NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel said Tuesday he and members of his network crew escaped unharmed after five days of captivity in Syria, where more than a dozen pro-regime gunmen dragged them from their car, killed one of their rebel escorts and subjected them to mock executions.
More than a dozen heavily armed pro-regime gunmen kidnapped NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and several colleagues for five days inside Syria, threatening them with mock executions and keeping them bound and blindfolded until they escaped unharmed during a firefight between their captors and rebels, Engel said Tuesday.
Quantico, VA - Until I joined the Fourth Estate, it was my experience that most Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Guardsmen and Marines usually eschewed contact with members of the media. Regard for the potentates of the press used to be about equal to that of chiggers, ticks, scorpions and fire ants.
Russia's attempt to backpedal after a top diplomat said Syrian President Bashar Assad is losing control of his country reflects the dilemma Moscow faces as opposition fighters gain ground.
Russia, which has provided military and political support key to the Syrian regime, acknowledged for the first time on Thursday that President Bashar Assad is losing control and the rebels may win the civil war that has dragged on for 21 months and claimed an estimated 40,000 lives.
Syrian filmmaker Joud Said was planning to attend the world premiere of his latest work at the Dubai International Film Festival when the bad news came: his movie had been yanked from the program.
Syrian government forces have fired Scud missiles at insurgents in recent days, escalating the 2-year-old conflict against rebels seeking to overthrow the regime, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
The Syrian government seems to have slowed preparations for the possible use of chemical weapons against rebel targets, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Tuesday.
Syria sharply criticized NATO's move to deploy Patriot missiles along its border with Turkey, calling the decision "provocative," as the West took a major step toward a possible military role in the civil war.
