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NEWS ABOUT: Syrian rebels

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Picture of Michigan Woman Killed in Syria Emerges

Nicole Mansfield converted to Islam after meeting Arab immigrant: family

(Newser) - The FBI has confirmed reports that a Michigan woman was killed fighting alongside anti-government forces in Syria, her family says. A number of years ago, Nicole Mansfield married an Arab immigrant; afterward, she converted to Islam, relatives tell the Detroit Free Press . After he got a green card to stay... More »

Chemical Weapon Fired in Syria: Report

Rebels blame regime, regime blames rebels; no verification yet

(Newser) - Both the government and rebels in Syria say a chemical weapon has been fired—but each side blames the other, the AP reports. Official Syrian news said "terrorists" (its term for the rebels) blasted a rocket "containing chemical materials" in Aleppo province today, killing 15, mostly civilians. Meanwhile,... More »

Fearing Syria Spillover, CIA Ups Iraq Presence

Al-Nusra Front and al-Qaeda in Iraq closely tied, experts say

(Newser) - The US military may have pulled out of Iraq in December 2011, but now the CIA is going back in, reports the Wall Street Journal . In a series of secret decisions in 2011 and 2012, the White House directed US intelligence to take over from the military in supporting Iraq'... More »

Syria Using Militias for Mass Killings: UN

As more than 2.5M displaced by civil war

(Newser) - The latest travesty the Syrian government has been accused of: using local militias to carry out mass killings. UN human rights investigators say these "Popular Committees" commit killings that sometimes have "sectarian overtones," Reuters reports. (The rebels in Syria are mainly Sunni Muslims, while President Bashar al-Assad... More »

No Release for Seized UN Monitors

Their release had been expected today

(Newser) - The Philippine government was under the impression that Syrian rebels would release 21 UN monitors today—but that hasn't happened, it says. Officials say the rebels maintain that they won't release the monitors until Syrian government forces exit the Jamlah area, near the Golan Heights. "I don'... More »

Now Syrian Rebels Claim They Rescued UN 'Guests'

Video making demands for their release pulled offline

(Newser) - You got it all wrong, a Syrian rebel group protested today. They weren't abducting UN peacekeeping troops in the Golan Heights yesterday, they were rescuing them. The rebel group, known as the Yarmouk Martyrs' Brigade, has pulled down a video they'd posted on Facebook saying they wouldn't... More »

Syrian Opposition Detains 20 UN Peacekeepers

They had been monitoring Israel-Syria ceasefire

(AP) - The UN Security Council has strongly condemned the detention of more than 20 peacekeepers monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and Syria by armed members of the Syrian opposition and demanded their immediate and unconditional release. Russia's UN Ambassador, the council president, says talks are underway between UN officials and... More »

49 Syrian and Iraqi Troops Killed in Border Ambush

Fears increase that civil war will spill over into Iraq

(Newser) - At least 42 Syrian soldiers and seven Iraqi soldiers were killed in an ambush near a border crossing in Iraq today, sharpening fears that Syria's civil war could spill into Iraq and destabilize the region, the AP reports. The Syrian soldiers ( Reuters reports the group also included government... More »

In Sea Change, Saudis Arming Syrian Opposition

Plus, opposition agrees to attend international summit

(Newser) - A big shift in the Syrian conflict: Saudi Arabia is arming the opposition. It's a decidedly more activist approach than had previously been taken by regional and Western powers, the New York Times reports, and it signals an attempt to counter the weapons Iran is sending to Bashar al-Assad'... More »

Syrian Coalition OKs New Gov't, Rebels Grab Nuke Plant

Leader will be chosen within 10 days: coalition member

(Newser) - Syria's leading opposition group agreed today to establish a transitional government at the same time rebels said they had taken over the nuclear facility that Israel bombed in 2007, the Jerusalem Post reports. A top member of the Syrian National Coalition said the group will choose a leader within... More »

Huge Blast Rocks Damascus

Kids dead, Russian embassy damaged

(Newser) - A powerful car bomb exploded in central Damascus today, blowing out the windows of the Russian embassy, and killing at least some children at a nearby school. The bomb detonated at a security checkpoint between the embassy and the Baath Party Headquarters, the BBC reports. Activists say at least 31... More »

Syrian Rebels' New Cash Source: Stolen Artifacts

Fighters have become 'archeologists': rebel

(Newser) - Short on funds, Syrian rebels have been turning to a new source of income: selling snatched artifacts. "Some days we are fighters; others we are archeologists," says a rebel who counts ancient Sumerian tablets among his finds. Fighters, who control most of the top archeological areas, say a... More »

Syrian Rebels Free 48 Iranians in Prisoner Swap

In exchange, regime releases more than 2,000

(AP) - Syrian rebels freed 48 Iranians held captive since August, Iranian state TV reported today, part of what appeared to be the first major prisoner swap of the civil war. The deal—reportedly coordinated by a Turkish Islamic aid group—will also involve the release of more than 2,000 held... More »

Assad Outlines Peace Deal, Blasts 'Terrorists'

Rebels blast speech as intended to derail diplomatic solution

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad today took to Syria's airwaves to outline a new peace initiative that wasn't terribly likely to result in peace of any kind. Staunchly refusing to step down, Assad said he's now ready to negotiate with those "who have not betrayed Syria," dismissing rebels... More »

UN Envoy: Syria Faces 'Hell' Without Deal

Lakhdar Brahimi warns of dire consequences if solution isn't reached soon

(Newser) - UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is warning that a political solution must be reached in the Syrian crisis, lest the nation ravaged by a 21-month-old civil war tumble "into more and more chaos and perhaps a failed state." Speaking in Moscow where he's negotiating, Brahimi said the world... More »

NBC's Engel Details 5 Days in Syria Captivity

Foreign correspondent and team were rescued yesterday

(Newser) - Five days after their kidnapping in Syria, an NBC News team has been "freed unharmed," the network says. "We are pleased to report they are safely out of the country." The release of chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and his crew followed a firefight at a... More »

Syria VP: No One Can Win This War

Fighting approaches central Damascus

(Newser) - With fighting rattling Damascus, a leading voice in Syria says Bashar al-Assad can't win the war. But neither side will see a victory, says Farouk al-Sharaa, who has kept a low profile in the conflict and isn't involved in running the government's efforts. Sharaa's comments came... More »

Scuds? Why Syria May Be Using the Missiles

It could be a not-so-subtle warning about chemical weapons

(Newser) - The New York Times broke the news earlier today that Syria's Bashar al-Assad has fired Scud missiles at rebel positions in northern parts of the country. The White House sees it as a "serious escalation," and the Washington Post explains that Scuds are an odd choice: They'... More »

US Recognizes Syria Rebels

President Obama gives blessing to opposition coalition

(Newser) - The US will formally recognize Syria's opposition as the country's legitimate representative, Barack Obama announced today in an interview with Barbara Walters on ABC . "It's a big step," Obama said. "We've made a decision that the Syrian Opposition Coalition is now inclusive enough,... More »

Syrian Rebels Overrun Aleppo Base

35 troops killed in latest rebel advance

(AP) - Syrian rebels are now in full control of a sprawling military base they stormed two days earlier and have killed 35 government troops in the fighting, an activist group says. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the battle for the Sheik Suleiman base near the northern city of... More »

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