ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

FILE IMAGE An Iraqi security source in Al-Anbar announced that a suicide bomber, belonging to the ISIS terrorist group and wearing an explosive belt, blew himself up at a meeting of ISIS commanders in Al-Qaim City at the Syrian-Iraqi border. According to the Iraqi source, the explosion killed and wouned of a number of ISIS commanders. The source added that the attack comes after major defeats inflicted on ISIS by the Iraqi army and its allies as well as the expected start of a series of government military operations aimed at liberating western Al-Anbar. In Mosul сity, Iraqi forces announced they have so far managed to liberate more than 30 percent of Old Mosul and have evacuated thousands of civilians from the area. Click to see the full-size map From its side, ISIS claimed that its fighters were able to down 5 drones of the Iraqi forces in Bab al-Jadid, Bab Al-Baid and Al-Mushahada in Old Mosul. The terrorist group also reported that its fighters managed to d...

On June 25, ISIS fighters attacked positions of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Raqqa City with three VBIEDs. ISIS suicide bombers targeted SDF positions in Al-Jazra and Al-Idikhar districts of Raqqa. Al-Jazra: Idkhar: Moreover, ISIS fighters targeted SDF positions with a non-recoil rifle SPG-9 in Hamrat Nasir village, east of Raqqa City and Al-Maqas Roundabout south of Raqqa. From its side, the SDF said that the camp area in the southern Raqqa countryside is still under the control of ISIS fighters. According to Kurdish sources, the SDF, supported by the US-led coalition, is currently trying to isolate the 17th Division base – a large part of which is still under ISIS control – from Raqqa city. Clashes are also ongoing in Al-Qadisiya and Al-Yarmouk districts, where the SDF hasn’t been able to advance so far. The US-led coalition announced that its warplanes carried out 34 air strikes against ISIS in Syria during the past 24 hours, including ISI...

A fresh fake news story about the Saudi ultimatum to Russia is circulating online. According to the reports issued by a number of media outlest ( example ), Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud issued a de-facto ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing that Russia has to stop “its indiscriminate bombing” and threatened to destroy “Russian forces in Syria in 3 days.” Reports provide few fake quotes of the Saudi crown prince: “ I think there is many terrorist groups in Syria that must be defeated. But it’s the Russians who tries to expand terrorism in the Middle East.  It’s not difficult to imagine how much the spirits of these terrorists been raised, obviously,Russia is helping terrorists by attacking FSA militants.” OR “ Saudi Arabia won’t ‘go soft’ on Russia, we will issue an ultimatum to Mr. Putin. If Russia continues its indiscriminate bombing, we should make clear that we will take steps to hold its forces at greater risk. Russia mu...

Last weekend, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied groups from the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) launched a large-scale advance against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the province of Quneitra. The militants had formed an operation room named Jaysh Muhammad for the purpose and said that their aim was to capture al-Baath town and to reach the countryside of Damascus. On Saturday, the joint militant forces made some gains against the SAA and even claimed that they seized over a half of al-Baath. However, further clashes showed that HTS and their allies were not able to break the government defenses. Following a fail of the militant advance, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes on government positions in the province claiming that some projectiles landed in the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan Heights. The airstrikes targeted undefined number of artillery pieces and two battle tanks of the SAA. On Sunday, the Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes on the SAA in Al-Ba...

Source: alwaght.com The Philippine Army said about 300 civilians are still trapped in a part of Marawi City, which is controlled by ISIS fighters. According to official sources, clashes in Marawi so far have resulted in killing 400 people. More than half of them ISIS fighters. Over 400 thousand civilians have been displaced from the city. The Philippine Army announced that ISIS now has only 100 fighters in Marawi. The Philippine Army seks to liberated the whole city within days before Eid al-Fitr, fearing that ISIS fighters may receive support after Eid al-Fitr. However, this aim seems almost impossible as the battle enters its second month in Marawi. The ISIS-linked Al-Naba’ Magazine published on 20 June infographics on the battle in Marawi, claiming that more than 271 Philippines soldiers were killed during four weeks of clashes. Al-Naba’ also claimed that US Air Force carried out air strikes in Marawi without any evidence. Click to see the full-size image On Sa...

FILE IMAGE The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) announced that the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has taken control of 85 km of the Syrian-Iraqi border. According to SOHR, the SAA is now in only 12 km from the strategic T-2 station that lies 70km west of Al Bukamal city near the Syrian-Iraqi border. Opposition sources confirmed on Saturday that SAA has already managed to enter the borders of Deir Ezzor province. Meanwhile, US-led coalition warplanes continued bombing ISIS in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor. Opposition sources claimed that 8 civilians lost their life as a result of a US air strike on Muhaimadia village in the western Deir Ezzor countryside. The US-led coalition has killed Fawaz Muhammad Jubayr al-Rawi – an ISIS Finance official – in an air strike on Al Bukmal city at the Syrian-Iraqi border. Opposition sources claimed that SAA is planning to attack Al Bukamal after liberating of the T-2 station. However, it’s unlikely that the SAA will attack...

In January 2017,  Saudi-led forces launched the operation “Golden Spear” aiming to capture the entire western Yemeni coast from the Houthi-Saleh alliance. So far Saudi-led forces have manged to capture the strategic port of Mocha  but failed to advance further to the north. They have repeatedly tried to capture the Khaled military camp but also failed to do this. The Khaled military camp is a strategic military base located on the road between Taiz city and Mocha. Recently, Houthi-Saleh forces have repelled a Saudi-backed attack in the al Kadha area. Click to ssee the full-size map

Last month, we reported on a poll showing most Americans don’t want to  see President Donald Trump impeached.  Today, a new poll released exclusively to the Hill  shows that most Americans feel the investigations into alleged collusion between Russian officials and the Trump campaign are a distraction. The poll found that 64% of Americans believe the investigations are hurting the country, and a whopping 73% believe that the focus on Russia is distracting Congress from important issues like health care and tax reform. Here’s the Hill: A majority of voters believe the Russia investigations are damaging to the country and are eager to see Congress shift its focus to healthcare, terrorism, national security, the economy and jobs. Those are the findings of the latest Harvard-Harris Poll survey, provided exclusively to The Hill, which paints a complicated picture of voters’ opinions about the numerous probes that have engulfed the White House. Sixty-four percent ...