official said Tuesday....

The United Nations is working to obtain security assurances needed to dispatch an international team of experts to the site of last month's suspected sarin gas attack in Syria, a UN official said Tuesday. At least 88 people died in the April 4 alleged attack at Khan Sheikhoun, in rebel-held...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian military pilot and top officer in Shyarat airfield was killed on Monday in the northern countryside of Hama, pro-regime news feeds said. General Brigadier Zuhair Aboud was one of 45 pilots operating in Shayrat airfield, 16 miles, 26 km to east of Homs that also...