Syria Bombs Lebanon

Syrian planes bombed an area in northern Lebanon that was rumored to be a transport site for weapons for Syrian rebels. Official Lebanese policy is to not associate with either side in Syria's two year old civil war but many factions are in favor of Assad's ouster and many support the rebels. The Syrian foreign minister said that Lebanon should control their border, where thousands of rebels cross back and forth for rest and resupply. He also said that the Syrian response to the border situation had been restrained but Syrian patience was not unlimited. 

42 Syrian Soldiers Killed In Iraq

A convoy of Syrian Army soldiers was ambushed in Iraq, 42 were killed along with 7 Iraqi guards in the latest spill over of the Syrian civil war. Iraqi officials claimed that the Syrian soldiers took refuge in Iraq after heavy fighting with rebels near the border and were proceeding to Syria through a different border crossing when they were attacked. This comes in the wake of reports of rebel advances in Aleppo and other northern cities and accusations by rebels that Iraq is supporting the Assad government. Video of citizens in a northern Syrian city tearing down a statue of former president Hafez Al-Assad has also surfaced. Incidents in the two year long civil war have involved most of the countries in the region, including, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and Iran. 

Syrian Foreign Minister Opens Door For Talks With Rebels

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem said in Moscow that the government is ready to hold talks with all parties to end the two-year long civil war in the country. In a press conference before meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Al-Muallem also indicated that there was willingness to create a new coalition that would be willing to negotiate with both internal and external opposition. Lavrov also stressed that a political solution is the only alternative, this is contrasted by US Secretary of State John Kerry's proclamation that Assad must go. This comes after a Syrian opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib last week rejected talks while in Moscow and a statement earlier today saying that the government has not contacted the opposition to open talks and criticized Moscow for not condemning the killing in Syria.