Middle East Images of the Week

1
Birds fly over a destroyed minaret of a mosque at the northern town of Ariha, on the outskirts of Idlib, Syria.

2
Riad Hijab, who was appointed as Prime Minister of Syria in June, defected on August 7th, 2012, to join the opposition.

3
A view shows the destruction at the site of an explosion inside a Syrian state television building in Damascus August 6, 2012.

4
A Free Syrian Army soldier holds a weapon as he takes part in a training session on the outskirts of Idlib, Syria.