Syria

Man Charged With Threatening To Bomb North Side Church Expected To Plead Guilty

A Syrian refugee is expected to plead guilty Thursday in federal court to charges that he plotted to bomb a North Side church three years ago in an effort to inspire followers of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to court records. Federal investigators in June 2019 charged Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 23, with one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and two counts of distributing information relating to an explosive device or weapon of mass destruction.

Politics & Government

Toomey Wants Trump To 'Seriously Reconsider' Withdrawal Of U.S. Forces From Syria

Lucy Perkins

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey said President Trump should immediately rethink his decision over the weekend to pull American forces out of northern Syria. The…

Identity & Community

Young Pittsburgh Refugees Share Their Stories: Maryam

The journey for refugees from their home countries to Pittsburgh often takes years and includes lots of stops along the way. As part of WESA’s five-part…

Arts & Culture

Photos Of Syrian Children Vandalized At Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Arts Festival

Associated Press

Pictures of young refugees from the war-torn countries of Syria and Iraq have been defaced with spray paint at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Arts…

Local Headlines

Refugee Resettlement Already Winding Down In Some Pennsylvania Cities

Imad Ghajar and his wife Marwa Hilani were born in Aleppo, Syria, met there, and didn't have plans to leave.Then the war happened."Even in the schools,…

U.S. District Judge Michael Davis of Minneapolis allowed Abdullahi Yusuf to take part in a jihadi rehabilitation program after he pleaded guilty last year to a plan to join ISIS.

Parents Speak Out, Say FBI Arrest Saved Son On Verge Of Joining ISIS

Dina Temple-Raston

Parents of a young man who pleaded guilty to trying to join ISIS met with community leaders this week. They made the case for why parents should report their kids if they suspect them of radicalizing.

National & International News

Woman Pleads Guilty To Plot To Join Islamic State In Syria

Associated Press

A Philadelphia woman has pleaded guilty to plotting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State.Keonna Thomas, 32, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of…

A Syrian Red Crescent team works to evacuate the conjoined twins to a hospital in Damascus on Friday.

National & International News

Syrian Conjoined Twins Evacuated From Embattled Rebel Stronghold

Merrit Kennedy

Conjoined twin boys Moaz and Nawras have been evacuated out of one of Syria's most embattled areas for urgent medical treatment, following an international appeal to save their lives.

In images taken from CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police in London, Kadiza Sultana, 16, (left), Shamima Begum, 15, (center) and Amira Abase, 15, (right) go through security at Gatwick airport in February 2015, before they caught their flight to Turkey.

National & International News

British Schoolgirl Who Ran Away To Join ISIS Feared Dead In Syria

Merrit Kennedy

Eighteen months after Kadiza Sultana ran away from home to join the Islamic State militant group, her family lawyer says they've received word she has died in Syria.

Smoke rises over Saif Al Dawla district in Aleppo, Syria, in 2012. Russia and the Syrian government say they will open humanitarian corridors in Aleppo and offer a way out for opposition fighters wanting to lay down their arms, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Thursday.

National & International News

Russia, Syria Pledge 'Humanitarian Corridors' Out Of Rebel-Held Parts Of Aleppo

Merrit Kennedy

They also say they'll grant amnesty to fighters who lay down their weapons. But big questions remain. One civilian resident told NPR he tried to use one of the corridors but feared ongoing shelling.