Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The Syrian Army, in its first such ground operation, has sought to stop Al Qaida’s capture of a major natural gas field. The Syrian Army has been battling Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in their first ground battle. So far, some 300 Syrian soldiers were reported […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has seized most of Syria’s crude oil sector. The Syrian opposition said ISIL gained control of more than 60 percent of Syrian oil production. The opposition said ISIL was pumping nearly 100,000 barrels per day in the provinces of Dir Al Zour and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is said to have expelled tens of thousands of residents from eastern Syria. The opposition asserted that ISIL, now called Islamic State, drove more than 30,000 people from their homes in the eastern Syrian town of Shuheil. ISIL was said to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — France has determined that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was selling crude oil to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Officials said French intelligence has tracked ISIL sales of oil from the Dir Al Zour province to the Assad regime. They said the oil sales marked secret […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has begun to use Iraq as a launching pad for its campaign in neighboring Syria. Syrian opposition sources said ISIL has exploited its newly-captured territory in Iraq to facilitate the flow of fighters and weapons to Syria. They said ISIL was mobilizing […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant has intensified attacks on Syrian rebels amid the offensive by the regime of President Bashar Assad. Opposition sources said ISIL, which broke from Al Qaida, expanded operations against Sunni rebels amid the Syrian Army offensive in the north. They said ISIL was killing […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has formed a corridor from Syria to Iraq. Opposition sources said ISIL, deemed the most powerful Al Qaida franchise in the Middle East, has captured a swathe of territory from the northern city of Aleppo to the Iraqi border. They said the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Sunni rebels have reported the capture of parts of Syria’s border with Iraq. Opposition sources said rebel units were taking control over key parts of the 500-kilometer Iraqi-Syrian border. They said Syrian Army and Air Force personnel were fleeing border posts in face of rebel assaults. “The forces [of President […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — A Western energy major has suspended operations in Syria. France’s Total said it halted operations in Syria in wake of European Union sanctions on the regime of President Bashar Assad. The sanctions included that of Syria’s state-owned General Petroleum Corp., which owns 50 percent of Total’s partner in the Arab […]