Turkey dismissed several thousand police, ministry staff and academics in a decree one day before the anniversary of last year's attempted coup, extending a purge of state officials, a decree published on Friday showed. Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 150,000 officials since the...

Lebanon will coordinate refugee returns to Syria only with the United Nations, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Friday, days after a number of refugees left for Syria under an agreement brokered by Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah. Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah group backs Syrian...

Jordan on Friday urged Israel to "immediately reopen" the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem which Israeli security forces closed after a Arab Israeli gunmen killed two Israeli policemen in the Holy City. Jordan is the custodian of the compound in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem,...

 Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Friday he cannot confirm whether or not Daesh (ISIS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, after reports from Syria that the militant leader was killed. "If we knew, we would tell you - right now, I can't confirm or deny it," Mattis said. "Our approach...