ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Only hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a bloodcurdling warning about terror attacks against European citizens, four people lay dead on the streets of London. That death toll may rise further because several of those injured in the attack this week in the British capital are in critical condition, fighting for their lives. Erdogan was speaking Wednesday in what was yet another diatribe in his ongoing war of words with the European Union. The Turkish leader has been enraged by European governments refusing ministers from Ankara holding political rallies in Germany, Netherlands and Austria among other countries. As a result of the injunctions, he has accused the EU of displaying Islamophobia and hostility towards Turkey. In his latest barrage earlier this week, Erdogan warned that there would be dire repercussions for EU citizens owing to the perceived stance of their governments. «If you continue to behave like this, tomorrow in no part of the world, no Europea...

By Inside Syria Media Center Inside Syria Media Center has obtained proofs of plans to create a state of Great Kurdistan. Map of Great Kurdistan According to the documents at our disposal, the U.S. authorities and the Syrian Kurds reached an agreement past week on the boundaries of the Kurdish autonomy in the territory of Syria, which had been guaranteed to Kurds in case of capturing Raqqa and Al-Tabqah (34 miles to the West of Raqqa). This confirms the reports about the U.S. plans to divide Syria. In addition, Washington has already defined the boundaries of the new state of the Great Kurdistan on the territory of Syria and Iraq. It is to be created after ISIS defeat and the final collapse of Syrian Arab Republic. According to the U.S. military, Kurds remain the only force capable of defeating ISIS. In order to strengthen its positions the new U.S. administration announced the upcoming liberation of the so-called ISIS capital, Raqqa. To grease the wheels the Americans resorted to mone...

A U.S.-backed operation near Raqqa aims to "block any advance by Syrian government forces from the west". The Balkanization of Syria begins By RI The road to Raqqa is now blocked by U.S. forces and their allies. The chances that Raqqa (and the surrounding region) will be returned to Syria are now slim to none. Foreign armies and their proxies are sharpening their carving knives. U.S. Special Forces and Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters have just captured a "strategic air base" from Islamic State in northern Syria; in doing so, they have also "blocked" the advance of the Syrian Army as it approaches Raqqa from the wes t: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Sunday that they captured the Tabqa air base, 45km west of Raqqa, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group's de facto capital in Syria. Earlier this week, US forces airlifted SDF fighters behind ISIL lines to allow them to launch the Tabqa assault, and on Friday ...

By Pepe Escobar James Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Emerging Threats at NATO – now that’s a lovely title – recently gave a talk at a private club in London on the Islamic State/Daesh. Shea, as many will remember, made his name as NATO’s spokesman during the NATO war on Yugoslavia in 1999. After his talk Shea engaged in a debate with a source I very much treasure. The source later gave me the lowdown. According to Saudi intelligence, Daesh was invented by the US government – in Camp Bacca, near the Kuwait border, as many will remember — to essentially finish off the Shiite-majority Nouri al-Maliki government in Baghdad. It didn’t happen this way, of course. Then, years later, in the summer of 2014, Daesh routed the Iraqi Army on its way to conquer Mosul . The Iraqi Army fled. Daesh operatives then annexed ultra-modern weapons that took US instructors from six to twelve months to train the Iraqis in and…surprise! Daesh incorporated the weapons in their arsenals in 24 hours. In the ...

FILE PHOTO On March 27, Syrian government forces launched a military operation against the ISIS terrorist group in the northeastern part of the Sweida province. The Syrian Arab Army and the National Defense Forces reprotedly captured Al Masiydah, Al Asfar, Al-Saqiyah, Al-Janinah and Shinwan and other sites in the area. AlMasdarNews reported that the Syrian military had gained control over about 300km2. However, this still has to be confirmed. Meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army and allied elements continued own advance against ISIS terrorists in the same area, recapturing the villages of Shunwan, Beir Al Awra, Beir Al Qunyat, Rajm, Al Dawla and Al Asfar. This “pro-opposition” map shows the military situation in northeastern Sweida (It does not show the recent government gains): Click to see the full-size map

A media activist, M. Dozê , released photos from the Tabqa Airbase that had been captured by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the ISIS terrorist group in the province of Raqqah. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image

On March 27, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the National Defense Forces (NDF) further advanced against ISIS terrorists in the countryside of the ancient city of Palmyra. According to Hezbollah’s media wing in Syria, the SAA and the NDF captured the Marbat Antar Mountain, the Dhalil mountain and the Hid Mountain north and northwest of Palmyra. At the same time, government forces don’t develop a large advance in the direction of the Arak town east of Palmyra. However, clashes in are ongoing for control over checkpoints in the area. Click to see the full-size map

FILE IMAGE The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the National Defense Forces (NDF) reportedly recaptured another village – Kafr Amim – from the joint militant forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the northern countryside of Hama. According to reports, the SAA and the NDF launched an advance in the area earlier today and since then were able to break up Jaysh al-Izza and Abnaa al-Sham defenses successfully and to regain some points south of Maardeh. In general, Jaysh al-Izza and Abnaa al-Sham fighters are less motivated than their counterparts from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The advance followed the liberation of Maazraf from militants earlier today . The advance in Maazraf was officially confirmed by the Syrian Defense Ministry . Click to see the full-size map. Source: @v4st0/Twitter