Clashes raged in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Wednesday after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed and Israel threatened to escalate its involvement in support of the Druze religious minority (PICS/AFP, text: AP)

Explosives planted in a taxi detonated in a Damascus suburb near a Shiite Muslim shrine Thursday, killing at least five people and wounding dozens a day before the solemn holy day of Ashura, state media reported. All pictures: AFP