DAMASCUS, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile attack that targeted areas in the western countryside of the capital Damascus on Tuesday evening, the state TV reported.
Citing a military source, the state TV said the air defenses intercepted most of the Israeli missiles before reaching their targets, adding that only a weapon depot was damaged and three soldiers were wounded.
BEIRUT (AP) — Turkish-backed fighters said Monday they are preparing to move into eastern Syria alongside Turkish troops once American forces withdraw and are already massing on the front line of a town held by Kurdish-led forces.
24 Dec 2018; AFP:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent more troops to Syria's border on Monday ahead of an imminent US withdrawal, as the White House announced he had invited Donald Trump to Ankara.
Unlike several other allies of the United States, Turkey has praised President Trump's decision to withdraw 2,000 of his ground forces from Syria, a country where it will now have a freer rein to target Kurdish fighters.
24 Dec 2018; DW: Leaders in Israel's governing coalition have decided to dissolve parliament and hold elections seven months early. Coalition disagreements over a military conscription bill appear to have caused the move.
Israel will hold a general election on April 9 after leaders moved to dissolve parliament, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.
HODEIDAH, Yemen, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The head of a UN team monitoring the UN-backed cease-fire in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah visited on Monday its main port, neighborhoods and some frontlines.
Patrick Cammaert, a retired Dutch general, leads a joint committee from both Yemeni rival forces, namely the Saudi-backed government and the Iranian-allied Houthi rebels, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the cease-fire in Hodeidah.
Cammaert was accompanied by the Houthi representatives of the cease-fire committee during his visit to the rebel-held docks.
RAMALLAH, Palestine; 24 Dec 2018; AA: Israeli forces rounded up 15 Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli military on Monday.
The individuals were arrested for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the army said in a statement, without elaborating on the nature of these activities.
ISTANBUL; 24 Dec 2018; AA: In a joint operation with local police in Serbia on Monday, Turkish anti-drug teams seized a half-million illegal drug pills thought to be bound for Turkey, according to police sources.
Acting on a tip, Istanbul police acting with with Serbian and Bulgarian police stopped a tractor trailer along the Serbian-Bulgarian border, said the sources, who asked not to be named, due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
ANKARA; 23 Dec 2018; AA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said the Israeli prime minister is heading "state terror", responding to his tweet attacking the Turkish president.
Speaking at a mass opening ceremony in Istanbul's Arnavutkoy district, Turkish president said: "Erdogan is the voice of oppressed and you [Benjamin Netanyahu] are the voice of oppressors. You are conducting state terror."
CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s military on Sunday pledged to stand by President Omar Bashir, according to a tweet by the country’s state news agency, a timely show of support as the embattled leader faces ongoing street protests decrying worsening economic conditions and demanding that he step down.
“The armed forces assert that it stands behind its leadership and its keen interest in safeguarding the people’s achievements and the nation’s security, safety along with its blood, honor and assets,” said the tweet, quoting a military statement.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories), Dec 22; GANASHAKTI: Three Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed on Friday by Israeli fire during protests and clashes along the Gaza border, health officials in the Hamas-run enclave said.
Teenager Mohammed al-Jahjuh was "hit in the neck by a bullet (fired) by Israeli soldiers", ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.
Abdelaziz Abu Sharia, 28, and Naher Yasin, 40, died from their wounds after being shot in separate incidents along the heavily fortified frontier with Israel, Qudra and a hospital official said.
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