Syrian Rebel Chief

Russian military intervention in Syria has turned the course of that country's civil war against US-backed rebel groups, increasing the likelihood that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his loyalists will remain in power, US intelligence officials testified Tuesday.

The killing of Syrian rebel chief Zahran Alloush, fiercely opposed to both the regime and the ISIS, has eliminated a key bulwark against the jihadists and could derail UN-brokered peace talks, analysts say.

Powerful Syrian rebel chief Zahran Alloush was killed in a regime air strike east of Damascus on Friday, dealing blows to both the nearly five-year uprising and a fragile peace process.

Zahran Alloush, head of the powerful Jaish al-Islam Syrian rebel group, was killed on Friday east of Damascus, a monitoring group and Syria's opposition said.

The US military will intensify air strikes and may carry out more direct ground attacks as it steps up efforts against Islamic State militants following a failed bid to train Syrian rebels, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told lawmakers on Tuesday.

A doomed US plan now on hold to train Syrian rebel fighters outside the country to fight the Islamic State was "nuts," former defense secretary Robert Gates said.

The rise of the brutal Islamic State group can partly be blamed on President Barack Obama's failure to arm moderate Syrian rebels far earlier, said former US defense secretary Leon Panetta.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has appointed Prince Khaled bin Bandar as head of intelligence three months after his predecessor, who was in charge of efforts to support Syrian rebels against President Bashar al-Assad, was sacked.

Western-backed opposition groups in Syria are recruiting refugee children in neighboring countries and Syrian government forces are detaining and torturing children with rebel links, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a report on Tuesday.

Iran, the chief regional ally of Damascus, said on Saturday there is "proof" Syrian rebels used chemical weapons in their conflict with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

A US pledge to step up military aid to Syrian rebels because of alleged use of chemical arms by the regime drew criticism from Damascus ally Russia and from UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday.

The US government on Thursday blacklisted four Syrian government ministers, an airline and a television station it said helped the Assad government in its two-year crackdown on opposition forces.

Clashes between Syrian rebels and regime forces erupted on Saturday near a village where United Nation (UN) peacekeepers are being held hostage, an activist said, possibly complicating efforts to free them.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a rare interview he is ready to negotiate with the opposition but will not step down, as the UN chief and his Syria envoy offered to broker peace talks between his regime and rebel leaders.

Syria is "genuinely worried" that some countries might equip extremist groups with chemical weapons and then claim they were used by the Syrian government, the country's U.N. envoy said in a letter to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council.

Russian military intervention in Syria has turned the course of that country's civil war against US-backed rebel groups, increasing the likelihood that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his loyalists will remain in power, US intelligence officials testified Tuesday.

The killing of Syrian rebel chief Zahran Alloush, fiercely opposed to both the regime and the ISIS, has eliminated a key bulwark against the jihadists and could derail UN-brokered peace talks, analysts say.

Powerful Syrian rebel chief Zahran Alloush was killed in a regime air strike east of Damascus on Friday, dealing blows to both the nearly five-year uprising and a fragile peace process.

Zahran Alloush, head of the powerful Jaish al-Islam Syrian rebel group, was killed on Friday east of Damascus, a monitoring group and Syria's opposition said.

The US military will intensify air strikes and may carry out more direct ground attacks as it steps up efforts against Islamic State militants following a failed bid to train Syrian rebels, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told lawmakers on Tuesday.

A doomed US plan now on hold to train Syrian rebel fighters outside the country to fight the Islamic State was "nuts," former defense secretary Robert Gates said.

The rise of the brutal Islamic State group can partly be blamed on President Barack Obama's failure to arm moderate Syrian rebels far earlier, said former US defense secretary Leon Panetta.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has appointed Prince Khaled bin Bandar as head of intelligence three months after his predecessor, who was in charge of efforts to support Syrian rebels against President Bashar al-Assad, was sacked.

Western-backed opposition groups in Syria are recruiting refugee children in neighboring countries and Syrian government forces are detaining and torturing children with rebel links, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a report on Tuesday.

Iran, the chief regional ally of Damascus, said on Saturday there is "proof" Syrian rebels used chemical weapons in their conflict with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

A US pledge to step up military aid to Syrian rebels because of alleged use of chemical arms by the regime drew criticism from Damascus ally Russia and from UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday.

The US government on Thursday blacklisted four Syrian government ministers, an airline and a television station it said helped the Assad government in its two-year crackdown on opposition forces.

Clashes between Syrian rebels and regime forces erupted on Saturday near a village where United Nation (UN) peacekeepers are being held hostage, an activist said, possibly complicating efforts to free them.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a rare interview he is ready to negotiate with the opposition but will not step down, as the UN chief and his Syria envoy offered to broker peace talks between his regime and rebel leaders.

Syria is "genuinely worried" that some countries might equip extremist groups with chemical weapons and then claim they were used by the Syrian government, the country's U.N. envoy said in a letter to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council.