ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

 A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest near a mosque in Syria's northern city of Idlib on Friday, killing a body guard of a key jihadi commander and other rebels as well, activists said. The bomber set off his explosives in front of the Abi Thar mosque in the rebel-held city of Idlib, targeting the Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini, a prominent religious figure of the Front for Liberating the Levant, otherwise known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, Idlib-based activists said. The explosion killed one of the bodyguards of al-Muhaysini, and other jihadists. However, it's not yet clear whether al-Muhaysini was killed or not, amid reports that he might have escaped unscathed. The attack is believed to have been carried out by rival jihadi groups, which want to see an end to the influence of the Nusra Front in Idlib. The Nusra Front is designated as a terror group by the international community, and it has been excluded from all recent truces and agreements, inc...

FILE IMAGE [Photo via Newscom] ISIS began transferring its important HQs from the terrorist group’s self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa – currently under attack by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – to Al-Mayadeen city in the Deir Ezzor countryside, the Associated Press reported citing American security sources and Syrian activists According to the sources, several ISIS commanders fled the besieged cities of Mosul and Raqqa in the last few months and headed to Al-Mayadeen which is entirely under the control of the terrorist organization. They are using the city as a HQ for planning terrorist operations in western countries. According to US officials, the US-led coalition is aware of the presence of these commanders in Al-Mayadeen city, and that’s why the US-led coalition recently stepped up air strikes on ISIS positions in Al-Mayadeen. Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the US-led coalition said “if we find them and know where they are, we will strike them.” The Deir Ez...

A vehicle of the Philippine Army The Philippine government announced on Friday that the Philippine Army is now in control of 90% of Marawi City. The Philippine Army added that some ISIS fighters who took over the southern Philippine city of Marawi last month may have been hiding among civilians who were evacuated from the city in order to escape the fighting that continue for the fourth week in a row. Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said that security measures have been tightened in the cities of Elijan and Cagayan de Oro and the authorities are looking for any suspicious figures who may be trying to “spread confusion and fear”. The general added “We’re not denying that there’s probably a few who may have slipped along with the evacuees from Marawi going to Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.” According to the Philippine Army, at least 200 local ISIS fighters pluse foreign fighters remain inside Marawi as the Philippine army is working to exterminate them as soon as possible. ...

In southeastern Syria, the region around al-Tanf has quickly become a focal point for the ongoing conflict in the region. Near to both  the Iraqi and Jordanian borders (see map below), al-Tanf is currently the location of a contingent of US-led coalition forces , supposedly there for the purpose of providing training to ‘anti-ISIS’ militias, but also anti-Assad militias too – the fabled ‘moderate rebels’. Not surprisingly, the US-led coalition has unilaterally imposed a self-styled ‘ deconfliction zone ‘ around their camp in al-Tanf and claim to be defending their position from ‘pro-Syrian forces’, otherwise known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and allied militias. It has been reported by mainstream media outlets that coalition members represented at al-Tanf include not only the United States but also the British SAS, and also possibly Norway too. Click to see the full-size image Although coalition forces are also present in other parts of Syria, including...