ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

A leading Egyptian newspaper released a number of documents proving that Saudi Arabia’s new Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his counterpart in Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan have long been supporting the ISIL and al-Qaeda terrorist groups’ global operations. “A leaked document in Qatar’s embassy and a letter to Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on October 26, 2016, show Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed’s support for certain key al-Qaeda members in the Arabian Peninsula,” Arabic language al-Badil newspaper wrote. Based on the documents, US Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said that the Saudi and Abu Dhabi crown princes have established continued contacts with two Yemeni nationals, namely Ali Abkar al-Hassan and Abdollah Faisal Ahdal, who are on the US blacklist of most wanted terrorists. The documents also revealed the detailed activities and operations of the two Yemeni nationals in support of the

In a bizarre diplomatic development, none other than the state of Israel has branded billionaire philanthropist George Soros, one of Hillary Clinton’s most generous donors, a “threat”, accusing him of “continuously undermining Israel’s democratically elected governments” and saying that Soros-funded organizations “defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself”. How did this escalation materialize? It started in Hungary, where as we have repeatedly documented, Soros has emerged as one of the government’s most visible adversaries. Soros, a Hungarian-born Jew who has spent a large part of his fortune funding pro-democracy and human rights groups even as he has  been accused of abusing taxpayer funds to organize the overthrow of “unfriendly” regimes , has repeatedly been targeted by Hungary’s right-wing government, in particular over his  support for sending more migrants into Europe . Most recently, Prime Minister Viktor Orban backed a campaign in which Soros

© AFP 2017/ ISIS confirms that the terrorist group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, Al Sumaria TV channel has reported citing own source in the Iraqi province of Nineveh. According to the TV channel, ISIS has released a statement for its members confirming the death of al-Baghdadi. The ISIS-linked news agency of Amaq has not released any statement on the issue. In June reports appeared that al-Baghdadi was allegedly eliminated as a result of a Russian Aerospace Forces strike on a militant command post south of the Syrian city of Raqqah in late May. However, so far, there has been no evidence confirming these claims.

FILE IMAGE A report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) claimed that several Arab units from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have withdrawn from the battle of Raqqa after disagreements with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). According to the report, the “Elite Forces” that follow the Syrian opposition leader Ahmed Jarba and is considered to be among the few publicly Saudi-backed groups are among the withdrawing groups. According to the SOHR, the “Elite Forces” withdrew its fighters from Al-Mashbal and Al-Sinaa districts, the Bab Baghdad area and the  Old Raqqa area in Raqqa city to the Al-Hamrat area in the eastern Raqqa countryside. However, negotiations are under way between the “Elite Forces” and the SDF to return to battle. From its side, SDF sources claimed that the faction was excluded from the battle because of the bad behavior of its fighters in the front, and its withdrawal from some “strategic point” on front lines with ISIS. The SDF also claimed that th

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) announced on Sunday that it has launched a large-scale security operation against ISIS cells in the province of Idlib. So far, HTS fighters have managed to arrest dozens of ISIS members and commanders in Idlib. HTS fighters seized several ISIS positions in the province after clashes with them. So far, HTS announced that it has arrested more than 100 ISIS members, including ISIS Security Commander in Idlib Province, Abu Suliman al-Rusi. HTS has also captured 15 ISIS positions in Idlib and 10 positions in Sarmin town. According to HTS sources, HTS has found dozens of explosive belts, IEDs and weapons fitted with silencers, as well as large sums of money. HTS sources added that clashes with ISIS members are still going on in Sarmin town. HTS claimed that ISIS cells in Idlib were preparing for assassinations and suicide attacks targeting civilians in Idlib City. However, it’s doubtful that HTS only now realized the presence of so many ISIS members in

On Sunday, Faylaq al-Rahman published a video that shows the targeting a group of Syrian soldiers east of the capital Damascus using a US-made TOW missile. This was the first confirmation of the usage of US-made missiles in Eastern Ghouta. Faylaq al-Rahman have used TOW missiles several times against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) armors in Aiyn Tarma area, but without announcing that. On Sunday, Faylaq al-Rahman also targeted an SAA tank using a TOW missile.  Follow فيلق الرحمن   @Alrahmancorps4 # الجيش_السوري_الحر   # فيلق_الرحمن # عين_ترما تدمير دبابة T72 تابعة لقوات  # الأسد  بصاروخ  # تاو  على جبهة  # عين_ترما 5:36 PM - 9 Jul 2017     12 12 Retweets     34 34 likes Twitter Ads information and privacy From its side, the SAA launched a large-scale attack from four directions on the positions of Faylaq al-Rahman and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS; formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) in Aiyn Tarma. The SAA managed to adva

With a ceasefire in southwestern Syria in the works, meeting proves diplomacy beats demonization By Pepe Escobar From the start, the “positive chemistry” in the Mother of All Sit-Downs was a given. The format – with only the four principals, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and two translators – prevented any leaks. What was originally scheduled for 35 minutes went on for 2 hours and 16 minutes, and not even an impromptu appearance by First Lady Melania Trump – they were late for the Elbphilharmonie pomp and circumstance – managed to stop the flow. They needed to deliver. They needed headlines. They got plenty. Including a possible first step at real cooperation; a ceasefire deal in southwestern Syria. Yet the real headline is that diplomacy beats demonization. Still, from the toxic, overwhelmingly Russophobic Beltway point of view, that dystopia masquerading as a summit – the actual G-20 – was a mere backdrop; the

A tank of Iraqi security forces is seen during fighting with Daesh at the frontline in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq July 7, 2017. Photo: Reuters On Saturday, Iraqi security forces (ISF) liberated the strategic Old Mosul city, the last ISIS stronghold in the city of Mosul, the Iraqi military has declared. ISF lliberated Nujaifi street, Bab al-Toub and Souk al-Sagha and broke the remaining ISIS defense lines inside the area. At least 35 ISIS members were reportedly killed during their failed attempt to flee Old City. Brig. Gen. Yahia Rasoul, Iraqi Joint Operations Command Spokesman, said that ISF have captured the entire Old Mosul area adding that this is the end of ISIS in the city. With the liberation of Old Mosul, the Iraqi government will likely declare that it has a full control over the city. However, the security situation in Mosul remains complicated, many ISIS sleeper cells still operate in the area.