ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali On September 8, the Ministry of Defense of Russia announced that ISIS top commander in Deir Ezzor governorate “Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali“ was killed during an airstrike on a terrorist bunker. Many European intelligence services believe that al-Shimali played a key role in the 2015 Paris attacks. “According to confirmed information, there were four influential field commanders, including ‘emir of Deir ez-Zor’ Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali, responsible for financing and smuggling new recruits to ISIS training camps,” the Ministry of Defense of Russia said. Al-Shimali is the subject of a $5,000,000 bounty by the United States Department of State Rewards for Justice Program. According to the Rewards for Justice Program al-Shimali is a key leader in ISIS’ Immigration and Logistics Committee that’s responsible for facilitating the travel of foreign terrorist fighters from and to Syria. Moreover, Al-Shimali and the Immigration and Logistics Committee coordinate s

Written by  Darius Shahtahmasebi ; Originally appeared at  theantimedia.org As the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) continues to make  significant gains  in strategic areas of Syria, the U.N. has declared that the Syrian opposition groups fighting inside Syria have essentially lost the six-and-a-half-year conflict. According to U.N. Special Envoy for Syria and U.N. peace talks mediator Staffan de Mistura, Syria’s opposition must accept that they have lost the war. “For the opposition, the message is very clear: if they were planning to win the war, facts are proving that is not the case. So now it’s time to win the peace,”  de Mistura told reporters, as  quoted  by  Reuters . Asked if this meant the Syrian government had effectively won the war, de Mistura acknowledged the significant military advancements of the SAA but stated that no one can actually claim to have won the war: “Victory can only be if there is a sustainable political long-term solution. Otherwise instead of war, Go

FILE IMAGE On Saturday, Houthi fighters captured 13 points of the Saudi-backed forces supporintng Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in Sirwah district of Ma’rib governorate, according to the Houthis media wing. The media outlet also announced that 21 pro-Hadi fighters were killed or injured in the attack. Houthi fighters also destroyed two vehicles of pro-Hadi forces with ATGMs in al-Mukhadarah and al-Rabiah valleys in Sirwah district. Moreover, the Houthis shelled many positions of pro-Hadi forces in Sirwah district with Katyusha rockets. In a related development, the Saudi-led coalition deployed 3 additional MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems and 8 self-propelled artilleries to Ma’rib governorate, according to local sources. The source added that the equipment entered Yemen throw al-Wadia’a crossing on the Yemeni-Saudi border in Hadhramaut governorate. Meanwhile, Yemeni officials said that 6 people including 2 al-Qaeda fighters were killed in an Unmanned Combat A

On Saturday, the Hezbollah presence in Deir Ezzor city was “officially” confirmed for the first time when a Hezbollah commander in Deir Ezzor city Haj, Abu Mustafa, was interviewed by the Lebanese al-Mayadeen news TV channel inside Deir Ezzor Airport. Abu Mustafa said that his appearance was a result of direct orders from Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah. The Hezbollah commander thanked the Syrian leadership and the leadership of Hezbollah for their unlimited support to Deir Ezzor city. Abu Mustafa also said that Iran and Russia played a major role in supporting the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resistance against ISIS . Furthermore, Abu Mustafa said that  the key element for the victory in Deir Ezzor city was a cooperation between civilians and the SAA. Pro-government sources have repeatedly claimed that  special operation units of Hezbollah were deployed by aircraft to Deir Ezzor city in 2014  in order to assist the SAA in defending the city from ISIS. This information became o