SOHR: Israel Destroyed 270 ‘Iranian Targets’ in Syria in 32 Months

SOHR: Israel Destroyed 270 ‘Iranian Targets’ in Syria in 32 Months
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SOHR: Israel Destroyed 270 ‘Iranian Targets’ in Syria in 32 Months

SOHR: Israel Destroyed 270 ‘Iranian Targets’ in Syria in 32 Months

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Israeli airstrikes on ‘Iranian sites’ in Syria for the past 32 months have caused the destruction of 270 targets and the death of around 500 Iranian forces and affiliated militias.

A total of 79 Israeli airstrikes targeted Syria between early 2018 and the start of September, destroying 250 targets, including weapons depots, buildings, and military headquarters, SOHR reported on Wednesday.

The airstrikes killed 509 individuals as follows: 12 citizens (including three women and three children), and 497 members from regime and affiliated armed groups including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iranian forces.

The 497 members were distributed as follows: 63 regime members, 35 pro-regime armed forces, 228 from Hezbollah and 171 Iranian forces and the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Israeli airstrikes have escalated since 2018. SOHR documented a minimum of 26 targets belonging to the regime and Iranian forces and their loyal militias of Syrian nationals and foreigners.

SOHR documented at least 23 airstrikes in 2019 with 10 targeting Damascus and its countryside, seven in Qunaitra, two in Deir Ezzor and each in Homs, Aleppo, Hama, Suwayda and Daraa.

The first nine months of 2020 were an indicator that Israel insists on fighting the Iranian presence in Syria.

This year, a minimum of 30 airstrikes were monitored as follows: 11 in Deir Ezzor, seven in Homs, six in Damascus and its countryside, three in Daraa, two in Qunaitra and Hama, and one in Aleppo.

At least 161 people, mostly Iranian forces and their loyal militias of Syrians and foreigners, were killed in the Israeli attacks since the beginning of 2020.



PM Tusk: Poland to Send Emergency Aircraft to Budapest after Coach Crash

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks during the Polish Armed Forces Day in Gdynia, northern Poland, 15 August 2026. EPA/Andrzej Jackowski POLAND OUT
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks during the Polish Armed Forces Day in Gdynia, northern Poland, 15 August 2026. EPA/Andrzej Jackowski POLAND OUT
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PM Tusk: Poland to Send Emergency Aircraft to Budapest after Coach Crash

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks during the Polish Armed Forces Day in Gdynia, northern Poland, 15 August 2026. EPA/Andrzej Jackowski POLAND OUT
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks during the Polish Armed Forces Day in Gdynia, northern Poland, 15 August 2026. EPA/Andrzej Jackowski POLAND OUT

Poland will send an emergency aircraft to Budapest following a coach crash that killed 12 people and left at least 10 critically injured, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday.

"I have made the decision to send a special Polish aircraft to Hungary with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and medical services," Tusk said on social media. "All the injured will receive the necessary medical and consular assistance," he added.


Democrats Disagree over Abolishing or Reforming ICE at DNC Meeting

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin speaks during a Labor Council meeting as part of the DNC Summer Meeting, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin speaks during a Labor Council meeting as part of the DNC Summer Meeting, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
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Democrats Disagree over Abolishing or Reforming ICE at DNC Meeting

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin speaks during a Labor Council meeting as part of the DNC Summer Meeting, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin speaks during a Labor Council meeting as part of the DNC Summer Meeting, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)

Democrats on Saturday approved dueling messages on whether US Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be abolished or reformed, reflecting sharp opposition to President Donald Trump's crackdown but revealing disagreement in the party ahead of the midterms.

The Democratic National Committee, gathered for a summer meeting, also signed off on a raft of policy positions, including one that calls for “concrete reforms” of ICE and another for abolishing the agency that's been at the center of several fatal encounters.

ICE has been at the heart of a progressive rallying cry since 2018 during the first Trump administration, and has been renewed among some in the party after two recent fatal shootings by the agency in July.

Saturday’s vote isn't binding and doesn't set the party's platform, which will be determined at the 2028 convention, but it reflects the party's differing views on a major issue. Candidates and lawmakers will continue to determine their own positions on the issue.

Michele Johnson, a DNC member from Louisiana who proposed the measure to abolish ICE, said it's time for Democrats to take a stand and pointed to the dissolution of ICE's predecessor agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as a precedent.

“I think one of the reasons why people are not trusting the party is because we sound so academic," she said. “We sound focus group tested, we sound poll tested because we’re worried about saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing and not just like, just stand on business, like take a position.”

Not every DNC member was convinced, though. Yvonne Reeves-Chong voted against the measure, saying it would only gain support from a part of the party's base, while drawing “fire” from another group of voters.

“I would strongly suggest we get to the business of winning races so we can make the policies that make a difference,” she said.

DNC Chairman Ken Martin, who's from Minnesota, where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot amid the immigration crackdown earlier this year, said in an interview that the takeaway is that Democrats find the administration’s handling of immigration, including by US Customs and Border Protection, unacceptable.

“Clearly, the one thing that unites Democrats, regardless of their position on reform versus abolish or whatever other ways to change what’s happening, is people believe that what ICE is doing right now — and CBP and the federal government — should stop,” he said. “There has to be a better way.”

Immigration remained a stronger issue for Trump than the economy or Iran, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released this month, even after three people were killed in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the span of under a week in July.

Overall, the survey found that only 39% of US adults approve of his performance on immigration, down from 49% at the beginning of his second term.


Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 Returned to Munich after Takeoff Incident

FILE PHOTO: A Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner airplane prepares for landing at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi, Vietnam March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner airplane prepares for landing at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi, Vietnam March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo
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Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 Returned to Munich after Takeoff Incident

FILE PHOTO: A Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner airplane prepares for landing at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi, Vietnam March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner airplane prepares for landing at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi, Vietnam March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo

A Vietnam Airlines flight bound for Hanoi returned to Munich Airport on Saturday following technical problems after takeoff, the airline and airport said.

The Boeing 787 plane circled for more than two hours to burn fuel after reportedly ‌overrunning the runway ‌during takeoff, according to flight-tracking ‌website ⁠Flightradar24.

Video aired by ⁠US-based ABC News showed the jet taking off with a large cloud of dust trailing behind it, Reuters said.

Vietnam Airlines said in a statement the flight had returned to its departure airport after takeoff ⁠due to a "technical issue". It did ‌not provide ‌further details about the problem.

Munich Airport said after ‌landing, the plane was unable to taxi ‌off the north runway under its own power and remained stranded.

That forced the closure of the north runway and a rerouting of ‌air traffic via the south runway, the airport said in ⁠a statement.

Vietnam ⁠Airlines said the flight crew had followed all required procedures and landed safely at Munich Airport.

"The passengers and cabin crew members are safe," the airline said.

Vietnam Airlines said it was coordinating with the relevant authorities and parties to inspect the aircraft and it would provide further updates as soon as the inspection results and specific operational plans were available.