ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

      By Ali Jawad and Mohamed Walid BAGHDAD Dozens of Daesh terrorists were killed in Iraqi airstrikes in northern Iraq on Saturday, according to the country’s defense ministry. Iraqi warplanes struck Daesh positions in the predominantly Turkmen city of Tal Afar, killing 21 terrorists and destroying four vehicles, the ministry said in a statement. Another raid killed 17 Daesh terrorists and destroyed six boats in western Mosul, the ministry said. In another development, Iraqi police commander Fadel al-Mehrab said a Daesh attack had been repelled southwest of Tal Afar. “Five Daesh militants were killed and two motorbikes destroyed during the attack,” he told Anadolu Agency. The Iraqi army, backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes, is currently engaged in a massive offensive to recapture Mosul, the country’s second largest city, from Daesh. The terrorist organization has overrun Mosul -- along vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq -- in 2014.

FSA militants are in the town of Bzaah UPD: ISIS says it took back Bzaah. If confirmed, it will be the 4th fail in a row for Turkish forces in the area. Few moments ago, the so-called “Free Syrian Army” (a coalition of pro-Turkish militant group operating in northern Syria), back once again reseized the town of Bzaah from ISIS terrorists in the Syrian province of Aleppo. This was the 4th attempt by pro-Turkish forces to seize this important town located east of the ISIS stronghold of al-Bab. Three previous attempts had failed and resulted in heavy casualties among pro-Turkish forces . Now, the Free Syrian Army and the Turkish Army are attempting to secure the area and preparing to repulse an ISIS counter-attack which is expected in coming hours.

Original by Yuriy “yurasumy” Podolyaka published at Naspravdi ; translation from Russian by J.Hawk Artillery activity has declined somewhat in recent days. Thank God there so far have been no major provocations with large numbers of casualties, so hope remains that further escalation can be avoided. But even then there is an absolute certainty that this is just a postponement of the inevitable. Current military situation A comparative calm has settled on the Donbass in recent days. On February 4 the intensity of shelling has declined by half in comparison with February 2 and 3. On February 5 there was an escalation but not comparable to the preceding days. Nevertheless, forces on both sides are occupying jump-off positions, ready to start active operations. The greatest hot-spot remains the Avdeyevka industrial zone. That’s where the most tactically-motivated shelling is going on, rather than simple “exchanges of fire.” This is evident from the losses. It is from Avdeyevka and adjace...

Submited via Algora Blog Valentin Vasilescu; Translated from French by Alice Decker Originally published in Ziarul de Garda (in Romanian) (11 October 2015); And in French (12 October 2015) at Réseau international Russia knew from the outset that NATO’s air and space surveillance systems were in a position to control all the activity of Russian military aircraft based in Syria. Thanks to the American reconnaissance aircraft RC135, the British Sentinel R1 aircraft, the AWACS radars and the Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) deployed on Syria’s borders, it was possible to intercept : all radio traffic on Russian networks, the number and type of aircraft, their flight paths, the type of weapon used, the objectives targeted by the rebels, and their location — especially since most rebel groups in Syria are armed and supported by the United States and can be warned in time, for each operation. Awacs The media had long been talking about the types of Russian bombers operating in Syri...