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'Zionism octopus threatens Muslims' Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:50:18 Hamas has called on the Muslim world to unite against Israel after the assassination of Imad Mughniya, a top Lebanese Hezbollah figure. "We urge the Muslim and Arab nations to act decisively against the Zionist octopus that threatens the security of Arab and Muslim countries," Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday. Imad Mughniyah, a top commander of Hezbollah, who was killed by a car bomb in Damascus on Tuesday night, 'has been a target of the Zionists for 20 years,' Hezbollah said in a statement. Israeli leaders have...

Violence continues in Syria's civil war, as Syrian state television and residents report that an explosion has shaken a Damascus neighbourhood that is home to several embassies and a military airport. The explosion took place on Sunday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an anti-government rights watchdog, reported, citing residents and activists on the ground in Damascus. -----snip Syria condemns Egypt Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the Syrian government condemned Egypt's decision to cut ties with Damascus and back the armed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's government, terming it an "irresponsible" move. "The Syrian Arab Republic condemns this...

Robert Malley, a top Middle East advisor that US President-elect Barack Obama promised months ago would play no role in his administration due to ties to Hamas, has reportedly been sent out on the next administration's first diplomatic mission. According to a report in Middle East Newsline, Obama dispatched Malley to Egypt and Syria late last week with a message that the he intends to mend and bolster relations with both nations, and to give greater weight to their concerns regarding regional conflicts than did President George W. Bush. During the Democratic Party primaries, Obama was lashed by critics for...

Israel’s reported airstrikes against Syria over the last three days drew condemnations across the Middle East Sunday, including from leaders who have been harshly critical of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Egypt, Lebanon, and the Arab League, amongst others, called on the international community to take steps to prevent further attacks. The across-the-board condemnations emphasized Israel’s “aggression” and stressed disapproval at Jerusalem’s lack of respect for the war-torn country’s sovereignty. “Egypt condemns the Israeli attack on Syria, which is considered a violation against international principles and laws complicating the current situation in Syria and threatening the security and stability of the...

Israeli officials report their target was a shipment of advanced long-range missiles headed to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. They are both a major supporter of the Assad regime in Syria and an outspoken enemy of Israel.   Aa   BEIRUT — Israeli warplanes bombed the outskirts of Damascus early Sunday for the second time in recent days, according to Syrian state media and reports from activists, signaling a sharp escalation in tensions between the neighboring countries that had already been exacerbated by the conflict raging in Syria.Though there was no official confirmation that Israel had carried out the...

The 2,000-year-old Jobar Synagogue in the Syrian capital of Damascus was looted and burned to the ground. The Syrian army loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebel forces are blaming each other for the destruction of the historic synagogue ... The Jobar synagogue was built atop a cave that, according to tradition, was used by the prophet Elijah to conceal himself from prosecution. The synagogue is said to have been built by Elijah's successor, the prophet Elisha, and repaired during the first century by Eleazar ben Arach.

Bashar al-Assad was killed by a bodyguard ... (Arab media) Update: According to Arab media www.eltira.org , Bashar al-Assad would have been seriously wounded by gunfire last night Saturday, March 23 by his bodyguard but Iran is not dead. He is currently hospitalized, between life and death, Shami Hospital in Damascus which the streets were closed. Proprietary information (in France): According to reports in the Arab press (and then republished in the Israeli press ), information that journalists say they have "verified" the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was killed this morning by one of his bodyguards. An important safety device...

On New Year’s Day in 1988, Abdullah Ali, an Iraqi businessman who had been living in London for eight years, joined three compatriots for dinner at a restaurant called Cleopatra in Notting Hill.The next morning, he was taken ill with flu-like symptoms and was admitted to hospital. There his condition rapidly deteriorated — his hair fell out, he developed excruciating skin and joint pain, and paralysis and respiratory failure began to set in. Fifteen days later he was dead — but not before he had begun to wonder whether something had been added to his vodka. He was right: the...

Just now.. breaking on Shepard Smith's show. Huge explosion in Damascus.

As the civil war in Syria enters its third year, there is much discussion of the regimeÂ’s chemical weapons and whether SyriaÂ’s Bashar al-Assad will unleash them against Syrian rebels, or whether a power vacuum after AssadÂ’s fall might make those horrific tools available to the highest bidder. The conversation centers on SyriaÂ’s chemical weaponry, not on something vastly more serious: its nuclear weaponry. It well might have. This is the inside story of why it does not. Relations between the United States and Israel had grown rocky after IsraelÂ’s incursion into Lebanon in 2006, for Secretary of State Condoleezza...

