ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

On February 14, the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) destroyed 11 hideouts of ISIS cells in Sinai Peninsula, according to an official statement of Egyptian Army spokesman, Colonel Tamer Rifai. Moreover, Col. Rifai said that the Egyptian Army had discovered and destroyed two depots with hundreds of tons of TNT and C4 explosive materials, a radio network and over 219 hideouts and tunnels of ISIS cells in the Sinai Peninsula. Egyptian Army soldiers also captured 15 ISIS fighters as well as destroyed 6 vehicles and 17 motorcycle of the terrorist group on the same day, according to Col. Rifai’s official statement. The Egyptian Ministry of Defense also revealed that the Egyptian Army and security forces had established 563 new joint checkpoints in the secured areas of the Sinai Peninsula. So far, 6 wanted ISIS fighters including a commander had been arrested on the new joint checkpoints. Since the beginning of  the Egyptian Army military operation against ISIS  on February 9, the...

The media hysteria over the alleged mass casualties among alleged Russian private military contractors in Syria ( MORE HERE ) is developing further. On February 14, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR)  released a report claiming  that “23 of the Russian security companies and members of al-Baqir Brigade [a pro-government militia]” had been killed in an explosion of the booby-trapped weapons depot at Tabiya Jazira in the province of Deir Ezzor. The SOHR argued that pro-government forces were in the area “to advance” on “the oil and gas fields on the eastern banks of Euphrates River”, i.e. the area controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. Then, the SOHR’s head Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France-Presse that 15 of the 23 allegedly killed persons were Russians. “Fifteen Russians working for a Russian private security company were killed in an explosion at a weapons depot of the company in Tabiya Jazira in Deir Ezzor province,”...

Written by  Arkady Savitsky ; Originally appeared at  strategic-culture.org As part of its ballistic missile defense (BMD) system, Russia  tested  a new interceptor missile at the Sary Shagan testing range in Kazakhstan on Feb. 11. It was its third straight successful BMD test. The preceding two trials took place in 2017. Much of the information about the new missile, dubbed the PRS-1M, is classified. It is reported to have a speed of up to  4   km per second . The weapon is lighter than its predecessors, such as the 53T6 (part of the A-135 missile system), and boasts an upgraded guidance system. Special equipment has been installed to overcome countermeasures employed by intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The PRS-1M will soon complete its testing and become operational. The missile is a component of the Nudol A-235 BMD system, which is in the development stage. Unlike the A-135, which protects Moscow, the A-235s could be deployed in many ...