ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

A screenshot from the video A new video appeared online October 12 confirming that the Syrian Arab Army and its allies have reached  the al-Siyasah Bridge north of Deir Ezzor city . The bridge is a key facility located north of the ISIS-held part of Deir Ezzor city. The area had been serving as a supply line to ISIS units operating inside Deir Ezzor. Now, this supply line will be cut off.

A photo from the scene. Source: https://twitter.com/cucha1985/status/918425016185819136 On October 12, a Spanish pilot died when his fighter jet crashed near the Los Llanos airbase in Albacete following the participation in a National Day military parade in Madrid. The Spanish Defense Ministry officially confirmed the incedent and the death of pilot but did not provide additional details. It added that the incident is under investigation.

On October 9, ISIS members attacked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) in northern Hama and seized a number of villages near the important village of Rahjan.For some observers this situation looked strange because ISIS and ISIS-affiliated groups had been rarely seen in maps and news reports about the situation in Idlib, southern Aleppo and northern Hama.He revealed that about 900 ISIS militants remain in Idlib province. Sulayman said that paying money to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leadership, ISIS was able to supply its members in the “opposition-held area”. A part of ISIS forces in Idlib province is members of Jund al-Aqsa that has pledged allegiance to ISIS.Separately, Islamic World News also reported that about 200 militants affilated with ISIS sneaked from eastern Salamiyah to northern Hama in September 2017. These militants were members of the Davood Brigade and Jund al-Aqsa. A notable number of I...

A new political Atlas of the World released in Pyongyang had Crimea be a part of Russia, the Russian Embassy in North Korea posted on its official Facebook  page . “The publishing house “Scientific Encyclopedia” released a new political Atlas of the World. We noticed that the Crimean peninsula (pages 240-242) has already been painted in Russian colors. As we explained in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, the republic respects the results of the referendum held in Crimea on the entry of the peninsula into the Russian Federation, considers its results to be legitimate and fully compliant with international legal norms,” the embassy said in their statement. According to the statement, Pyongyang has called Crimea “an integral part of Russian Federation” at the UN vote. North Korea also recognizes the Kuril Islands as Russian territory. On October 2, North Korea  opened  its second internet connection with the outside world via Russia. Previously the Int...

On October 12, 30 vehicles of the Turkish Army including armored vehicles entered Syria’s Idlib province via the Atme border crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border, according to Syrian opposition groups. Syrian opposition activists claimed that the Turkish Army convoy was escorted by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS; formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) fighters. However, these claims are not confirmed yet. The Turkish Army likely started its deployment between the Atme border crossing and Darat Izza town in the northern Aleppo countryside. The Turkish Army deployment suggest that there is an agreement with HTS. Furthermore, it appears that the upcoming Turkish Army military operation could be aimed against the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Afrin city in the northern Aleppo countryside. The Turkish Army deployment comes hours only after Turkish National Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said at...