Syria troops capture central town recently taken by IS

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, the Chief of Staff of Iran’s armed forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, center left, shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Gen. Ali Ayoub, center right, during a ceremony to sign a joint memorandum of understanding for developing cooperation and coordination between the two countries’ armies in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017. State news agency SANA said the memo provides for exchanging military expertise and intelligence and technology information in a way that can boost the two countries’ capability for fight terrorism. (SANA via AP)