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The Bravenhearts of Wadi Al Nasera, Syria

Providing sanctuary for all Faiths...

(Wadi Al Nasera, SYRIA) - Wadi al Nasera (Valley of the Christians) encompasses approximately 40 picturesque Christian hamlets in western Syria, located amidst the green plush rolling hills between Homs and the Lebanese border.

Thirty of its villages are Christian, four are mainly populated by Alawi Muslims and one, Al Qalaa (aka Hosn village), just under the Crak des Chevaliers medieval fortress, was Sunni Muslim.

Discontent Within the Rebel Coalition Jaish al-Fatah

Al-Nusra Front losing support in Syria following unilateral actions in Idlib.

(SALEM, Ore.) - According to various stories on Syrian social media, some of the armed groups and Syrian Islamist rebel factions in coalition with Al-Nusra Front which formed the Jaish al-Fatah, especially Ahrar ash-Sham, voice dissatisfaction with Al-Nusra Front's unilateral actions in Idlib.

They believe their alliance with Al-Nusra was a mistake.

American Reporter in Turkey Killed in Suspicious Car Accident

The veteran reporter was in fear of the Turkish Intelligence Agency after breaking stories about Turkey and ISIL.

(TEHRAN Press TV) - Serena Shim was killed in a suspicious car accident on Sunday as she was on a working mission in Turkey to cover the ongoing war in the strategic Syrian town of Kobani. Shim, an American citizen of Lebanese origin, covered reports for Press TV in Lebanon, Iraq, and Ukraine.

She was going back to her hotel from a report scene in the city of Suruç, a rural district of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey when their car collided with a heavy vehicle. The identity and whereabouts of the truck driver remain unknown.

Shell-Shocked Syrian Town Freed After Savage Massacre

291 Days of ‘Islamic Justice’

(Adra al-Omal, DAMASCUS, Syria) - Last week’s battle for Adra al-Omalia was a significant turning point. The town is now liberated but the story of what took place here over the past 291 days is presently emerging, and it is a horrifying one.

With a pre-massacre population of over 100,000, Adra housed 600 manufacturing plants and grain silos. It was a key area. The occupation of Adra al-Omalia lasted nearly ten months, commencing in December 11, 2013. Many apartments in the area were quickly burned or gutted with grenades or other explosive devices. What quickly took place was a massacre, and many eyewitness accounts of the events are now surfacing.

Street Scenes from a Damascus Neighborhood

Da’ish (IS), FSA and al Nusra Compete for Dwindling Support...

(Barzeh neighborhood, Damascus) - Changes are underway in Damascus’s suburban neighborhoods. In some of these neighborhoods there are few families’ left—only fighters. But in others, residents are trickling back in (or in some cases never even left) despite the danger.

Here in these areas, those who have chosen the armed opposition route fall are grouped roughly in the following percentiles: 70% FSA, 25% Al Nusra, and, as of now, relatively few, Da’ish (IS).

Russia Bans Food Imports; UN Fears Ukraine Invasion

The war of economic sanctions has escalated even as fighting has intensified on the ground in eastern Ukraine.

(MOSCOW) - Russia will ban all imports of food from the United States and all fruit and vegetables from Europe, the state news agency reported on Wednesday, a sweeping response to Western sanctions imposed over its support for rebels in Ukraine.

The measures will hit consumers at home who rely on cheap imports, and on farmers in the West for whom Russia is a big market. Moscow is by far the biggest buyer of European fruit and vegetables and the second biggest importer of U.S. poultry.

EU Sanctions Target Humanitarian Aid

Hindering Restoration of Global Heritage in Syria...

(DAMASCUS, Syria) - Today, a civilization that used to lead the world and for centuries was the beacon of learning, tolerance and trade, and that still protects our global cultural heritage, is damaged—and only the Syrian people can rebuild it for all of us. We need to help them.

Last month, half-heartedly and without unanimity among its 28 member states, the European Union levied yet more sanctions on Syrian officials.

Passed under pressure from the usual suspects (the US, France, Britain, and the international Zionist lobby), the EU measure targets 12 government ministers, none of whom wields or holds police authority of any type.

Regional, World Powers on Alert After ISIL Declares New Islamic State

The move, at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, follows a three-week drive for territory by ISIL militants and allies among Iraqi's Sunni Muslim minority.

(TIKRIT, Iraq) - Iraqi troops battled to dislodge an al Qaeda splinter group from the city of Tikrit on Monday after its leader was declared caliph of a new Islamic state in lands seized this month across a swathe of Iraq and Syria.

Alarming regional and world powers, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed universal authority, declaring its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was now caliph of the Muslim world - a mediaeval title last widely recognized in the Ottoman sultan deposed 90 years ago after World War One.

Militants Seize Iraqi Air Bases, Oilfields as U.S. Forces Arrive

Baghdad is racing against time as the insurgents consolidate their grip on Sunni provinces.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Militants attacked one of Iraq's largest air bases and seized control of several small oilfields on Wednesday as U.S. special forces troops and intelligence analysts arrived to help Iraqi security forces counter a mounting Sunni insurgency.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is fighting for his job and is under international pressure to create a more inclusive government, said he supported starting the process of forming a new cabinet within a week.

Syrian Warplanes Kill 57 Civilians in Attack in Northern Iraq

In recent weeks, ISIS has taken over swaths of Iraq in its attempt to create an Islamic state stretching from Syria to Iraq.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - At least 57 Iraqi civilians were killed and more than 120 others were wounded by what local officials say were Syrian warplanes that struck several parts of Anbar province Tuesday.

Sabah Karkhout, the head of Iraq’s Anbar provincial council, told CNN that the attacks struck markets and fuel stations in areas such as Rutba, al-Walid and Qaim.