But distinguishing rebels protected by the ceasefire from jihadists who are excluded from it is tricky

  The advance by the Syrian army and allied militia resulted in the complete re-encirclement of the city's rebel-held...

  He was a founding member of Nusra Front, Al Qaeda's powerful Syrian branch, and had been among the jihadists who fought...

  Five years after the multi-sided war began, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and 11 million - half of Syria...

  Syria's cabinet said the attacks were a response to the recapture on Sunday by the army and its allies...

Obama and Putin did not get into the finer details of a deal, but made progress to clarify "the remaining gaps...

  Rebels backed by Turkey drove Islamic State militants from all areas they controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border

 

He had been the chief propagandist for the ultra-hardline jihadist group 

The difficulty of making progress militarily will make a negotiated solution more attractive to the Kremlin.

  The White House said it would welcome Russia's constructive engagement.

  "This callous carnage that is Syria has long since moved from cynical to sinful."

 

  "From both sides, these sieges [of Aleppo] have to stop - it's inhumane, awful, disgusting, nightmarish.