Latest news with #military strikes
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
US Bombs Halted Iran Uranium Enrichment, for Now, Minister Says
Iran's government confirmed that last month's US military strikes forced it to stop uranium enrichment and said it's open to indirect talks with Washington about the future of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. 'Enrichment has now stopped because damages are serious and severe,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Fox News that aired Monday. 'Obviously we cannot give up our enrichment because it's an achievement of our own scientists, but it's also now a question of national pride.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Russian attacks in Ukraine kill a child and wound 24 before planned direct peace talks
Russian forces struck three Ukrainian cities in overnight attacks, killing a child and wounding at least 24 people, officials said Tuesday, a day before a planned third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's announcement late Monday that the negotiations would take place generated little hope they would deliver any progress on ending the three-year war. That is despite the Trump administration's efforts to push forward peace efforts, which have stalled as Russian President Vladimir Putin is reluctant to budge from his demands. The previous two rounds were held in Istanbul, and Russian media reports said the Turkish city likely would also host the meeting this time. The talks in May and June led to a series of exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers but produced no other agreements. The war has continued unabated, meanwhile. Russia is driving hard to break through at eastern and northeastern points on the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. It is also firing upwards of 700 drones a night at Ukrainian cities. From dusk on Monday evening, Russia struck the Ukrainian regions of Sumy in the northeast, Odesa in the south and eastern Kramatorsk. In Kramatorsk, a glide bomb hit an apartment building, starting a fire, according to the head of the city's military administration, Oleksandr Honcharenko. A boy born in 2015 was killed, local officials said, without giving his exact age. Five other people were reported wounded. The Sumy region came under multiple waves of attacks, the regional military administration reported. A drone hit a gas station in the town of Putyvl, wounding four people, including a 5-year-old boy, it said. A second drone strike hit the same location less than two hours later, wounding seven more. After dark, two powerful Russian glide bombs were dropped on Sumy city, wounding 13 people, including a 6-year-old boy. According to regional authorities, five apartment buildings, two private homes and a shopping mall were damaged in the attack. Acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said the blasts shattered windows and destroyed balconies in residential buildings. Also Tuesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 35 Ukrainian long-range drones over several regions overnight, including three over the Moscow region. ___
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Russian attacks in Ukraine kill a child and wound 24 before planned direct peace talks
Russian forces struck three Ukrainian cities in overnight attacks, killing a child and wounding at least 24 people, officials said Tuesday, a day before a planned third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's announcement late Monday that the negotiations would take place generated little hope they would deliver any progress on ending the three-year war. That is despite the Trump administration's efforts to push forward peace efforts, which have stalled as Russian President Vladimir Putin is reluctant to budge from his demands. The previous two rounds were held in Istanbul, and Russian media reports said the Turkish city likely would also host the meeting this time. The talks in May and June led to a series of exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers but produced no other agreements. The war has continued unabated meanwhile. Russia is driving hard to break through at eastern and northeastern points on the 1000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. It is also firing upwards of 700 drones a night at Ukrainian cities. From dusk on Monday evening, Russia struck the Ukrainian regions of Sumy in the northeast, Odesa in the south, and eastern Kramatorsk. In Kramatorsk, a glide bomb hit an apartment building, starting a fire, according to the head of the city's military administration, Oleksandr Honcharenko. A boy born in 2015 was killed, local officials said without giving his exact age. Five other people were reported wounded. The Sumy region came under multiple waves of attacks, the regional military administration reported. A drone hit a gas station in the town of Putyvl, wounding four people including a 5-year-old boy, it said. A second drone strike hit the same location less than two hours later, wounding seven more. After dark, two powerful Russian glide bombs were dropped on Sumy city, wounding 13 people including a 6-year-old boy. According to regional authorities, five apartment buildings, two private homes, and a shopping mall were damaged in the attack. Acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said the blasts shattered windows and destroyed balconies in residential buildings. Also Tuesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 35 Ukrainian long-range drones over several regions overnight, including three over the Moscow region.
