ISIL launches major offensive on Assad’s Alawite strongholds in Syria

ISIL launches major offensive on Assad’s Alawite strongholds in Syria

by WorldTribune Staff, May 24, 2016 Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) killed at least 100 people in bombing attacks on a pair of Assad regime strongholds that had gone relatively untouched in the five-year Syrian conflict. ISIL attacks on May 23 killed 53 people in the northwestern coastal city of Jableh in Latakia […]

Obama rejected CIA plan in 2012 to stop ISIL, ex-officials say

Obama rejected CIA plan in 2012 to stop ISIL, ex-officials say

Special to WorldTribune.com President Barack Obama in 2012 rejected a covert CIA plan to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad that likely would have stopped the rise of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), former U.S. officials say. An upcoming book by a former CIA operative reveals the agency had forged a “muti-tiered plan” to […]

Showdown in Palmyra: ISIL loudspeakers tell civilians to flee

Showdown in Palmyra: ISIL loudspeakers tell civilians to flee

Special to WorldTribune.com Using loudspeakers, Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) jihadists on March 24 called on the 15,000 civilians who remain in Palmyra to flee as Syrian forces advance on the ancient city. “The vast majority had already fled – only those too poor to flee stayed behind,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the […]

Human rights crisis in Iran, Syria overlooked; Christians facing extinction

Human rights crisis in Iran, Syria overlooked; Christians facing extinction

Special to WorldTribune.com The world should not turn a blind eye to the plight of Christians in Syria and the increasing number of human rights violations in Iran, rights groups and religious leaders in the region say. Chaldean Catholic Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo, said on March 16 that two-thirds of Syria’s Christians have left […]

Syrian jihadists’ morale ‘sky high’ as Russia withdraws

Syrian jihadists’ morale ‘sky high’ as Russia withdraws

Special to WorldTribune.com Anti-Assad regime rebels, jihadists and activists received a huge morale boost with the surprise withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria. Moscow’s move is also seen by the opposition as a major blow for the Damascus regime. “Our morale is sky high. The regime will not be able to survive alone,” said Raed al-Elewi, […]

Russia reassures Israel over implications of Syria pullout

Russia reassures Israel over implications of Syria pullout

Special to WorldTribune.com After the surprise announcement of its intent to withdraw from Syria, Russia on March 15 sought to reassure Israel that the two countries’ coordination on Syria would remain intact. Israel wants assurances that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s anti-Israel allies Iran and Hizbullah would continue to be restrained after Moscow’s pullout. “We will […]

NATO commander: Russia ‘weaponizing’ Syrian immigrants

NATO commander: Russia ‘weaponizing’ Syrian immigrants

Special to WorldTribune.com Russia and the Assad regime are bombing civilian areas in order to create a mass exodus of refugees in what amounts to the “weaponizing” of Syrian citizens, NATO’s top general charged. “Together, Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve,” […]

Saudi official charges Russia, Assad regime violated Syria ceasefire

Saudi official charges Russia, Assad regime violated Syria ceasefire

Special to WorldTribune.com The Saudi foreign minister on Feb. 28 said the Assad regime and Russia have violated the truce in Syria. Adel al-Jubeir, speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen in Riyadh, said there would be a “plan B” if it became clear that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s […]

One in ten Syrians has been killed or wounded in conflict

One in ten Syrians has been killed or wounded in conflict

Special to WorldTribune.com Recently released statistics detail the grim toll of Syria’s civil war: more than 10 percent of the country’s population has either been killed or injured in the past five years. Life expectancy has dropped from 70 to 55. Statistics generated by the Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR) found that more than […]

Russian air power, Iran-backed militias help Syrian forces advance toward Turkish border

Russian air power, Iran-backed militias help Syrian forces advance toward Turkish border

Special to WorldTribune.com Syrian forces, in a major offensive supported by Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, advanced toward the Turkish border on Feb. 8. The Syrian advance and relentless Russian air strikes in recent days have led to one of the biggest shifts in momentum of the five-year war. The offensive by President Bashar […]

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