Syria-bound Russian subs tracked through the English channel
The British Royal Navy and NATO tracked three Russian submarines through the English channel that were en route to the Mediterranean to join forces with an aircraft carrier group.
Syria
US official: Russia might shoot down US aircraft in Syria
Russia could shoot down a US aircraft if a no-fly zone were imposed over Syria, National Intelligence Director James Clapper said Tuesday.
Obama, aides expected to weigh Syria military options on Friday
U.S. President Barack Obama and his top foreign policy advisers are expected to meet on Friday to consider their military and other options in Syria as Syrian and Russian aircraft continue to pummel Aleppo and other targets, U.S. officials said.
Russia to build permanent naval base in Syria
A supply base for the Russian navy at Tartus, Syria, will be expanded to a permanent naval base, Russian Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said Monday.
Russia Warns US Not to Intervene in Syria, Threatens to Shoot Down Any Airstrike Attempts
Russia has warned the United States not to intervene militarily in Syria against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, threatening that it may shoot down any aircraft attempting to launch strikes.
Russia deploys advanced anti-missile system to Syria for first time, US officials say
Russia has deployed an advanced anti-missile system to Syria for the first time, three US officials tell Fox News, the latest indication that Moscow continues to ramp up its military operations in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
U.S.-Russia Ties Crumble Under Weight of Syria, Nuclear Pact
Ties between Russia and the U.S. deteriorated further on Monday after the Obama administration proclaimed bilateral peace talks over Syria dead and Moscow suspended a 16-year-old treaty meant to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation.
Hospitals in Aleppo ‘all but obliterated’; civilians in ‘living hell,’ U.N. warns
Civilians in the rebel-held portions of Aleppo are enduring a “living hell” and the hospitals there have been all but obliterated, the United Nations warned Sunday as bomb attacks continued to hit the city.
War Rages in Aleppo As Ceasefire Collapses
Syrian forces pounded rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Sunday, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 300 others, an activist group reported. The bombardment destroyed residential centers, overwhelmed hospitals and angered diplomats meeting at the United Nations.
Russia to send aircraft carrier to Syria as ceasefire hangs in balance
Russia has announced it is sending its only aircraft carrier to waters off Syria’s coast, as diplomats met at the United Nations in an effort to revive Syria’s failing ceasefire.
U.S, Russia suspend talks on joint operations in Syria as cease-fire deal fails
Negotiations between Washington and Moscow on potential cooperation in the air war against the Islamic State terror group in Syria have come to a screeching halt with little hope of resuming, according to the U.S. command in charge of American operations in the country.
US to shift military assets to Syria under deal
The U.S. military will have to shift surveillance aircraft from other regions and increase the number of intelligence analysts to coordinate attacks with Russia under the Syria cease-fire deal partly in order to target militants the U.S. has largely spared, senior officials say.
Israel says Syrian army fired missiles at IDF jets, denies claim aircraft downed
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Tuesday that the Syrian army fired two surface-to-air missiles at Israeli military aircraft in response to overnight strikes in the Golan Heights, but denied claims its aircraft had been shot down.
US, Russia seal Syria cease-fire, new military partnership
The United States and Russia working in lockstep against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria. A rejuvenated truce that will compel President Bashar Assad’s air and ground forces to pull back. New flows of badly needed humanitarian aid.
Israeli Air Force responds to mortar spillover, hits Syrian positions
The Israeli Air Force attacked Syria in the early hours of Thursday morning following spillover from the fighting in Syria.
Obama and Putin meet in China amid struggle for Syria deal
The United States and Russia struggled Monday to keep alive negotiations to end the bloodshed between US-backed rebels and Syria’s Russian-aligned regime. Even as top diplomats vowed to keep trying, President Barack Obama expressed skepticism that an unlikely alliance between rivals would yield the breakthrough needed to end the 5-year-old civil war.
UN funneled tens of millions to Assad regime under aid program
The UN has awarded contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to people closely associated with the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, as part of an aid program that critics fear is increasingly at the whim of the government in Damascus, a Guardian investigation has found.
U.N. confirms Syria, Islamic State used chemical weapons
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces carried out at least two chemical attacks in Syria in the past two years and the Islamic State also used mustard gas as a weapon, the United Nations reported Wednesday.
Israel strikes target in Syria after mortar shell lands in Golan Heights
The Israeli Defense Forces on Monday carried out a strike in the Syrian Golan Heights in retaliation to mortar fire that landed on the Israeli side of the border, the IDF said in a statement.
Putin ups ante in challenge of U.S. dominance of Persian Gulf, Middle East
Russian President Vladimir Putin has outflanked Washington again in the Syrian civil war by launching bombers this week from a new base — Iran — giving him the power to strike more quickly with heavier bombardments against U.S.-backed rebels, analysts say.