Asharq Al-Awsat
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria Announces Ceasefire after Latest Outbreak of Deadly Sectarian Violence
Syria 's defense minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in southern Sweida province on Tuesday, a day after sectarian clashes killed dozens there. Neighboring Israel again launched strikes on Syrian military forces, saying it was protecting the Druze minority. The latest escalation under Syria's new leaders began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a center of the Druze community. Syrian government forces, sent to restore order on Monday, also clashed with Druze armed groups. On Tuesday, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said an agreement was struck with the city's "notables and dignitaries" and that government forces would "respond only to the sources of fire and deal with any targeting by outlaw groups." However, scattered clashes continued after his announcement, as did allegations that security forces had committed violations against civilians. Syria's Interior Ministry said Monday that more than 30 people had been killed, but has not updated the figures since. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said Tuesday that 166 people had been killed since Sunday, including five women and two children. Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a statement that he had tasked authorities with "taking immediate legal action against anyone proven to have committed a transgression or abuse, regardless of their rank or position." Associated Press journalists in Sweida province saw forces at a government checkpoint searching cars and confiscating suspected stolen goods from both civilians and soldiers. Israeli airstrikes targeted government forces' convoys heading into the provincial capital of Sweida and in other areas of southern Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sought to "prevent the Syrian regime from harming" the Druze religious minority "and to ensure disarmament in the area adjacent to our borders with Syria." In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. Meanwhile, Israeli Cabinet member and Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli called on X for Sharaa to be "eliminated without delay." A soldier's story Manhal Yasser Al-Gor, of the Interior Ministry forces, was being treated for shrapnel wounds at a local hospital after an Israeli strike hit his convoy. "We were entering Sweida to secure the civilians and prevent looting. I was on an armored personnel carrier when the Israeli drone hit us," he said, adding that there were "many casualties." The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Israeli strikes had killed several innocent civilians" as well as soldiers, and called them "a reprehensible example of ongoing aggression and external interference" in Syria's internal matters. It said the Syrian state is committed to protecting the Druze, "who form an integral part of the national identity and united Syrian social fabric." Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders since Sharaa's opposition fighters ousted former President Bashar al-Assad in December, saying it doesn't want militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Earlier Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions that have been clashing with government forces to surrender their weapons and cooperate with authorities. One of the main Druze spiritual leaders later released a video statement retracting the call. Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who has been opposed to the government in Damascus, said in the video that the initial Druze leaders' statement had been issued after an agreement with the authorities in Damascus but that "they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians." "We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation," he claimed, without offering evidence. Some videos on social media showed armed fighters with Druze captives, beating them and, in some cases, forcibly shaving men's moustaches. The violence drew international concern. The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called the violence "worrisome on all sides" in a post on. "We are attempting to come to a peaceful, inclusive outcome for Druze, Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government and Israeli forces," he said.
Arab News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Syria announces ceasefire after sectarian clashes, but more fighting and abuse alleged
BUSRA AL-HARIR: Syria 's defense minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in southern Sweida province on Tuesday, a day after sectarian clashes killed dozens there. Neighboring Israel again launched strikes on Syrian military forces, saying it was protecting the Druze minority. The latest escalation under Syria's new leaders began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a center of the Druze community. Syrian government forces, sent to restore order on Monday, also clashed with Druze armed groups. A ceasefire announcement On Tuesday, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said an agreement was struck with the city's 'notables and dignitaries' and that government forces would 'respond only to the sources of fire and deal with any targeting by outlaw groups.' However, scattered clashes continued after his announcement — as did allegations that security forces had committed violations against civilians. Syria's Interior Ministry said Monday that more than 30 people had been killed, but has not updated the figures since. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said Tuesday that 166 people had been killed since Sunday, including five women and two children. Among them were 21 people killed in 'field executions' by government forces, including 12 men in a rest house in the city of Sweida, it said. It did not say how many of the dead were civilians and also cited reports of members of the security forces looting and setting homes on fire. Syrian interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said in a statement that he had tasked authorities with 'taking immediate legal action against anyone proven to have committed a transgression or abuse, regardless of their rank or position.' Associated Press journalists in Sweida province saw forces at a government checkpoint searching cars and confiscating suspected stolen goods from both civilians and soldiers. Israel's involvement draws pushback Israeli airstrikes targeted government forces' convoys heading into the provincial capital of Sweida and in other areas of southern Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sought to 'prevent the Syrian regime from harming' the Druze religious minority 'and to ensure disarmament in the area adjacent to our borders with Syria.' In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. Meanwhile, Israeli Cabinet member and Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli called on X for Al-Sharaa to be 'eliminated without delay.' A soldier's story Manhal Yasser Al-Gor, of the Interior Ministry forces, was being treated for shrapnel wounds at a local hospital after an Israeli strike hit his convoy. 'We were entering Sweida to secure the civilians and prevent looting. I was on an armored personnel carrier when the Israeli drone hit us,' he said, adding that there were 'many casualties.' The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Israeli strikes had killed 'several innocent civilians' as well as soldiers, and called them 'a reprehensible example of ongoing aggression and external interference' in Syria's internal matters. It said the Syrian state is committed to protecting the Druze, 'who form an integral part of the national identity and united Syrian social fabric.' Suspicion over Syria's new government Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders since Al-Sharaa's Sunni Islamist insurgents ousted former President Bashar Assad in December, saying it doesn't want militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Earlier Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions that have been clashing with government forces to surrender their weapons and cooperate with authorities. One of the main Druze spiritual leaders later released a video statement retracting the call. Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who has been opposed to the government in Damascus, said in the video that the initial Druze leaders' statement had been issued after an agreement with the authorities in Damascus but that 'they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians.' 'We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation,' he claimed, without offering evidence. Some videos on social media showed armed fighters with Druze captives, beating them and, in some cases, forcibly shaving men's moustaches. Sectarian and revenge attacks The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Since Assad's fall, clashes have broken out several times between forces loyal to the new Syrian government and Druze fighters. The latest fighting has raised fears of more sectarian violence. In March, an ambush on government forces by Assad loyalists in another part of Syria triggered days of sectarian and revenge attacks. Hundreds of civilians were killed, most of them members of Assad's minority Alawite sect. A commission was formed to investigate the attacks but no findings have been made public. The videos and reports of soldiers' violations spurred outrage and protests by Druze communities in neighboring Lebanon, northern Israel and in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, where the Israeli military said dozens of protesters had crossed the border into Syrian territory. The violence drew international concern. The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called the violence 'worrisome on all sides' in a post on. 'We are attempting to come to a peaceful, inclusive outcome for Druze, Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government and Israeli forces,' he said.
