ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The ex-mayor of Ovakent, a city close to the Syrian border, has said that terrorists from the Caucasus and Central Asia had become active in Turkey before the start of the war in Syria. According to media reports, citing an anonymous source in the Turkish government, the terrorist attack on an airport in Istanbul was carried out by nationals of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Chechnya (Russia). Thousands of terrorists have reportedly joined Daesh with an estimated 10,000 terrorists from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan currently fighting in Syria. They cross into Syria after spending some time in Turkey and training at local mosques and Koranic schools. Zeytinburnu district in Istanbul is one such place where terrorists from the Caucasus and the Middle East get together under the umbrella of shady funds and associations with direct links to Hatay province which serves as the last stop for Syria-bound terrorists. In Ovakent, 90 percent populated by Uzbeks who settled down in Turkey in the early 198...

ISIL Launches Chemical Attacks on Gov't Forces in Western Raqqa Battle A senior battlefield commander of the Syrian Army disclosed that the government forces have slowed down the pace of their advance in Raqqa province due to ISIL's mustard gas attack. "The ISIL was losing the battle. We had very good and rapid advances on the Southern side of al-Tabaqa town and airbase. We targeted around 99 percent of ISIL's suicide cars," the commander said, adding, "But, the ISIL then attacked the government forces with mustard gas to prevent our advances." "They filled their tanks and PMP vehicles with large amounts of explosive materials and used them in suicide attacks," he further added. "We advanced nearly 88 kilometer towards al-Tabaqa airbase and we finished the first phase of Raqqa liberation operation, which made the ISIL terrorists crazy," the commander said, adding, "The command center of Raqqa operation decided to call of...

Hezbollah's Missile Attack Kills Daesh Top Commander in Lebanon's Arsal Region The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has hit Daesh military positions in Lebanon's Arsal region, killing several militants, including a senior commander. Abu Khatab, ISIL's commander in charge of military operations in the village of al-Qa'a in Arsal region, was killed in Hezbollah's guided missile attack on Saturday. Scores of ISIL terrorists were also killed and wounded in Hezbollah's missile attack. Earlier on Saturday, the Hezbollah fighters attacked the al Nusra Front terrorist group's military positions in Arsal heights. The al-Nusra Front's military positions came under Hezbollah's attacks in Wadi al-Kheil region in Arsal heights. A large number of Al-Nusra Front terrorists were killed in Arsal region. Meantime, the Hezbollah fighters attacked ISIL's centers in Ra'as al-Balbak region, scores of the Takfiri terrorists were killed in the attack. In a...

Rapid Action Battalion members walk as police stormed the Holey Artisan restaurant after gunmen attacked it and took hostages early on Saturday in Dhaka, Bangladesh in this still frame taken from live video July 2, 2016. © / Reuters Armed men have attacked a restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter, taking up to 40 hostages and killing at least 2 police officers. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. A Bangladesh army spokesman said that all 20 victims of the attack were foreigners, the majority of which were Italian and Japanese, Reuters reported. 07:45 GMT A Bangladesh army spokesperson has said one Japanese citizen and two Sri Lankans were among the 13 people rescued from the Dhaka cafe siege. Addressing the media after the operation, he reported that a total of 26 people had been killed. Most of the victims were killed on Friday night “with sharp weapons,” Reuters quotes the spokesman as saying. 06:36 GMT There were no Russian citizens among the hostages in the b...