Middle East & North Africa

DAMASCUS, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Daesh group claimed responsibility Thursday for an attack that killed nearly 40 soldiers in Syria the day before when jihadists ambushed a bus in eastern Syria.

War monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Daesh had attacked government soldiers as they travelled home for holidays in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, killing 37.

It said eight officers were among those killed while 12 other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

(Reuters) - The U.S. killing of top general Qassem Soleimani will not deter Iranian resistance, a senior commander said on Friday as tensions mounted in the build-up to the first anniversary of the drone strike.

The United States killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, in Iraq on Jan. 3, 2020. Washington had accused him of masterminding attacks by Iranian-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region.

31 Dec 2021; AA: Turkey on Thursday reported 14,380 more infections and 239 new fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours.

According to Health Ministry data, the new cases include 2,219 symptomatic patients. The tally of infections exceeded 2.21 million, while the death toll climbed to 20,881.

As many as 22,021 more people recovered over the past day, taking the total to over 2.1 million.

Tehran, Jan 1, IRNA – Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Esmail Qa'ani described the martyred commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani as a hero of the Islamic Ummah who defeated the hegemonic powers.

He made the remarks in a ceremony Friday morning to mark the first anniversary of the martyrdom of the late commander of the Quds forces Gen. Soleimani who was assassinated by the US forces in Baghdad.

Tehran, Jan 1st, IRNA – Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Kuwaiti counterpart that Washington would be held accountable for any potential adventurism in the region.

Speaking in a phone call, Zarif and Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah held talks about the latest issues relating ties between Kuwait and Iran as well as regional developments.

The Iranian top diplomat explained the viewpoint of the Islamic Republic concerning the need for protecting broad stability and security of the region away from any foreign intervention.

New York, Jan 1st, IRNA – Iran's Permenant in the United Nations warned the Security Council of the increasing US military adveturism in the Persian Gulf.

Tehran, Jan 1st, IRNA – The Trump administration is approaching its end, while its so-called maximum pressure on Iran and the assassination of Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani brought the outgoing US president nothing but a big failure in his political life.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the US cut off the Iranian general’s hand; so, the Americans’ military presence in the region should be ended, because their military presence means that the Iranians have not yet taken the final revenge for the heinous assassination.

01 Jan 2021; MEMO: A Saudi court has sentenced preacher Yousef Al-Ahmad, who has been detained since September 2017, to four years in prison.

The ruling also included a travel ban for four years following the preacher's release from prison.

The Syrian regime's Foreign Ministry has filed a complaint with the United Nations (UN) secretary-general and the president of the UN Security Council against Israel over its targeting of Syrian territories, Syria's SANA news agency reported.

01 Jan 2021; MEMO: Iraqi President Barham Salih acknowledged on Thursday the failure of the government, the rampant spread of corruption and the continued uncontrolled proliferation of arms in the country.