ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The Syrian Army has managed to liberate part of Al-Manshia neighborhood in Daraa city from terrorists of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group. Photo: RIA Novosti / Mikhail Alayeddin On Saturday, the Syrian Army managed to knock out terrorists of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (previously known as the al-Nusra Front) group from part of the territory of Al-Manshia neighborhood in the city of Daraa, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing an unnamed informed source at the scene. According to the news agency’s source, currently, the government forces are conducting intense fighting in Daraa with armed formations of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. The source also noted that the enemy is suffering significant losses in the manpower. The city of Daraa, located to the south of Damascus near the border with Jordan, is controlled by the government forces. Illegal formations, mainly belonging to the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorist group, hold a number of settlements, located to the north and west of Daraa, inclu

While mainstream media wrote that Flynn was a ‘Kremlin agent’, he actually was a Turkey’s lobbyist. Michael Flynn, a former national security advisor of US President Donald Trump (Photo: AFP 2017 / Mandel Ngan) Michael Flynn, a former national security advisor of US President Donald Trump , met with representatives of the Turkish government in September of the last year and discussed with them the issue of an extradition of an opposition Islamic preacher, Fethullah Gulen, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a former head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), James Woolsey, who attended the meeting. According to the newspaper, Woolsey said that a possibility of Gulen’s sending to Turkey without a formal extradition process was discussed during the meeting. According to his words, the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also attended the meeting. “It seemed to be naive. I didn’t put a lot of credibility in it. This

Militants of the Kamuina Nsapu group have beheaded 40 policemen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: AFP 2017 / Griff Tapper A group of armed people has attacked the local police in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and beheaded 40 policemen , the Reuters news agency reported. As a representative of the local authorities, Francois Kalamba, told the news agency, the militants of the Kamuina Nsapu group attacked policemen on Friday, when they were traveling along a road, located between the settlements of Tshikapa and Kananga. “They were apprehended by the militia members and they decapitated about 40,” Kalamba told Reuters. He also noted that witnesses said the fighters spared the lives of six police officers because they spoke the local Tshiluba language. The news agency added that the militants also stole weapons and a car from the police officers. According to local officials, it was the deadliest attack on police since an insurgency erupted in the region las

By Pepe Escobar The National People’s Congress in Beijing made it clear that China in the 21st century as led by Xi Jinping now relies, as a state, on the “core” leader’s “four comprehensives” as the letter of the law. The “four comprehensives” are to build a moderately prosperous society; deepen economic reform; advance the law-based governance of China; and strengthen the Communist Party’s self-governance. No foreign-policy adventure/disaster should be allowed to interfere with the “four comprehensives,” which, extrapolated, are also linked to the imperative success of the New Silk Roads (One Belt, One Road), China’s ambitious outreach across Eurasia. But then there’s supremely unpredictable North Korea. And the notorious Lenin line resurfaces: “What is to be done?” Pyongyang has successfully tested land-based, mobile, solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missiles. When operational, this development translates into a North Korean first-strike capability difficult to track, as

Ten servicemen of the Egyptian Security Forces have been killed during a military operation in central Sinai. The Egyptian Security Forces (Photo: AP) Ten servicemen of the Egyptian Security Forces lost their lives, when their vehicle blew up on two self-made explosive devices during an anti-terror military operation in central Sinai, the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday, citing a military spokesman. According to the spokesman, in the course of the special operation, aimed on a terrorist base in the peninsula, the Egyptian Security Forces managed to kill 15 militants and arrest seven others. The security forces also found and destroyed half a ton of TNT explosive and seized two vehicles, loaded with hand grenades and hundreds of mobile phones. The Egyptian Armed Forces fight against militants in the sparsely populated governorate of North Sinai, where terrorists became active after the overthrow of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who was a member of the Muslim Brothe

The Iraqi Army, the Federal Police, the Counter-Terrorism Forces and the Popular Mobilization Units , supported by the US-led coalition, took control of the historic Sham Gates and continued their advance against ISIS terrorists in the Badush suburbs in the northern part of western Mosul. This advance allowed to tighten siege on ISIS forces separated into two pockets: western Mosul and Tal Afar. Iraqi forces aim to outflank the terrorist group in the heavily-fortified Old Mosul district after failed attempts to seize this ISIS-held area from the southern direction. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Air Force ceaselessly hits ISIS all across Nineveh from the Ba’aj bastion west of Tal Afar to Badush and inner-city Mosul where civilian casualties are on the rise. Click to see the full-size image In turn, ISIS desperately attacked positions of the PMU at the Al-Alakat village northwest of Mosul. Terrorists used two armored VBIEDs in addition to a explosive-laden car planted by sleeper cells inside