RF-4E, Turkish Air Force The Turkish foreign minister says the military jet shot down by the Syrian military on Friday was not spying on Syria. It was testing a domestic radar system and was fired upon without warning upon leaving Syrian airspace, he said. ­The jet was unarmed, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in an interview with TRT TV channel on Sunday. The minister confirmed that... 

F-4E 2020 Terminator Damascus has apologized for shooting down a military plane, which went off Turkish radars earlier in the day, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan said. The plane was taken down by Syrian forces, an official Turkish source confirmed to Hurriyet daily. The plane crashed into Syrian territorial waters earlier today, according to reports. A missile shattered it to pieces after which... 

A Turkish F-4 fighter jet A Turkish fighter jet has crashed in Syrian territorial waters with some reports suggesting that it was shot down by Syria. According to Turkish sources, the military lost radar and radio contact with the F-4 plane on the Mediterranean after it took off from Erhac Airport in the eastern province of Malatya, which borders Syria. Turkish officials say there had been no border... 

Britain came alarmingly close to a dangerous clash with Moscow when David Cameron was asked to consider giving an order to forcibly board a ship headed towards the English Channel carrying three Russian-made helicopters for delivery to the regime in Syria, it emerged today. Any seizure would have been carried out by members of the Special Boat Service, SBS, the only military unit authorised to performing... 

American secret service operatives are distributing illegal assault rifles, anti-tank rocket launchers and other ammunition to Syrian opposition, the New York Times reports. But due to some rebels’ links to Al Qaeda, the CIA’s task is precarious. ­The paper reports that for weeks now, officers based in southeast Turkey have supervised the flow of illegal arms to numerous opposition factions ready... 

German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere Germany has strongly opposed military intervention in Syria, adding voice to the calls for a political solution to the country’s prolonged crisis. German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Wednesday warned that military action — strongly supported by Britain, France and the US — could easily lead to an all-out war in Syria. “We must... 

Russian warship, Tsezar Kunikov Russia is deploying two warships to the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean coast amid the ongoing turmoil in the Arab country, a report says. According to a Russian Interfax news agency report on Monday, Moscow is preparing to send two amphibious assault ships to the port city. Interfax quoted an officer from the Russian naval headquarters as saying, “Two major... 

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber aircraft A delegation from Syrian opposition is reportedly in talks with US officials over the targets they want to attack to weaken the Syrian government and the arms they want America to provide to do it. A “Libya lite” operation in Syria may be imminent. The unnamed US official reportedly said that “the intervention will happen. It is not a question of ‘if’... 

Officials with the US Department of Defense have confirmed that the Pentagon has finalized procedures that outline how American forces could soon combat the government of war-torn Syria and officially involve itself in that state’s bloody uprising. After months of rumors suggesting that the US has unofficially made efforts to weaponize rebel forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, officials... 

Syria's Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi The Syrian Foreign Ministry has said in a statement that Damascus expelled the ambassadors of the US, Britain, France, Turkey and some other states. Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi announced the list of expelled diplomats on Tuesday. The expulsions came after Western states expelled Syrian diplomats from their countries last week. The ministry... 

Syrians carry picture of President Bashar al-Assad during a demonstration in Damascus on April 30, 2012. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says his government has successfully overcome the political crisis and the deadly violence in the country. “Syria has been able to overcome the pressures and threats it has faced for years and is able to get out of this crisis thanks to the strength of its people... 

Damascus says all military operations will be halted by Thursday morning, but their troops will “remain on alert” to confront any possible threat. The announcement comes as Tuesday failed to bring the truce provided by Kofi Annan’s peace plan. “After our armed forces carried out successful missions in combating the criminal acts of terrorist groups and imposed the authority of the... 

A Russian ship A Russian navy destroyer has set out on a planned mission to the Syrian port of Tartus, where it will arrive in a few days, reports say. According to Russian military officials the warship left its Black Sea base of Sevastopol for the Mediterranean during the weekend and will soon arrive at Syria’s second largest port of Tartus. Navy officials said that the ship would receive fresh... 

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei China has called on the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition to honor their commitments to the UN-Arab League peace proposal. “We hope the Syrian government and relevant parties in Syria will honor their commitments,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Wednesday. His comment came one day after Damascus... 

Syrian security forces carrying the coffins of their fallen comrades outside the Tishrin military hospital in Damascus on March 19, 2012. Armed terrorists in Syria have killed Brigadier General Khleif al-Abdullah in the country’s northern province of Aleppo, Syria’s state news agency reports. The assailants in a car opened fire on Abdullah, who was on his way to work, near al-Bassil Mosque in al-Hamadaniyah...