Syria

Middle East 07/30/20, 16:32

With a State Department press release, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reported 14 new and even more radical sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seeking to end the civil war. After nearly a decade of war, amid a deep economic crisis, Assad faces a new blow from U.S. sanctions against him, ...

Middle East 04/29/20, 12:54

Tanker Tracking reported that Iran tripled its oil deliveries to Syria, defying export restrictions imposed by the United States and the European Union. Tanker Tracking satellite-tracked the large tanker that left Iran and docked at the Port of Baniyas in Tartous Governorate, Syria, according to an April 28 tweet. https://twitter.com/TankerTrackers/status/1255067426791870464 Syria has now ...

World 12/27/19, 04:40

President Donald Trump on Thursday, Dec. 26, issued a warning to Russia, Syria, and Iran that are waging a military offensive to regain a rebel stronghold that relief groups said has displaced thousands of civilians. “Russia, Syria, and Iran are killing, or on their way to killing, thousands of innocent civilians ...

Politics 12/07/19, 10:12

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Saturday he still plans to shift the American military’s focus to competing with China and Russia, even as security threats pile up in the Middle East. Esper outlined his strategic goals and priorities in a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum, an annual gathering of ...

Politics 11/12/19, 16:56

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that America now has its eye on a new Islamic State leader, telling the Economic Club of New York that "we know where he is." Trump didn't mention the name of the new target, but he is likely referring to Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the man ...

Asia & Pacific 11/12/19, 06:12

A pair of Israeli airstrikes targeted senior Islamic Jihad commanders in Gaza and in Syria early on Tuesday, escalating Israel's confrontation with Iran across the region and threatening to unleash another devastating round of cross-border violence with Palestinian militants. In eastern Gaza, the Israeli strike killed Bahaa Abu el-Atta and his ...

World 11/06/19, 10:54

Turkey has captured a wife of the slain leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday. Erdogan made the announcement while delivering a speech in the capital of Ankara but gave no other details. He did not say when or how the woman ...

Asia & Pacific 11/04/19, 16:18

Turkey captured the elder sister of the slain leader of the Islamic State group in northwestern Syria on Monday, according to a senior Turkish official, who called the arrest an intelligence "gold mine." Little is known about the sister of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Turkish official said the 65-year-old known as ...

U.S. 10/29/19, 07:24

The terrorist most likely to succeed al-Baghdadi after U.S. military forces took him down on Saturday, Oct. 24, has also been killed in a separate raid. Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, married to one of Baghdadi's daughters, was the primary spokesman for ISIS; he was killed in northern Syria one day after Baghdadi ...

World 10/27/19, 07:09

ISIS erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq's conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a "caliphate." Its territorial rule, which at its height in 2014 stretched across nearly a third of both Syria and Iraq, ...

U.S. 10/25/19, 18:17

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced on Friday, Oct. 25, that the United States will be sending out armored reinforcements into eastern Syria to protect oil fields from potential ISIS terrorist attacks. President Donald Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting that it is necessary that a small number of U.S. ...

U.S. 10/24/19, 08:52

The military leader of the Syrian Kurds, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, thanked President Trump on Wednesday, Oct. 23, for his tireless effort that stopped the brutal Turkish attack. In the statement that was announced via Twitter by Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the SDF, Mazloum said:  GEN.Mazloum: 1- I just spoke with President Trump ...

Politics 10/23/19, 18:07

President Donald Trump, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, announced during a White House statement that he will be lifting all sanctions against Turkey and believes that a “permanent ceasefire” between Turkey and the Kurds has been reached. “Big success on the Turkey/Syria Border. Safe Zone created! Ceasefire has held, and combat missions ...

Politics 10/21/19, 17:24

The House members have no authority to negotiate with foreign government leaders, but eight lawmakers followed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a visit to Jordan to discuss the Trump administration's decision to pull U.S. troops from Syria. The delegation was promoted as "bipartisan," although there was only one Republican on board, ...

Politics 10/21/19, 14:57

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday, Oct. 20, said he is more optimistic about President Trump 's decision to remove U.S. troops from Syria. In the interview with Fox News moderator Maria Bartiromo, Graham said, he is now "increasingly optimistic that we can have some historic solutions" there. He shared that his ...

Politics 10/18/19, 06:55

President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of forces from Syria has been a long time in coming and America needs to return to traditional foreign policy.  Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) has expressed his support on the decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria made by the president, saying that it is a beginning ...

World 10/15/19, 05:48

President Donald Trump said he would rather focus on the U.S. southern border than the northern border of Syria and announced Monday, Oct., 14 he would issue an executive order imposing economic sanctions on Turkey. "After defeating 100% of the [Islamic State] Caliphate, I largely moved our troops out of Syria. ...

Politics 10/14/19, 19:13

Targeting Turkey's economy, President Donald Trump announced sanctions Monday aimed at restraining the Turks' assault against Kurdish fighters and civilians in Syria. The United States also called on Turkey to stop the invasion and declare a ceasefire, and Trump is sending Vice President Mike Pence and national security adviser Robert O'Brien ...

Politics 10/13/19, 05:39

President Donald Trump said on Saturday, Oct. 12, that he is an "island of one" for removing U.S. forces from northeastern Syria. But he remained steadfast and defended a move that drew widespread bipartisan criticism that he has endangered stability in the Middle East and risked the lives of Syrian Kurdish ...

U.S. 10/11/19, 13:01

President Trump said on Thursday Oct. 10  that he wishes to mediate between Turkey and the Kurdish people, after Turkey attacked U.S.-allied Kurds in northeast Syria even amid Democrats' efforts on impeachment and the betrayal of certain GOP supporters in the House. “We have one of three choices: Send in thousands ...