June 02, 2016 - 7:15 AM
BEIRUT - The Latest on Syria's civil war (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
Syrian state TV is reporting that an explosion has struck outside a mosque in the coastal government stronghold of Latakia inflicting casualties.
The TV says the blast occurred Thursday as people were leaving the Khulafa Rashideen mosque following afternoon prayers.
State TV says the blast killed and wounded several people, but did not give numbers.
The explosion came a week after a series of co-ordinated bombings struck the coastal city of Tartus and the town of Jableh on the Syrian coast, killing some 160 people.
The coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus have been a government stronghold since the country's conflict began in 2011.
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3:30 p.m.
U.N. officials say Syrian government approval is needed before the World Food Program can carry out air drops and airlifts of food into besieged areas of the war-torn country.
Humanitarian aid adviser Jan Egeland and Ramzy Ramzy, a deputy to U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, spoke to reporters in Geneva on Thursday.
A deadline set by world powers for the WFP to "immediately carry out a program for air bridges and air drops for all areas in need" in Syria expired on Wednesday.
Egeland says the companies who are subcontracted to carry out airlifts for WFP require government authorization.
He says the government in Damascus hasn't provided permission for nearly all of the areas in need.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016