A Syrian security guard who attacked and killed three U.S. citizens in Syria had joined the internal security forces two months earlier. A Syrian official told The Associated Press on Sunday that the attacker was suspected of having ties to the Islamic State group. The attack occurred Saturday near Palmyra, killing two U.S. service members and one civilian. Three others were wounded. The gunman was killed at the scene. The incident highlights concerns about infiltration within Syrian security forces. U.S. officials have vowed retaliation against IS for the attack. The U.S. military has been expanding cooperation with Syrian forces.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Judges and prosecutors at the International Criminal Court are trying to live and work under the same U.S. finan…
LATAKIA, Syria (AP) — The woman, a member of Syria 's Alawite religious minority, was walking home on a sunny July day in her town on the Medi…
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, speaks during a press conference at Coyle Community Center in Minneapolis, Minn., as community leaders react to the immigration enforcement efforts aimed at Somalis recently announced by the Trump administration Wednesday, Dec 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The United States inaugurated a massive new consulate compound Wednesday in Irbil, the capital of northern Iraq’s semiauton…
Pope Leo XIV is praying at the tomb of a Lebanese saint revered among Christians and Muslims. He is opening his first full day in Lebanon with a message of peace and religious coexistence in a region torn by conflict. Thousands of enthusiastic Lebanese braved the rain to line Leo’s motorcade route heading to Annaya, around 40 kilometers from Beirut. Some waved Lebanese and Vatican flags and tossed flower petals and rice on his car as it zoomed by in a gesture of welcome. Leo is bringing a message of peace and Christian-Muslim coexistence at a time when political tensions in the tiny country are worse than they have been in years.
Pope Leo XIV is wrapping up his visit to Turkey before heading to Lebanon. Leo had two key appointments in Istanbul on Sunday before flying to Beirut: a prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and divine liturgy with the ecumenical patriarch. This is a precarious moment for Lebanon after years of successive crises. Leo is seeking to bring a message of hope to its long-suffering people and bolster a critical Christian community in the Middle East.
Pope Leo XIV opens first foreign trip with visit to Turkey that highlights religious, political ties
Pope Leo XIV is heading to Turkey on his first foreign trip. He's fulfilling Pope Francis’ plans to mark an important Orthodox anniversary and bring a message of peace to the region at a crucial time for efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease Mideast tensions. Leo is arriving Thursday first in Ankara, where he has a meeting planned with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a speech to the country’s diplomatic corps. He’ll then move onto Istanbul for three days of ecumenical and interfaith meetings that will be followed by the Lebanese leg of his trip. Leo’s visit comes as Turkey has cast itself as a key intermediary in peace negotiations for the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
As travel picks up for the season, flyers can find a moment of quiet and relaxation at interfaith chapels or meditation spaces in many U.S. airports. Employees at Boston’s Logan International Airport also get to practice their faith right in their sprawling workplace. Logan's Our Lady of the Airways is widely considered the country’s first airport chapel and is still a Catholic church — not an interfaith venue. Two cousins who work for JetBlue said they come to the brick-faced modernist chapel every day to pray for a couple of minutes before their shifts.
HEYBELIADA, Turkey (AP) — As Pope Leo XIV prepares to embark on his first trip abroad with a visit to Turkey to mark a key event that shaped t…