Obama’s Amazing AchievementsHis military intervention prompted some stunning reversals. By bombing Libya, President Obama has accomplished some things once thought absolutely impossible in America:(a) War-mongering liberals: Liberals are now chest-thumping about military “progress” in Libya. Even liberal television and radio commentators cite ingenious reasons why an optional, preemptive American intervention in an oil-producing Arab country, without prior congressional approval or majority public support — and at a time of soaring deficits — is well worth supporting, in a sort of “my president, right or wrong,” fashion. Apparently, liberal foreign policy is returning to the pre-Vietnam days of the hawkish “best...

Pro-regime Syrian newspaper Al Diyar reported Friday that the army has loaded four Scud missiles, each with an explosive head of 500 kilograms, and is ready to strike Israel. The newspaper also stated that the Syrian army command held a meeting Thursday evening to discuss a response to Israel, including striking research centers in Tel Aviv. Mohammed Dirar Jammu, head of political and international relations at the World Organization of Arab expatriates, said to pro-Syrian regime TV channel Alakhbarya that "the Syrian military response to the Israeli bombing of the research center, in Damascus, will be earthshaking and staggering to...

The Israeli elections, President Obama’s inauguration speech and the violence in Syria all feature prominently in Arab news Tuesday. >>SNIP<< Quoting French sources, A-Sharq Al-Awsat quotes an exchange between Syrian President Bashar Assad and the international envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. According to the daily, Brahimi told Assad that he could not remain in power and that the opposition could defeat him, but the cost may be the complete destruction of Damascus. To that, Assad reportedly answered “I will win the war, even if Damascus is destroyed.”

"We tell Benjamin Netanyahu, the (Israeli) prime minister, get ready. The army of the Prophet Mohammad is coming your way." Abu Muhammad al-Tahawi, jihadist leader in Syria They can say what they want, kill whom they like, oppress and subjugate at will, and get unequivocal money and support, but if a Jew dares to build a home in Jerusalem, there's hell to pay. "America is the mother of all terror in the world" -- Abed Shihadeh, who is also known as Abu Muhammad al-Tahawi, jihadist leader in Syria Oh, and Obama is backing these jihadi rebels. Jordanian "Salafist leader, First...

Forget the Grand Prix or the Daytona 500, the real race right now is the race to Damascus. The racers include Syrian rebels in pickup trucks with mounted machine guns and homemade tanks, toting weapons and equipment supplied and paid for by Qatar and Turkey, and more covertly by the British and French intelligence services. Racing along with them are carloads of international diplomats urging their governments to give the Islamist militias more money and more weapons. Everyone is on the road to Damascus in this amazing race. Christian refugees from Aleppo, Alawites packing in behind the tanks of the...

Following are excerpts from footage of a demonstration that took place in Damascus, which was posted on the Internet on September 14, 2012. Demonstrator: Oh Bashar, you traitor... Crowds: Oh Bashar, you traitor... Demonstrator: We want to instate the Koran. Crowds: We want to instate the Koran. Demonstrator: To hell with freedom... Crowds: To hell with freedom... Demonstrator: We want an Islamic caliphate. Crowds: We want an Islamic caliphate. Demonstrator: To hell with being peaceful... Crowds: To hell with being peaceful... Demonstrator: We want weapons and AK-47s. Crowds: We want weapons and AK-47s. Demonstrator: To hell with being peaceful... Crowds:...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops are currently pounding Aleppo after Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces launched an offensive attack. Days earlier, regime forces were cracking down on a FSA guerilla attack in the heart of the capital, Damascus. In Homs, clashes between both forces are ongoing. Yet there is still no sign that Assad is even considering stepping down. It has become clear that there's no going back for the Syrian people, as they are now convinced that Assad had no intention of reform. Consequently, the rebellion is spreading, defections within the regime's army are increasing and opposition forces have...

I’m finishing writing my new novel, The Damascus Countdown, this week, but set aside fiction for a moment — the painful truth is that Syria is imploding. The bloodthirsty regime of Bashar al-Assad is slaughtering its own people, and steadily losing control of the country. The latest reports indicate that more than 20,000 Syrians have been murdered. Top Syrian officials are defecting. The rebels are steadily winning control of more and more of the country. Iran is sending forces to fight on behalf of the Assad regime against the rebels. Now Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly sending naval warships...

Opposition fighters battled Syrian government forces in Damascus into the early hours of Monday in what residents described as the fiercest fighting yet inside the capital.

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