An Al-Qaeda front group fighting in Syria on Wednesday overran the northern town of Azaz near the border with Turkey after fierce clashes with rebels, activists told AFP. “The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has seized complete control of Azaz. They are in control of the town’s entrances,” said Abu Ahmad, an activist inside the town. Anoth…
A top Turkish official said Saturday that authorities believe those responsible for a pair of deadly car bombings earlier in the day had been in contact with the Syrian government’s secret police force. Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay stopped short of saying that Turkey believes the Syrian government was directly responsible for the blasts, while also…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan on Friday to apologize for a 2010 Israeli commando raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed several Turkish activists, the Israeli and Turkish governments confirmed. Netanyahu made the call during an airport meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama before Obama departed…
A suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in theTurkish capital on Friday, killing himself and one other person, officials said.U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardione told reporters that a guard at the gate was killed in the 1:15 p.m. blast, and a Turkish citizen was wounded.The bomb appeared to have explod…
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday a Syrian passenger plane forced to land in Ankara was carrying Russian-made munitions destined for Syria's armed forces, ratcheting up tension with his country's war-torn neighbor.Damascus said the plane had been carrying legitimate cargo and described Turkey's actions as an act of "ai…
The Turkish military retaliated with artillery fire for a sixth straight day Monday after a Syrian shell hit its territory, and Turkey's president warned that "the worst-case scenario we have all been dreading" is unfolding in Syria and along its borders.Turkish President Abdullah Gul called on the international community to do more to try to…
Turkey's Parliament authorized military operations against Syria on Thursday and its military fired on targets there for a second day after deadly shelling from Syria killed five civilians in a Turkish border town.For its part, Syria admitted it was responsible for the shelling that killed five people in Turkey and formally apologized for the deaths,…
Turkish artillery fired on Syrian targets after deadly shelling from Syria hit a Turkish border town on Wednesday, sharply raising tensions on a volatile border that has been crossed by tens of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing violence in their country.In a terse statement, the office of Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned she…
Turkish troops and anti-aircraft batteries were headed toward the tense Turkish-Syrian border region Thursday amid reports that U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan was calling for a transitional “national unity” government as a potential solution to the crisis in Syria.The Turkish deployment appeared moderate in scale and seemed more defensive — and perhaps sym…
Turkey warned Tuesday that any Syrian military unit approaching its border will be treated as a direct threat, a serious escalation in tensions days after Syria shot a Turkish military plane out of the sky.Turkey's NATO allies expressed solidarity with Ankara and condemned the Syrian attack but made no mention of any retaliatory action against Syria….