DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – The latest developments as Syrian troops and other nations battle militants in Syria. All times local.
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10:40 a.m.
Turkey’s state-run news agency says Syrian journalist Salih Mahmud Leyla, who reported for the agency from northern Syria, has been killed in car bomb attack.
The Anadolu Agency said Friday that Leyla, 27, died in the attack in the town of Hreitan, in northern Aleppo province, late Thursday. It said the attack is believed to have been carried out by Islamic State militants.
Leyla sent photographs and videos from clashes in northern Syria and also reported on hardships suffered by the people there, Anadolu said.
In July, Leyla received injuries to his face while reporting on clashes in Aleppo and was brought to Turkey for treatment.
Leyla, who was from Aleppo, had trained as a computer technician. His wife of one year is expecting their first child, Anadolu said.
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10:35 a.m.
France’s defense minister says French fighter jets fired airstrikes on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in Syria, targeting foreign fighters plotting attacks in Europe.
Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Europe-1 radio Friday that two Rafale jets bombed a training camp “and the objective was achieved.” It was the second French strike on Syria, and Le Drian said “it will not be the last.”
He did not elaborate on the purported attack plots.
He criticized Russia’s stepped-up and wide-ranging military action in Syria, saying “80 to 90 percent” of its actions do not target the Islamic State group. Russia says its air campaign is aimed against Islamic militants.
France joined the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq last year and expanded its campaign to Syria last month.