![A Syrian government soldier gestures a v-sign under the Syrian national flag near a general view of eastern Aleppo after they took control of al-Sakhour neigbourhood in Aleppo, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on November 28, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. - RC14B3B13650](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/10-1/RTSTSGY.jpg/RTSTSGY.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=AZ6fIuWp)
![A Syrian government soldier gestures a v-sign under the Syrian national flag near a general view of eastern Aleppo after they took control of al-Sakhour neigbourhood in Aleppo, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on November 28, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. - RC14B3B13650](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/10-1/RTSTSGY.jpg/RTSTSGY.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=AZ6fIuWp)
![GettyImages-825942134.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/09/GettyImages-825942134.jpg/GettyImages-825942134.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=oN-IZjHj)
Khaled Atallah
![182527390.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/02/182527390.jpg/182527390.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=AWBZ5f75)
Khaled Atallah
![476272242.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/01/476272242.jpg/476272242.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=gGL-pZ9q)
Khaled Atallah
![504680924.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/01/504680924.jpg/504680924.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=Kv3Pxs2V)
Khaled Atallah
![RTS859B.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/01/RTS859B.jpg/RTS859B.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=hlACJJ8W)
Khaled Atallah
![Israeli soldiers observe the Syrian side of the Quneitra border crossing between the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and Syria, August 29, 2014. U.N. officials shuttled along the rocky frontier between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Friday, trying to establish the whereabouts of 44 United Nations peacekeepers seized by al-Qaeda-linked militants inside Syria. Israeli forces took up positions at Quneitra, a fortified crossing between Syria and the Golan, barely 400 meters (437 yards) from Nu](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/01/RTR44A44.jpg/RTR44A44.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=qsc1P_Du)
Khaled Atallah
![Free Syrian Army fighters man a checkpoint to prevent kidnapping, activists said, in Kafranbel, Idlib province February 7, 2014. Picture taken February 7, 2014. REUTERS/Fadi Mashan (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX18FIK](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/12/RTX18FIK.jpg/RTX18FIK.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=tBWsmSOx)
Khaled Atallah
![An Israeli air force F-15 fighter jet lands at the Hatzerim air base, southern Israel March 30, 2009. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXDEVC](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/12/RTXDEVC.jpg/RTXDEVC.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=zidkskBi)
Khaled Atallah
![Children eat corn on the cob on a street in Douma, eastern al-Ghouta, near Damascus November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT SOCIETY) - RTR4DA0I](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/11/RTR4DA0I.jpg/RTR4DA0I.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=rQ2vTbiK)
Khaled Atallah
![Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad inspect weapons, which they said were used by rebel fighters, in the town of Morek after they regained control of the area October 24, 2014. The Syrian army has regained control of a town on the highway linking Hama and Aleppo cities in western Syria after months of battles with insurgents, state television and a monitoring group said on Friday.
The recapture of Morek, 30km (19 miles) north of Hama, is part of the military's campaign to shore up territory i](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/10/RTR4BHEG.jpg/RTR4BHEG.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=Kv3AFPpG)
Khaled Atallah
![A Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighter gestures towards fellow fighters operating a tank during what the FSA said was an offensive to take control of al-Zaalana checkpoint in Wadi al-Deif military camp, which remains under government control, in the southern Idlib countryside July 9, 2014. Free Syrian Army fighters started the al-Jaysh al-Wahad (The One Army) battle against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad over the al-Hamidiyeh and Wadi al-Deif military camps in Idlib, trying to take control of t](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/10/RTR3XZ06.jpg/RTR3XZ06.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=o4LokDdc)
Khaled Atallah