• ISIS militants detonate bombs in Syrian border town near Turkey

  Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants detonated bombs in two villages near Tel Abyad, a Syrian town near the Turkish border controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday. The Kurdish militia took Tel Abyad from the jihadists in June. The town was an important strategic point for IS militants as the nearest to the Turkish border after its de facto capital Raqqa. In late June, the jihadists tried to regain the initiative by mounting several assaults on the Kurdish forces in the region.

• Syria’s Assad announces amnesty for army defectors

  A decree signed by Syrian President Bashar Assad, announced on state television on Saturday, pardons military deserters guilty of violating the nation’s compulsory military conscription. The law lifts legal penalties against thousands of Syrians living in the country and abroad, Reuters reports. One of the largest in the Middle East, the Syrian army has suffered painful losses over four years of conflict, in which it has been battling on several fronts, against homebred Islamist rebels and Islamic State jihadists. Thousands of young Syrians have opted to avoid conscription, many of whom have left the country.

  55 reported killed in Saudi-led airstrike on Yemen’s Taiz

  At least 55 people have been killed and a number injured as jets from the Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition bombed the rebel-controlled Yemen city of Taiz, Reuters reports, citing the Yemeni Saba news agency. Saba quoted a local source in Taiz, who said the airstrike had mostly affected the Mokha area, which is inhabited by power station engineers and workers, and some displaced families. The number of casualties is likely to rise as the rescue operation in the bombed area continues. Airstrikes by the Sunni Arab states coalition against the Shia Houthi rebels backed by Iran have continued since March, with the death toll now standing at thousands.

  Iran to continue supporting Hezbollah after nuclear deal – Nasrallah

  The leader of the militant Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Saturday that the organization still counts on Iran’s supports after its nuclear deal, Reuters reported. In his first official reaction to the Iran nuclear deal, Nasrallah said he was sure Iran would surprise critics who believe it would stop supporting Hezbollah. “We deal with every trust and complete assurance over this”, said Nasrallah during a ceremony honoring the children of fallen Hezbollah fighters