The Israeli defence ministry has hailed a "breakthrough" in the development of cheaper laser-based air defences, as tensions soar in the region after Iran hit US targets in retaliation for a high-profile assassination. The lasers, still under development, would be capable of intercepting...

(Reuters) - Iranian General Qassem Soleimani arrived at the Damascus airport in a vehicle with dark-tinted glass. Four soldiers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards rode with him. They parked near a staircase leading to a Cham Wings Airbus A320, destined for Baghdad.  Neither Soleimani...

Two rockets reportedly landed in Iraq’s heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad early Thursday, where the U.S. embassy is located. Warning sirens could be heard blaring near the embassy compound, according to security sources. No further details were available.

Arch-foes Tehran and Washington may be temporarily calling it even after Iranian missiles targeted US forces in Iraq, but analysts predict violent instability will keep blighting Baghdad. "Iraq will remain a zone of conflict," said Randa Slim of the Washington based Middle East Institute....