ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

A screenshot from the video On Sunday, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the villages of al-Atshanah, al-Ma’az and Malaly in the northwestern Raqqa countryside after intense clashes with ISIS. SDF fighters continued their advance north of Raqqa as they were preparing to storm the strategic village of Marma Abun Darwish north of the 17 Division base. From its side, ISIS claimed that 10 Kurdish fighters were killed by a VBIED attack on their position in the village of Mazra’at al-Yarmouk. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image ISIS reportedly destroyed a SDF vehicle by an ATGM in Tal al-Bashir, southeast of Al-Shadadi and killed some 2 Kurdish fighters with an IED in the village of Maysaloun. According to local sources, a family of three people were killed as a result of an airstrike by US-led coalition warplanes on the camp of Shanania north of Raqqa city. Another US-led coalitio

North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile as tensions continue to increase between the state and America, it is reported. The projectile - believed to be a ballistic missile - was launched from a region near the country's west coast, South Korea's military said. The nature of the projectile is not immediately clear, a South Korean military official told Reuters by telephone. However, Yonhap news agency said it appeared to be a ballistic missile. The launch took place at a region named Kusong, located northwest of the capital, Pyongyang, where the North previously test-launched its intermediate-range missile it is believed to be developing. The launch, if it is confirmed to be test-firing of a ballistic missile, is the first in two weeks since the last attempt to fire a missile ended in a failure just minutes into flight.  The North attempted but failed to test-launch ballistic missiles four consecutive times in the past two months but has conducted a variety of mi

Islamic State militants. File photo. Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Four Islamic State members, including a leader, escaped from western Mosul to an unknown destination, with millions of US dollars in their possession, a local source from Nineveh province said. “IS leader in charge of the Diwan Bayt al-mal (treasury) in Tal Afar town (55 KM west of Nineveh province) called Abu Baraa al-Qahtani, disappeared along with three of his aides with millions of US dollars in their possession,” the source told AlSumaria News on Saturday. The sum was allocated for paying wages of the members in Nineveh. “Intelligence information showed that confusion occurred among militants in Tal Afar after disappearance of the leader, who is in charge of distributing the money among the members in all regions in Nineveh,” the source, who preferred anonymity, said. “The stolen money are estimated at millions of dollars. His disappearance means losing the biggest source of funding of the group i

By Richard Edmondson Despite a seemingly cordial meeting Wednesday between Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, tensions between the two countries remain high. Reports have come out in recent weeks (see  here  for instance) that Russian military officials are now convinced the US is planning a nuclear first strike against Russia. Obviously we are in dangerous times. Articles demonizing Russia are churned out by the media each day. The deep state in Washington (which I would argue includes the owners or CEOs of the major media conglomerates) clearly is trying to incite and foment a conflict. Spreading chaos throughout the Middle East has been their modus operandi for many years now, but the ultimate chaos, of course, would be a nuclear war. And that very much seems to be their fondest fantasy and desire at present. Do they think they can win it? Possibly so. This is what the second article, by Conn Halinan, gets into. The insanity has of course spread to the UK, wh

Documentary By Zembla Dutch TV did what no American TV network dares, suggesting Trump's past includes illegal racketeering. Powerful billionaires suspected of money laundering and fraud, and of having contacts in Moscow and with the mafia. What do these relationships say about Trump and why does he deny them? Zembla is a Dutch television documentary programme by VARA and NPS. The documentaries are based on in-depth research. The program often deals with controversial topics. Posted May 13, 2017 Part 2 THE DUBIOUS FRIENDS OF   DONALD TRUMP: THE RUSSIANS By Dutch Public Broadcasting Although still in its early days, Donald Trump’s presidency is coming under fire. The Russians are alleged to be in possession of sensitive information about Trump. And that exposes Trump to blackmail. Fake news, tweets Trump: “I have nothing to do with Russia – no deals, no loans, no nothing!” Trump swears he has no ties with the Russians. But is that actually the case? For months,

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Deputy Commander of the PMU The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) is seeing the Syrian-Iraqi border as a strategic objective of their military operations against ISIS in Iraq. “The closure of the Syrian-Iraqi border to ISIS militants is an Iraqi strategic objective”, said Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Deputy Commander of the PMU in an interview on Al-Mayadeen TV channel. Al-Muhandis pointed out that forces of the PMU will enter the Syrian territory only in case of full coordination between the Syrian and Iraqi governments, and confirmed the existence of official channels with the Syrian government in case of the PMU need to move to the Syrian territory. “Any movement within Syrian territory without the consent of the government in Syria is considered an invasion and aggression”, Al-Muhandis said and added that “Any direct invasion of Syria will fail as the indirect invasion of terrorist groups failed.” He emphazied that the PMU would foil any plan

Written by  Darius Shahtahmasebi ; Originally appeared at  TheAntiMedia.org The  BBC  reportedly has  exclusive proof  that the Syrian government is continuing to produce chemical weapons in violation of a deal reached in 2013. Pursuant to that deal, the Syrian government was supposed to remove its entire stockpile, which  the U.N. said had already been achieved in 2014 . According to a document provided to the  BBC  by a “Western intelligence agency,” chemical and biological munitions are being produced at three main sites near Damascus and Hama. The document also alleges that Iran and Russia are well aware of these activities. Even though the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) monitors these sites, the document alleges that the manufacture of chemical weapons continues behind closed doors. According to the  BBC , the OPCW has confirmed that it has asked the Syrian authorities to declare the relevant parts of the sites per Syria’s obligations under

Abu Mohamad al-Jolani the general military leader of HTS According to the Al Mayadeen satellite television channel, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) has sent a delegation to Turkey to discuss the possible Turkish intervention to the Syrian province of Idlib. Furthermore, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has strengthened its forces in many areas in the western and northern countryside of Idlib and doubled the number of checkpoints on the road between Idlib and Salkeen, as well as deployed many heavy weapons. HTS has also built fortifications and planted mines on the road. According to unconfirmed reports, HTS demanded from Ahrar al-Sham to withdraw completely from the western countryside of Idlib during the next 48 hours. It appears that HTS fears that the Turkish military may use the Ahar al-Sham-controlled area as a foothold for an attack against HTS in the western countryside of Idlib. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human