Russia says it is scaling back its Syria military presence

Russia said Friday it is withdrawing its aircraft carrier and other warships from the waters off Syria, following orders from President Vladimir Putin to scale back his forces as he casts himself as a peacemaker for the Middle Eastern country. of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, bolstering his forces with long-range missile attacks and precise airstrikes, military advisers and a beefed-up naval base on the Mediterranean coast.

J&K: Al-Badr terrorist Muzzafar Ahmed killed in encounter

Al-Badr terrorist Muzaffar Ahmed was killed in an encounter with Army and the Police in Machu area of Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir, in the early hours of Friday. The militant killed in the anti-terrorist operation was earlier known to be associated with the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-taiba, as per the reports.

Syrian cease-fire crumbles as government forces advance around Damascus

BEIRUT - A Syrian cease-fire backed by Russia and Turkey is crumbling five days after it began, with government forces pushing offensives around Damascus and rebels threatening to suspend participation in further talks. The truce was to have been followed by a meeting between government representatives and mainstream rebel factions in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

Is Beijing concealing Pakistan-linked terror in Xinjiang1 hour ago

Hong Kong, Jan.3 : In the last six months of 2016, state-owned media in China has reported two terrorist incidents in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region , the most recent of which occurred in the province’s Karakax County, resulting in the death of one person. Both of these terror-related incidents took place this year on September 10 and December 28 respectively.

Iraq: Suicide Bombing Kills at Least 22 in Baghdad

A suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden vehicle Monday in a bustling market area in Baghdad, killing at least 22 people, Iraqi officials said, hours after the arrival of French President Francois Hollande to the country and amid a fierce fight against the Islamic State group. The bomber driving a pickup truck attacked an outdoor fruit and vegetable market, day laborers and a police checkpoint in Baghdad’s eastern Sadr City district, a police officer said.

The economic war against ISIL: Airstrikes and financial measures aim to deplete militants’ funding

The Islamic State starts the new year with a drastically depleted bank account, counterterrorism officials say, following months of intensified efforts to deprive the Islamists of oil profits and other revenue used to finance military operations and terrorists attacks abroad. Coalition aircraft in the past 15 months have destroyed more than 1,200 tanker trucks – including 168 vehicles struck in a single air raid in Syria in early December – while also using new weapons and tactics to inflict lasting damage on the terrorists’ remaining oil fields, U.S. and Middle Eastern officials say.

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PALM BEACH, Fla./ MOSCOW – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump praises Russian President Vladimir Putin for refraining from retaliation in dispute over spying and cyber attacks, in another sign that Republican plans to patch up badly frayed relations with Moscow. , moved, by Richard Cowan and Polina Devitt, 870 words) BEIRUT – Clashes, shelling and air raids in western Syria mar Russian- and Turkish-backed cease-fire that aims to end nearly six years of war and lead to peace talks between rebels and government emboldened by recent battlefield success.

Merkel says Islamist terrorism is biggest test for Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel poses for photographs after the television recording of her annual New Year’s speech at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 30, 2016. Islamist terrorism is the biggest test facing Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday in a New Year’s address to the nation, and she vowed to introduce laws that improve security after a deadly attack before Christmas in Berlin.

Jimmy Carter’s Lifelong Pursuit of a Palestinian State

Perhaps sensing that he would soon have to relinquish his position as America’s worst ex-president, Jimmy Carter reminded everyone last month how he earned the title with yet another call for the U.S. to recognize a Palestinian state. Carter’s call is a departure from American diplomacy, which insists, per UN Resolution 338, that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement can only be reached through negotiations “between the parties.”

Cease-fire begins in war-ravaged Syria

A Syrian shopkeeper waits for customers next to paintings of of President Bashar Assad, and Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, center, at the Souk Tawil market in Damascus, Syria. BEIRUT – A cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey went into effect in war-ravaged Syria tonight, a potential breakthrough in the six years of fighting that have left more than a quarter-million people dead and triggered a refugee crisis across Europe.

Iraqi forces launch second phase of Mosul offensive against ISIL

Iraqi security forces on Dec. 29 began the second phase of their offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants in Mosul, pushing from three directions into eastern districts where the battle has been deadlocked for nearly a month. Since the offensive to capture Mosul began 10 weeks ago, counter-terrorism forces have retaken a quarter of the city, the jihadists’ last major stronghold in Iraq, but their advance has been slow and troops on other fronts have made little progress.

Mosul fight resumes after two-week lull

Iraqi security forces on Thursday resumed an offensive to rid eastern Mosul from the Islamic State after a two-week pause, an Iraqi army official said. Iraqi officials brought in reinforcements to aid the Iraqi army, police and elite counter-terrorism forces during the pause in the offensive.

Erdogan’s Daughter Tells US Muslims That Gulen Movement Is…

Speaking at a Muslim conference in Chicago on Monday, the daughter of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, claimed that an organization operated by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen is “actually more dangerous” than ISIS, the brutal terrorist group. Sumeyye Erdogan Bayraktar offered those strong words, as well as a defense of her father’s authoritarian regime, during a keynote speech at the 15th annual Muslim American Society-Islamic Circle of North America convention.

Russia Mounts Massive Search for Victims of Crashed Plane

A Russian search and recovery operation is continuing around the clock in the Black Sea where a military passenger plane crashed Sunday, killing all 92 people on board. Forty-five ships and 135 divers from across Russia found parts of the jet about 1.5 kilometers from shore and 25 meters under the sea Monday, the Emergency Situations Ministry reported.

Putin’s Hit Teams Head for Syria

Chechen killers seasoned in the North Caucasus wars are on their way to Syria to take on ISIS – or anyone else deemed dangerous to Kremlin policy. MOSCOW-Dozens of special military units in red berets lined up in the sun, waiting for the transport to move them to what they gently referred to as “Shama,” which in their Chechen mother tongue means the Holy Land in Syria.

