Tag: Middle East

This photo provided by an anti-government activist group Edlib News Network (ENN), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, show Syrian rebels standing next to a tank that was captured from the Syrian government forces at the al-Dahman checkpoint, in southern Idlib, northern Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. Syrian rebels rampaged through a Sunni village in the central province of Hama Wednesday, firing indiscriminately at civilians and killing more than a dozen of people, including seven women, state media and opposition activists said. (AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN)

Syrian rebels attack defense minister’s village

Sam Kimball · July 11, 2014 4:02 pm

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building after it was hit by an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City, Friday, July 11, 2014. Israel launched the Gaza offensive to stop incessant rocket fire that erupted after three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed in the West Bank and a Palestinian teenager was abducted and burned to death in an apparent reprisal attack. The military says it has hit more than 1,100 targets already, mostly what it identified as rocket-launching sites, bombarding the territory on average every five minutes.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

UN doubts legality of Israeli air campaign

Washington Examiner · July 11, 2014 1:39 pm

Palestinians search in the rubble of a destroyed house where eight members of the Al Haj family were killed in a strike early morning in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, July 10, 2014. Israel dramatically escalated its aerial assault in Gaza Thursday hitting hundreds of Hamas targets, as Palestinians reported more than a dozen of people killed in strikes that hit a home and a beachside cafe and Israel's missile defense system once again intercepted rockets fired by militants at the country's heartland. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Gaza dead tops 85 as Israel presses its offensive

KHALED KAZZIHAJOSEF FEDERMAN · July 11, 2014 12:45 am

FILE - In this July 9, 2014 file photo, an Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket from the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel's "Iron Dome" defense system has emerged as a game-changer in the current round of violence with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, shooting down dozens of incoming rockets and being credited with preventing numerous civilian casualties. The system is ensuring Israel's decisive technological edge that has helped it operate virtually unhindered in Gaza. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty, File)

Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ changes the face of battle

Aron Heller · July 10, 2014 7:24 pm

Republicans told Obama he needs to develop a strategy for dealing with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which now occupies parts of Syria and Iraq and is threatening the stability of the whole region, including American allies such as Jordan. (AP Photo)

Senate Republicans call on Obama to send military advisers to Jordan

Susan Ferrechio · July 10, 2014 7:09 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

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with China's President Xi Jinping, right, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Thursday, July 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Jim Bourg, Pool)

National Security

Kerry: Crisis in Israel, Gaza, needs de-escalation

Bradley Klapper · July 10, 2014 12:08 pm

Palestinians search the wreckage of vehicle reportedly belonging to a taxi driver working for a local media company following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. Wednesday, July 9, 2014. Israel stepped up its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Wednesday, pummeling scores of targets and killing more than a dozen people as Israeli leaders signaled a weeks-long ground invasion could be quickly approaching. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Israel steps up offensive as diplomacy kicks off

Josef Federman · July 10, 2014 2:23 am

FILE - In this March 22, 2013, file photo, Staffan De Mistura, Italy's then-foreign ministry undersecretary, speaks during a news conference in New Delhi, India. Mistura has been chosen by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to replace Lakhdar Brahimi as the international point man on Syria, diplomats said Wednesday, July 9, 2014. (AP Photo/File)

Diplomats: Staffan de Mistura is new Syria envoy

Edith Lederer · July 10, 2014 1:04 am

National Security

Iran wants to greatly expand uranium enrichment

George Jahn · July 9, 2014 9:05 pm

Iraqi men check in at the main army recruiting center as they volunteer for military services in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, July 9, 2014, after authorities urged Iraqis to help battle insurgents. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Iraqi leader accuses Kurds of hosting militants

Ryan Lucas · July 9, 2014 8:09 pm

FILE - In this July 1, 2014 file photo, Lance Thompson pumps gas into his truck at a Love's station in St. Joseph, Mo. The price of oil fell for the ninth straight day Wednesday, July 9, 2014, despite continued turmoil in the Middle East, a drop that could lead to lower gasoline prices for U.S. drivers in the weeks ahead. (AP Photo/St. Joseph News-Press, Sait Serkan Gurbuz, File)

Oil on 2-week slide even with Mideast turmoil

Jonathan Fahey · July 9, 2014 7:50 pm