In this photo released on the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad, fifth left, prays at the dawn Eid al-Adha prayers at the Saad ibn Muaaz Mosque in Daraya,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released on the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad, fifth left, prays at the dawn Eid al-Adha prayers at the Saad ibn Muaaz Mosque in Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, Syria, Monday, Sept. 12, 2016. (Syrian Presidency via Facebook) (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released on the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad, fifth left, prays at the dawn Eid al-Adha prayers at the Saad ibn Muaaz Mosque in Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, Syria, Monday, Sept. 12, 2016. (Syrian Presidency via Facebook) (Associated Press) In this photo released on the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad, fifth left, prays at the dawn Eid al-Adha prayers at the Saad ibn Muaaz Mosque in Daraya,... (Associated Press) 
 
 BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on developments in the civil war in Syria where a cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia is due to start at sundown (all times local): 
 
 7:05 p.m. 
 
 Syria's army says it has begun implementing a U.S.-Russian cease-fire, but the country's most powerful insurgent groups have not yet said whether they will abide by it. 
 
 The Syrian government and its main allies, Russia and Iran, say they will abide by the weeklong truce, which was set to begin at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Monday. 
 
 Half an hour before the truce went into effect, violence was reported in several areas throughout Syria. 
 
 The deal, announced last week by Washington and Moscow, calls for a halt to fighting between the U.S.-backed opposition and the Russian-allied Syrian government. 
 
 If the truce holds for a week, the U.S. and Russia would begin intelligence sharing and target coordination against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked militants. 
 
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 6:45 p.m. 
 
 Russia says it will continue strikes against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked militants in Syria in coordination with the U.S. military as a cease-fire brokered by Moscow and Washington goes into effect. 
 
 Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military's General Staff says the Russian and U.S. militaries will set up a joint executive center to coordinate the strikes. 
 
 He adds that the Russian military will use drones to monitor the observance of the cease-fire, which is set to take effect Monday at sundown. 
 
 U.S. and Russian officials announced the cease-fire early Saturday, saying they hoped it would facilitate humanitarian access to civilians. 
 
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 6 p.m. 
 
 Italy says a Syrian cease-fire could pave the way for political negotiations aimed at ending the long and bloody conflict. 
 
 Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told reporters after talks with his Cypriot counterpart that a cessation of hostilities must happen before talks can begin. 
 
 He said "a long list" of difficulties had confronted U.S. and Russian officials trying to hammer out the deal, but an agreement was reached, with the cease-fire set to begin in a few hours. 
 
 The deal, announced last week by the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers, calls for a halt to fighting between the U.S.-backed opposition and Russian-supported Syrian government. 
 
 It also allows the government to continue to strike the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked militants for another week. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5 p.m. 
 
 Russia's deputy foreign minister says peace talks to end Syria's five-year civil war could be resumed next month. 
 
 Mikhail Bogdanov's comments on Monday came hours before a cease-fire was scheduled to go into effect in Syria at sunset. 
 
 Bogdanov told the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency that he expects talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups to resume in early October, adding that Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. envoy to Syria, would name the date. 
 
 The cease-fire, announced Saturday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, calls for a halt to fighting between the U.S.-backed opposition and the Russian-allied Syrian government. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:35 p.m. 
 
 Syrian President Bashar Assad says his government is determined to "reclaim every area from the terrorists, and to rebuild" the country. His remarks came just hours ahead of the start of a cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia. 
 
 Assad spoke to the state news agency SANA on the streets of Daraya, a Damascus suburb that surrendered to government authority last month. 
 
 He says: "We call on all Syrians to turn toward reconciliation." 
 
 Earlier in Daraya, Assad joined the prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha in a rare public appearance that sent a strong message to his opponents. 
 
 SANA says no civilians were present in the suburb, once home to nearly a quarter million people, after the last of them were evacuated as part of the surrender agreement. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:55 p.m. 
 
 The U.N. envoy for Syria says his office will monitor the start of a U.S.-Russia-brokered cease-fire in Syria "carefully before making any hurried comments." 
 
 Staffan de Mistura said in a text message to The Associated Press on Monday that no statement from his office about the truce was expected before the following afternoon. 
 
 The cease-fire, announced last week by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, calls for a halt to fighting between the U.S.-backed opposition and Russian-supported Syrian government. It also allows the government to continue to strike the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked militants for another week. 
 
 The U.N. offices in Geneva, where de Mistura is based, was closed Monday to honor the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:45 p.m. 
 
