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Executive Summary for December 5th

To give you an overview of the latest news, we’ve organized the latest Syrian developments in a curated summary.

Published on Dec. 5, 2013 Read time Approx. 2 minutes

To give you an overview of the latest news, we’ve organized the latest Syrian developments in a curated summary.

U.N. Official Details Plans for Removing Syria’s Chemical Arms

U.N. official Sigrid Kaag reveals how Syria’s chemical [weapons arsenal will be removed from the country.][1]

Rick Gladstone reports in the New York Times that “most dangerous materials would be sealed by trained Syrians and sent overland to the country’s Mediterranean port of Latakia, where ships would take them to a second, unspecified foreign port.

“From there, the official said, the chemicals would be transferred to a specially equipped naval vessel offered by the United States, which is capable of safely neutralizing the chemicals at sea.”

Major Hezbollah Figure, Tied to Syrian War, Is Assassinated

Also in the New York Times, Beirut bureau chief Anne Barnard writes on the [killing of Hassan Laqees][2], a “major player” in Hezbollah and ardent supporter of the Lebanese Shiite militant group’s involvement in Syria, where it supports and fights alongside the government of Bashar al-Assad.

“Any of the group’s primary enemies – Israel, the Syrian insurgents the group is battling, or their backers, such as Saudi Arabia or Lebanese Sunni militants – could have had reason to want him dead. Mr. Laqees was variously described as running the group’s telecommunications network and working to procure strategic weapons,” Barnard writes.

“Hezbollah is facing ‘a convergence of hostilities’ from Sunni militants, particularly extremists who are increasingly dominant in the Syrian insurgency and consider Shiites apostates, and from its longtime nemesis Israel.

“Hezbollah, a close ally of Iran and Syria’s government, has sent fighters to aid Mr. Assad’s forces in crucial battles, a decision that has enraged Hezbollah’s Sunni rivals, who back the Syrian rebels.”

Jihadists Returning Home to Europe from Syria Pose New Terror Threat

The Wall Street Journal reports from three continents on a series of [returning Western jihadists][3], prompting fears in Europe and the U.S.

“Scores of jihadist fighters from Europe who streamed to Syria to join Islamic extremist rebels have begun returning home, where some are suspected of plotting terror attacks,” the paper writes.

“The total number of fighters from Europe is difficult to track, but officials and academics estimate it at about 1,000 or more, including from Germany, France and the Netherlands. Dozens have traveled to Syria from the U.S.

A senior U.S. intelligence official told the Journal that “they’re real committed jihadists. The concern is that we’re at the very early stages of this.”

U.S. Reaches Out to Syria’s Islamist Rebels

Beirut’s Daily Star and wires report that the [U.S. has reached out to Islamist militias.][4]

“But there have been no contacts with groups such as al-Nusra Front that are blacklisted by Washington as terror organizations,” said deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.

“We engage with a broad cross-section of Syrian people and political and military leaders in the opposition, including a variety of Islamist groups …we do not engage with terrorists,” she said.

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:

Al Jazeera: [Plan to destroy Syria’s weapons forges ahead][5]

Daily Star: [Bab al-Tabbaneh residents scoff at Army security][6]

VICE: [Jihad Selfies: British Extremists in Syria Love Social Media][7]

CNN: [Syrian Civil War Creates New Defectors – From Rebels to Regime][8]

[1]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/05/world/middleeast/un-official-details-plans-for-syrian-chemical-arsenal.html?ref=world [2]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/05/world/middleeast/hezbollah-leader-is-assassinated-in-beirut.html?ref=world [3]http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303722104579238542737904868 [4]http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Dec-05/239977-us-reaches-out-to-syrias-islamist-rebels.ashx?#axzz2mUmcvyZk [5]http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/12/plan-destroy-syria-weapons-forges-ahead-201312522514686347.html? [6]http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Dec-04/239836-bab-al-tabbaneh-residents-scoff-at-army-security.ashx#axzz2mUTX1S00 [7]http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/syrian-jihadist-selfies-tell-us-a-lot-about-their-war? [8]http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/03/world/meast/syria-civil-war-defectors/

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