US pitches plan to Russia to avoid armed conflict in Syria

View photosIn this May 15, 2017, photo, Iraqi civilians walk through rubble as they flee fighting between Iraqi special forces and Islamic State militants, in western Mosul, Iraq. The United States is looking ahead toward a decisive battleground in its bid to destroy the Islamic State group, even as U.S.-backed local forces must still finish the fight for the extremists’ two main strongholds in Iraq and Syria. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)
MoreWASHINGTON (AP) — The United States ha