Lebanon captures militant who beheaded soldier
Bilal Mikati (L), Omar Mikati.BEIRUT — Lebanon's army said on Tuesday that it had captured two militants, one of whom beheaded a Lebanese soldier who was held by hardline Islamist gunmen along with around two dozen servicemen still in captivity. A statement from the army said that Omar Mikati and Bilal Mikati were captured on Tuesday...“Islamic State” militants take on Libya’s rival government forces
TRIPOLI — Militants claiming allegiance to "Islamic State" fought forces loyal to Libya's two rival governments in the central city of Sirte and further east in Benghazi, state media and military officials said on Wednesday. In Sirte, ISIS militants killed five members of a force loyal to the government that controls Tripoli, a...Bardo museum symbolic reopening precedes march against terror
Children perform during the ceremonial reopening of the Bardo museum in Tunis, March 24.TUNIS — Tunisia's Bardo museum held a ceremonial reopening on Tuesday, a week after gunmen claiming alliance with "Islamic State" killed 20 foreign tourists in an attack aimed at wrecking the country's vital tourism industry. Several thousand...
Yemeni President Hadi leaves country as Saudi Arabia steps up air strikes
March 27th, 20150 People gather at the site of an air strike at a residential area near Sanaa Airport, March 26.SANAA — Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi left his refuge in Aden for Saudi Arabia on Thursday as Houthi rebels battled with his forces on the outskirts of the southern port city. Throughout the day, warplanes from Saudi Arabia and...Assad urges united front with Iraq against terrorism
DAMASCUS — On Tuesday during talks with Iraq's foreign minister in Damascus, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called for a united front with Baghdad in tackling terrorism as the two countries battle "Islamic State" militants on their territory. The government in Baghdad, along with Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, has been an...U.S. coalition joins Tikrit battle
Iraqi militants launch rockets against ISIS positions during clashes in Tikrit, March 24.BAGHDAD — Iraqi special forces advanced on central Tikrit on Thursday, backed by U.S.-led coalition planes in the largest offensive yet against "Islamic State" (ISIS) militants holding out in Saddam Hussein's home city. Coalition jets launched...ISIS recruited 400 children since January
DAMASCUS — "Islamic State" recruited at least 400 children in Syria in the past three months and given these so-called "Cubs of the Caliphate" military training and hardline indoctrination, a monitoring group said on Tuesday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the children, all aged under 18, were recruited near schools,...Jordan signs $10 billion nuclear power plant deal with Russia
AMMAN — Jordan signed an agreement worth $10 million with Russia on Tuesday that sets the legal basis for building the kingdom's first nuclear power plant with a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts. Jordan imports nearly 98 percent of its energy from oil products and crude and is struggling to meet electricity demand which is growing by...
Saudi Arabia starts bombing campaign in Yemen
March 26th, 20150 Armed militants loyal to Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi ride a patrol truck in the country's southern port city of Aden March 25. Photo: Reuters.SANAA — Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday it had launched military operations in Yemen, carrying out air strikes in coordination with a 10-country coalition seeking to...
U.S. drone lost in Syria, government claims to have downed it
March 20th, 20150 The United States lost one of its Predator drone aircraft over northwest Syria on Tuesday, U.S. officials said, as Syrian state media reported its air defenses brought down the spy plane in the government-controlled Latakia province.If Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces took down the U.S. aircraft - something U.S. officials said...Abbas: Two-state solution not possible with Netanyahu
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.RAMALLAH — A two-state solution to the Middle East conflict will be impossible with an Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday. "Netanyahu's statements against a two-state solution and against a Palestinian state ... are...Libyan government forces bomb Tripoli airport
TRIPOLI — Warplanes from Libya's internationally recognized government on Thursday bombed the only functioning commercial airport in the city, delaying the arrival of a delegation from a rival parliament for U.N. peace talks, officials said. The attack on Matiga airport, a military base used for commercial flights after the main...Egypt announces plans to build new capital city
A scale model of a planned new capital for Cairo is displayed at an investment conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on Sunday.CAIRO — Over the weekend, Egypt unveiled plans to build a wholly new capital. The new city would lie somewhere to Cairo's east, closer to the Red Sea. It would sprawl across some 150...Study: Syria bloodiest conflict of 2014
DAMASCUS — The death toll in the world's most brutal conflicts climbed by more than 28 percent last year from 2013 with bloodshed in Syria worse than all others for the second year running, according to a study released on Wednesday. The Project for the Study of the 21st Century think tank analyzed data from sources including the...Yemeni president evacuated after air raid targets his palace
Abedrabbo Mansour HadiADEN — Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi was evacuated to safety Thursday after a warplane targeted a palace in Aden where he was staying after fleeing political turmoil in the capital, an aide said. "President Hadi has been evacuated to a safe place, but he has not left the country," the source said as......
