ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The picture below depicts the comparison of military situation in Damascus countryside in 2013 and in 2016. The Syrian government showed an incontestable progress in securing the area of its capital. Click to see the full-size map

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (3:50 A.M.) - The armed uprising in Mosul is under way, as local civilians attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham's (ISIS) installations around this provincial capital in northwest Iraq. The civilians participating in this armed rebellion are members of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU); they have played a critical role in the uprising against the Islamic State terrorists. While the civilian uprising commences, the Iraqi Army's 9th, 15th, and 16th divisions, alongside their allies, are storming several villages in southern Mosul, looking to expel the terrorist forces from the Nineveh Plains. This large-scale offensive has already gotten off to a great start, with the Iraqi forces liberating the Assyrian city of Bashiqa from the Islamic State occupiers. According to the official media wing of the Popular Mobilization Units, the Iraqi forces are currently within 30 km of Mosul's downtown area, as they continue to tighten the noose around the Islamic Sta

Saudi military lost dozens of soldiers in a failed attempt to storm a rebel-held area to the east of the Saudi city of Najran. Local source said that Houthi rebels, backed by Yemeni Army, successfully managed to repel a major attack launched by Saudi soldiers. The sources confirmed that dozens of the attacking force were killed and injured, in addition to several military vehicles destroyed.

Russia is extending by three hours the humanitarian pause in Aleppo, Syria, planned for October 20, citing requests from international humanitarian organizations. Two of the eight corridors that are to open will be meant for use by the rebels. “On October 20, starting at 8am, a humanitarian pause is to be introduced in Aleppo to allow civilians to escape and sick and injured people to be evacuated, and for militants to leave the eastern part of the city,” Lt. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy said. He added that the people leaving eastern Aleppo would be monitored in real time via web cameras and surveillance drones. The footage will be broadcast on the Russian Defense Ministry’s website. The general said it took measures to inform Aleppo residents of the opportunity to leave the city by airdropped leaflets, loudspeakers, mobile phone text messages and through Internet. There are eight corridors in Aleppo, with six of them for civilians and humanitarian aid deliveries, Rudskoy said. Two of the corri

Click to see the full-size map On October 15, the US artillery and the US-led coalition’s airpower delivered massive strikes on ISIS targets inside and outside the city of Mosul, de-facto starting a long-awaited operation to liberate the last major ISIS stronghold in Iraq. The Iraqi military, the semi-autonomous, predominantly Shia, Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), the Kurdish Peshmerga, some pro-government Sunni tribal fighters and US and French Special Forces will participate in the operation. Up to 40,000 fighters, over 130 artillery guns, few hundreds of military vehicles will participate in the operation. Warplanes and combat UAVs, belonging to the US-led coalition, and US artillery units will provide support to the main forces. Such a scrappy anti-ISIS force on the ground will create additional troubles during the operation. Almost all participants are interested to gain political, economic and PR revenue from the operation and to avoid significant casualties as more as it’

A screenshot from Almasirah TV’s video Forces of the Houthi-Saleh alliance have destroyed a Saudi military convoy at the Saudi-Yemeni border. The incident took place at October 14, 2016. As result of the attack up to 60 Saudi military sevicemen were killed, 3 battle tanks and 6 vehicles destroyed. Almasirah TV released a video of the battle:

US targets three radar stations reportedly used by Houthi rebels to fire missiles at American destroyers By MEE A US destroyer fired cruise missiles on Houthi rebels early Thursday morning, attacking radar installations that the US claims were used by the rebels to target the USS Mason, another destroyer. The missile launches from the USS Nitze mark the first time the US had directly attacked the Houthis in Yemen. “These limited self-defence strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships and our freedom of navigation in this important maritime passageway,” the US defence department said. “The US will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic." “Initial assessments show the sites were destroyed,” it added. The US strike followed a second missile fired from rebel-held territory in Yemen targeting a US destroyer, a US defence official said on Wednesday. However, Houthi rebels issued a statement denying they had fired a missile at the US vessel.

A Jordanian writer, accused of sharing a cartoon considered offensive to Islam, killed two weeks after his release from prison on bail. A perfect assassination starts with demonizing of a person and ends with a condemnation of the assassin. On 25 September 2016, the prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar, 56, was shot dead ahead of a trial before the courthouse in Jordan's capital Amman. He was accused of sharing a caricature deemed offensive to Islam on his Facebook page. Hattar was an outspoken leftist, secular writer and a self-described Christian atheist, known for his controversial views on issues regarding refugees, his support of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his hostility to movements of political Islam. According to the Jordanian state news agency Petra, an armed man fired three shots at the writer at close range in front of the courthouse ahead of a hearing. The long-bearded shooter, who was wearing a long grey robe characteristic of ultra-conservative Muslims, wa