The Telegram account General SVR is popular with British tabloids but has a less-than-perfect track record for truth.

In Damascus, French and German foreign ministers Jean-Noël Barrot and Annalena Baerbock called for a 'peaceful and rigorous' transition with de facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Syrians saw hope reborn. After more than 13 years of repression against its people, the regime of Bashar al-Assad fell, leaving behind the vestiges of a life of luxury, fueled by numerous illegal activities.

On the slopes of Mount Qasyun which overlooks Damascus, a network of tunnels links a military complex, tasked with defending the Syrian capital, to the presidential palace facing it.

The French and German foreign ministers are the most senior Western officials to visit Syria since longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels.

Damascus international airport will restart commercial flights on Tuesday after halting them following the December 8 ouster of president Bashar al-Assad, Syrian aviation authorities announced Saturday.

The foreign ministers of Germany and France will meet Syria's de facto new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa during a trip to the country on Friday on behalf of the EU.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock arrived in Damascus on Friday for the first high-level visit by Western powers to the new Syrian administration that overthrew president Bashar al-Assad last month.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and top French diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot visited Syria's Saydnaya prison on Friday, an emblem of abuses under deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, AFP journalists said.

BERLIN — Germany wants to help Syria return to becoming 'a functioning state with full control over its territory,' its foreign minister said Friday ahead of a trip to Damascus.

The ISIS article appeared four months after the deadliest jihadist vehicle ramming attack in Nice, France when a driver plowed a heavy cargo truck through a crowd watching Bastille Day fireworks, killing 86 and injuring hundreds on July 14, 2016.