Blast kills Nusra commander; U.S. backed rebels collapse in northern Syria
DAMASCUS — Al-Qaeda's official Syrian wing, the Nusra Front, announced on Thursday the death of its top military commander, who insurgent sources said fell victim to a blast targeting a high-level militant meeting. General Military Commander Abu Humam al-Shami, a veteran of Islamist militant fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria,...Algeria passes law banning violence against women
Women wearing traditional veils called "hayek" walk in downtown Algiers March 21, 2013.ALGIERS — Algeria's parliament passed a law on Thursday criminalizing violence against women, in a move criticized by Islamist lawmakers. The law makes inflicting injury on one's spouse punishable with up to 20 years in prison and allows a judge to...Egypt names new interior minister to combat religious extremism
The newly-appointed Interior Minister Magdy Mohamed Abdel Hamid Abdel Ghaffar (L) stands at attention as he is sworn in by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) in Cairo.CAIRO — Egypt replaced its interior minister on Thursday with a retired general who has experience combating religious extremism as part of the country's...Libyan factions hold peace talks in Morocco
SKHIRATE, Morocco — Libya's warring factions held United Nations-backed talks on Thursday in an effort to end a conflict between two rival governments that threatens to drive the country into full-blown civil war. Air strikes between rival forces intensified before Thursday's negotiations on Libya, where Western governments...Kidnapped Iranian diplomat in Yemen freed
SANAA — An Iranian diplomat held hostage in Yemen since 2013 returned home to Tehran on Thursday amid conflicting accounts of how he was freed from his unidentified abductors. IRNA, Iran's state news agency, quoted deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying that an Iranian intelligence operation in Yemen rescued Noor...Executions set ‘unprecedented’ pace in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens for murder Thursday, adding to what Amnesty International has called an unprecedented pace of executions in the kingdom. Manie bin Ali bin Muhsin al-Gahtani was convicted of gunning down another man, the Interior Ministry said in a statement reported by the official Saudi Press...Palestinian leaders say they’ll cut security coordination with Israel
RAMALLAH — Palestinian leaders in the West Bank said on Thursday they would halt the security coordination with Israel which is widely credited with keeping order in the territory and preventing attacks in Israel. The Palestinian Central Council, whose votes are usually binding on the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, said it made...Saudi FM: Iran is taking over Iraq
Secretary of State John Kerry walks alongside Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, before a meeting with Saudi king Salman in riyadh, March 5.RIYADH — Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Thursday of Iran’s "destabilizing" policies in the region...Iraqi army, Iranian-backed militia prepare for Tikrit battle
An Iraqi soldier looks on as smoke rises from oil wells in the Ajil field east of the city of Tikrit in the Salahuddin province, March 4.BAGHDAD — "Islamic State" militants have set fire to oil wells northeast of the city of Tikrit to obstruct an assault by Iranian-backed Shi'a militiamen and Iraqi soldiers trying to drive them from...UAE sentences six Iranians to life for kidnapping businessman
Abbas Yazdi and his wife Atena Yazdi.DUBAI — A court in the United Arab Emirates sentenced six Iranians, three of them in absentia, to life in prison for kidnapping a British businessman who went missing in Dubai in 2013, newspapers reported on Thursday. Abbas Yazdi, a businessman of Iranian descent who owns a general trading company...Bahrain sentences three men to death for killing police officers
MANAMA — Three men were sentenced to death by a Bahraini court on Thursday and seven others were given a life term for killing three policeman, the kingdom's Public Prosecution said on its Twitter account. The ruling is the latest in a series of strict penalties handed down to those accused of seeking to destabilize the...Two Egyptian policemen held after lawyer’s death in custody
Karim Hamdy.CAIRO — Two Egyptian policemen accused of killing a lawyer in custody were detained on Thursday on the orders of an Egyptian prosecutor, judicial sources said, a rare action against members of the security forces. The officers, a lieutenant colonel and a major, will be held for four days pending investigations in to the...“Islamic State” British executioner identified
IS executioner Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John.The masked "Jihadi John" killer who fronted "Islamic State" beheading videos has been identified as Mohammed Emwazi, a British computer programming graduate from a well-to-do London family. The black-clad militant brandishing a knife and speaking with an English accent was shown in...Engineer named Baghdad’s first female mayor
BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi named a woman mayor of Baghdad for the first time in Iraqi history, as corruption and violence continue to rage throughout the country. Zekra Alwach, a civil engineer and director general of the Ministry of Higher Education, begins work on Feb. 28, according to a municipal source cited by...Air strikes hit “Islamic State” in Syria after hundreds of Christians abducted
DAMASCUS — A U.S.-led alliance launched air strikes against "Islamic State" on Thursday in an area of northeast Syria where the militants are now estimated to have abducted at least 220 Assyrian Christians this week, a group monitoring the war reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air strikes targeted "Islamic......
