The Syrian government has begun releasing 169 prisoners in exchange for the return of the bodies of five Russian soldiers killed when their helicopter was downed, a lawyer said Wednesday. “On Tuesday, 50 inmates including seven women were set free from Adra prison and 84 others from Hama...

An Iraqi Shi'ite militia said on Wednesday it had dispatched more than 1,000 fighters to the frontline in neighboring Syria, escalating foreign involvement in the battle for Aleppo, the biggest prize in five years of relentless civil war. New footage emerged of civilians choking in the...

At least 28 civilians were killed and scores injured in Russian airstrikes in northern Syria’s Aleppo province on Wednesday.  Russian warplanes carried out three raids on residential areas in the opposition-held al-Sokkary district in Aleppo, Najib al-Ansari, a local civil defense...

U.S. President Barack Obama floated the idea of joint action with Turkey to capture the Syrian city of Raqqa from Islamic State, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks published on Wednesday. Ankara would not object, Erdogan said. Turkey, which is battling a Kurdish insurgency...