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BASSEM MROUE

FILE - Sunni Muslims hold a portrait of imprisoned Sunni cleric Ahmad al-Assir, center right, during a protest against the clause in a proposed amnesty law that would exclude some prisoners, including the cleric, from being eligible for amnesty, after Friday prayers in Beirut, Lebanon, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
June 6, 2026, 9:45 am
Lebanon considers its largest amnesty in 35 years but some are protesting
Measure would release over 3,000 prisoners and reduce thousands of sentences amid prison overcrowding while reopening debate over fate of former Israeli-backed militia members
By BASSEM MROUE
A government supporter waves a flag honoring the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a revered figure in Shiite Islam, across from the Foreign Ministry in Tehran, Iran, April 5, 2026. (AP
April 6, 2026, 6:29 pm
A 12-hour drive through Iran offers glimpses of destruction, defiance and daily life
After crossing into Iran from Turkey, AP journalists see normality in cities yet untouched by the war, contrasted with the destruction in and around Tehran
By BASSEM MROUE
Pope Leo XIV holds a moment of prayer at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, December 2, 2025. (Domenico Stinellis/AP)
December 2, 2025, 4:11 pm
Pope Leo XIV sends message of peace to southern Lebanon as he ends 1st foreign trip
Pontiff prays at site of deadly 2024 Beirut port blast, calls for justice; looking south, he declares armed struggle has no benefit, weapons are lethal, negotiation constructive
By Nicole Winfield, Kareem Chehayeb and BASSEM MROUE
A visitor looks at ancient mosaics on display at the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, May 23, 2025. (AP/Ghaith Alsayed)
November 11, 2025, 8:23 pm
Roman era-statues and other historic artifacts stolen from Syria’s national museum
After reopening in January following the fall of Assad, National Museum of Damascus reports six marble statues missing as police launch investigation
By GHAITH ALSAYED and BASSEM MROUE
A man checks a charred car that was burnt after clashes erupted between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, in the town of Sahnaya, south of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
May 3, 2025, 6:44 am
What is behind latest clashes in Syria between Druze and pro-government gunmen
The tensions that led to the deadly violence, and how Israel has also become involved
By BASSEM MROUE
Syrian Alawite families who fled the clashes in Syria hold their luggage as they cross a river marking the border between Syria and northern Lebanon near the village of Heker al-Daher in Akkar province, Lebanon, March 11, 2025. (Hussein Malla/AP)
April 15, 2025, 12:15 pm
Fearful Syria’s Alawites still face attacks a month after wave of deadly violence
Members of former ruling minority say Sunni vengeance against ousted regime has continued, as tens of thousands flee to neighboring Lebanon
By BASSEM MROUE and Kareem Chehayeb
Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's Central Bank governor, speaks during a taking office ceremony at the Lebanese Central Bank building, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
April 4, 2025, 2:41 pm
Lebanon’s new central bank chief vows to combat terror financing
Karim Souaid says bank must counter money laundering, restructure banking system as he begins task of repairing economy battered by decades of corruption and war
By BASSEM MROUE
Syrian interim President Ahmed Sharaa speaks in Damascus, Syria, March 29, 2025. (Syrian Presidency/AFP)
March 30, 2025, 5:19 am
Syria swears in new transitional government four months after ousting Assad
Members of minority groups including a Christian woman, a Kurd, and and an Alawite given cabinet positions as Damascus aims to convince West to lift crippling sanctions
By GHAITH ALSAYED and BASSEM MROUE
Ishaq Nissan, a Syriac Orthodox Christian, rings the church bell in the northeastern Syrian village of Tel Tal, currently controlled by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, January 27, 2025. (AP/Bernat Armangue)
February 21, 2025, 8:30 am
Syria’s Christians mark 10 years since deadly ISIS attack amid worry for their future
More than 200 Christians were taken hostage during Feb. 2015 assault, leading to mass exodus; those who stayed behind now watch warily as former Islamist rebel leader takes charge
By BASSEM MROUE
A publication showing ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad, seen on a desk at the Baath party headquarters, as former army soldiers, background, wait to register their names with Syrian rebels as part of an "identification and reconciliation" process in Damascus, Syria, December 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
December 30, 2024, 8:53 am
Syria’s long-ruling Baath party on way out after collapse of Assad regime
New leaders turn Baath headquarters in Damascus into a location for former security officials; soldiers to hand over their weapons; many party members have gone into hiding or fled
By BASSEM MROUE
Bakhour Chamntoub, 74, right, the head of the Jewish community in Syria and one of the people who refused to leave Syria despite opportunities abroad, speaks with a Syrian man during his visit to the destroyed Jobar Synagogue, also known as Eliyahu Hanavi, in Jobar neighborhood, in Damascus, Syria, December 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
December 29, 2024, 4:19 pm
Assad’s fall enables access to ruined 2,700-year-old Damascus synagogue; only 9 Jews remain
Leader of tiny Syrian community visits destroyed Eliyahu Hanavi synagogue in capital’s Jobar neighborhood, recounts years of site being off-limits during civil war
By BASSEM MROUE
Then-president Bashar al-Assad, center, waves to his supporters at a polling station during presidential elections in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus, May 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
December 13, 2024, 8:39 pm
Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle: Who are they and where are they now?
Some Syrian regime officials believed to have entered Lebanon with fake identification; ousted president and brother most likely in Russia
By BASSEM MROUE
Abu Ali Al-Tunisi. (US Treasury Department)
September 14, 2024, 2:02 pm
Iraqi and US forces kill top ISIS commander in joint operation
US Treasury had offered $5 million for info on Abu Ali Al-Tunisi; several other prominent members of terror group killed; troops seized weapons, computers, phones,10 explosive belts
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and BASSEM MROUE
Hezbollah fighters attend the funeral of their commander Wissam al-Tawil, in the village of Khirbet Selm, south Lebanon, January 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
March 29, 2024, 4:21 pm
Lebanese nun’s call for students to pray for Hezbollah sparks furor, shows schisms
Terror group has alliances with figures from other religious groups, but base of its support lies in Shiite Muslim community; Christian leader: Hezollah destroying Lebanon
By BASSEM MROUE and MARIAM FAM
Illustrative: Smoke billows from an airstrike in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, on August 26, 2023. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
January 18, 2024, 4:35 pm
At least 9 said killed in south Syria in strike likely launched by Jordan on drug ops
Smugglers have been using Jordan as corridor to smuggle addictive amphetamines out of Syria and into oil-rich Arab Gulf states
By BASSEM MROUE
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