A surge of violence in Iraq, including as many as 15 car bombings, has left more than 50 people dead. Iraqi police officers said that many of the bombs went off in largely Shiite neighborhoods, heightening concerns that the sectarian conflict in Syria may spill over into a full-blown sectarian...

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A number of Jewish relief agencies are stepping forward to aid refugees from the Syrian civil war who have fled to Jordan. The left-leaning Israeli broadsheet Ha’aretz reports that a coalition of Jewish agencies will come together under the umbrella label of the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, and will to...

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Saudi Arabia is recruiting Yemenite mercenaries and sending them to help opposition forces fighting to overthrow the regime of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, according to a report published on the Paris based website, Intelligence Online. Western intelligence sources say the operation is being organized by the Kingdom’s general intelligence service,...

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France is making a major push to highlight for U.S. officials that the Syrian regime has been using Sarin gas as part of its battle against rebels seeking the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime. English-language French news outlets are reporting that Paris has cleaned out the cupboard: France has...

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Al Qaeda affiliated terrorists are taking credit for two spectacular jailbreaks staged on Sunday in Iraq. The Los Angeles Times described the chaos and the sheer scope of the breakouts: Al Qaeda’s Iraqi affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the dual...

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Israeli intelligence fears that the violence in Syria will destabilize the country until it recognizably becomes a failed state, according to statements made Tuesday by Major General Aviv Kochavi, commander of military intelligence (MI). In a rare public appearance, Kochavi told newly graduated intelligence officers of the Israel Defense Forces...

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The European Union yesterday formally blacklisted the military wing of Hezbollah – the Iran-backed Shiite organization which has been critical in enabling the Bashar al-Assad regime to steadily erode two years of opposition gains – as a terror organization. The Western-backed umbrella group representing the rebels evaluated the decision and...

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Reports continue to emerge of Israeli efforts to assist Syrian civilians injured in the country’s bloody conflict. Last March the IDF set up a field hospital in the Golan Heights to treat Syrians with light to moderate injuries. Civilians with more serious injuries have been taken to Israeli hospitals, and...

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Last week saw top U.S. military and intelligence officials openly worrying that the momentum in the Syrian conflict had shifted in favor of the Bashar al-Assad regime. Violence this weekend seemed to grimly confirm that the regime was consolidating gains it had made in recent months, during which support from the Iran-backed...

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During reconfirmation hearing this week, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Martin Dempsey was asked this week to evaluate the current prospects of the Syrian opposition seeking the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. His response was  grim: Dempsey acknowledged in response to a question from Sen. Lindsey Graham,...

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