Top StoryThe top international stories of 2016

In this image made from video and posted online by Validated UGC on Thursday, April 28, 2016, a civil defense worker carries a child after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. In 2016, repeated cease-fire negotiations failed to halt relentless warfare among multiple factions.

It’s astounding how close Turkishassassin got to Russian ambassador’

The assassination of the Russian ambassador in Turkey looks like a jihadist retribution for losses in Syria, but it might have a deeper motivation, such as damaging Russia-Turkey relations or taking terrorism to a whole new level, political analysts and experts told RT. Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov, 62, was fatally shot in the Turkish capital of Ankara while delivering a speech at an art gallery on Monday.

Brendan Cox said blaming politicians for the actions of extremists was a ‘slippery slope’

Nigel Farage has sparked outrage among Labour politicians after linking the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox to “extremists” hours after the Berlin terrorist attack. The former Ukip leader laid into Brendan Cox after he questioned the right-wing politician’s Twitter claim that the atrocity in the German capital was a result of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow migrants into the country.

Merkel summons security leaders in wake of truck attack

When the province announced last week that it had found a buyer for Thunder Bay’s casino, it was reassuring to learn that the more than 300 pe BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel summoned Germany’s top security officials Tuesday to discuss the government’s response to the deadly truck attack in Berlin that claimed at least 12 lives. Nearly 50 people were injured when a truck plowed into a popular Christmas market filled with tourists and locals outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church near Berlin’s Zoo station late Monday.

Oman condemns assassination of Russian ambassador in Turkey

Flowers lie next to a picture of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov outside the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow following his assassination in Ankara on December 19, 2016. A Turkish policeman crying “Aleppo” shot dead Russia’s ambassador to Turkey at an art exhibition in Ankara, in what Moscow branded a “terrorist act” that would be punished.

12 dead and 48 injured as truck rams into Berlin Christmas market

Emergency services at the scene where a truck ploughed into a crowded Christmas market outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin A “suspicious person” – thought to be the driver – was arrested near the scene and a passenger in the lorry died “on the spot”, authorities said. Berlin Police tweeted: “A suspicious person was arrested near #Breitscheidplatz.

Truck mows through German holiday market, killing 9

A passenger in the truck, which stopped after running down several vendor stands, was among the dead in a Berlin market. – A truck rammed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin on Monday evening, killing at least nine people and injuring around 50 as it tore through tables and wooden stands.

Nine dead, 50 injured, as truck rams into Berlin Christmas market

Emergency services at the scene where a truck ploughed into a crowded Christmas market outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin A “suspicious person” – thought to be the driver – was arrested near the scene and a passenger in the lorry died “on the spot”, authorities said. Berlin Police tweeted: “A suspicious person was arrested near #Breitscheidplatz.

TRUMP: Assassination of Russian ambassador a ‘violation of all…

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday condemned the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, calling it a “violation of all rules of civilized order” and saying it was carried out by a “radical Islamic terrorist.” “Today we offer our condolences to the family and loved ones of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, who was assassinated by a radical Islamic terrorist,” Trump said in a short statement.

12 killed after truck rams Berlin Christmas market crowd

A truck rammed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin on Monday evening, killing at least 12 people and injuring around 50 as it tore through tables and wooden stands. Police said a suspect believed to be the driver was arrested nearby and a passenger died as paramedics were treating him.

The Latest: Putin, Erdogan: Killing aimed at derailing ties

The leaders of Turkey and Russia say the killing of the Russian ambassador in Turkey has been intended to ruin Russia-Turkey ties. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in televised remarks during a meeting with senior officials, said that the killing of Ambassador Andrei Karlov was a “provocation aimed at derailing Russia-Turkey ties and the peace process in Syria.”

Pathankot Attack: Chargesheet filed based on

New Delhi, Dec. 19 : National Investigation Agency inspector general Alok Mittal on Monday asserted that the chargesheet filed against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and others JeM commander in the Pathankot attack probe are on the basis of irrefutable, digital, technical, oral and documentary evidences that has been collected through detail scientific investigation. [NK India] “After a very detail through scientific investigation, today we have filed a charge-sheet against t Jaish chief Masood Azhar name, his brother and two handlers Latif and Kashif Jan are there in the special NIA court Mohali.

Car bomb kills 13 Turkish soldiers on bus; 7 suspects held

A suicide car bomber set off an explosion Saturday that demolished a public bus transporting off-duty soldiers in Turkey’s central province of Kayseri, killing 13 troops and wounding 56 other people, authorities said. Saturday’s blast comes a week after a car bomb attack claimed by Kurdish militants killed 44 people, mainly riot police, and wounded over 150 others near a soccer stadium in Istanbul.

Nawaz Sharif Fast Facts

April 18, 1993 – Sharif’s government is dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan after charges of corruption and mismanagement are raised. Sharif’s family-owned business grew tremendously during his tenure in office, causing suspicion of corruption.

Officials say car bombs targeted Turkish military

A suicide car bomb targeting military personnel exploded at the entrance gate to a university in the central province of Kayseri on Saturday, killing 13 Turkish troops and wounding 55 other people, authorities said. The blast comes a week after a car bomb attack claimed by Kurdish militants killed 44 people, mainly riot police posted outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul.

US, Russian militaries sharing more information on Syria

Russian talks on their separate fights against the Islamic State group are becoming more productive and more frequent, American officials said, with both sides trading information in real time and even outlining some of their strategic objectives in the months ahead. The progress dispels the notion that ties between the former Cold War foes are “frozen.”