Latakia

Zuhair Hassoun examines worrying cracks in a Crusader-era castle in Syria, a UNESCO World Heritage site that survived centuries of conflict only to be badly damaged by last month's deadly earthquake.

Explosions in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia after anti-aircraft defenses on Russian air base Khmeimim fended off a new suicide drone attack on the base, launched by jihadists from nearby Idlib, Reuters and RT reported, citing Syrian television and SANA news agency.

According to Syrian media, the drones were fired at the base from the so-called de-escalation zone, BTA reported.

Greek authorities seized a huge number Captagon pills from a freighter at Piraeus port on Wednesday, which may prove to be the largest haul ever achieved in the country.
The drugs were stashed inside 60 pallets loaded with lumber products found in three containers. Officials have so far counted 1.4 million pills in just one of the pallets. Counting is expected to take a few days.

Greece has seized drugs worth more than 100 million euros ($113 million) after intercepting a Syrian ship sailing for Libya, the coast guard said on Friday.

Officials found about six tonnes of processed cannabis and 3 million super-strength "Captagon" amphetamine pills hidden aboard the Syrian-flagged "Noka", it said in a statement.

AFP - Syria accidentally downed a Russian military aircraft with a crew of 15 onboard when its air defences went into action against an alleged Israeli missile strike, the Russian army said Tuesday.

The incident, which happened late Monday, was the worst case of friendly fire between the two allies since Russia's game-changing military intervention in September 2015.

Russia's defense ministry said early on Tuesday that one if its military aircraft with 14 people on board disappeared from radar screens over Syria at the same time that Israeli and French forces were mounting aerial attacks on targets in Syria.

Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) has brought a terror suspect from Syria's regime-held Latakia province to Turkey, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Sept. 12.

A Russian transport plane has crashed in Syria killing all 26 passengers and six crew members believed to have been on board, the defence ministry says, quoted by BBC. 

The An-26 plane crashed during landing at Hmeimim airbase, near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, the ministry is quoted as saying by Russian media.

Russia, Turkey and Iran have agreed to set up de-escalation zones in Syria for six months, negotiators for the three nations said in a joint statement on Sept. 15 after talks in Kazakhstan.
   
The zones will include, fully or partly, Eastern Ghouta, the provinces of Idlib, Homs, Latakia, Aleppo and Hama, according to the statement.

Turkey and Russia may assume monitoring role in a de-escalation zone in Syria's Idlib, Turkish Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın has said. 

Turkey, Russia and Iran have been working on "logistics" in de-escalation zones in opposition-held areas, Kalın told reporters on late June 21.