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.
Tag: Syria
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.
Greater Middle East
Armed left behind Ankara embassy blast?
The suicide blast at the US embassy in Ankara was allegedly carried out by the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), an armed left faction.
Greater Middle East
Israeli air-strikes on Syria-Lebanon border
Israeli warplanes carried out an air-strike on Syrian territory, allegedly targeting an arms convoy bound for Hezbollah. Damascus claims a research facility was the real target.
Greater Middle East
UN Security Council urged to refer Syria to ICC
More than 50 countries asked the UN Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, saying atrocities against the population are now “almost the norm.”
Greater Middle East
UN rights office: 60,000 killed in Syria conflict
A study by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights finds that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Syria since March 2011.
Greater Middle East
Syria: Nusra Front makes ‘terrorist’ list
The US government added Syria's al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant to the "foreign terrorist organizations" list, placing sanctions on two of its senior leaders.
Greater Middle East
Syria chemical weapons threat: how real?
Is a "false flag" attack in preparation to faciliate military intervention that would install the rebels in power? Or is Washington more afraid of WMD falling into jihadist hands?
Greater Middle East
Syria: endgame or wider war?
With pitched fighting in Damascus, the Internet is down across Syria. Russia meanwhile protests NATO plans to place missiles along Syria's border in Turkey.
Afghanistan
Pakistan to Lebanon: Shi’ites under attack
Bomb attacks on Shi’ite processions marking Ashura claimed lives in Pakistan, while Sunnis and Shi’ites clashed in Kabul and a planned attack on Shi’ites was thwarted in Lebanon.
Iraq
Iraq exports Islamist militants to Syria?
Arabic-language news services report that 15 accused al-Qaeda members who recently escaped from a prison in Tikrit, Iraq, are now leading insurgent groups in Syria.
North Africa
Petraeus prostration: Benghazi blowback?
David Petraeus was scheduled to testify before Congress on the Benghazi attack when he was brought down by a sex scandal. Did the FBI instrument the revelation to silence him?