• Death toll of weekend bombing in Turkey reaches 50

    Umit Bektas / Reuters

    The mother of 22-year-old Ayten Calim mourns during her funeral in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Turkey, near the Turkish-Syrian border on May 14. Calim was one of around 50 people to have been killed by two bomb attacks in Reyhanli over the weekend.

    By Nick Tattersall, Reuters

    Turkey's prime minister will push President Barack Obama for more assertive action on Syria during a visit to Washington this week, days after car bombs tore through a Turkish border town in the deadliest spillover of violence yet.

    The bombings in Reyhanli, which killed 50 people on Saturday, and activists' reports of a massacre of Sunni Muslims in a Syrian coastal town have incensed Tayyip Erdogan, already critical of the slow international response to the conflict. Read the full story.

     

    Umit Bektas / Reuters

    Relatives cover the body of 22-year-old Ayten Calim with a Muslim prayer rug and her wedding dress as they lower her into a grave in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Turkey, near the Turkish-Syrian border on May 14.

    Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

    People stand in a damaged building on May 14, at Reyhanli in Hatay, Turkey, just a few miles from the main border crossing into Syria. The death toll in twin car bombings in a Turkish town near the Syrian border has increased to 50 after another body was recovered and a victim died in hospital, the health minister was quoted as saying on May 14. The attacks also provoked a backlash against the nearly 400,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey. Government officials have repeatedly warned against provocations and said Turkey will maintain its open-door policy for Syrians fleeing the regime's crackdown.

    Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

    A man works in a damaged building on May 14 at Reyhanli in Hatay, Turkey, just a few miles from the main border crossing into Syria.

     

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  • A brief, quiet moment in Syria

    Reuters

    A member of the Free Syrian Army holds his weapon as he sits on a sofa in the middle of a street in Deir al-Zor on April 2.

    Reuters

    A bust of late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, father of the current president Bashar al-Assad, is seen hung at a broken window of a building in Deir al-Zor on April 2.

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    Reuters: - March was the bloodiest month yet in Syria's two-year conflict, with more than 6,000 people killed, a third of them civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday.

    The group opposes President Bashar al-Assad but has monitored human rights violations on both sides of a revolt that began as peaceful protests but is now a brutal war between forces loyal to Assad and an array of rebel militias. Continue reading. 

  • Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

    Peaceful scene in a war-torn nation

    A Syrian shepherd cares for his flock near the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Serjilla, in the northwestern province of Idlib, on Tuesday. The conflict in Syria has killed at least 70,000 people, and forced more than one million Syrians to seek refuge abroad.

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  • Syrians seek refuge in ancient Roman tombs

    Hussein Malla / AP

    Sami, 32, steps into an underground Roman tomb used for shelter from Syrian government forces shelling and airstrikes, at Jabal al-Zaweya, in Idlib province, Syria on Feb. 28.

    Hussein Malla / AP

    Nihal, 9, puts olive tree branches inside a wooden stove in an underground Roman tomb which she shares with her family as a shelter from Syrian government forces shelling and airstrikes.

    Hussein Malla / AP

    Sami speaks with his children at an underground Roman tomb which he uses with his family as shelter.

    By Associated Press
    Across northern Syria, rebels, soldiers, and civilians are making use of the country's wealth of ancient and medieval antiquities to protect themselves from Syria's two-year-old war. They are built of thick stone that has already withstood centuries, and are often located in strategic locations overlooking towns and roads.

    Related links:

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  • Manu Brabo / AP

    A boy runs as he holds a Kurdish flag in Ras al-Ayn, Syria, on Wednesday. The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed since Syria's civil war started in March 2011.

    A Kurdish flag in the streets of Syrian city, as a nation struggles

    The United States is looking for more tangible ways to support Syria's rebels and bolster a fledgling political movement that is struggling to deliver basic services after nearly two years of civil war, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.

    Officials in the United States and Europe have said the Obama administration is nearing a decision on whether to provide non-lethal assistance to carefully vetted fighters opposed to Syrian President Basher Assad, and Kerry's comments indicated that the Americans are working to make sure that its aid doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Continue reading.

