Fighting weakens ISIS' hold on Syria turf
BEIRUT -- Members of the Islamic State group failed Thursday to break a siege imposed by U.S.-backed fighters in the last area they control in Syria, leading to fierce fighting that inflicted casualties on both sides, Syrian opposition activists said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the DeirEzzor 24, an activist collective, said the fighting concentrated west of the eastern village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border that the extremists lost earlier this week.
U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces have captured most of the area that was once controlled by the Islamic State group on the east banks of the Euphrates River and the extremists control only two villages. More than 20,000 civilians have fled the Islamic State-held area and hundreds of militants surrendered since the Syrian Democratic Forces began its offensive on Sept. 10.
The extremists are likely to lose the areas they control in Deir el-Zour in the coming few weeks as Syrian Democratic Forces fighters press their offensive under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.
Rami Abdurrahman, the Observatory's chief, said Thursday's fighting left 34 militants and 16 Syrian Democratic Forces fighters dead. He added that 21 Islamic State group gunmen were taken prisoners.
DeirEzzor 24 confirmed fighters from both sides were killed without giving a number.
Hamas refuses cash after Israel's assent
JERUSALEM -- Israel on Thursday agreed to allow the transfer of $15 million in Qatari aid to the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip, an official said. But Hamas said it was rejecting the much-needed cash to protest Israeli delays on the delivery.
The money is the third in a series of payments provided by Qatar to help ease the grim economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza. The cash transfers, delivered through an Israeli crossing, have been controversial in Israel, where critics accuse the government of rewarding Hamas violence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked the latest transfer on Tuesday after a Palestinian sniper shot an Israeli soldier along the Gaza border, hitting him in the helmet and lightly wounding him.
But the Israeli official said Thursday that security officials had now decided to allow the transfer. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Hamas is to use the money to pay thousands of civil servants who have not received full salaries in several years.
As Israel was approving the payment, however, Hamas announced that it would not accept the money.
Russia advances 'fake news' penalties
Russia moved to punish media outlets with fines and even imprisonment for publishing "fake news" or information showing "disrespect" to government bodies and officials.
Prosecutors would be able to block websites without court orders, while publications found guilty of spreading "unreliable socially-significant information" would face fines of as much as $15,000 under a measure passed Thursday by the lower house of parliament at first reading.
A second law threatens people with up to 15 days in jail, as well as a ban on their publications, if they distribute material "expressing in indecent form a clear disrespect for society, the state, the official state symbols of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Russian Federation and bodies exercising state power."
The Kremlin "in concept" supports the draft laws, which may be "refined" in later readings, said Garry Minkh, President Vladimir Putin's representative to parliament, the state-run Tass news service reported. "There's no censorship here or contradiction of the constitution because rights and freedoms can be restricted for constitutionally significant purposes," he said.
Air raid said to kill 16 Afghan relatives
KABUL, Afghanistan -- An airstrike on a home in southern Afghanistan killed 16 civilians from the same extended family, an Afghan official said Thursday.
Attaullah Afghan, head of the Helmand provincial council, said the airstrike was launched Wednesday in the Sangin district during heavy fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban.
He said all of the victims belonged to the Akthar Mohammad family and eight children and three women were among the dead.
Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said an investigation has been opened.
It was not immediately clear if the airstrike was by Afghan forces or NATO, which often provides air support to Afghan ground troops.
"A large Afghan-led, multi-day operation in Sangin, Helmand has been supported by U.S. advisers and coalition air strikes," NATO said in a statement. "Due to the ongoing operation and the number of units involved, we are still looking into the claim of non-combatant casualties."
Afghan forces have struggled to contain a resurgent Taliban that now effectively controls nearly half the country.
A Section on 01/25/2019