Embattled Syrian president makes rare appearance

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad made a rare public appearance on Saturday by attending prayers for a key Muslim holiday at a mosque in the capital, Damascus, hours after the U.S.-led coalition carried out new airstrikes against Islamic State group militants in Syria.

The airstrikes targeted the militants’ positions on Friday night in the eastern town of Shaddadeh, a stronghold of the Islamic State group in the northeastern Syrian province of Hassakeh, according to activists.