Greater Middle East
Has Syria crossed chemical ‘red line’?
Israel's claim that Syria has used chemical weapons comes as rebel militias have assumed positions near the line of control in the Golan Heights.
Tag: sectarian war
Iran
Iranian Qaeda connection rears its dubious head —in Canada
Following last month's claims about al-Qaeda biggie Sulaiman Abu Ghaith having been sheltered by Iran, Canadian authorities boast breaking up an Iran-backed Qaeda plot.
Greater Middle East
US pledges $100 million in aid to Syrian rebels
As the Friends of Syria summit opened in Istanbul, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced $100 million in new “non-lethal” aid to the Syrian opposition.
Greater Middle East
Syria: Alawite dissidents break with regime
Opposition activists from Syrian President Bashar Assad's Alawite sect publicly broke ranks with the regime at a meeting in Cairo, and urged their fellow Alawites in the army to rebel.
Afghanistan
Terror strikes Pakistan refugee camp
A car bomb exploded at the Jalozai displaced persons camp outside Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 15 and leaving some 50 injured.
Greater Middle East
Syria massacres: regime, rebels blame each other
In a new massacre near Homs—one of several in Syria over the past weeks—the regime blames the Nusra Front rebels, while the opposition blames the pro-regime Shabiha militia.
Iraq
Iraq 10 years later: ‘cycle of human rights abuses’
Ten years after the US invasion, Iraq is enmeshed in a cycle of human rights abuses, including attacks on civilians, torture and unfair trials, Amnesty International charges.
Greater Middle East
Syria war internationalizing fast
The Martyrs of Yarmouk militant group seized UN peacekeepers on Syria's line of control with the Golan Heights, as international Shi'ite militants converge in Damascus.
Iraq
Iraq: more sectarian attacks, protests
A new wave of suicide bombings targeting Iraqi intelligence and judicial officials coincides with widespread Sunni protests demanding the resignaiton of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Greater Middle East
Kurdish wild card in Syria conflict
Kurdish militias in Syria—some linked to the PKK—are battling jihadist rebels, but it is uncertain if they necessarily back the Damascus regime.
Greater Middle East
Lebanon issues warrant for Syrian official
A Lebanese judge issued an arrest warrant for a top Syrian intelligence official and his aide for alleged involvement in a bombing plot in Lebanon.
Afghanistan
Pakistan: Shi’ites stage die-in —for real
Shi'ites in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province, spent three nights in the freezing cold with the bodies of their slain loved ones at one of the city's main intersections.