Middle East

UN: Syria’s Raqqa devastated, largely uninhabitable

GENEVA — A senior U.N. official reports a U.N. assessment mission to Raqqa in northern Syria has found a devastated city, littered with unexploded weapons and largely uninhabitable. The mission, in which...

Syrian government trying to capture another rebel-held area after Eastern Ghouta

WASHINGTON — The Syrian government launched several airstrikes Sunday on the rebel-held eastern Qalamoun area, northeast of Damascus, according to local activists. The airstrikes came as negotiations are underway between local councils...

Pakistani gunmen kill four Christians in Quetta

ISLAMABAD — Gunmen in Pakistan have killed four members of the minority Christian community in the country's southwest, in an attack claimed by Islamic State terrorists. Police said the victims were traveling...

Russian report says deal in place for Syrian rebels to leave Ghouta

Russia's military says there is a preliminary deal for Syrian rebel fighters to pull out of the last remaining area of eastern Ghouta still under their hand. This would put the Syrian...

Afghan Air Force hits Taliban with maiden laser-guided bomb

ISLAMABAD — The NATO-led military alliance in Afghanistan announced Tuesday that the Afghan Air Force (AAF) had dropped its first laser-guided bomb on a Taliban compound and had destroyed it. The Resolute...

Islamic State regrouping in Iraqi, Kurdish disputed territories

WASHINGTON — Taking advantage of the rivalry between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, Islamic State is regrouping and increasing deadly attacks in disputed territories across northern Iraq, Kurdish...

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