Middle East
Latest stories
Israel bombs central Syria from Lebanon's airspace

Israeli warplanes on Saturday carried out an air raid on targets in central Syria from Lebanon’s airspace, Syrian state media said.

Syria’s air defenses managed to shoot down some of the fired missiles, Syrian news agency SANA reported.

W140 Full Story
Palestinian militant killed in battle with Israeli forces

Israeli troops on Saturday raided the West Bank hometown of a Palestinian who carried out a deadly shooting in Tel Aviv, sparking a gunbattle that left at least one Palestinian militant dead, according to Palestinian officials.

The Israeli military said its troops were carrying out what it said was a counterterrorism operation in the city of Jenin and the adjacent Jenin refugee camp. That's the area in the northern West Bank where the gunman in Thursday's attack had lived. It said the troops came under fire and returned fire at the assailants. There were no Israeli casualties and the forces seized an automatic rifle used by one of the militants, the military said.

W140 Full Story
New top Yemeni govt. official promises to work towards peace

The new head of Yemen's internationally recognized government has said that the council he was chosen to lead will work to end the country's grinding, eight-year civil war.

In his first televised address, Rashad al-Alimi thanked his government's backers —Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — which have been helping Yemeni government forces fight the Iran-backed Houthi rebels for years.

W140 Full Story
US-led coalition in Iraq downs drone targeting base

The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq said it shot down Friday an armed drone that targeted an air base, reporting no casualties or damage.

"U.S. air defense systems shot down an armed unmanned aerial system entering Al Asad Air Base" early Friday morning, the coalition said in a statement.

W140 Full Story
Bus crash near Egypt's Red Sea kills 3, including 2 Poles

At least three people including two Polish tourists were killed when a bus crashed on a highway near the Red Sea, Egypt's state-owned MENA news agency reported.

The bus was carrying 21 people, including 19 Polish tourists when it rolled over on the highway linking the two ports of Safaga and al-Qoseir on Thursday, MENA said. The Egyptian driver was also killed in the crash.

W140 Full Story
Israeli PM gives security 'full freedom' to act after Tel Aviv attack

Israel's premier on Friday gave security agencies "full freedom" of operation to curb surging violence, after the latest deadly attack saw a Palestinian gunman kill two men in a popular nightlife area.

"There are not and will not be limits for this war," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, speaking hours after the attack in Tel Aviv.

W140 Full Story
Priest dies from stabbing on seaside promenade in Egypt

A knife-wielding man has mortally wounded a Coptic priest during an attack at the popular seaside promenade in Alexandria evening, Egypt's interior ministry said.

The ministry said the priest died while being treated for his wounds. It said the suspected attacker had been arrested.

W140 Full Story
Israeli police kill Palestinian who shot dead two in Tel Aviv

Israeli security forces early Friday hunted down and killed a Palestinian man who had opened fire into a crowded bar in central Tel Aviv, killing two and wounding over 10 in an attack that caused scenes of mass panic in the heart of the bustling city.

It was the fourth deadly attack in Israel by Palestinians in three weeks, and came at a time of heightened tensions around the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Later in the day, thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank were set to enter Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa Mosque.

W140 Full Story
Spain PM in Morocco to mend ties after Western Sahara shift

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is set to meet with Moroccan King Mohammed VI on Thursday during a two-day visit to Rabat that seeks to mark an easing of diplomatic tensions centered on Morocco's disputed region of Western Sahara.

The King will invite Sánchez and his family to share in the Iftar meal to break the day's fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to a Spanish government official not authorized to be named in media reports.

W140 Full Story
Yemen's president steps aside amid efforts to end war

Yemen's exiled president stepped aside and transferred his powers to a presidential council on Thursday, as international and regional efforts to end the country's long-running civil war gained momentum with a two-month truce.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, major players in the conflict appear to have played a role in President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's decision, quickly welcoming it with a pledge of $3 billion in aid. The head of the new council has close ties to Riyadh.

W140 Full Story