A senior military commander and founding member of the Syrian rebel group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, has been killed by a US air strike that hit a meeting of the group’s leaders, rebels said. Abu Hajer al-Homsi, whose real name was Abu Omar Saraqeb, was killed in a raid on a rural part of Aleppo… Read more »
(Reuters) A suspected chlorine gas attack on an opposition-held neighborhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo caused dozens of cases of suffocation on Tuesday, rescue workers and a monitoring group said. The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue workers’ organization that operates in rebel-held areas, said government helicopters had dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine on the Sukari neighborhood in eastern Aleppo…. Read more »
(BBC News) Saudi Arabia’s top cleric has said Iranians are “not Muslims”, a day after Iran’s supreme leader denounced its management of the Hajj pilgrimage. Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, the grand mufti, said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s accusations were “not surprising”. “They are the sons of the Magi,” he said, referring to Zoroastrianism, a religion that once dominated Iran. Deep suspicions… Read more »
(Haaretz) North African countries should be cooperating more to stop ISIS fighters who are fleeing their Libyan stronghold of Sirte from returning to their homelands and causing trouble there, Tunisia’s defense minister said on Tuesday. Libyan forces aligned with the UN-backed government in Tripoli launched their campaign to recapture Sirte in May and are advancing on the last areas under its… Read more »
(BBC News) Turkey has sent more tanks into northern Syria, in an operation against the Islamic State (IS) group, Turkish media reports say. The tanks crossed the border near the Turkish town of Kilis and journalists later heard firing and saw plumes of smoke rising on Syrian territory. Civilians were seen fleeing as the Turkish military advanced. Syrian rebels backed… Read more »