Bassem Mroue

Read the latest stories and analysis from Bassem Mroue.

FILE - This undated file image posted on a militant website on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows fighters from the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) marching in Raqqa, Syria. Across the broad swath of territory it controls from northern Syria through northern and western Iraq, the extremist group known as the Islamic State has proven to be highly organized governors.

Reports: 115 killed in seizure of Syria gas field

Bassem Mroue · July 18, 2014 4:33 pm

FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 file photo, members of the Kurdish Popular Protection Units and Free Syrian Army fighters stand guard at a check point at Ras al-Ayn, Syria. With Sunni extremist fighters on the offensive against Kurdish areas in northern Syria using modern weapons recently captured from Iraqi forces, the Kurds' civil administration is putting forward plans to impose compulsory military service on residents in order for them to take part in protecting their land. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo, File)

Syria Kurds impose military service amid civil war

Bassem Mroue · July 17, 2014 2:03 pm

This Wednesday, July 9, 2014 photo, provided by the anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian man helping children out of a damaged building following a Syrian government airstrike in the Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

Islamic militants on offensive against Kurds

Bassem Mroue · July 10, 2014 5:28 pm

Syrian opposition meets to elect new president

Bassem Mroue · July 6, 2014 7:12 pm

National Security

Chechen in Syria a rising star in extremist group

Bassem Mroue · July 2, 2014 4:28 pm

Grenade attack wounds 4 in northern Lebanon

Bassem Mroue · July 2, 2014 1:56 pm

Fire engines work on extinguishing a fire after a suicide bomber blew himself up in his room at a Beirut hotel, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 25, 2014, as Lebanese security forces raided the premises. The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks and security sweeps in Lebanon over the past week that have sparked fears of renewed violence in a country that has been deeply affected by the civil war in neighboring Syria.(AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Explosion rocks Beirut hotel during security raid

Bassem Mroue · June 25, 2014 6:25 pm

In this photo taken from video released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrians carry a victim from a massive car bomb in the central village of Horrah, in the province of Hama, Syria, Friday, June 20, 2014. A massive car bomb exploded Friday in a government-controlled village in central Syria, dozens of people were killed and wounded, Syrian state media reported. (AP Photo/SANA)

Syria jihadi group captures town near Iraq border

Bassem Mroue · June 20, 2014 5:19 pm

Strong blast in Syrian town near Iraq kills 8

Bassem Mroue · June 14, 2014 4:54 pm

FILE - This undated file image posted on a militant website on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014 shows fighters from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) marching in Raqqa, Syria. The Islamic State was originally al-Qaida's branch in Iraq, but it used Syria's civil war to vault into something more powerful. It defied orders from al-Qaida's central command and expanded its operations into Syria, ostensibly to fight to topple Assad. But it has turned mainly to conquering territory for itself, often battling other rebels who stand in the way. (AP Photo/Militant Website, File)

Activist group: Jihadists besiege Syrian city

Bassem Mroue · June 13, 2014 7:39 pm

AP Interview: Druse head scorns Hezbollah on Syria

Bassem Mroue · June 8, 2014 6:38 am

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, speaks during his meeting with secular and religious dignitaries from Damascus suburbs, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, May 31, 2014. Syrian rebels blew up a tunnel packed with explosives in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Friday, killing at least 20 pro-government fighters, activists and rebels said. (AP Photo/SANA)

Lebanon warns Syrians not to go home ahead of vote

Bassem Mroue · May 31, 2014 6:06 pm