ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

FILE IMAGE On Friday, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the buildings of Raqqa University in the southern part of Raqqa city, according to Kurdish sources. The SDF also announced that its fighters killed over 20 ISIS members who tried to sneak into al-Amin and an-Thaknah districts in the center of the city. Furthermore, the SDF discovered a large ammo depot of ISIS in the liberated areas in the center of Raqqa.  Follow Afarin Mamosta   @AfarinMamosta SDF captured ISIS depots of armaments, originally captured by ISIS from Syrian army.  # Raqqa 19:24 - 7 Sep 2017   3 3 Replies     58 58 Retweets     90 90 likes Twitter Ads information and privacy Meanwhile, the US-led coalition announced that its warplanes carried out more than 8 airstrikes against ISIS in Raqqa city in the last 24 hours. US Army colonel Ryan Dillon Spokesman for the US-led coalition announced ...

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif announced from the Chinese capital Beijing that China, Pakistan and Afghanistan will hold new talks later this year in China to push forward the negotiations for a political solution in the war-torn country. Asif emphasized that there is no military solution for the war in Afghanistan and that the solution should be a political one. Asif statement is believed to be a response to the US President Donald Trump plan to deploy more troops to Afghanistan. “It’s our firm view that there is no military solution in Afghanistan, the focus should be on a politically negotiated settlement … China is playing a very constructive role in this regard,” Asif said. From his side, Wang indirectly criticized the US accusation about the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban. Wang stressed that Pakistan contributed many efforts to solve the conflict in Afghanistan. “The government and people of Pakis...

Credit: PNA / MANILA BULLETIN On Friday, Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, spokesperson for Marawi Joint Task Force, announced that only 0.2 square kilometer of Marawi city is still under ISIS control. “Our soldiers are still trying to clear a portion of about 20-21 hectares [0.2 square kilometer] land area in the main battle area,” Petinglay said. So far 653 ISIS fighters have been killed in the Marawi battle by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), while the AFP has lost 145 soldiers. In a related development, Australian Minister for Defense Marise Payne announced after a meeting Philippines Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana in Manila that Australia will send a small unit of Australian soldiers to train AFP soldiers. “We are very committed to supporting the Philippines in its efforts to defend itself against terrorist threats,” Payne said. The Australian soldiers will advise the AFP soldiers and train them, according to Payne’s statement. However, the Australian ...