LAGOS DECEMBER 25TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Protests have broken out in Syria over the burning of a Christmas tree, prompting calls for the new Islamist authorities to take steps to protect minorities. A video posted on social media showed the tree on fire in the main square of Suqaylabiyah, a Christian-majority town in central Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham…
LAGOS DECEMBER 13TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Twenty-three-year-old Syrian military conscript Farhan al-Khouli was badly paid and demoralized. His army outpost in scrubland near the rebel-held city of Idlib should have had nine soldiers but it just had three, after some had bribed the commanding officers to escape serving, he said. And, of the two conscripts with him, one…
LAGOS APRIL 20TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Long-distance aircraft fired missiles that struck Iranian Air Force assets at Isfahan in central Iran early Friday morning, the Jerusalem Post has confirmed. Meanwhile, two Israeli defense officials and three Iranian officials confirmed to The New York Times that Israel was involved. The report came shortly after local sources reported explosions in…
LAGOS FEBRUARY 6TH (NEWSRANGERS)-More than 1,500 people have been confirmed dead after a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, leveling several buildings as people slept in their beds. The devastating toll has continued to rise as rescuers frantically search for survivors trapped under the rubble. Thousands more people in both countries were…
LAGOS OCTOBER 7TH (NEWSRANGERS)-U.S. forces killed three senior Islamic State leaders in two separate military operations in Syria Thursday, including a rare ground raid in a portion of the northeast that is controlled by the Syrian regime, U.S. officials said. According to officials, U.S. special operations forces conducted a raid near the village of Qamishli,…
LAGOS JULY 22ND (NEWSRANGERS)-The top U.S. Air Force general in the Middle East warned on Thursday that Iran-backed militias could resume attacks in the region against the United States and its allies as tensions rise — assaults that could lead to a new Mideast escalation. Speaking to journalists before stepping into his new role at…
LAGOS JUNE 28TH (NEWSRANGERS)-U.S. forces killed a senior terrorist leader in an airstrike in Syria on Monday, according to military officials. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the target of the strike, Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, was a senior leader of an al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group known as Hurras al-Din. The leader was riding alone on a…
LAGOS FEBRUARY 4TH (NEWSRANGERS)-The leader of Islamic State killed himself and four members of his family during a high-stakes nighttime raid by U.S. special operations forces in northwest Syria early Thursday, U.S. officials said. The mission, which White House officials said was a success, eliminated a top terrorist leader in the Middle East, a man…
