A Turkish drone strike on a house in a Kurdish-held area in Syria’s northern province of Raqqah has killed 12 civilians, six of them children.

US-backed and Kurdish-led militants are reportedly opening up a new front against the Syrian army in the eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr.

A top Russian diplomat slams the presence of US military forces in Syria, calling upon the Pentagon to end its illegitimate occupation of mineral-rich parts of the country.

The Japanese defense minister has ordered the military to prepare to shoot down a North Korean spy satellite should it fall within Japan's territory.

Syrian people stage a protest in the eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr against US troops stationed in the country and their allied militants from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

A spokesman for the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces says all joint military operations with the US-led coalition have been put on hold as a result of Turkish bombardment in northern Syria.

The SDF commander says Turkey is preparing to conduct a “ground” offensive in the Arab country, while Ankara's ongoing aggression has led to a halt in the Kurdish-led militants' attacks on Daesh.