Russian and Syrian aircraft on Tuesday temporarily stopped striking the Syrian city of Aleppo, a move the countries said will allow for humanitarian aid to enter the city. The halt, which began at about 10 a.m. local time, is to let militants leave rebel-held parts of the city, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, according to The Associated Press. During the “humanitarian pause,” which lasts until 4 p.m. Thursday, Russian and Syrian militaries will not conduct offensive actions allowing the wounded and sick to leave Idlib. “It will … guarantee a safe exit of civilians through six corridors and prepare for the evacuation of the ill and wounded from the eastern part of Aleppo,” Shoigu said in a statement, according to AP. The UN said it still needs assurances that fighting will be completely stopped before it sends humanitarian aid into the city. The US State Department said this week the pause is “a bit too little, too late.”
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flew from Europe across the Middle East to the Persian Gulf on July 25 in a 32-hour flight, as conflicts continued to roil the area with U.S. troops coming under attack in Iraq and Syria on July 25 and July 26, U.S. officials told…