ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

FILE IMAGE The US official asked NATO to deploy more troops to support the new US strategy in Afghanistan, the Afghan News TV channel Tolo reported on October 7. Permanent Representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison told reports at a briefing in NATO HQ in Brussels that the US is looking for 1,000 additional troops from NATO to support the additional 300 US troops who are on their way Afghanistan. Hutchison added that the US have made a “specific” request regarding the type of troops needed in Afghanistan, not just a general request. “We are going to be much more efficient by asking people for specific expertise areas. So we’re not just saying we want 50 more troops from Denmark, we’re saying we want 50 more troops with technology or capability to fix machines or run tanks,” Hutchison said. The US request is a part of the US administration new policy in Afghanistan that’s focused on military actions. The US request also comes is the 16th anniversary of US intervention i...

A Lebanese soldier carries his weapon as he stands at an army post in the hills above the Lebanese town of Arsal, near the border with Syria, Lebanon September 21, 2016. Picture taken September 21, 2016. . (photo credit:MOHAMED AZAKIR / REUTERS) On Saturday, the Intelligence Gathering Division of the Lebanese State Security announced in an official statement that it has arrested three members of an Israel Mossad cell in Lebanon over the last few days. Wikipedia:  Mossad is the national intelligence agency of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security). According to the Intelligence Gathering Division, the Mossad cell worked between Bourj el-Barajneh municipality in the southern suburbs of Beirut city and Deir Koubel village in Aley District of Mount Lebanon. “The security operation begin by arresting two suspects in Bourj el-Barajneh and Hadath, and resumed in F...

On October 7, the Saudi authorities announced that a gunman attacked the royal al-Salam palace in Jeddah city. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) agency said that “at 3:15 pm on Saturday, an outpost of the Royal Guard, located in front of the western gate of the Peace Palace in Jeddah, came under fire by a person who got out of a Hyundai car”. SPA reveled that two guards of the al-Salam palace sergeant ”Hammad bin Shallah al-Mutairi”, and soldier “Abdullah bin Faisal al-Subaie” were killed in the attack. Three other guards were injured in the attack according to the source. The Saudi authorities identified the attacker as “Mansur bin Hassan bin Ali al-Fahid al-Amiri”, a 28-year-old Saudi national. According to SPA, al-Amiri was armed with an Ak-47 rifle and three Molotov fire grenades. Meanwhile, Reuters news agency reported that the US embassy in Saudi Arabia warned US citizens there “to exercise caution” around the al-Salam Palace in Jeddah city. The US embassy warning was issued ri...

On Saturday, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) released an official statement threatening Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups that are planning to enter Idlib governorate from Turkey. HTS claimed in the statement that the upcoming military operation of the Turkish Army and the FSA will be backed by the Russian Army. HTS said that “Idlib will not be a picnic” for the FSA, and added that its fighters and suicide bombers are ready to face the FSA. HTS used a very aggressive language in the statement. It even threatened to turn the sons of FSA fighters to orphans, and their wives to widows. Click to see the full-size image From its side, Fateh Hasson the leader of Homeland Liberation Movement denied that Russia will back the upcoming FSA operation against HTS in Idlib governorate in an interview with the Russian news agency Sputnik. However, Hasson revealed that Russia did indeed propose to support the FSA operation in a perverse meeting. In a related development, ...