 Activists say Syrian government forces and their allies are bombing opposition areas in the country's north, just hours ahead of the start of a U.S.- and Russia-brokered cease-fire. 
 
 The bombing on Monday came as al-Qaida-linked militants pushed on with an offensive in the country's southern Quneitra province. 
 
 Ahmad Primo, an opposition media activist in the contested city of Aleppo, says airstrikes on the city's rebel-held eastern district "have not let up" since the morning. 
 
 The Local Coordination Committees monitoring group reported airstrikes on the Aleppo neighborhoods and suburbs of Rashiddine, Salihine, and Jazmata. 
 
 The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 18 militants were killed fighting government forces in the push in the south. 
 
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 12:10 p.m. 
 
 Turkey's president says his country will send food, clothing and children's toys to the contested Syrian city of Aleppo after a U.S.-Russia brokered cease-fire takes effect at sundown in the neighboring country. 
 
 Recep Tayyip Erdogan's pledge came at the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha on Monday and the Turkish leader says the aid will be delivered along specific routes at sundown. 
 
 Erdogan said Turkey's Red Crescent, along with the country's disaster and emergency management agency, will try to deliver aid to the northern Syrian towns of al-Rai and Jarablus. 
 
 Ankara's incursion last month into northern Syria has helped Syrian rebels retake Jarablus from the Islamic State group. 
 
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 10:10 a.m. 
 
 A cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia is set to begin at sunset in Syria amid mixed messages of commitment from various rebel factions but with verbal backing by President Bashar Assad's government. 
 
 Assad made a rare public appearance on Monday, attending prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha at a mosque in the suburb of Daraya, which surrendered last month after four years of government siege. 
 
 The cease-fire deal hammered out between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva last week allows the Syrian government to continue to strike at the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked militants, until the U.S. and Russia take over the task in one week's time. 
 
 Rebel factions have expressed deep reservations about the deal. ||||| John Kerry insists Assad regime would not be able to bomb any targets in zones under opposition control but it’s ‘far too early to draw definitive conclusions’ 
 
 A planned ceasefire between regime and opposition groups was struggling to take hold in several parts of Syria hours after it was due to take effect, with explosions reported on a supply line to rebel-held east Aleppo and in the southern town of Deraa. 
 
 
 
 Attacks were also reported in Homs, Hama and Deir Azzour after sunset on Monday, when the truce brokered by Russia and the US was due to begin. Hopes for the deal had been low over the weekend, with opposition groups insisting that none of its proponents could force each other to comply on contested issues, such as which areas remain valid bombing targets, or who should receive aid. 
 
 
 
 Syrian ceasefire deal - the Guardian briefing Read more 
 
 Speaking in Washington, John Kerry said early reports spoke of some reduction of violence as well as sporadic fighting, but that it was “far too early to draw definitive conclusions”. 
 
 “There will be undoubtedly be reports of violations here and there and that’s the nature of ceasefires,” the US secretary of state said. “For all the doubts that exist, and there will be many challenges in the days to come, despite that, this plan has a chance to work.” 
 
 
 
 In his remarks, Kerry suggested the Assad regime would be able to conduct airstrikes against the al-Nusra front (which recently changed its official name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham) if it had Russian and US approval. 
 
 However, that was later denied by the state department spokesman, John Kirby, who said: “The arrangement announced last week makes no provision whatsoever for the US and Russia to approve strikes by the Syrian regime, and this is not something we could ever envision doing. A primary purpose of this agreement, from our perspective, is to prevent the Syrian regime air force from flying or striking in any areas in which the opposition or Nusra are present.” 
 
 He added: “The purpose of the JIC, if and when it is established, would be to coordinate military action between the US and Russia, not for any other party.” 
 
 Kerry applauded opposition groups for showing the “courage” to separate themselves from al-Nusra, which has declared itself officially separated from al-Qaida, but which is considered by the US still to be an al-Qaida affiliate. And Kerry warned other groups to disengage from al-Nusra units on the front. 
 
 “We can’t somehow adopt the moral hazard of just because they fight fiercely say, oh, we’re going to somehow allow al-Qaida to be the tip of our spear with respect to Assad,” Kerry said, adding that such a strategy would be “crazy and ultimately self-destructive”, raising the level of terror in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere. 
 
 “It is not advisable for the opposition, who have support from countries that are threatened by Nusra to be playing with Nusra. That is a losing proposition,” the secretary of state said. “We have made it clear … If they choose to join with al-Nusra in attacks, then they have made the choice of being with Nusra and they run the risks.” 
 
