The United States will keep up to 1,000 more soldiers than previously planned in Afghanistan into next year, outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Saturday, in a recognition of the still formidable challenge from Taliban insurgents. Hagel, confirming a change in the U.S. drawdown schedule first reported by Reuters in November, said the […]
Twin car bombings in Syria kill at least 20 troops
Suicide car bombings ripped through a Syrian government base in a southern city on Saturday, killing at least 20 soldiers, an opposition group said, the latest in a series of explosions targeting regime forces and symbols of state security across the country.
Extra troops sent to Aleppo as death toll tops 31,000
The Syrian army rained shells on opposition bastions in and around Damascus on Tuesday and sent extra troops to second city Aleppo, as a watchdog said the death toll from 18 months of violence now tops 31,000.