Syria

The police have confirmed that one of the nine bodies washed up on the southern coasts of the country is that of an 18-year-old girl who went missing for approximately two weeks.

Merve Şevval Elmas, a first-year gastronomy student at Akdeniz University, had been reported missing by her family since Jan. 4.

A significant development unfolded in Silistra, northwestern Bulgaria, where authorities successfully detained a group of eight illegal migrants, marking a crucial step in addressing the ongoing challenges related to illegal migration. The detainees, hailing from Syria and Iraq, included minors and were part of a larger group attempting unauthorized entry into Bulgaria.

Turkish intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın has paid a visit to Baghdad and discussed anti-terror cooperation and other security concerns with senior Iraqi officials, including Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid.

The Turkish security forces "neutralized" 14 PKK/YPG terrorists in the Operation Euphrates Shield area in Syria's north, the Defense Ministry has announced.

The ministry statement on Jan. 22 noted that the operation targeted the members of the terror organizations who opened harassing fire on Turkish security forces. 

The Israeli army bombarded Khan Yunis, the new epicentre of the war in Gaza, on Monday as the families of hostages held by Hamas urged  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal to secure their release.

Witnesses reported deadly strikes overnight in Khan Yunis, the largest city in southern Gaza, and fierce fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants.

The Turkish security forces "neutralized" 17 PKK terrorists in the Operation Claw-Lock area in northern Iraq and several other operation areas in Syria's north, the Defense Ministry has announced.

In a written statement on X on Jan. 21, the ministry noted that the Turkish forces conducted an airstrike targeting the 10 terrorists in the operation area.

Fighting raged across Gaza and Israeli units raided the West Bank on Sunday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has faced growing domestic criticism, rejected calls for post-war "Palestinian sovereignty".

Alongside fierce fighting in southern Gaza and across the besieged territory, strikes in Syria and Iraq raised fears of a wider conflagration.

An Israeli strike on the Syrian capital on Saturday destroyed a building used by the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, killing at least five Iranians, Syrian and Iranian state media reported.

An Israeli strike on Damascus killed five people in a building where "Iran-aligned leaders" were meeting on Saturday, a war monitor said, as regional tensions soar over the Israel-Hamas war.

Türkiye on Jan. 18 hailed the unexpected sighting of the leopard barbel fish, listed as one of the most endangered in the world, in the Tigris River.

Environmentalists say the spotted carp-like fish was last seen in the wild more than a decade ago and was feared to have become extinct.