ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Illustrative image On October 31, ISIS claimed that its fighters had repelled a new attack by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies on their positions in the heavily fortified area of al-Safa. According to the terrorist group news agency, Amaq, 33 soldiers and officers of the SAA were killed and injured during the clashes in the area, which is located north of the governorate of al-Suwayda. Amaq’s claims are yet to be confirmed or denied by any pro-government source. Two days ago,  ISIS repelled a similar SAA attack  killing and injuring four Syrian soldiers. Back then, the terrorists targeted a battle tank and a military bulldozer of the army with anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). The source of these advanced weapons has not been determined yet. The Damascus government and ISIS cells in al-Safa reached an agreement earlier this month to release around 30 hostages, who were abducted by the terrorist group  in late July . However, ISIS violated the agreeme...

The youngest brother of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has returned from self-imposed exile to “challenge” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) “or find someone who can,” reports the  Middle East Eye . Prince Ahmad bin Abdulaziz Prince Ahmad bin Abdulaziz is reportedly hoping to oust his 33-year-old nephew in the wake of an allegedly state-sanctioned murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. MbS has virtual control over Saudi Arabia after a June 2017 shakeup in which King Salman removed Muhammad bin Nayef as heir apparent. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman The septuagenarian prince, an open critic of bin Salman (MBS), has travelled with security guarantees given by US and UK officials. “ He and others in the family have realised that MBS has become toxic ,” a Saudi source close to Prince Ahmad told Middle East Eye. “The prince wants to play a role to make these changes, which means either he himself will play a major role in any new arrangement or to help to choose an al...