Syria

The extremist group posted photos on social media Friday showing bulldozers destroying the Saint Elian Monastery near the town of Qaryatain, which IS captured in early August.

A Christian clergyman told The Associated Press in Damascus that IS militants also wrecked a church inside the monastery that dates back to 5th century. The priest, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the monastery included an Assyrian Catholic church.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Brig. Gen. Saber al-Mahayreh said Sunday that surveillance along Jordan's borders is tight and that his forces can "spot a rabbit" trying to cross. 

The surveillance system consists of radar and surveillance towers that help detect suspected infiltrators miles away.

The general says all infiltration attempts have been blocked so far. He says Jordan's security takes priority over humanitarian concerns when receiving refugees.

The move by the Nusra Front came two weeks after Turkey began carrying out airstrikes against IS targets in Syria. 

Turkey also agreed to allow U.S. warplanes to use the strategic Incirlik Air Base for operations against IS in Syria. The two countries have agreed on the outlines of a plan to create an IS-free zone along the border.

A U.S.-led coalition has conducted nearly 6,000 airstrikes against the Islamic State group, expanding its operations to target the extremists in Syria as well. But a year later, the Islamic State group remains able to launch attacks across its self-declared "caliphate" in both countries, despite some gains by Kurdish fighters and allied Iraqi forces.

Meanwhile, searches continued in Egypt for a missing Croatian hostage that an Islamic State affiliate had threatened to kill.

The heavily populated town of Qaryatain lies southwest of Palmyra, which is home to towering Roman ruins, and some 85 kilometers from Homs city. Its capture allows the IS group to link up areas under its control in and around Palmyra with areas in the eastern countryside of Qalamoun in Damascus province.

The coalition had no immediate comment.

The report by Airwars, a project aimed at tracking the international airstrikes targeting the extremists, said it believed 57 specific strikes killed civilians and caused 48 suspected "friendly fire" deaths. It said the strikes have killed more than 15,000 Islamic State militants.

While Airwars noted the difficulty of verifying information in territory held by the IS group, which has kidnapped and killed journalists and activists, other groups have reported similar casualties from the U.S.-led airstrikes.

Their goals, while overlapping in some ways, are far different in others, mainly on the question of how to handle Kurdish militants battling Islamic State fighters in Syria. And that's the problem.