“Islamic State” claims responsibility for deadly terror attack in Tunisia
A policeman stands past blood stains, inside the compound of the national Bardo museum in Tunis, March 19.TUNIS — Tunisia said it would deploy the army to major cities and arrested nine people on Thursday, after 20 foreign tourists were shot dead in an attack on a museum, which "Islamic State" militants called "the first drop of...No request for Coalition assistance as Tikrit battle pauses
Smoke rises from an explosives-laden military vehicle driven by an "Islamic State" suicide bomber.BAGHDAD — Iraq has not requested air support from the U.S.-led coalition for its campaign to retake Tikrit from "Islamic State" insurgents, a senior military official in the coalition said on Thursday, as the assault on the city remained......
Kuwait arrests activist over anti-Saudi tweets
KUWAIT — Kuwait arrested an opposition activist on suspicion of insulting Saudi Arabia on his Twitter account, the state news agency KUNA reported, extending a crackdown on social media. Tariq al-Mutairi, head of the liberal Civil Democratic Movement (CDM), was detained on his way home early on Wednesday by men in plainclothes...Sisi pushes U.S. for military aid in Fox News interview
Sisi.CAIRO — Egypt's president called for increased U.S. military aid and creation of a regional coalition to fight "Islamic State" in an interview with Fox News that aired on Monday, just days before the United States sends its top diplomat to the country. "It is very important for the United States to understand that our need for...Iraqi forces enter Tikrit but are slowed down by snipers
A Shi'a fighter known as Hashid Shaabi, runs as smoke rises from an explosives-laden military vehicle driven by an "Islamic State" suicide bomber which exploded during an attack on the southern edge of Tikrit, March 12.BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces and mainly Shi'a militia fought "Islamic State" fighters in Tikrit on Thursday, a day...Saudi jails rights group founder for 10 years
Mohammed al-BajadiRIYADH — A founding member of one of the few independent human rights groups in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, a regional rights group said on Wednesday. Mohammed al-Bajadi was sentenced last Thursday by the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, whose jurisdiction is related to "terrorism",......
Turkey closes corder as battle rages in Aleppo
Satellite image of Syria, 2015.DAMASCUS — Turkey has closed two border crossings with Syria as a security precaution as fighting around the northern Syrian city of Aleppo intensifies, Turkish customs and government officials said on Wednesday. The crossings at Oncupinar and Cilvegozu in Turkey's southern Hatay province have been shut...“Islamic State” accepts Boko Haram allegiance
BAGHDAD — The leader of the "Islamic State" has accepted a pledge of allegiance from Nigerian Islamists Boko Haram, his spokesman said, calling on supporters to fight in Africa. Boko Haram, which has killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds during a six-year campaign to carve out an Islamist state in northern Nigeria, pledged its......
“Islamic State” kills teen accused as Israeli spy
DAMASCUS — A video posted online by "Islamic State" militants on Tuesday showed a boy fatally shooting Muhammad Musallam, an Israeli Arab accused by the group of having signed up as a jihadi to spy for Israel's intelligence service. The video, published by the group's Furqan media outlet, showed Musallam, 19, sitting in a room wearing...Bahrain charges student with ‘insulting Islam’ over Koran song
MANAMA — A Bahraini high school student and two teachers have been charged with "insulting Islam" after the boy sang verses from the Koran accompanied by musical instruments, the official BNA news agency reported Wednesday. Islam allows intonation of Koranic verses, and recordings of chanting are frequently heard in marketplaces or on......