Anti-ISIS Coalition Strike Kills 5 Extremists in E. Syria

Smoke rises from the last besieged ISIS-held neighborhood in the village of Baghouz, Deir Ezzour, Syria, March 18, 2019. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the last besieged ISIS-held neighborhood in the village of Baghouz, Deir Ezzour, Syria, March 18, 2019. (Reuters)
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Anti-ISIS Coalition Strike Kills 5 Extremists in E. Syria

Smoke rises from the last besieged ISIS-held neighborhood in the village of Baghouz, Deir Ezzour, Syria, March 18, 2019. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the last besieged ISIS-held neighborhood in the village of Baghouz, Deir Ezzour, Syria, March 18, 2019. (Reuters)

Five extremists were killed on Monday in a US-led coalition airstrike in eastern Syria, said coalition spokesman James Rawlinson.

He said the raid targeted an ISIS cell near Busayrah, a town in the Deir Ezzour province, the first such strike since the defeat of the terrorist group.

"This operation eliminated five terrorists who played a key role in facilitating attacks across the region against security forces and innocent civilians," he told AFP.

The five extremists were all Syrian, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

It was the first aerial attack by coalition warplanes since ISIS was driven out of its last holdout in Syria four months ago, the Britain-based group added.

A US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced it had expelled the extremists from their last patch of territory in eastern Syria, the town of Baghouz, on March 23.

That came after a months-long campaign backed by coalition airstrikes.

The victory spelled the end of the extremists’ proto-state declared in 2014 after ISIS seized large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq.

But despite losing their territory, ISIS fighters continue to launch regular attacks across war-torn Syria.

They have claimed operations in SDF-held areas, including targeted killings and setting fire to vital wheat crops.

In Syria's vast desert, they have repeatedly hit regime forces with deadly attacks and ambushes.

They also maintain a presence in the northwestern region of Idlib, which is dominated by an Al-Qaeda-linked radical group.

The US-led coalition has said it is backing the SDF in northeastern Syria against thousands of remaining ISIS loyalists.

"The coalition will continue to enable partner forces in their pursuit of enduring defeat of ISIS," Rawlinson said.

The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests.



Syria to Start Currency Swap on January 1st, Central Bank Governor Says

Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
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Syria to Start Currency Swap on January 1st, Central Bank Governor Says

Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo

​Syria will start swapping ‌old bank ‌notes ‌for ⁠new ​ones ‌under a plan to replace ⁠Assad-era ‌notes starting ‍from ‍January ‍1st 2026, Syria's ​Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh ⁠said on Thursday, Reuters reported.


Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

The technical analysis of the recovered black boxes from a jet crash that killed eight people, including western Libya’s military chief, began as the investigation proceeded in cooperation with Libyan authorities, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said Thursday.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officials and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

The wreckage was scattered across an area covering 3 square kilometers (more than a square mile), complicating recovery efforts, according to the Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

A 22-person delegation, including five family members, arrived from Libya early on Wednesday to assist in the investigation.


Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
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Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated on Thursday that the country’s parliamentary elections are a constitutional obligation that must be carried out on time.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency quoted Aoun as saying that he, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, is determined to hold the elections on schedule.

Aoun also emphasized that diplomatic efforts have continued unabated to keep the specter of war at bay, noting that "things are heading in a positive direction".

The agency also cited Berri reaffirming that the elections will take place as planned, with "no delays, no extensions".

The Lebanese parliamentary elections are scheduled for May next year.