Zawya: Syrian rebels say they have control of western suburb of Aleppo | On day two of a Syrian rebel offensive in western Aleppo where the government has control the insurgents say they've taken a suburb in the southwest corner of the city. Mana Rabiee reports. | 8 years ago

Maktoob: Islamic State eyeing oil targets beyond Syria stronghold: U.S. official Islamic State is looking at potentially vulnerable oil assets in Libya and elsewhere outside its Syria stronghold, where the militant group controls about roughly 80 percent of the oil and gas fields, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. The official, who briefed reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity, said the United States was carefully examining who controlled oil fields, pipelines, trucking routes and other infrastructure in places that could be vulnerable to attack. "They are looking at the oil assets in Libya and elsewhere. 9 years ago

Maktoob: Coalition efforts to stem IS oil yielding results, official says Stepped-up attacks against the oil infrastructure of the Islamic State group have hurt its bottom line, a senior US official said Tuesday, as the Obama administration tries to rebut claims it is moving too slowly against the jihadists. The US-led coalition that has been bombing IS fighters in Iraq and Syria since August last year has started targeting fuel tankers that move oil around Syria and provide IS fighters with vital funding. Speaking to Pentagon reporters on condition of anonymity, the official said the IS group had been making between $40 million and $48 million a month from oil sales. 9 years ago

Maktoob: US envoy: Raid in May led to plan to attack IS oil targets WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military raid that killed an Islamic State leader in Syria last spring yielded intelligence that allowed the U.S. to more effectively target the extremist group's oil revenues, the State Department's top diplomat for energy affairs said Tuesday. 9 years ago

Maktoob: UN refugee agency receives record pledges for 2016 The UN refugee agency said Tuesday it has received pledges of over $687 million for 2016, the highest amount ever, amid ongoing "mega emergencies" in Syria, South Sudan and elsewhere. The pledges would go toward helping almost 60 million forcibly displaced or stateless people worldwide, UNHCR said in a statement. The promises, made in a donor meeting in Geneva, "come at a time of ongoing mega emergencies such as Syria, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, and new crises, Burundi and Yemen, as well as the refugee crisis in Europe," it said. 9 years ago

Maktoob: Dozens killed in northern Syria air strikes Opposition activists say suspected Russian bombers struck two markets in Idlib and Allepo, killing and wounding dozens. 9 years ago