Syrian activists called on Sunday for the Assad government to engage in serious talks on political transition and for the United Nations to strengthen the fragile ceasefire as violence engulfed parts of the country. U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said a militant attack in Homs on Saturday...

Iraqi forces backed by jets and helicopters battled jihadists inside west Mosul on Saturday but still faced a tough and potentially protracted battle to retake the Islamic State group's bastion. Almost a week into a major push on the city's west bank, they were gaining significant ground,...

Iraqi forces on Thursday thrust into Mosul airport on the southern edge of the jihadist stronghold for the first time since the Islamic State group overran the region in 2014. Backed by jets, gunships and drones, forces blitzed their way across open areas south of Mosul and entered the...

Two Germans have been kidnapped while working at an archaeological site in northern Nigeria, police said Thursday. "I can confirm to you the abduction of two Germans at Jenjela village in southern Kaduna on Wednesday," state police spokesman Usman Aliyu told AFP. Aliyu said the men had...