Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday it was time to destroy "terrorist" groups that posed a threat to Syria's survival, namely the Islamic State group jihadists and Kurdish fighters.

"Daesh, the PKK and their affiliates -- which threaten the survival of Syria -- must be eradicated," he told journalists while returning from a Cairo summit, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

American forces killed an Islamic State (IS) group leader in an air strike in Syria, the U.S. military said on Friday.

The strike took place the previous day in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria, killing a leader known as "Abou Youssef" and another of the group's operatives, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media.

The leaders of Turkey and Iran met in Cairo at a summit of eight Muslim-majority countries, in their first sit-down since the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The two countries were on opposite sides of Syria's long-running civil war, with Turkey historically backing Assad's opponents and Iran supporting his rule.

Leaving Israel is easier, Shira Z. Carmel thinks, by saying it's just for now. But she knows better.

For the Israeli-born singer and an increasing number of relatively well-off Israelis, the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack shattered any sense of safety and along with it, Israel's founding promise: to be the world's safe haven for Jews. That day, thousands of Hamas militants blew past the country's border defenses, reportedly killed 1,200 people and dragged 250 more into Gaza in a siege that caught the Israeli army by surprise and stunned a nation that prides itself on military prowess. This time, during what became known as Israel's 9/11, the army didn't come for hours.

U.S. diplomats met with Syria's new ruler on Friday, an official told AFP, as outside powers seek assurances the country's Islamist-led authorities will be moderate and inclusive.

The ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad ended decades of abuses and years of civil war, but raised concerns over minorities and women's rights, as well as the future of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Nearly 2,000 former Syrian army soldiers who fled to Iraq have returned to Syria under an amnesty program, Iraq’s security forces said.

The Iraqi government has close ties with neighboring Iran, which was a primary backer of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad. Baghdad is seeking to build ties with the new Syrian government, after jihadi-led rebels overthrew Assad last week.

Israel and Hamas appear closer than they have been in months to agreeing to a ceasefire that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza and bring home dozens of people held hostage there.

But the sides have come close before, only to have talks collapse over various disagreements. This round of negotiations also faces hurdles.

The Syrian Civil Defense group, known as the White Helmets, uncovered at least 21 corpses as well as incomplete human remains on Wednesday in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb of the capital Damascus.

The discovery was made at a site previously used by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran-backed Iraqi militias, both allies of deposed President Bashar Assad during the country’s civil war. The site included a field kitchen, a drugstore and a morgue, according to Ammar al-Salmo, an official with the White Helmets, a volunteer organization that operated in areas that were controlled by the opposition.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that there was a "flame of hope" in Syria following the fall of president Bashar al-Assad's regime but warned of significant challenges ahead.

He also underlined that Israel's widespread strikes on Syrian military infrastructure were "violations" of the country's sovereignty and called for them to cease.

Hundreds of Syrians protested Thursday in central Damascus calling for democracy and women's rights, more than a week after an Islamist-led rebel alliance ousted president Bashar al-Assad, AFP correspondents said.

"We want a democracy, not a religious state," men and women demonstrators chanted in central Damascus's Ummayad Square, as well as "Free, civil Syria" and "the Syrian people are one", while some protesters held signs including "No free nation without free women".