 Syria: bitter foes weigh up chance of peace, but prepare for war to rage on Read more 
 
 Russia insisted it would keep its jets away from opposition areas, which did not co-exist with jihadist groups, such as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which is proscribed by the US as a terrorist group. It had also lobbied unsuccessfully for the Islamist groups Ahrar al-Sham, and Jaish al-Islam to be added to the list. 
 
 
 
 The question of which opposition areas are still considered valid targets is central to the wariness of opposition groups, particularly in Aleppo and Idlib province where global jihadists and Islamists have become prevalent over the course of the five-year war. 
 
 
 
 “We want to know what the guarantees are,” said Salem al-Muslet, spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee, Syria’s main opposition organisation. 
 
 “What is the definition that has been chosen for ‘terrorism’?” 
 
 At the end of the first day of the Eid al-Adha holiday, the Syrian military announced it was ceasing operations. Turkey had earlier voiced cautious support for the ceasefire, as had two other main protagonists, Iran and Hezbollah. 
 
 
 
 After spending the past year bolstering the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, by bombing groups and rebel communities opposing him, Russia has emerged as the main proponent of the ceasefire. It has pledged to open aid lines to besieged areas, such as opposition-held east Aleppo and to spare rebel communities, if they disentangle themselves from jihadists. 
 
 
 
 Ahead of the ceasefire, Assad said on Monday that his government was determined to “reclaim every area from the terrorists, and to rebuild” the country. Assad spoke to the state news agency Sana during a rare public appearance on the streets of Daraya, a Damascus suburb that surrendered to government authority last month. “We call on all Syrians to turn toward reconciliation,” he said. 
 
 Opposition groups were reportedly meeting in various parts of Syria on Monday night. Ahead of the truce, most had been wary about what it would mean, arguing there was no way to force the Syrian regime to comply, and little incentive for its backers not to use a lull to press home an advantage on the battlefield. 
 
 
 
 People of Aleppo prepare for Eid festival under siege Read more 
 
 Nevertheless, most groups are expected to cautiously endorse the pact. It follows the failure of three earlier agreements. One was an attempted ceasefire, while two others fell over at the negotiation table. 
 
 
 
 If the ceasefire does take hold, both Moscow and Washington have said they will open a joint command centre, which will agree on future targets. 
 
 
 
 Syrian and Russian planes have taken an immense toll on civilian infrastructure since the start of the Russian intervention, with hospitals, market places and schools regularly targeted. Opposition groups have insisted that Russia intended to bomb them towards the negotiation table, but claimed they could not sit down with Syrian officials or their backers from a weakened position. ||||| BEIRUT A powerful car bomb exploded in Damascus on Friday and forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad clashed with rebels across Syria as a truce intended to mark a Muslim religious holiday unraveled and activists reported at least 70 deaths. 
 
 State television said the "terrorist car bomb" had killed five people and wounded 32, according to "preliminary figures". 
 
 Opposition activists said the bomb had gone off near a makeshift children's playground built for the Eid al-Adha holiday in the southern Daf al-Shok district of the capital. 
 
 Fighting erupted around Syria earlier as both sides violated the Eid al-Adha ceasefire arranged by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. 
 
 Violence was less intense than usual and activists reported no air strikes, but dozens of people were killed including 26 troops, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the bloodshed in the country. 
 
 The Syrian military said it had responded to attacks by insurgents on army positions, in line with its announcement on Thursday that it would cease military activity during the four-day holiday but reserved the right to react to rebel actions. 
 
 Brahimi's ceasefire appeal had won widespread international support, including from Russia, China and Iran, President Assad's main foreign allies. 
 
 The U.N.-Arab League envoy had hoped to build on the truce to calm a 19-month-old conflict that has killed an estimated 32,000 people and worsened instability in the Middle East. 
 
 Violence appeared to wane in some areas, but truce breaches by both sides swiftly marred Syrians' hopes of celebrating Eid al-Adha, the climax of the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, in peace. 
 
 "We are not celebrating Eid here," said a woman in a besieged Syrian town near the Turkish border, speaking above the noise of incessant gunfire and shelling. "No one is in the mood to celebrate. Everyone is just glad they are alive." 
 
 Her husband, a portly, bearded man in his 50s, said they and their five children had just returned to the town after nine days camped out on a farm with other families to escape clashes. 
 
 "We have no gifts for our children. We can't even make phone calls to our families," he said, a young daughter on his lap. 
 
