Syria's president Bashar al-Assad issued on Monday a legislative decree licensing private companies for protection and guarding services, State-run news agency (SANA) said. The decree stipulates that the Interior Ministry will be in charge of licensing these companies, giving them...

The Syrian colonel is still astounded. He was directing operations from the second floor of building when he heard gunfire -- rebels had penetrated his headquarters via an underground tunnel. "One floor closer and I wouldn't be here to describe the attack," he said. The rebels killed 12...

Syrian rebels captured four Alawite villages on the country's mountainous Mediterranean coast on Monday as they battled government troops in one of President Bashar Assad's strongholds for the second straight day, activists said. Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, dominate...

Secretary of State John Kerry has recommended that Robert S. Ford serve as the next American ambassador to Egypt, American officials said Sunday, a critical role at a time of rising turmoil and anti-Americanism in the traditional Arab ally. Mr. Ford, a longtime Middle East hand and fluent...