ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Illustrative image Bouthaina Shaaban, the political and media adviser to Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, discussed  the possibility of deploying Chinese Special Forces to Syria with Chinese Army officials during her latest visit to China, the Russian news agency Sputnik reported on November 28. According to Sputnik’s report, the Chinese Army is planning to deploy the Shenyang Military Region Special Forces Unit “Siberian Tiger”, and the Lanzhou Military Region Special Forces Unit “Night Tiger” to Syria in order to counter the threat of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), which had recruited thousands of Chinese Uyghurs and sent them to Syria during the last few years. On November 23, Reuters reported that Shaaban only met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during her visit to China. The two sides discussed the political process in Syria and the reconstruction of the country, according to Reuters. “China hopes the Syrian side can seize the opportunity, display flex...

Click to see the full-size image On November 29, the Syrian Intelligence foiled a double terrorist attack in Homs city, after successfully arresting two suicide bombers, according to the Syrian al-Ekhbariya TV.  The pro-government media outlet said that the arrested suicide bombers were members of ISIS. Al-Ekhbariya revealed that the two suicide bombers were on their way to the Ba’ath Party headquarters and a culture center in Homs when the Syrian intelligence intercepted and arrested them both. The attackers were wearing suicide belts backed with 3kg of explosives and shrapnel. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image On October 15,  Syrian security forces foiled a suicide attack in Baniyas city north of Tartus cit y and arrested the suicide bomber. On August 7,  the Syrian National Defense Forces (NDF) foiled a terrorist attack in Salhab town in the northern Hama countryside  after kill...

On November 29, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the Egyptian Army to restore security in Sinai Peninsula within three months during a public speech, according to the British Daily Mail newspaper. “Allow me to take this opportunity to commit General Mohamed Farid Hegazy, in front of you and all the Egyptian people: you are responsible for restoring security and stability in Sinai within three months, you and the interior ministry,” al-Sisi told the chief of staff of the Egyptian Army who was attending the speech, according to the report. Al-Sisi also said that the Egyptian Army will use “complete brutal force” during its upcoming anti-terrorism operation in the Sinai Peninsula. However, the Egyptian president didn’t reveal any other details of the operation. Al-Sisi’s order is likely a response to  the terrorist attack on Al Rawdah mosque west of the city of El Arish in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on November 24 . 305 civilians including 27 children were kill...

On November 29, unknown aircraft destroyed two headquarters of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in the town of Kherbet Eljoz in the northern Idlib countryside, according to Syrian opposition sources. Several fighters of the TIP were killed in the airstrikes. Opposition sources also reported that the unknown aircraft destroyed two vehicles of the TIP on the road between Kerbet Eljoz and Jisr al-Shughur in the northeastern Idlib countryside. While some Syrian opposition activists claimed that US-led coalition aircraft conducted the airstrikes against the TIP, others believe that the Russian Air Force was behind them. The TIP is currently supporting a military operation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) against  the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the northern Hama countryside. However, Syrian opposition figure Bassam Jaara claimed on twitter that the airstrikes on the TIP positions were conducted by the Chinese Special Operations Forces. “The targeting of the Turkistan [TIP] i...

A Russian Su-30 fighter jet performs at an airshow at the Zhukovsky airfield outside Moscow, Aug. 26, 2007. Ivan Sekretarev/AP A Russian Su-30 fighter jet made an “unsafe” intercept of a US P-8A Poseidon aircraft on November 25 while it was flying over the Black Sea,  CNN  reported. “The US aircraft was operating in international airspace and did nothing to provoke this Russian behavior,” Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon said. The Russian jet’s actions were deemed unsafe because the aircraft crossed in front of the US plane from right to left while engaging its afterburners. The Russian fighter jet came as close as 50 feet from the US aircraft. Moscow has not commented on the event. Russian aviation forces regularly intercept and see the NATO jets off, with Ministry of Defense publishing reports about the foreign aircraft located near Russia’s borders. Previously a US spy plane was  intercepted  by a Russian jet in June of 2017...