 The imam of Mecca's Grand Mosque called on Arabs and Muslims to take "practical and urgent" steps to stop bloodshed in Syria. 
 
 "PAINFUL DISASTER" 
 
 The Syrian conflict has aggravated divisions in the Islamic world, with Shi'ite Iran supporting Assad, and U.S.-allied Sunni nations such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar backing his foes. 
 
 "The world should bear responsibility for this prolonged and painful disaster (in Syria) and the responsibility is greater for the Arabs and Muslims who should call on each other to support the oppressed against the oppressor," Sheikh Saleh Mohammed al-Taleb told worshippers during Eid prayers. 
 
 For some in Syria, there was no respite from war, but by dusk the death toll was still significantly lower than in recent days, when often between 150 and 200 people have been killed. 
 
 The heaviest fighting took place around an army base at Wadi al-Daif, near the Damascus-Aleppo highway, which rebels have been trying to seize from the army for two weeks. 
 
 The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nine soldiers were killed by rebel bombardment of the base, which completely destroyed one building, and four rebel fighters were killed in clashes around Wadi al-Daif. 
 
 Four people were killed by tank fire and snipers in Harasta, a town near Damascus, activists said. Gunfire and explosions echoed over Douma, just east of the capital. Rockets killed one person in the besieged Khalidiya district of Homs. 
 
 Clashes erupted at a checkpoint near the Mahlab army barracks in Aleppo. There was shooting at checkpoints near Tel Kelakh, on the Lebanese border, and clashes in the town itself. 
 
 Heavy machinegun fire and mortar explosions were audible along the Turkey-Syria border near the Syrian town of Haram, a Reuters witness in the Turkish border village of Besaslan said. 
 
 Rebels in the northern town near the Turkish border said a sniper had killed one of their fighters early on Friday. 
 
 "We don't believe the ceasefire will work," rebel commander Basel Eissa told Reuters. "There's no Eid for us rebels on the front line. The only Eid we can celebrate will be liberation." 
 
 Assad himself, who has vowed to defeat what he says are Islamist fighters backed by Syria's enemies abroad, was shown on state television attending Eid prayers at a Damascus mosque. 
 
 MILITARY STALEMATE 
 
 The prime minister, information minister and foreign minister, as well as the mufti, Syria's top Muslim official, were filmed praying alongside the 47-year-old president. 
 
 Assad, smiling and apparently relaxed, shook hands and exchanging Eid greetings with other worshippers afterwards. 
 
 Protests against him burst out in March last year, inspired by Arab uprisings elsewhere, but repression by security forces led to an armed insurgency, plunging Syria into a civil war which neither side has proved able to win or willing to end. 
 
 A commander from the rebel Free Syrian Army had said his fighters would honor the ceasefire but demanded Assad meet opposition demands for the release of thousands of detainees. 
 
 Some Islamist militants, including the Nusra Front, rejected the truce. Many groups were skeptical that it would hold. 
 
 "We do not care about this truce. We are cautious. If the tanks are still there and the checkpoints are still there then what is the truce?" asked Abu Moaz, spokesman for Ansar al-Islam, a group whose units fight in and around Damascus. 
 
 The war in Syria pits mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against Assad, from the minority Alawite sect which is distantly related to Shi'ite Islam. Brahimi has warned that the conflict could suck in Sunni and Shi'ite powers across the Middle East. 
 
 Brahimi's predecessor, former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, declared a ceasefire in Syria on April 12, but it soon became a dead letter, along with the rest of his six-point peace plan. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman and Erika Solomon in northern Syria; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Pravin Char)
– The latest attempt to bring peace to Syria has officially begun: A ceasefire brokered last week by the US and Russia went into effect Monday morning, reports the BBC. However, this being Syria—whose civil war is a many-sided conflict—it remained unclear just how effective it would be. The Syrian government and its main allies, Russia and Iran, say they will abide by the weeklong truce, but the country's most powerful insurgent groups have not yet said whether they will, reports AP. If the truce holds for a week, the US and Russia would begin intelligence sharing and target coordination against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda-linked militants. Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed that his government would take back all its land from "terrorists." Assad spoke during a rare public appearance that included attending prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha in the Damascus suburb of Daraya, which had surrendered last month and reverted to government control after a four-year siege. "We call on all Syrians to turn toward reconciliation," he said. Italy, meanwhile, says a Syrian cease-fire could pave the way for political negotiations aimed at ending the long and bloody conflict. Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told reporters after talks with his Cypriot counterpart that a cessation of hostilities must happen before talks can begin. CNN has a primer on the truce.