ANKARA // Fighting in northern Syria between Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and ISIL militants killed at least 15 rebels as the opposition tried to push toward a town of symbolic importance for the extremists.
In central Syria, meanwhile, two suicide bombers struck in the city of Hama near an office of President Bashar Al Assad’s Baath party, killing two people and wounding at least 12, state news agency Sana said.
A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-packed belt in Hama’s Al Assi Square on Monday, and another suicide bomber struck 15 minutes later.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the two explosions killed two people and wounded 14.
ISIL later admitted to the attack, saying three suicide attackers carried out the assault.
Hama is Syria’s fourth largest city and has been relatively quiet in recent years. It’s firmly under the control of Assad’s forces. The twin bombings came as various insurgent groups have been on the offensive north of the city.
The death toll among the Syrian rebels near the Turkish border is the highest since Turkey sent troops and tanks into Syria in August to help rebels re-take ISIL strongholds in the area and curb the advance of a Syrian Kurdish militia, which Ankara views as an extension of Turkey’s outlawed Kurdish separatists.
Turkish military officials said 15 Syrian opposition fighters were killed and about 35 wounded in the fighting, which seeks to capture seven residential districts south of the town of Al Rai.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 21 rebels were killed and more than two dozen wounded, adding that many of the casualties were due to land mines and booby-traps planted by the extremists near the village of Turkmen Bari.
The Turkey-backed rebels are trying to reach the town of Dabiq, which occupies a central place in ISIL propaganda. The extremist group claims the town, which they occupied since August 2014, will be the site of a climactic battle between the forces of Christianity and Islam.
Meanwhile, Russian and Syrian government warplanes carried out more airstrikes around the country, mostly in eastern rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo.
A medical relief group and the Observatory said airstrikes have damaged and put of service one of Syria’s most secure hospitals, which had been dug into a mountain.
The International Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, said the Dr Hasan Al Araj Hospital – also known as “Cave Hospital” and located in the central province of Hama – was struck twice on Sunday.
Russian warplanes carried out the attacks that hit the hospital, near the central village of Kfar Zeita, adding that it’s one of the largest hospitals in rebel-held parts of the country.
Dr Abdallah Darwish, the hospital’s director and health care chief in Hama province, said the hospital was likely struck by “bunker buster” missiles as it is “well-fortified in a cave and impervious to previous attacks.”
The bomb completely destroyed the hospital’s emergency ward and caused major damage throughout the hospital, he said.
Syrian and Russian warplanes have been blamed for a series of attacks that have damaged hospitals and clinics in rebel-held parts of Syria, mostly in Aleppo.
*Associated Press
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HOW%20TO%20ACTIVATE%20THE%20GEMINI%20SHORTCUT%20ON%20CHROME%20CANARY
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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