Damascus

BEIRUT - Lebanon's prime minister said he was wrong to accuse Syria of involvement in the 2005 assassination of his father, a major turnaround for a politician who has long blamed Damascus for the Beirut truck bombing that killed Rafik Hariri and 22 others.

BAGHDAD - Anti-American Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took a rare, public step into the political arena Monday, meeting in neighboring Syria with the man directly challenging Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for his office.

DAMASCUS, Syria - A senior Hamas commander was assassinated last week in a Dubai hotel room by electrocution, the Palestinian militant group said Friday.

DAMASCUS, Syria - Hamas accused Israeli agents on Friday of assassinating a veteran operative of the Palestinian militant group, saying he was electrocuted last week in a Dubai hotel room.