Ali Allawi, whom Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi nominated last week to serve as finance minister in a new technocratic government, withdrew his candidacy on Wednesday, citing "political interventions and partisan bickering". Allawi is at least the second ministerial...

 Turkey and Germany said on Wednesday an agreement between Ankara and the EU meant to stem the flow of migrants to the Greek islands was showing signs of success, but many were still trying to cross the sea and the route remained far from sealed off. The accord, which came into force on...

Russian aircraft have hit positions of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front near the Syrian city of Aleppo, thwarting an attempted offensive, Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. It also said that up to 1,500 militants controlled by the Nusra Front (Jabhat...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- A rebel special task force operating in the embattled Eastern Ghouta district near Damascus said its had killed the personal guard of Bashar al-Assad's wife, according to video statement posted online. The rebel group said the Colonel Husam Abboud Shaleesh was killed on...

Translation by Yusar Ahmed (Zaman Al Wasl)- Death of Abu Firas al-Souri in a U.S. air strikes on Sunday was a big blow for Jihadist movements in general and for al-Nusra Front in particular. The strike that hit his building in Aleppo has ended almost 40 years of jihadi life in Syria and...

Islamic State fighters launched attacks on government-held areas near Damascus overnight on Tuesday in an apparent response to the group's loss of ground elsewhere in Syria. The jihadist group said in a statement it had attacked the Tishrin power station 50 km (30 miles)...

(Zaman Al Wasl- Reuters)- The Syrian regime army and its allies launched a big attack overnight on rebels south of Aleppo, described as the fiercest regime assault in the area since a cessation of hostilities agreement came into effect in February. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Abu Saqqar, senor filed leader in al-Nusra Front was killed on Tuesday by unknown assailants, activists said. An unknown armed group set up an ambush for the leader in Harem area on the road connecting to Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey. Field sources said the...

Breakaway forces in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region said a ceasefire agreed with Azeri forces on Tuesday largely held overnight. "Last night, the ceasefire was generally maintained along the contact line," the Nagorno-Karabakh military said in a statement on Wednesday.

The European Union's executive will propose on Wednesday a raft of technical measures to strengthen its external borders as it seeks to tackle both an uncontrolled influx of migrants and security threats following deadly attacks in Paris and Brussels. More than 160 people were...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- At least 6 civilians killed on Tuesday in suspected Syrian regime air strike on eastern Raqqa province, activists said. Abu Moath al-Raqqa, local activists, said a family of six members lost their lives in air strike targeted the village of Hamra Bwaitiyeh in the eastern...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime stepped up Tuesday its fierce aerial campaign on the desert city of Dumeir eastern Damascus, killing at least 12 people, including family of five members, activists said. At least 60 air strikes were conducted by regime fighter jets on the eastern neighborhoods...

By Ali Eid; Translation by Yusra Ahmed (Zaman Al Wasl)- Leaked documents obtained by Zaman Al Wasl confirm the commitment of Baath Party- Homs Branch in recruiting and arming youth and others, as it has become a centre to form armed groups to founding barriers to control the province's vital...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- The Syrian army's general command released a circulation saying military personnel are banned from wandering with their military uniforms in regions under regime control and in pro-regime regions, military source told Zaman al-Wasl. The source said the circulation came...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) killed Tuesday at least one civilian and injured several by snipers’ bullets from the militia positioned in al-Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood in Aleppo today in an attempt to cut the road of Kastilo, the sole passage to the city of...

A war plane was shot down on Tuesday by Islamist rebels in an area south of the Syrian city of Aleppo where insurgents are battling the Syrian army backed by allied militias, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The monitor said a plume of smoke was seen as the plane caught fire...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- A car bomb exploded Tuesday in the rebel-held town of Ma'arat al-Nu'man in Idlib province, killing a woman and wounding ten people, local activists said. The explosives-laden car detonated near the town's Grand Mosque, activist Khaled Abu Abdullah told Zaman al-Wasl, leaving...

One Turkish soldier was lightly wounded on Tuesday after a military outpost in the southeastern province of Gaziantep came under fire from Islamic State militants from across the Syrian border, privately owned Dogan News agency said. Turkey's military responded in kind and fired...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Fierce fighting erupted between Islamice State and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the southern countryide of Hasaka province, activists said as the radical group claimed killing 40 Kurdish fighters. Hasaka-based activist Malaz al-Yousef said clashes took place...

Islamic State militants attacked Syrian army troops with mustard gas in an offensive against a Syrian military airport in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor that borders Iraq, state media said on late Monday. Syrian state media did not disclose how many casualties were sustained...