Dutch To Discuss Joining Syria Air Strikes: AFP
The Dutch cabinet is to discuss a request from the United States to join U.S.-led coalition strikes against the IS group in Syria within "the coming days," Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders has said.
Putin aide: Syrian vote must include refugees: AP
Syrian refugees should be allowed to vote in their country's future elections, Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev has told AP.
Patrushev said that demands for the immediate departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were counterproductive.
"Let's remember the sad experience of Iraq and Libya," Patrushev told the AP in a written reply to questions Tuesday -- his first remarks ever to a foreign news organization. "Have they succeeded in stabilizing the situation there following a foreign intervention and physical removal of those countries' leaders?"
Four Egyptian Soldiers Killed In Sinai Blast
Four Egyptian soldiers have been killed and 12 more wounded in the Sinai Peninsula after unidentified militants planted an improvised explosive device on the side of the road on the outskirts of the city of Arish, exploding an armored personnel carrier.
Turkish Journalists Face Life Imprisonment Over Story About Turkey Arming Syria Militants
Two Turkish journalists are facing life sentences over a story last May alleging that the Turkish government was arming Islamist militants in Syria, the BBC reports.
Can Dundar, the editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper and its Ankara representative Erdem Gul have been charged with espionage.
The Cumhuriyet report published video of police finding weapons in trucks it said was linked to Turkish intelligence. But Turkey said the tricks were bringing aid to Syria's Turkoman minority.
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Mass Grave Found In Iraq's Ramadi
Iraqi authorities say they have found a mass grave in the city of Ramadi that contains at least 40 bodies, including women and children, Reuters reports.
The people whose bodies were left in the shallow grave are believed to have been killed by IS militants when they overran the city in May.
Anbar Governor Sohaib al-Rawi tweeted about the discovery of the mass grave, saying that the authorities believe the victims were the last to fight IS before the city fell.
In this tweet, al-Rawi has included a photo showing the bodies found in the mass grave being guarded by police.
U.S. Considers Military Intervention In Libya As IS Expands
The United States is considering options for military intervention in Libya, where the IS group is expanding its reach and attacking oil installations and a unity government is struggling to get off the ground.
"We're looking at military options, a range of other options as… the situation in Libya unfolds," said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook late Jan. 28, Deutsche Welle reports.
Cook added that the "metastasis" of "IS" from outside of its strongholds in Iraq and Syria had led the U.S. Defense Department to examine ways to contain the spread of the militant group.
Turkey Says Kurdish PYD Has No Future In Syria
Turkey's top national security council, the MGK, has said that the Syrian Kurdish PYD and its military wing the YPG have no future in Syria, Hurriyet reports.
“It has been stated that neither the current regime nor any terror organization, especially [IS] and the PYD-YPG [the PYD’s military wing, the People’s Defense Units], should participate in constructing Syria’s future,” the MGK said in a written statement released late on Jan. 27, following the meeting.
The YPG is fighting the IS group in northern Syria.
Turkey's Daily Sabah has tweeted this quote from Syrian opposition leader George Sabra saying that the Syrian Kurdish PYD and its military wing the YPG should not be involved in the Syria peace talks, set to start tomorrow in Geneva.
The YPG is involved in fighting against the IS group in northern Syria.
Saudi-Backed Syrian Opposition Waits For UN Reply Ahead Of Talks
The Saudi-based Syrian opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee, is still waiting for clarifications from the UN this morning as it met again in Riyadh one day before UN-brokered peace talks are set to start in Geneva.
The HNC insists that it must be the only opposition delegation at the talks and has asked for more information after the UN issued invitation to other opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.