AFP - A bomb blast wounded an official of Palestinian group Hamas in the Lebanese city of Sidon on Sunday, destroying his car, military and medical sources said.

The blast sent a column of smoke into the sky, television footage from the scene broadcast by Lebanese television stations showed.

REUTERS - The Syrian government hit back on Thursday against French criticism of its military campaign in rebel-held Idlib, saying it was targeting terrorist groups that were not party to an agreement to reduce fighting in the rebel-held region.

AFP - Turkey on Wednesday warned Iran and Russia to hold back the Syrian regime in bombing the rebel-held northern Idlib province, as tensions mounted ahead of mooted peace talks later this month.

Ankara has been working closely with Russia and Iran to end the Syrian conflict over the last months but has stepped up pressure on Moscow and Tehran as the bombardments on Idlib intensified.

AFP - Drones that attacked Russian bases in Syria last week were sent from Idlib, a "de-escalation" zone controlled by anti-Damascus fighters, the Russian defence ministry's official newspaper said Wednesday.

AFP - Air strikes and artillery fire killed at least 15 civilians on Tuesday in a besieged rebel enclave near Damascus targeted by near-daily regime bombardment, a war monitor said.

Three children were among the dead in Eastern Ghouta, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said the air raids were carried out by regime and Russian warplanes.

The deadliest strikes hit the Hammuriyeh district where eight civilians were killed, the Britain-based monitor said.

 AFP - The Israeli army overnight carried out air strikes and fired rockets at targets in Syria, causing damage near a "military position", the Syrian army said in a statement on Tuesday.

MOSCOW — The main Russian air and naval bases in Syria beat back an attack by 13 armed drones over the weekend, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Monday.

The small drones were shot down before they caused any damage and there were no casualties, according to a statement on the military’s Facebook page.

AFP - Regime forces upped the pressure on two of the last rebel bastions in Syria, with air strikes in Idlib province and a move to break a siege near Damascus Monday.

Syrian and Russian aircraft pounded targets in the northwestern region of Idlib, pressing a week-old operation targeting the last province in the country to escape government control.

FRANCE24 - Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Paris on Friday for talks with France’s Emmanuel Macron aimed at improving relations with Europe, after a war of words in 2017.
The lunch and talks at the Elysee Palace are expected to take in Syria and EU-Turkey relations, but Macron is also expected to voice concern over Erdogan’s post-coup purges.

FRANCE24 - Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Paris on Friday for talks with France’s Emmanuel Macron aimed at improving relations with Europe, after a war of words in 2017.
The lunch and talks at the Elysee Palace are expected to take in Syria and EU-Turkey relations, but Macron is also expected to voice concern over Erdogan’s post-coup purges.