Syrian troops, backed by Russian airstrikes, forced their way into al-Qaryatain on Sunday from a number of directions. Syrian forces are clearing the area from Daesh-planted explosives, Press TV reported. Local sources said that Daesh militants fled from the town to nearby Khaneezir and Hafir regions. Al-Qaryatayn was the last …
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Armenian Defense Ministry Doubts Azerbaijan's Claims on Truce in Karabakh
Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry press service said that Baku has made a unilateral decision to halt all military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. "Azerbaijan's statement is an information trap which does not mean unilateral ceasefire," Hovhannisyan posted on his Facebook page, Sputnik News reported. On Saturday, Armenia …
Read More »Syrian Troops Continue to Gain Ground in Nationwide Battles against Terrorists
According to a report carried by Syria's official SANA news agency on Saturday, the Syrian Armed Forces targeted Daesh (also known as ISIL or ISIS) positions in the central province of Homs and succeeded in liberating several areas from the clutches of the terrorists after claiming the lives of scores …
Read More »Azerbaijan Imposes Unilateral Cease-Fire in Nagorno-Karabakh
Fighting in what was a dormant conflict for two decades flared up over the weekend with at least 30 troops killed on both sides. The defense ministry said in a statement Sunday that, in response to pleas from international organizations, it will be unilaterally "suspending a counter-offensive and response on …
Read More »Peaceful Protests Held in Bahrain ahead of Formula 1 Race
During the protests, held in A'ali and Karzakan near the venue of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the demonstrators chanted anti-regime slogans. They also carried placards saying that the Bahraini authorities are holding the race to cover up their human rights violations over the past five years since the popular uprising …
Read More »280 Bahrainis’ Citizenship Revoked since Uprising Began: Report
Out of the 280 Bahrainis, 200 have been stripped of their citizenship by the Al Khalifa regime in 2015, according to a BCHR official. He said that among them are university professors, scholars, religious leaders, merchants and former members of parliament. In its latest attempt to silence voices of dissent, …
Read More »Most Foreign Fighters in Iraq, Syria from Four EU Nations
Of the estimated 3,922 to 4,294 foreign fighters from EU member states, some 2,838 came from Belgium, Britain, France and Germany, said the International Center for Counter-Terrorism in The Hague on Friday, AFP reported. Using data supplied by 26 EU countries, the independent think tank found that while around 30 …
Read More »Human Rights Groups Enraged as Turkey Sends Syrian Refugees Packing
According to the rights group, all forced returns to Syria are illegal under Turkish, EU, as well as international law, especially in light of violations the Turkish authorities commit by forcing small children without parents, pregnant women, sick people back to Syria. "The inhumanity and scale of the returns is …
Read More »Attack on Court Compound in Pakistan Claimed by Taliban
Ehsanullah Ehsan, the spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction, said the Monday’s blast at a court compound "was especially done as vengeance for the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri.” Ehsan also stressed that the blast targeted the court complex as Pakistan's judiciary was strengthening laws against militancy in the country. …
Read More »Turkey Raises Stakes with EU on Curbing Migrant Wave
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told EU leaders Ankara was willing to take back all migrants coming from Turkey from a set date who are denied asylum in Europe, as well as those intercepted in its territorial waters, diplomats said. In response, the EU leaders were considering his request to double …
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