GENEVA — Syria's government and opposition have delicately sat down for their first face-to-face talks, amid the hopes of millions of Syrians and governments from Washington to Moscow that they could become a step toward ending the country's devastating 8 ½-year war. It could be a chance for peace, or...
Islamic State Group Announces Successor to Al-Baghdadi
BEIRUT — The Islamic State group declared a new leader Thursday after it confirmed the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi days earlier in a U.S raid in Syria. In its audio release by the IS central media arm, al-Furqan Foundation, a new spokesman for IS identifies the successor...
House Recognizes Armenian Genocide in Rebuke to Turkey
The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to recognize the century-old mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide. The move comes as a clear rebuke to NATO ally Turkey in the wake of its invasion of northern Syria. But for members of Congress from the central San Joaquin...
Security Increased at IS Prisons After Leader's Death
BEIRUT — Syrian Kurdish forces said Monday they are increasing security at prisons and detention facilities holding tens of thousands of Islamic State militants and supporters, including foreigners, following the death of the extremist group's leader in a U.S. military raid. The heightened security also comes as Kurdish forces said...
Esper: US Troops, Armored Vehicles Going to Syria Oil Fields
BRUSSELS — The U.S. will send armored reinforcements into eastern Syria to bolster defenses against a potential move by Islamic State militants on oil fields controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday. Esper described the added force as "mechanized," which would likely means it will include tanks...
Trump Lifts Sanctions on Turkey, Says Cease-Fire Permanent
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will lift sanctions on Turkey after the NATO ally agreed to permanently stop fighting Kurdish forces in Syria and he defended his decision to withdraw American troops. “We’re getting out,” Trump said at the White House, asserting that tens of thousands of Kurdish lives...
US May Now Keep Some Troops in Syria to Guard Oilfields
KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. may leave some forces in Syria to secure oilfields and make sure they don't fall into the hands of a resurgent Islamic State, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday, even though President Donald Trump has insisted he is pulling troops out of the country and...
Residents of Northeast Syria City Pelt Departing US Troops
AKCAKALE, Turkey — Angry over the U.S. withdrawal, residents of a Kurdish-dominated Syrian city hurled potatoes at departing American military vehicles as they drove by on Monday. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said U.S. troops will stay in eastern Syria to protect Kurdish-held oil fields for at least the coming weeks and he...
Syria Kurds Accuse Turkey of Violating Cease-Fire
CEYLANPINAR, Turkey — The Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria accused Turkey on Friday of violating a U.S.-brokered cease-fire that went into effect overnight, as fighters from both sides clashed in and around a border town that has been one of the fiercest fronts in the Turkish invasion. The town of Ras al-Ayn...
US, Turkey Agree on Turkish Cease-Fire with Syrian Kurds
ANKARA, Turkey — The U.S. and Turkey agreed Thursday to a five-day cease-fire in the Turks' attacks on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria to allow the Kurds to withdraw to roughly 20 miles away from the Turkish border. The arrangement appeared to be a significant embrace of Turkey's position in...