    --The Associated Press

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  • Dozens killed after huge car bomb hits Syria's capital

    GRAPHIC WARNING: Contains images which some viewers may find disturbing. 

    SANA via AP

    Syrian security agents next to a vehicle on fire following a huge explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.

    SANA via Reuters

    Vehicles burn near a crater on a road after an explosion in central Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013

    By The Associated Press

    The death toll is expected to rise in Damascus after a car bomb exploded near a security checkpoint in the downtown area of the Syrian capital. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    Syrian state TV says 53 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in a car bomb attack near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party in central Damascus.

    The bomb was one of at least three attacks in the heart of the city on Thursday. A second blast shook another neighborhood and mortar rounds exploded near the Syrian Army General Command.

    The Britain-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 42 had been killed in the car bombing, most of them civilians.

    The difference in the death tolls could not be immediately reconciled. Click here for updates on this developing story.

    EDITOR'S NOTE: Pictures released by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency. 

    SANA via EPA

    A thick black pall of smoke fills the air close to the site of a large explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.

    SANA via EPA

    Wounded men sit near destroyed cars and other damage following a large explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.

    SANA via AP

    Syrian security agents carrying a body following a huge explosion that shook central Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.

    SANA via EPA

    Clouds of smoke swirling around destroyed cars following a large explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.

    SANA via AP

    An injured man lying on the ground after a huge explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.

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    This story was originally published on Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:25 AM EST

  • Missile strike hits Aleppo neighborhood

    Reuters

    Free Syrian Army fighters and civilians react as they run after a jet missile hit the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.

    Reuters

    People rescue a family member stuck in their house after a jet missile hit al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.

    By Reuters

    A jet missile hit the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday. A "Scud-type" missile killed at least 20 people in Aleppo yesterday, according to opposition activists.

    As the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, now a civil war, nears its two-year mark, rebels also landed three mortar bombs in the rarely-used presidential palace compound in the capital Damascus, opposition activists said on Tuesday.

    The United Nations estimates 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict between largely Sunni Muslim rebels and Assad's supporters among his minority Alawite sect. An international diplomatic deadlock has prevented intervention, as the war worsens sectarian tensions throughout the Middle East.

    A Russian official said on Tuesday that Moscow, which is a long-time ally of Damascus, would not immediately back U.N. investigators' calls for some Syrian leaders to face the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Continue reading.

    Muzaffar Salman / Reuters

    Free Syrian Army fighters and civilians search for survivors under rubble after a jet missile hit the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.

    Muzaffar Salman / Reuters

    A man carries a child who was wounded after a jet missile hit the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.

    Muzaffar Salman / Reuters

    A Free Syrian Army fighter carries the remnant of a missile fired by a jet at the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.

    George Ourfalian / Reuters

    Soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and their tank patrol the streets in al-Sabaa Bahrat district, an area controlled by Free Syrian Army fighters, in the center of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

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    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

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  • Syrian rocket destroys 3 buildings, kills 20, activists say

    Aleppo Media Center via AFP - Getty Images

    Syrians inspect destruction following an apparent surface-to-surface missile strike on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Feb. 19. The attack killed at least 20 people and another 25 were missing, opposition activists said on Tuesday. The missile was identified from its remains as a Scud-type rocket that government forces have increasingly used in areas under opposition control in the province of Aleppo and in the province of Deir a-Zor to the east, they said.

    Hamid Khatib / Reuters

    A member of the Free Syrian Army along with civilians search for survivors after a Syrian army rocket attack on the rebel-held Jabal Badro district in the city of Aleppo, on Feb. 19.

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    Reuters -- A Syrian army rocket attack on a rebel-held district in the city of Aleppo killed at least 20 people and another 25 were missing, opposition activists said on Tuesday.

    The missile was identified from its remains as a Scud-type rocket that government forces have increasingly used in areas under opposition control in the province of Aleppo and in the province of Deir a-Zor to the east, they said.

