Syrian War News Updates -- January 8, 2017

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (centre) meets French lawmakers in the Syrian capital Damascus on January 8, 2017 (AFP Photo/)

AFP: Syria's Assad 'optimistic' on new peace talks: French MP

Damascus (AFP) - Syria's President Bashar al-Assad told visiting French lawmakers on Sunday that he was "optimistic" about new peace talks planned for later this month, a member of the delegation told AFP.

Lawmaker Thierry Mariani said the Syrian president also declared himself willing to negotiate with nearly 100 rebel groups fighting against his government, excluding jihadist organisations.

Assad received the three French lawmakers in the capital Damascus on Sunday, a day after the delegation visited second city Aleppo, recently recaptured by the government.

Assad told the delegation he was "counting a lot" on the new peace talks expected to be convened later this month in the Kazakh capital Astana.

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Syrian War News Updates -- January 8, 2017

Assad says Syrian forces on road to victory after retaking Aleppo -- AFP
Car Bomb Blast Kills 5 near Syrian Capital -- VOA
Kurdish-Arab forces seize strategic Syria citadel from IS -- AFP
Israeli satellite confirms Russia providing Syria with advanced missiles -- Washington Times
US-backed Forces in Syria Target Strategic IS-held Dam -- VOA
Syria: Coalition air strike kills Isis media and finance facilitator in Raqqa -- International Business Times
Hezbollah bars Russian officers, threatens Syria cease-fire -- Daily Sabah
Hezbollah refuses Russian entry to Syria's Wadi Barada: activists -- Middle East Eye
Syrian rebels deny report of ceasefire near Damascus -- Reuters
Air strikes resume on rebel-held Damascus water-source valley -- Reuters
Syria aircraft strike rebels near water source -- AFP
Water cuts leave four million people at risk in Syria -- CNW Group
Syria: Water as a weapon of war -- DW
Syria conflict: The biblical river at the heart of a water war -- BBC
Syrian government decides Aleppo renovation plan: state media -- Reuters
Turkish military denies claims of harm against civilians in northern Syria -- Hurriyet Daily News
U.S. military aid is fueling big ambitions for Syria’s leftist Kurdish militia -- Washington Post
YPG spreads Marxist ideology in Syria with US help, report says -- Daily Sabbah
British jihadi who was freed from Guantanamo Bay 'has fled to Syria to join Al Qaeda' -- Daily Mail
Syria would’ve fallen into terrorists’ hands without Russia – French MP -- RT
The British girl from Rochdale who became a jihadi bride for the American who rose to the top of ISIS - then had to flee back to the west and divorce him -- Daily Mail
After five years of ‘ruthless war’ in Syria, 2017 can be a year of diplomacy, says UN envoy -- UN News Centre