DAMASCUS, SYRIA: US President Barack Obama said he is “not optimistic” about Syria’s future, as the UN warned time is running out to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo which has been pounded by air strikes for nearly a week. More than 300,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began Government forces launched a ferocious assault last Tuesday to recapture eastern Aleppo, killing 115 civilians so far. In fresh... 

The end of the Islamic State (IS) is near. If not dead, its Caliph would soon become a homeless tyrant armed with a radical ideology that threatened doomsday, but in the end brought about its own downfall. Iraqi army moving to attack Islamic State militants. Countdown to the end of the state – though, not the terror organisation-started with two contemporaneous events during the past few hours. One, Syrian rebels made a lightening advance to their... 

John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov made key steps towards agreeing a new ceasefire in Syria. GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: Washington and Moscow made key steps towards agreeing a new ceasefire in Syria, but a final deal has not been reached, US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart said after talks on Friday. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the comments after the marathon talks at a luxury hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva. “Today... 

Geneva: US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva for a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situation in war-ravaged Syria. File photo of John Kerry. Kerry, who was flying in from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia where he announced a new peace push for conflict-torn Yemen, arrived in the Swiss city shortly on Thursday before 10:00 pm (Local Time). He was scheduled to meet with Lavrov Friday morning for talks expected to... 

Turkey had vowed to “completely cleanse” Islamic State militants from its border region. ISTANBUL: Turkish special forces units supported by warplanes from the US-led coalition have launched an operation in northern Syria to wipe out Islamic State elements along the Turkey-Syria border, state-run Anadolu Agency said on Wednesday. The Turkish army begun firing artillery rounds into the Syrian border town of Jarablus at around 0100 GMT,... 

Syria Democratic Forces greet civilians who were evacuated from neighbourhood of Manbij. BEIRUT: US backed forces have seized full control of the northern Syrian city of Manbij near the Turkish border after the last remaining ISIS fighters, who had been using civilians as human shields, left, a spokesman for the group said on Friday. Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) were now sweeping the city after the departure of a last remaining group of militants... 

Barack Obama said the US has to do a better job disrupting terror networks. WASHINGTON: The ISIS will probably continue to be a threat to the US even after it is ousted from key strongholds in Iraq and Syria, President Barack Obama said Thursday, warning that lone-wolf believers will still be inspired to launch attacks that are harder to detect and prevent. Speaking to reporters after meeting with his top national security advisers in the Pentagon,...