    "The rocket brought down three adjacent buildings in Jabal Badro district. The bodies are being dug up gradually. Some, including children, have died in hospitals," Mohammad Nour said by phone from Aleppo. He said testimony from survivors indicated that 25 people were still under the rubble.

    Continue reading.

    Hamid Khatib / Reuters

    A member of the Free Syrian Army sits near where a Syrian army rocket attack took place at the rebel-held Jabal Badro district in the city of Aleppo, on Feb. 19.

    Amateur video from Aleppo, Syria, captures the scene of an alleged rocket attack by Syrian forces that left at least 20 people dead. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

     

  • Report: Syrian airstrike kills 20 in rebel-held Aleppo

    Thomas Rassloff / EPA

    A man holds a child in his arms after an airstrike in Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 3, 2013.

    An airstrike by Syrian government forces leveled an apartment building in a rebel-held neighborhood of Aleppo on Sunday, The Associated Press reported. 

    A statement from the rebel-aligned Aleppo Media Center said at least 20 people were killed in the attack, five of them under the age of 18, according to Paul Watson, a reporter working in Aleppo for The Toronto Star.

    Abdullah Al-Yassin / AP

    People carry a body after a government airstrike hit the neighborhood of Ansari, in Aleppo on Feb. 3, 2013.

    Abdullah Al-Yassin / AP

    A man carries his sister, who was wounded in a government airstrike in Ansari, Aleppo, on Feb. 3, 2013.

    Abdullah Al-Yassin / AP

    A boy holds a bird in his hand that he said was injured in a an airstrike in Ansari, Aleppo on Feb. 3, 2013.

    Related:

    Syria opposition urges Assad to respond to dialogue call

    Harrowing photos show last seconds of life on Syria's front line

    Slideshow: Syria uprising

     

  • Moments of resilience, courage and even joy visible on the faces of Syrian refugee children

    Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images

    Syrian refugee children play in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan on Jan. 31, 2013.

    More than half the 642,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict flooding into neighboring countries are children, according to the United Nations. It's tempting to find hope in these portraits of children at the Zaatari camp in Jordan, to see resilience and courage instead of emotional scarring, but the words of a senior U.N. official, remind us that this may not be the case.

    "This is a children's refugee crisis. It's heartbreaking when we see these children arriving and particularly what we see in the days that follow. Many of them are withdrawn, we hear from the parents about bedwetting. These children have experienced and witnessed some of the most horrific scenes, seeing their parents or loved ones killed, their homes destroyed, their schools effected," said Panos Moumtzis, the U.N. Refugee Agency regional coordinator for Syrian refugees. 

    Read the full Reuters story from Jan. 17. 

    Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images

    Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images

    Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images

    Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images

    Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images

    A Syrian man carries a newborn baby in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan on Jan. 31.

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    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

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  • Harrowing photos show last seconds of life on Syria's front line

    GRAPHIC WARNING: Contains images which some viewers may find disturbing.

    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

    A Free Syrian Army fighter looks at his comrade as he gets shot by sniper fire during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, on Jan 30. The Free Syrian Army fighter on the left was wounded moments later. The fighter on the right died soon after being shot.

    By Natalia Jimenez, NBC News

    Photographer Goran Tomasevic has been covering the conflict in Syria for Reuters, offering the world a view into the historic city of Damascus, once strictly off-limits to journalists without a government escort. While it has become tragically routine to see violent and gruesome stories from the country’s civil war, Tomasevic’s dramatic photos from today’s front lines stand out. The series captures not only the last seconds of a rebel’s life before he is shot by a sniper, but also show as the body is taken back to his friends, while under attack. We see an intimate narrative that examines the realities of war for the rebels.

    Tomasevic tells the harrowing story on the Reuters Photographers Blog:

    One moment, I heard two incoming shots. I was already aiming my camera on these two Syrian rebels. I heard the scream and saw one of them get shot. He was still alive as I was shooting but dying as he was carried away.

