Families of Syria detainees hope for news amid US sanctions
But activists have begun circulating more detailed photos again online after the U.S. imposed its new sanctions, named the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, after the photographer. The sanctions bar anyone around the world from doing business with Assads government or officials, and among its provisions it demands Syria release detainees and allow inspections of its prisons. Between 30 to 50 prisoners died every day at the facility where he was held, known as Branch 15, he said. Alshogres testimony about Lebanese prisoners still alive further fueled their families demands for information. Ali Aboudehn, who spent years imprisoned in Syria and now heads the Association of Lebanese Prisoners in Syrian Jails, said his group and other activists have documented 622 Lebanese prisoners held in Syria.
Blast in Syrian town held by Turkey-backed gunmen kills 3
(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)ISTANBUL – A car bomb exploded in a Turkey-controlled northern Syrian town on the border Saturday, killing at least three people, Turkey's Defense Ministry said. The ministry blamed Saturday’s car bomb attack on Syrian Kurdish fighters, the third such attack in Tal Abyad this month, leaving at least 24 people dead. On Saturday, the Observatory said the Syrian troops withdrew amid an advance by the Turkey-backed fighters, who have been seeking to capture the town for weeks. It was not clear if the Syrian troops had since withdrawn. The patrols are part of the Russian-brokered ceasefire to ensure the Kurdish fighters withdraw from the border area.