Syrian army kill 62 rebels in ambush near Damascus: NGO

DAMASCUS: Syrian troops killed at least 62 rebels in an ambush Wednesday near Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Syrian military said those killed were members of the jihadist Al-Nusra Front.

Syrian TV shows Assad after reported attack on his motorcade

Syrian rebels said on Thursday they targeted President Bashar al-Assad's motorcade as he was heading to attend prayers at a Damascus mosque to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, but footage broadcast by state television showed him unharmed.

The Tahrir al-Sham rebel brigade, a unit of the Free Syrian Army, said in a statement: "After conducting reconnaissance (on) the timing and course of Bashar al-Assad's motorcade the area was hit with artillery. We pray to God and await the field report about the results."

Syria crisis can only be solved by 'striking terror with iron fist': Assad

DAMASCUS: Syria's crisis will only be solved by stamping out “terror”, President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday, in reference to rebels fighting his regime.

In a rare speech on Syrian state television, Assad also dismissed the political opposition to his regime as a “failure” that could play no role in solving the country's brutal war.

“No solution can be reached with terror except by striking it with an iron fist,” said Assad.

Air raids kill 11 Syrian kids

BEIRUT: Seven children in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo and another four in Homs in the center were among 17 civilians killed in air raids on Tuesday, a watchdog said.

The deaths in Homs come as troops pressed an offensive against remaining rebel areas there, while in Aleppo province, the raid comes exactly a year into the rebel takeover of the targeted town of Anadan.

Pakistan wants arms supply to Syrian sides stopped

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan strongly criticised on Tuesday the continued infusion of arms in Syria and asked the Security Council and the big powers to take steps to halt arms supplies to all sides in the country.

“As we meet in this chamber, Syria is burning. Bloodshed continues.

Bashar al-Assad's militias 'cleansing' Homs of Sunni Muslims

The "Shabiha", a loyalist militia drawn largely from the Syrian president's Alawite sect, is systematically looting and then destroying the homes of any Sunnis who have fled the province, a key battleground in the country's civil war.

"They pushed out the rebel fighters and now they are trying to push out all the Sunnis," said Bilal, a 23-year-old from the Sunni village of Talkalakh in Homs province. "They took our houses, threatened us, destroyed our villages."

Pakistan condemns attacks on Holy sites in Syria

Pakistan on Monday strongly condemned the deliberate and wanton attack on the holy sites including the recent attack on Sayyeda Bibi Zainab’s shrine in Damascus.

Foreign office Spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry in a statement said the trend of desecration of the holy sites has hurt the sentiments of Muslims in Pakistan as indeed the world over. Such violations, which also fan sectarian strife, are most reprehensible.

Pakistan condemns attacks on Holy sites in Syria

Pakistan on Monday strongly condemned the deliberate and wanton attack on the holy sites including the recent attack on Sayyeda Bibi Zainab’s shrine in Damascus.

Foreign office Spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry in a statement said the trend of desecration of the holy sites has hurt the sentiments of Muslims in Pakistan as indeed the world over. Such violations, which also fan sectarian strife, are most reprehensible.

Pro-Assad militia kills Syrian reconciliation team in Homs village

At least six mediators have been killed by pro-government militiamen in the Syrian province of Homs, reports say.

The men were reportedly trying to broker talks between Sunni Muslims and members of the minority Alawite sect in the area when they were shot dead.

Saudi arms will arrive soon: Syria rebel chief

The new head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition said he expected advanced weapons supplied by Saudi Arabia to reach rebel fighters soon and that the Geneva peace conference “is not possible” for now due to their currently weak military position.

Ahmad al-Jarba, who has close links to Saudi Arabia, told Reuters in his first interview since being elected president of the coalition on July 6 that the opposition would not go to a proposed peace conference in Geneva sponsored by the United States and Russia unless its military fortunes improve.

U.N. chief Ban appeals for Ramadan truce across Syria

 UNITED NATIONS :U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed on Monday for forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel fighters in Syria to put down their weapons during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement, Ban said Ramadan is one of the four months on the Islamic calendar during which fighting is supposed to cease.

"For the sake of the Syrian people, therefore, I would like to call on all parties in Syria to respect this religious obligation for at least, at a minimum, one month," Ban said on the eve of Ramadan, which begins on Tuesday.

Putin warns Egypt it's approaching a civil war

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday warned that the standoff in Egypt between supporters and foes of deposed president Mohamed Morsi threatened to degenerate into a civil war. "Syria is already in the grips of a civil war, unfortunately enough, and Egypt is moving in that direction," Russian news agencies quoted Putin as saying while on a visit to Kazakhstan.