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Hostage return sparks new hope for Marine vet’s liberty
Twelve years after Marine veteran and journalist Austin Tice's abduction in Syria, his family continues to hold hope for his safe return.
By Todd South
A bipartisan report calls for the US to halt its withdrawal from Syria
Absent U.S. assistance in the region, America risks handing the reins of the country’s future to a resurgent ISIS, al-Qaida offshoots and the maligned interests of Iran, Russia and other actors in the region.
By Shawn Snow
To set up ‘safe zone,’ US wades into muddled Syria politics
U.S. flags fluttered on the back of coalition armored vehicles as they whizzed past tiny hamlets in northeastern Syria. Once part of the sprawling territories controlled by the Islamic State group, the areas are now under threat of an attack from Turkey, which considers these villages’ liberators, the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish-led forces, to be terrorists.
US troops and allied Kurdish force patrol Syria-Turkey border
U.S. troops and an allied Syrian militia conducted a joint patrol Wednesday in a town on the border with Turkey, a Kurdish news agency and a Syria war monitor reported. The move appeared to be part of an agreement to set up a safe zone along Syria’s northeast border.
US-Turkey ‘safe zone’ in Syria off to a good start, says Kurdish official
The creation of a so-called “safe zone” in northeastern Syria has gotten off to good start, with U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces pulling back from a small, initial area along the Turkish border, a Syrian Kurdish official said — but calm can only prevail if Turkey also removes its troops.
US-backed Syrian Kurds to remove fortifications from Turkish border as part of ‘safe zone’ deal
A U.S.-backed mostly Kurdish force in Syria on Tuesday carried out a patrol along with the U.S.-led coalition near a border town with Turkey to select fortifications to be removed as part of an agreement to set up a safe zone along the country’s northwest border, a spokesman for the group said.
Turkish president vows Syria operation if US falls short in safe zone
Turkey’s president threatened Saturday to launch a unilateral offensive into northeastern Syria if plans to establish a so-called safe zone along Turkey’s border fail to meet his expectations, including a demand that Turkish soldiers control the corridor.
US-backed Syrian Kurds begin pullout near Turkish border as part of ‘safe zone’ deal
The main U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia has begun withdrawing its fighters from two towns near Turkey’s border, part of a deal for a so-called safe zone in northeastern Syria involving the U.S. and Turkey, the Kurdish-led regional administration in northern Syria said Tuesday.
Iran deploys 2 warships to Gulf of Aden
A government spokesman also said that oil from an Iranian tanker pursued by the U.S. has been sold to an unnamed buyer.
Work begins on Syria safe zone to separate Turkey and US-allied Kurdish forces
Turkey’s defense minister said Saturday that military officials from Turkey and the United States have begun work to create a “safe zone” along its border in northeastern Syria.
US blocks release of Iranian tanker held at Gibraltar
Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement that the "investigations conducted around the Grace 1 are a matter for the government of Gibraltar" and that it couldn't comment further.
By Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press