The Latest: Hezbollah ends temporary truce in Syria

BEIRUT – The Latest on developments in the Syrian civil war (all times local):

8:45 p.m.

A media arm of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has announced that an hours-long cease-fire for a contested valley in Syria has expired.

The Barada Valley is the Syrian capital’s primary source of water. Supplies to four million people in and around Damascus have been severely restricted since the government moved to dislodge the opposition from Barada Valley 18 days ago.

Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside the government forces on the front lines of Syria’s war, announced through its military media arm that a cease-fire declared hours earlier on Friday had expired.

It said a Russian delegation had entered the valley to try to negotiate a resolution for the contested region.

There was no comment from the opposition’s side.

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7:30 p.m.

A media arm of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has announced a temporary cease-fire between Syrian government and opposition forces fighting over the Barada Valley, the Syrian capital’s primary source of water.

Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside the government forces on the front lines of Syria’s war, announced through its military media arm that the cease-fire would apply for “several hours” on Friday evening.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported calm in the Barada Valley for the first time since the government’s side moved to dislodge the opposition there 18 days ago. The fighting has restricted water supplies to four million people around the capital.

There was no comment from the opposition’s side.

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5:30 p.m.

The al-Qaida-linked group in Syria says one of its leading members has been killed alongside his son in an airstrike in the country’s north.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the airstrike Friday. The U.S. has previously targeted Fatah al-Sham Front. Russia and the Syrian government also target the group, which is one of the most powerful among Syria’s insurgents. A new week-old cease-fire across Syria doesn’t include Fatah al-Sham, the government says.

Younis Shoueib, also known as Abul-Hassan Taftanaz, was a leading member in the group’s advisory body, or Shura Council, according to a message sent on the group’s Telegram channel. He was also a group leader in the Idlib and Aleppo provinces in northern Syria, where the group has a significant presence.

Shoueib’s killing comes after at least two major, as yet unclaimed, hits against the group in Idlib since Sunday, including one targeting a senior commander.

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1:05 p.m.

Turkey’s defence minister says Ankara’s military operations in northern Syria have slowed down to avoid civilian casualties in a push for the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab.

Fikri Isik also accused the United States of what he called a “sincerity problem” in assisting Turkish forces and limiting the aid to a 20-kilometre (12.5-mile) zone.

He says the battle for al-Bab is an urban fight and that troops need to “make sure” IS-held hostages “are not harmed.”

Isik spoke to the private news channel Haberturk on Friday.

Turkey sent troops and tanks into northern Syria in August to clear a border area from the IS group and also curb the territorial advances of Syrian Kurdish forces in the region. However, the rapid progress of the early stages has slowed down in the town of al-Bab.

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12:35 p.m.

Syria’s Kurdish-led forces in north of the country say they have taken control of a medieval castle perched on a hilltop over a strategic town held by the Islamic State group.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirms that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces gained control on Friday of Jaabar Castle, which dates back to the 11th century, following intense clashes with IS militants.

The castle sits on the bank of Assad Lake and overlooks the strategic Tabqa dam and town with the same name.

SDF spokesman Talal Sillo told The Associated Press that the castle, where some IS leaders had used to take cover, is in good condition.

Sillo says its capture brings the Kurdish forces to within 4 kilometres (2.4 miles) from the dam and Tabqa, the second most important town in the province, after the extremist group’s de facto capital of Raqqa.

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11:20 a.m.

Russia says it is withdrawing its aircraft carrier and some other warships from the waters off Syria as the first step in drawing down forces in Syria.

Russian General Staff chief Gen. Valery Gerasimov said on Friday that the Admiral Kuznetsov carrier and accompanying ships are to be the first to leave.

He was quoted as saying by the state news agency Tass that “in accordance with the decision by the supreme commander-in-chief (President) Vladimir Putin, the Defence Ministry is starting to downsize the grouping of armed forces in Syria.”

Moscow has been a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government and forces in the Mideast country’s devastating civil war.