ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Jaysh Assoud al-Sharkia announced on July 19 that unknown militants assassinated one of its commanders in eastern Qalamoun. According to opposition sources, militants on a motorcycle shot Shibli Khalifa in Dumair City. Jaysh Assoud al-Sharkia is considered one of the largest groups backed by the US-led coalition, and there are fighters from it in the US base of Al Tanf on the Syrian-Iraqi border. Opposition activist Karam Saad al-Haj said that the assassination took place near the local clinic and the al-Qal’a Roundabout. He also said that Khalifa was transferred to a medical point immediately, but he died there, adding that the perpetrators of the assassination hadn’t yet been identified. Opposition sources accused Syrian Intelligence or ISIS of being behind the operation. Earlier this month a unidentified militant had assassinated a commander of Assoud al-Sharkia in Dumeir town. Assoud al-Sharkia accused the Syrian Intelligence of being behind the assassination. However, pro

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) published a video that shows the targeting of ISIS fighters inside Raqqa city with armed drones. It’s believed that the SDF managed to obtain drones equipped with thermal cameras and modified them for combat against ISIS. The SDF continued its advance in Nazlat Shehadeh district in the western part of the city. The SDF is trying to evacuate hundreds of civilians who can no longer flee easily after ISIS closed all streets in Raqqa City.  Follow قوات سوريا من الجبهة   @QSD_Jabha قوات سوريا الديمقراطية  # قسد  تخوض اشتباكات عنيفة ضد داعش منذ ليلة الامس في حي نزلة شحادة لتحرير مدنيين عالقين في المعارك # الرقة # الخلافه 4:28 PM - 21 Jul 2017     3 3 Retweets     11 11 likes Twitter Ads information and privacy According to Kurdish sources, 8 ISIS fighters were killed during the clashes on Friday. On the other side, ISIS fighters targeted SDF positions in the southwestern part of Raq

This handout photo taken on July 20, 2017, and released by the Presidential Photo Division (PPD) shows Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte following his arrival at Cagayan de Oro airport on the southern island of Mindanao. (Photo by AFP) On July 20 , Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visited Marawi City where fierce clashes were taking place between the Philippine Army and ISIS fighters. Duterte announced that Marawi crisis is coming to an end soon: “The fight in Marawi would soon be over. [The] one thing that’s stopping us now is ‘yung sa mosque, it’s a big one, it has underground tunnels but not so much about that.” The president expressed his concern over more than 300 people still being held hostage by ISIS fighters in Marawi city and said he needed a martial law to secure the city during this crisis. However Duterte assured that he could work without military law. “If I have to arrest you without a warrant, I will arrest you without a warrant — with or witho