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Indonesian executioner for Islamic State killed in Syria: police

Kyodo News
Posted at Feb 12 11:39 PM

Saifuddin was imprisoned in the Philippines on a nine-year sentence following his arrest for carrying explosives and having no legal documents.  Read more »

US-backed Syrian forces battle to take last IS pocket

Maya Gebeily, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Feb 12 08:30 AM

Syrian fighters backed by artillery fire from a US-led coalition battled a fierce jihadist counteroffensive Monday as they pushed to retake a last morsel of territory from the Islamic State group. Read more »

US-backed Syrian forces battle to take last IS pocket

Maya Gebeily, Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Feb 12 12:24 AM

Syrian fighters backed by artillery fire from a US-led coalition battled a fierce jihadist fightback Monday as they pushed to retake a last morsel of territory from the Islamic State group. Read more »

US-backed Syria force announces final push against IS

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Feb 10 11:23 AM

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said Saturday it had begun the "final battle" to oust the Islamic State group from the last scrap of territory it holds in eastern Syria.  Read more »

US promises to keep IS fight after '100 percent' defeat

Shaun Tandon, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Feb 07 06:58 AM

The United States promised Wednesday to stay focused on permanently destroying the Islamic State group but asked concerned allies to contribute more, as President Donald Trump boasted that the extremists will soon have lost all their territory in Syria. Read more »

US Senate rebukes Trump over Syria, Afghanistan pullouts

Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Feb 05 11:23 AM

The US Senate approved by a large majority Monday an amendment critical of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan, in a sign of the deep discontent caused by the policies within his own Republican ranks. Read more »

Trump pushes withdrawal from 'endless' Afghanistan, Syria wars

Jim Mannion, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Feb 04 06:50 AM

Pushing back against Republican opposition, US President Donald Trump reaffirmed his determination to pull US troops out of "endless wars" in Syria and Afghanistan, in an interview that aired Sunday. But he said they would stay in Iraq to watch Iran. Read more »

No Pinoys hurt in Syria airstrikes, says DFA

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jan 21 02:45 PM

Filipinos in the Syrian capital, however, were advised to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary movements. Read more »

US begins withdrawing gear from Syria, but not troops

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jan 12 03:47 PM

President Donald Trump last month claimed the Islamic State group had been defeated in Syria and said all US troops were "coming back now."  Read more »

New documents link Huawei to suspected front companies in Iran, Syria

Steve Stecklow, Babak Dehghanpisheh and James Pomfret, Reuters
Posted at Jan 09 02:35 PM

US authorities allege CFO Meng Wanzhou deceived international banks into clearing transactions with Iran by claiming the two companies were independent of Huawei, when in fact Huawei controlled them. Read more »

2018 death toll Syria war's lowest at under 20,000: monitor

Rouba El Husseini, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jan 01 01:35 AM

Syria's nearly eight-year-old conflict saw its lowest annual death toll in 2018 as the regime reasserted its authority over swathes of territory, a war monitor said on Monday. Read more »

Trump softens Syria pullout schedule but claims 'hero' status

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jan 01 01:28 AM

President Donald Trump appeared Monday to water down shock plans for an immediate pullout of US troops from Syria, even as he defiantly claimed his achievements in the conflict should make him a "national hero." Read more »

Trump orders US troops home from Syria, stuns allies

Thomas Watkins, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 20 06:48 PM

Currently, about 2,000 US forces are in the country, most of them on a train-and-advise mission to support local forces fighting IS. Read more »

Trump plans full withdrawal of US troops from Syria

Thomas Watkins, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 20 01:18 AM

WASHINGTON - The United States will withdraw its troops from Syria, a US official told AFP on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump said America has "defeated ISIS" in the war-ravaged country. Read more »

Syrian refugee, stranded 7 months in Malaysia airport, lands in Canada

Reuters
Posted at Nov 28 01:36 PM

TORONTO - A Syrian man who spent seven months stranded in a Malaysian airport arrived in Canada this week, ending a months-long ordeal that highlighted asylum seekers' often bizarre quest for refuge. Read more »

OPINION: Khaled Hosseini’s Sea Prayer

Ellen T. Tordesillas
Posted at Oct 28 11:35 PM

It’s a powerful moving story of a father and son fleeing the violence and chaos of Syria to a place unknown where they know they are not welcome. Read more »

Freed Japanese journalist says Syria kidnap ordeal was 'hell'

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Oct 25 05:16 PM

TOKYO - A Japanese journalist who was held in Syria for more than three years before being freed this week has described his lengthy captivity as "hell." Read more »

Japanese journalist taken hostage in Syria released

Reuters
Posted at Oct 24 07:27 PM

TOKYO - A Japanese journalist held hostage by Islamist militants after being captured in Syria three years ago has been released and would be brought home as soon as possible, Japan's foreign minister said on Wednesday. Read more »

Putin says Islamic State has seized 700 hostages in Syria

Reuters
Posted at Oct 19 07:54 AM

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Islamic State militants had seized nearly 700 hostages in part of Syria controlled by US-backed forces and had executed some of them and promised to kill more. Read more »

Where the tour groups are: destinations to scratch off your list

David Celdran
Updated as of Sep 17 01:04 PM

The influx of tourists have changed their once-dreamy landscapes. Here are the places you missed while you still had the chance.  Read more »