    There was intensive fighting as the rebel group I was with in a Damascus neighborhood was trying to overtake a government checkpoint some 50 meters away. There was another group of rebels who were supposed to fire rocket propelled grenades from a further distance away from the checkpoint. After that, the group I was with was meant to engage the soldiers manning the checkpoint.

    At the checkpoint I could clearly see sandbags and tanks. I didn’t look at the tanks anymore because I needed to take cover. I pulled back a little to look for the best position to take pictures and how to be covered in the best possible way.

    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

    Free Syrian Army fighters take position just before they were hit by Syrian Army sniper fire during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, on Jan. 30. The fighter on the right died soon after, while his comrade was wounded.

    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

    Free Syrian Army fighters carry a comrade who was shot by sniper fire during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus, on Jan. 30.

    There were two rebels next to me and two rebels across the street. A couple of sniper shots were fired. They were clearly sniper shots, not Ak’s, as they came one by one. I could clearly see through the lens when they actually shot the rebel. The rebel next to him was also shot and injured but he should recover after being hit in the stomach.

    After the rebel was killed they pulled back maybe 20-30 meters and I took pictures of the body being taken out. The hole where the rebels had to drag the body through was really small and it was difficult to drag him through. There was a lot of fire as the rebels dragged him away.

    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

    Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover as a tank shell explodes on a wall during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, on Jan. 30.

    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

    Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover as a tank shell explodes on a wall during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, on Jan. 30.

    A tank fired a couple of shells onto the top of the building and rubble fell down around us.

    The rebels kept on fighting for a few hours. It was heavy, with a lot of RPGs and attacks on multiple sites. They pulled back after a couple of hours of intensive fighting and fired some mortar shells.

    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

    A Free Syrian Army fighter fires a rocket propelled grenade during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, on Jan. 30.

    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

    A Free Syrian Army fighter gestures in front of a burning barricade during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, on Jan. 30.

     From what I’ve seen the fighting is up and down. The lines between the Free Syrian Army and the government army are pretty clear. Since I’ve been here it’s literally been going house by house. The other day there was a rebel next to me who was struck by shrapnel. The rebels and the government forces are close enough to be throwing hand grenades at one another. You can hear them shouting at each other.

    The lines seem to be pretty much the same. One day the government takes a couple of houses and then the rebels take a couple of houses again so it is pushing back and forth.

    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

    A wounded Free Syrian Army fighter cries after hearing that his friend died in a mission in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, on Jan. 30.

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  • Russian nationals flee Syria

    Lucie Parsaghian / EPA

    A group of Russian citizens hold hands after crossing the border from Syria at Al-Masnaa, Lebanon, on Jan. 22.

    Jamal Saidi / Reuters

    A Russian child evacuated from Damascus sits in a bus as their convoy arrives at the Masna'a border crossing between Lebanon and Syria in the eastern Bekaa region of Lebanon on Jan. 22.

    Bilal Hussein / AP

    A group of Russian citizens ride a bus shortly after crossing the border from Syria into Lebanon at the Masna'a border crossing in Lebanon, on Jan. 22. Some 80 Russian citizens crossed into Lebanon as Moscow began evacuating some of the tens of thousands of Russians who live in Syria.

    By Bassem Mroue and Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press

    Four buses carrying Russian citizens escaping the Syrian civil war crossed into Lebanon on Tuesday, in the first evacuation organized by Moscow since the start of the conflict nearly two years ago.

    About 80 people, mostly women and children, were on the buses, according to an official from the Russian Embassy in Beirut who was waiting for the group at the Masnaa border crossing in eastern Lebanon. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

    The evacuation was the strongest sign yet of Russia's doubts in the ability of President Bashar Assad's regime to cling to power in Syria.

    Read the full story.

    Jamal Saidi / Reuters

    A Syrian man holds his sister after they fled their home near Damascus, as they walk past Russian nationals sitting in a bus who have been evacuated from Damascus during their arrival at the Lebanese Masna'a border point in eastern Bekaa on Jan. 22.

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

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    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

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