Dozens killed in blasts targeting Iraqi Sunnis

More than 60 people have been killed and dozens hurt in several bomb attacks apparently targeting Sunnis in Iraq.

In the first attack, in Baquba, about 50 km (30 miles) north of Baghdad, at least 41 people were killed when two bombs detonated outside a Sunni mosque. (more…)

Attacks on 29 Sunni mosques in Iraq fuel fears

A sharp rise in attacks on Sunni holy sites in Iraq is feeding fears that the country could spiral into a new round of sectarian violence similar to the bloodletting that brought Iraq to its knees in 2006 and 2007.

Majority Shiites control the levers of power in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. (more…)

Syria promised help over Lebanese hostages issue

General Security chief Maj. General Abbas Ibrahim returned to Beirut from Damascus on Sunday after the Syrian authorities promised to help in resolving the case of the Lebanese pilgrims that were kidnapped in Syria , Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Sunday. (more…)

Israel told US after the fact, no early warning on attack

The United States was not given any warning before air strikes in Syria against what Western and Israeli officials say were weapons headed for Hezbollah militants, a U.S.intelligence official said on Sunday.

Without confirming that Israel was behind the attacks, the intelligence official said that the United States was essentially told of the air raids “after the fact” (more…)

Syria Blames Israel for the Damascus attack

The Syrian government publicly condemned Israel for a powerful air assault on military targets near Damascus early Sunday, saying it “opened the door to all possibilities,” as fear spread throughout the region that the country’s civil war could expand beyond its borders. (more…)

Lebanon’s first civil marriage raises hope for change

When Kholoud Sukkarieh and Nidal Darwish decided to get married last year, they never thought they would make history.

For months, Sukkarieh, a Sunni Muslim, and Darwish, a Shia Muslim, fought a legal battle. It was only last week that the country’s caretaker interior minister Marwan Charbel finally signed their marriage contract, (more…)

Official: Hezbollah inciting strife in Bahrain

Bahrain’s Minister of State for Information Affairs Samira Rajab accused the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of encouraging terrorism and inciting strife in her country.

“Hezbollah is fanning the flame of conflict in Bahrain and training terrorists,” Rajab was quoted as saying (more…)

Vigilantes target Hezbollah by humiliating Syrian in Tripoli

Stripped to the waist, his face heavily bruised and a rope around his neck, the grey-haired Syrian man was led by his captors on a humiliating parade through the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. (more…)

SNC accuses Hezbollah of declaring war on Syrian people

Hezbollah’s role in fighting in the central Syrian province of Homs is a “declaration of war against the Syrian people,” the newly appointed head of the opposition National Coalition warned on Monday.

“What is happening in Homs is a declaration of war against the Syrian people (more…)

Syrian opposition calls on Hezbollah to stay out

The Syrian opposition called on Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters from the country, as activists said regime troops supported by gunmen linked to the Lebanese Shiite militant group battled rebels Sunday for control of a string of villages near the Lebanon-Syria border. (more…)