ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By Federico Pieraccini FebruarySince Donald Trump became President of the United States, we have been witnessing some interesting developments in Syria. We have only fragmentary and seemingly unconnected information at this time, but, as one puts the pieces of the puzzle together, it appears likely that some kind of deeper level of coordination between the US and Russia exists. While it cannot be said with certainty, Trump and Putin have probably agreed to cooperate in the fight against Daesh in Syria without making it publicly known. These represent only intentions, especially after the misunderstanding in recent days about joint strikes between Moscow and Washington against Daesh in Syria. The following list is intended to facilitate an understanding of a tentative hypothesis that posits secret coordination between the US and Russia. Let us start with some points concerning recent months. 1. Russia has fought terrorism in Syria for nearly two years, repeatedly requesting the US to co

Original by Yuriy “yurasumy” Podolyaka published at Naspravdi ; translation from Russian by J.Hawk During the initial phase of the battle at Avdeyevka, the UAF were able to launch a swift and surprise attack and force back NAF forces from their positions near the Yasinovataya cloverleaf. What happened? New UAF tactics One should first of note note that the Kiev regime forces are using new tactics. Each operation is preceded by lengthy preparation (and there is no shortage of time and the front line is static). Then a surprise attack using forces ranging from a platoon to a company. If successful, consolidation on seized positions then defense. If the factor of surprise is lost, immediate retreat to original positions. Why this worked now and not before In 2014-15, well organized intelligence was of great help to the Donbass militia and hampered the Kiev regime forces. The local population loyal to the Republics betrayed its “liberators” in any way it could. Now the situation is diffe

A video, showing a team of Russian snipers, operating in Syrian province of Aleppo, has been published online. The Russian Special Forces in Syria (Photo: Twitter / miladvisor) A video, showing a process of eliminating of a sniper of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group by a team of Russian snipers, has been published online. The video, captured from a position of Russian snipers, shows two Russian snipers, targeting an IS terrorist, stationed near a stairs of a dilapidated building in Aleppo countryside. The Russian snipers had to shoot four times before to kill the terrorist. One of the users of Reddit provided a translation of the conversation between the sniper and his spotter, captured on the video. Sniper: Can you hit that one? Spotter: He is not visible. We need… Sniper: He only sticks his arm out. Spotter: Here we go, can you see him? Sniper: Yeah. Spotter: There is a rope’s end. And… there is an arm. Sniper: Yeah… Spotter: By the way, we could try to hit an arm. Firs

The US-led coalition’s air power has destroyed a water supply system in the Syrian city of Raqqa. Photo: US Air Force / Master Sgt. Ralph Hallmon / AP On Thursday, a water supply system in the Syrian city of Raqqa, which is considered to be the capital of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in the country, was destroyed by a series of airstrikes, carried out by the US-led coalition on two bridges over the Euphrates River, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Friday. Reportedly, the northern and southern parts of the city were connected only by these bridges. Earlier in January, a number of media reported that fighter jets of the US-led coalition have been targeting Syria’s infrastructures that were abandoned by IS terrorists. Earlier this year, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry , Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said that Syrian infrastructure has been systematically bombed by the US-led coalition’s air power since 2012, while its aircraft have not been ta

Written and produced by SF Team: Brian Kalman, Daniel Deiss, Edwin Watson The U.S. Army has been plagued with costly acquisition failures in recent decades, chief amongst them the Future Combat System (FCS) program. This $200 billion program initiated in 2000, the largest U.S. military acquisition program ever attempted, failed to produce results on a multitude of levels and was abandoned by 2009. The Armored Ground Vehicle (AGV) and Armored Gun System (AGS) programs also wasted tens of billions of dollars before being cancelled without achieving their intended goals. These programs were chiefly defeated by an overly bureaucratic Army acquisition system, and the fact that the Army had asked for far too much from the defense industry, demanding many new and unproven technological advancements. The FCS was the most expensive, most ambitious, and most transformative modernization program ever undertaken by the U.S. Army. It is often hypothesized that the U.S. experience in the first Gulf

Al-Qaeda terrorists managed to seize three southern Yemeni towns, just a few days after the raid of the US Special Forces in Yemen. The Al-Qaeda terrorist organization has captured three towns in the south of Yemen just a few days after the raid of the US Special Forces in Qifah district of the Yemeni province of Bayda, during which 16 civilians were killed. As the Press TV news website reported, citing unnamed local sources, terrorists, backed up by Saudi mercenaries, who were angry over the late payment of their wages, managed to recapture the towns of Ahwar, Loder and Shaqra. According to another source of the website, later, Al-Qaeda left Shaqra and Loder towns, as local residents demonstrated their protest and threatened to use weapons against terrorists. On Thursday, the Saudi Interior Ministry reported that a mine blast occurred in the southwestern province of Jizan, located on the border with Yemen . As a result, a Saudi border guard sustained severe injuries and then died at

Two FAMAS assault rifles with ammunition have been stolen from a vehicle of the French Army by two unknown persons. A FAMAS-armed French soldier in Afghanistan (Photo: Wikipedia) On Thursday, two unknown persons broke a window of a van of the French Army and stole two FAMAS assault rifles with ammunition, the Zone Militaire information website reported. According to the website, the incident occurred during a stop of a column of vehicles of the French Army in a parking lot in La Verpillere, Isere. According to the Dauphiné Libéré newspaper, it is possible that the criminals followed the van, though there were no “recognition marks” on it. As soon as it became known about the theft, all units of French gendarmerie in the region were raised for search of the loss and thieves. Reportedly, a helicopter was also involved in the operation. After the square was cordoned off, gendarmes discovered a car of the criminals on a street of Villefontaine town in the evening of the same day. However

Astana, Kazakhstan © AP Photo/Sergei Grits A new meeting on the Syrian crisis will be held in Astana on February 6, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Anuar Zhainakov said on Thursday, according to the Kazinform news agency. “The decision on setting up a mechanism for monitoring the ceasefire was made at the Astana meeting on Syria held on January 23-24,” Zhainakov said. The Joint Operational Group will focus on issues related to the separation of the moderate Syrian opposition from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra). The implementation of the ceasefire regime across Syria will be another important topic. Earlier this week Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that the ceasefire agreement is open to all those who may wish to join it, excepting Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and ISI. The statement was made after the fourth session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum.