Senior al-Qaida commander killed in an airstrike in Syria
By BASSEM MROUE An airstrike has killed a top al-Qaida commander and two other fighters in Syria, activists said Saturday, but it was not immediately clear whether it was carried…
BASSEM MROUE
IS beheads leading Syrian antiquities scholar in Palmyra
By ALBERT AJI and BASSEM MROUE Islamic State militants beheaded a leading Syrian antiquities scholar who spent most of his life looking after the ancient ruins of Palmyra, then hung…
Shelling, strikes before Iran foreign minister’s Syria visit
By BASSEM MROUE Heavy rebel shelling and government airstrikes hit around Syria’s capital Wednesday, killing at least 16 people and wounding scores more just hours before the arrival of Iranian…
An IS secret to success: Shock troops who fight to the death
By HAMZA HENDAWI, QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and BASSEM MROUE They are the Islamic State group’s elite shock troops. Fanatical and disciplined, they infiltrate cities of Iraq and Syria, unleash mayhem and…
Human Rights group blasts IS for atrocities
By BASSEM MROUE Human Rights Watch on Thursday blasted Islamic State militants over their atrocities, but also criticized the “sectarian and abusive” policies of the Syrian and Iraqi governments, saying…
Officials: Wife of IS leader detained in Lebanon
By BASSEM MROUE Lebanese authorities detained a wife and suspected son of the leader of the Islamic State group several days ago, and she is being questioned, two senior Lebanese…