Al-Assad family

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is to be sworn in Wednesday for a new term in a war-ravaged country, as other conflicts in the turbulent region hog the international community's attention.
      

The jihadist Islamic State group took control of the rebel-held half of the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor on Monday, buoyed by advances in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring goup said.
     

Ankara is rolling up its sleeves to stanch the rush of militants transiting its soil on their way to join the jihad in the country’s southern neighbors.

The jihadist Islamic State seized control Thursday of a major Syrian oil field on the Iraqi border, as rival fighters withdrew, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
      
By seizing the Al-Omar oil field, IS now controls most oil and gas fields in the oil-rich Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, most of whose countryside is also under its control.
      

The West’s Syria policy could be best summarized in Sarah Palin’s words: “Let God sort it out.” That the U.S. forwarded the issue to God has not only helped Bashar al-Assad, but also the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to enhance their sphere of influence.

The last of Syria's declared chemical weapons have been shipped from the war-torn country and are en route for destruction at sea, the world's chemical weapons watchdog said on Monday.
      

It has already become certain that ISIL’s (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) invasion of Mosul will pass into history as the “pre-Mosul and post-Mosul era.” The post-Mosul order turns the regional balance of power upside down. Hence, Turkey has to make a completely new reading of the region and adapt its policies accordingly.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Barack Obama will discuss the situation in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria "in the coming days," a top aide said on Friday.
      
Speaking to reporters, Putin's top foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov, did not provide further details about the upcoming phone call.
      

Syria's army said on June 15 it had recaptured the strategic town of Kassab, near the only border crossing with Turkey in Latakia province, after it fell to rebels almost three months ago.

Both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and jihadist groups battling to oust him stand to benefit from a lightning offensive by militants across the border in Iraq, analysts believe.

Fighters from the powerful jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group began an offensive in Iraq on Monday, taking a swathe of mostly Sunni Arab territory in the north.