Iraqi forces said they launched new assaults in Mosul's Old City on Monday after more than two weeks of only small advances and a high civilian death toll appeared to prompt a change in tactics. A March 17 explosion that killed between 60 and 240 people, according to conflicting accounts,...

A Spanish National Court judge has ordered an investigation into the alleged role of nine Syrian officials in the disappearance and execution of a man in 2013, in the first criminal case accepted by a European court against President Bashar Assad's regime. Investigative magistrate Eloy...

The Tabqa Euphrates dam is not damaged or malfunctioning and engineers inspect its operations fully, a Syrian rebel spokeswoman said on Monday after ISIS militants said it was at risk of collapse. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces are fighting to repel ISIS from the dam, 40 km (26 miles)...

Syrian rebels who drove Islamic State from the town of al-Bab in northwest Syria this year discovered an extensive network of tunnels dug by militants as part of their defenses, a tactic that has slowed the military campaign against them. "The tunnels complicated the fighting a lot and...

The health situation is deteriorating in Syria's eastern Ghouta region near Damascus, where 300,000 people are besieged and none of the three hospitals is functioning, the World Health Organization said on Monday in a call for access to deliver aid. "Time is running out for the people...

Israel Monday urged citizens vacationing in Egypt's Sinai peninsula to leave immediately, saying the threat of attacks inspired by ISIS and other extremist groups was high. The advisory was issued ahead of the Passover holiday, when thousands of Israelis cross the land border with Egypt to...

The northern Syrian city of Raqqa is expected to join a decentralized system of government being set up by Syrian Kurdish groups and their allies once it is freed from ISIS, a leading Kurdish politician told Reuters Monday. Raqqa, ISIS's main urban base of operations in Syria, is the focus...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Most Syrians, if not all, look at the Iranians who fight on the Syrian soil with hostility and hatred, considering that Iranians are of one color and class, a type that fights and supports the Syrian regime and supplies it with various means to kill, displace and destroy. But...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Ahrar al-Sham on Monday has downed a helicopter carrying regime troops in the mountainous Jabal al-Krad area in Latakia province, the powerful Islamist group said in statement . The fate of the crew is still unknown, pro-regime media said. The helicopters was shot down near...

The Kremlin Monday rejected calls by the United States and the European Union to release opposition protesters detained during what it said were illegal demonstrations Sunday and accused organizers of paying teenagers to attend. Police detained hundreds of protesters across Russia on Sunday,...

U.S.-backed Syrian militias said they temporarily halted military operations near the Tabqa Dam on the Euphrates Monday to allow engineers access to carry out work. The Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish militias supported by the U.S.-led coalition, has been...

British police say that two people remain in custody following last week's attack in London as messaging services face criticism for encrypted networks that allow attackers to communicate in secret. Attacker Khalid Masood is believed to have used the messaging service WhatsApp before running...

Britain will double the amount of export finance available to support trade with Qatar to 4.5 billion pounds ($5.7 billion), trade minister Liam Fox said Monday. "No trade between the U.K. and Qatar should fail for lack of finance and insurance, that is why the U.K. government ... can give...

NATO plans to spend 3 billion euros ($3.24 billion) to upgrade its satellite and computer technology over the next three years as the Western military alliance adapts to new threats, a senior official said. Seeking to deter hackers, and other threats including Iranian missiles, the...

As U.S. influence wanes across the Middle East, Iran and Russia have joined forces to expand their power in the region, strengthening political and diplomatic ties and stepping up joint military operations in Syria. In a sign of the closer relations, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is...

Ivanka Trump is planning a trip to Germany to attend a summit on the economic empowerment of women, a senior administration official says. The first daughter was invited by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during Merkel's recent White House visit, said the official, who was not authorized to...

Pakistan has begun building a fence on its disputed 2,500 km (1,500 mile) border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by militants, Pakistan's army chief said, in a move likely to further strain relations between the two countries. Pakistan has blamed Pakistani Taliban militants it says...

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is expected to make a court appearance after being detained at a major opposition rally the previous day. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Russia on Sunday in the biggest show of defiance since the 2011-2012 anti-government...

Syrian state TV says another group of rebels with their families are leaving the last opposition-held neighborhood in the central city of Homs under a Russia-brokered deal with the Damascus government. The TV says Monday's round of evacuations from al-Waer neighborhood is the second one...

 US President Donald Trump has tapped son-in-law Jared Kushner to lead a new White House office, that aims to apply ideas from the business world to help streamline the government, the Washington Post reported on Sunday. The White House Office of Innovation is to be unveiled Monday with...