The Pentagon has begun surveillance flights over militant-controlled parts of Syria, US officials say. The United States has begun surveillance flights over militant-controlled parts of Syria after US President Barack Obama’s authorization, according to American officials. One unnamed official said on Tuesday that the reconnaissance flights had started, while two other officials said earlier that... 

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and calling for their destruction. The resolution adopted by the 15-member council on Friday envisages a plan to eradicate Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons. However, it does not call for automatic punitive action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government... 

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem welcomes Russia’s offer to put its chemical weapons under international control The White House remains adamant about having Congress authorize the use of military force against the Syrian government, even as that country’s leader is reportedly weighing a deal that would involve relinquishing a stock pile of chemical weapons. Notwithstanding reports that... 

The guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) Senior American officials say the United States has planned to launch missile strikes against Syria “as early as Thursday” in order to punish Damascus over the alleged use of chemical weapons. The unnamed officials told NBC News on Tuesday that the “three days” of strikes would be limited in scope, and aimed at “sending a message to Syria’s... 

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syrians carrying an injured man after a powerful car bomb exploded near the headquarters of Syria’s ruling Baath party in the center of Damascus. A Lebanese news website says it has obtained a documentary movie revealing a plot hatched by French and Turkish spy agencies to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Lebanese... 

A MiG-29 fighter jet performs a maneuver as the Russian national flag flies in the foreground, during the MAKS-2009 international air show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, August 22, 2009. Russia is to supply Syria with warplanes, defense apparatuses and military vehicles in a move that would irk Israel and the United States. Head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Military Cooperation Mikhail Dmitriyev... 

Syria’s foreign minister has said that Israel, with the numerous atomic warheads it has in its stockpile, poses the biggest nuclear threat to the Middle East. Walid al-Muallem made the remark after he arrived in the Iranian capital to take part in the two-day nuclear disarmament conference, dubbed ‘Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for No One.’ “The Tehran conference...