U.S. arms flow to Iraq ahead of planned Mosul offensive
BAGHDAD — Some 10,000 U.S. M-16 rifles and other military supplies worth about $17.9 million arrived in Iraq this week as U.S. troops pushed ahead with training and supplying Iraqi security forces battling "Islamic State" fighters, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. The update on U.S. efforts to arm Iraqi troops followed an unusual...With sledgehammers, “Islamic State” smashes Iraq’s history
BAGHDAD — Extremist Islamist militants in northern Iraq have destroyed a priceless collection of statues and sculptures from the ancient Assyrian era, inflicting what an archaeologist described as incalculable damage to a piece of shared human history. A video published by "Islamic State" on Thursday showed men attacking the......
Egypt TV host faces trial for false bathhouse accusations
Mona IraqiCAIRO — An Egyptian television presenter whose undercover report from a public bathhouse landed 26 men in court for "debauchery" is herself to face trial for falsely accusing them, an official said Tuesday.The men were arrested Dec. 7 in a night-time raid on the Cairo bathhouse after Mona Iraqi tipped off police, claiming it...Jordanian rap group sues Netanyahu over campaign clip
A screenshot from the rap video that was used in Netanyahu's campaign clip.AMMAN — A Jordanian hip-hop group has taken legal action against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party after one of its songs was used in a campaign video for Israel's election next month. Firas Shehadeh, founder of the group Turabyeh ("Of the...U.S. believes Iraqi offensive will retake Mosul in three months
BAGHDAD — An Iraqi and Kurdish military force of some 20,000 to 25,000 troops is being prepared to recapture the city of Mosul from "Islamic State" fighters, probably in the April-May time frame, an official at the U.S. Central Command said on Thursday. The official said Mosul was currently being held by 1,000 to 2,000 "Islamic State"...Saudi court uphold 15-year sentence for rights lawyer
Waleed AbulkhairRIYADH — An appeals court in Saudi Arabia has upheld a 15-year jail term for a human rights lawyer who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, a watchdog said Wednesday. The Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal, which hears terrorism cases, confirmed on Sunday the latest verdict against Waleed Abulkhair, said the......
Emirates Airline rejects Delta apology over 9/11 comments
DUBAI — A bitter trade row between U.S. and Gulf airlines deepened on Thursday when Dubai's Emirates rejected a Delta Air Lines apology for remarks perceived as linking Gulf carriers with the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001. Relations have deteriorated since a group of U.S. airlines compiled a dossier claiming that...UN seeks ceasefire in Aleppo
A rebel fighter of al-Jabha al-Shamiya (the Shamiya Front) covered with mud carries his weapon as he sits near the front line with Bashkuwi village, north of Aleppo Feb. 19.DAMASCUS — Battles in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least 70 pro-government fighters and more than 80 insurgents after the army......
Egypt asks for UN help against militants in Libya
"Islamic State" militants hold down Egyptian Chiristian hostages before execution.CAIRO — Libya and Egypt asked the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to lift an arms embargo on Libya, impose a naval blockade on areas not under government control and help build the country's army to tackle "Islamic State" and other...Three Syrian refugee children die in fire
BEIRUT — Three Syrian refugee children were killed when their tent caught fire Thursday, after an apparent electrical short caused by the severe weather. Storm “Windy” has brought high winds, thunderstorms and heavy snow, flooding rivers and fields and blocking mountain roads. Officials have announced that schools will be......
