Strike in Daraa province follows gains made by rebels in the provincial capital’s Old City amid intensified fighting for control of the southern region, opposition newspaper reports
Syrian warplanes will be decamped and transported to Hmeimym airbase and civilian airports in the capital and other cities following the U.S. strike in Homs, military source tells opposition newspaper Zaman al-Wasl
Government outlet SANA reports from civil sources that four children were among the dead after the U.S. attacked Shayrat air base and struck villages the surrounding area
In a special op-ed for The Syrian Observer, the coordinator-general of the High Negotiations Committee explains that untying the Syrian knot will require isolating external influence on the Syrian scene, a transition with the establishment of a new political system, and the firm application of international law in order to hold war criminals to account
President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to Croatian newspaper Vecernji List published Thursday, in which he reflects on six years of conflict, the negotiation process and the fight against terrorism. The following is the full text as published by government news agency SANA
Media activist Mohammed al-Saheli claims Russians stationed at the Hmeimim airbase in Lattakia denied Iran century-long rights to obtain land in the Qandil Valley in exchange for power supply to the coastal areas, opposition outlet writes
Moscow tries to bail out Assad regime in statement claiming Syrian warplanes struck a facility for making toxic bombs, resulting in a fallout which killed scores of civilians in Idleb province on Tuesday, Al-Araby al-Jadeed reports
Operations by the U.S.-led coalition to liberate Raqqa will not be enough as long as Assad and his regime continue their abuse against their own people, the real source of resentment which allows terrorism to thrive, Randa Taqi al-Din writes for Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper
Opposition figure tweets call to rally representatives from Syria’s political and military spectra to discuss possible alternatives to the political process after a regime chemical attack casts doubt over progress at recent negotiations, All4Syria reports
Rather than making concessions or political gestures, by committing large-scale massacres the Assad regime is further raising the stakes and the political cost for the West of refusing to restore ties, Jihad Yazigi explains
Residents in the loyalist coastal regions are expressing concerns over the increase in military activity in the area, amid greater efforts by Moscow to secure strong footing at the negotiating table, opposition outlet Zaman al-Wasl writes
Civil Defense says bombardment, possibly by Russian jets, destroys medical facilities in Khan Sheikhoun treating the victims of Tuesday’s chemical attack, opposition website Al-Souria writes
Zaman al-Wasl profiles the life of the former deputy defense minister and brother-in-law of Bashar al-Assad, whose proximity to and life’s work for the regime did little to earn him wide respect among the ruling family
Amid heightened discontent among loyalists due to rising soldier deaths and poor social services, the wife of President Bashar al-Assad breaks with regime’s usual machismo image to appear in a video promoting the values of motherhood in Aleppo’s crippled districts
Contributing to Saudi-owned Al-Hayat, Elias Harfoush writes that the U.S.’ recent change in tone toward the removal of Assad from power ignores important facts about the source of true terror in Syria and the regime’s manipulative strategy for survival
With the power balance in northern Syria looking as if it could tip the way of the Kurds, will Syria’s previously neglected community repeat the mistakes of Assad’s dominant minority experience, Eyed al-Jaafari asks in Lebanese Al-Modon
Syrian rebel commander tells opposition media that FSA fighters which participated in Turkey’s Euphrates Shield operation will join U.S. and Kurdish forces for upcoming battle to liberate Raqqa
Coalition media office quotes HNC head as saying the Assad regime shifted focus of the talks to countering terrorism as a way to avoid discussing a political transition, adding that Moscow’s efforts to ensure a peace deal will not succeed while it supports the government on the ground
As the battle for Raqqa city draws closer, a rebel spokesperson laments Kurdish domination of upcoming operations, also predicting that American forces will remain in Raqqa for years at the airbase they seized from ISIS last week, Alsouria Net writes
Circumventing a formal economy that does little to lift them out of poverty, citizens have adapted to new, innovative and sometimes dangerous methods to supplement a lost livelihood in times of financial hardship, Souriatna explains
