The fall of Assad's informant state leaves Syria riven by betrayals
DAMASCUS — The Assad regime made Syria an informant state, with surveillance that turned the country on itself. Neighbors and colleagues reported on each other in every district and workplace: what they said, where they went, who came for dinner.
After more than half a century, that suffocating regime melted away overnight in December, as rebel forces marched on the capital, Damascus. Left behind is a society divided by the suspicion and perfidy, shadowed by the question of who among them had quietly contributed to the Assads' tyranny.
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CNN
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Live updates: Iran and Israel trade strikes as conflict rages
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Update: Date: Title: Where Iran's strikes have hit Israel Content: Update: Date: Title: 10-year-old among four killed by strikes in central Israel; overnight death toll in Israel rises to eight Content: A 10-year-old boy was among the four people killed by an Iranian missile strike in central Israel, with more people still unaccounted for at the scene, according to emergency services.A large emergency response operation is underway in Bat Yam city, where a building was directly hit. A 60-year-old woman, an 80-year-old woman and a girl whose age was not given were also killed in the strike, according to Israel's national emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA). Videos from Bat Yam showed a building with its facade ripped from it, and tall piles of rubble. Emergency workers could be seen scouring the scene with search dogs, and residents gathered on the street behind a cordon line. 'We don't have the exact number of people that are missing, but we do know that there's a lot of people that haven't contacted their loved ones yet, so now we're focusing on looking for them,' said Bat Yam mayor Tzvika Brot, in video by the Reuters news agency. Brot said the first building was hit around 2:30 a.m. Other buildings in the area were also damaged, with videos showing windows shattered and window frames torn from the outer walls. Authorities are now setting up family centers and working to support residents displaced by the strikes, he said, urging the public not to go near the site. Lt. Dean Elsdunne, the international spokesperson for Israel Police, said they received 'reports of numerous impact sites' after 'a large barrage of rockets' fired from Iran. 'We have a number of casualties that we had to medically evacuate, and unfortunately those include fatalities,' he said, speaking from Bat Yam, in Reuters video. He added that police are working with other Israeli agencies, including the military, to locate missing residents and secure the scene. About 140 people have been wounded in two locations across central Israel. In a separate wave of strikes, four additional people were killed in northern Israel, raising the death toll from attacks overnight into Sunday to eight. Update: Date: Title: Iran says it used new maneuverable ballistic missile in latest strikes on Israel Content: Iran says it has used its new kind of ballistic missile in the latest strikes on Israel. According to the state-affiliated FARS news agency, Israel was hit with the Haj Qassem guided ballistic missile during a wave of strikes overnight into Sunday. Iranian Defense Minister Gen. 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Update: Date: Title: Israel's air defenses, explained Content: When tensions escalate in the Middle East, Israel turns once again to its extensive air defense system – which includes the Iron Dome, David's Sling and the Arrow systems, as well as the US military's THAAD system – to protect its citizens from incoming air attacks at various ranges. The missile defense system is one of the most important tools in Israel's arsenal and has saved countless civilian lives over various conflicts in the last decade, analysts say. Read a full story on Israel's air defense systems, explained and visualized, here Update: Date: Title: Watch: What it was like at the site of a missile impact in central Israel Content: CNN's Clarissa Ward was at the site where an Iranian missile made impact in central Israel Saturday following overnight bombardments between Israel and Iran. CNN's Clarissa Ward is at the site where an Iranian missile made impact in central Israel following overnight bombardments between Israel and Iran. Israel's defense minister said Saturday that people in Tehran will 'pay a heavy price' and the Iranian capital 'will burn' if Iran continues with its missile attacks. #cnn #news #israel #iran
Yahoo
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How Israel's Mossad Smuggled Drone Parts to Attack Iran From Within
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Yahoo
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WSJ Correspondent Reports From Bomb Shelter as Israel and Iran Trade Fire
As the conflict between Israel and Iran stretched into the third night, WSJ's Dov Lieber explains what could come next as tensions continue to escalate. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
