A Syrian soldier stands guard on a main road leading to the town of Rastan in the central Homs province...

File photo of an Israeli helicopter carrying two wounded troops to a hospital in Haifa after an explosion in the border with Lebanon...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the bloody militancy plaguing his homeland is aimed at protecting the common interests of Israel and its partners, stressing that the “only option” left to save the nation is “victory” against foreign-backed terrorists...