FILE PHOTO © KCNA / Reuters On November 28, North Korea fired a ballistic missile, which landed in Japan’s economic zone. This was the first North Korean missile test since mid-September. The Pentagon said its initial assessment was that it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The ICBM was launched from Sain Ni in North Korea and traveled about 1,000 km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan. The Japanese prime minister’s office said that the ICBM apparently landed in waters off Japan within the country’s exclusive economic zone. In response to the missile test, South Korea has staged a “precision strike” missile exercise.

Illustrative image According to former US Secretary of State John Kerry Israel and Egypt were pushing the US to “bomb Iran” before the nuclear deal was struck in 2015. He added that a number of kings and presidents told the US that a military action was the only language Iran would understand. Kerry emphasized the role of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was “genuinely agitating toward action.” Kerry made the statement during a forum in Washington. He defended the deal and said that the military action suggestions were a “trap”. According to the former US secretary of state, te same countries would have publicly criticized the U.S. if it did carry out a bombing of Iran as they were secretly supporting. The administration of US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the Iran nuclear deal made during the Obama presidency. Trump vowed to reconsider the terms and conditions of the deal and to put an additional pressure on Iran. These statements faced a ve...

FILE IMAGE: middleeastmonitor.com Turkey seeks to expand its military mission in Syria to two other areas: western Aleppo and Afrin, bringing its forces in a potential military confronation with the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Ankara believes that this move would provide “a real environment of peace and safety” in the area. Turkey says that Kurdish militias, which are a core of the US-backed SDF, are linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) operating in Turkey and northern Iraq. Ankara designates the PKK a terrorist group. “It’s been considered that the observation mission of the Turkish armed forces in the Idlib de-escalation zone is continuing successfully, and such a mission being performed near Western Aleppo and Afrin would provide a real environment of peace and safety,” the Turkish National Security Council said in a statement. The Turkish military is involved in an “observation mission” in the militant-held part of the Syrian prov...

 The Russian Navy recently launched its 4th Pr.0955 BOERI Class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), Count Vladimir (Князь Владимир). It was the first of the improved Pr.0955A (aka 09552)  BOREI-II  sub-variant. Original artwork – CLICK for HIGH-RESOLUTION image. The most visible difference from the baseline Pr.0955 is the western-style all-moving vertical rudders with endplates added to the hydroplanes. The towed sonar array tube has been moved from the top of the upper vertical rudder to the starboard side hydroplane: Another update is what appears to be a new flank array sonar running along the length of the missile compartment. This is likely a cylindrical tube buried in the double-hull: The ‘hump back’ covering the missile compartment has been faired in to present a smoother and more angled cross-section. This may slightly reduce active sonar returns. Despite reports that the missile load would be increased to 20, it appears to remain 16 RSM-56 Bulava SLBMs....

REUTERS/Erik De Castro Over 50,000 people are isolated in Syria’s area of At-Tanf controlled by the US-led coalition and its proxies. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the US side has given international organizations no access to the Rukban refugee camp to deliver aid. “Having closed a 55-kilometer zone around the US base at at-Tanf, the US force has created a territory where, according to various estimates, more than 50,000 people are staying in isolation. It is an unprecedented situation of long-lasting hindrance to humanitarian assistance to those in need. The refugee camp is deprived of the possibility to have enough food and professional medical assistance, to ensure classes to children,”  the ministry said in a statement, according to the Russian state-run news agency TASS. Syrian sources say that these people are de-facto hostages of the US-led forces and are used as a human shield to protext US-backed militants from the possible advance of the S...

Written by  Paul Craig Roberts ; Originally appeared at  paulcraigroberts.org William Binney is the former National Security Agency (NSA) official who created NSA’s mass surveillance program for digital information. He says that if the Russian government had conspired with Trump, hacked the Democratic National Committee’s computer, or in any way influenced the outcome of the last US presidential election, the National Security Agency would have the digital evidence. The fact that we have been listening to the unsubstantiated charges that comprise “Russiagate” for more than one year without being presented with a scrap of evidence is complete proof that Russiagate is entirely fake news. The fake news originated with CIA director John Brennan and FBI director Comey conspiring with the DNC in an effort to discredit and unseat President Trump and at a minimum prevent him from damaging the vast power and profit of the military/security complex by normalizing relations with R...