ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The Egyptian Arrmy has continued its large anti-terror campaign in northern Sinai crushing ISIS terrorists. According to the government, 30 ISIS terroists were killed, 5 were captured and 12 technicals and 4 VIEBDs were destroyed. 30 IEDs planted alongside roads were also discovered and defused. In central Egypt, 2 terrorists were killed in a police special operation in Fayoum city. In the same city a terrorist attacked police patrol killing 1 solider and wounding three others. On Saturday, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi attended opening the Mohamed Naguib Military Base, located in the coastal Al Hamam area of Marsa Matruh Governorate. The site is one of the largest military bases in the Middle East located. The base is set up to protect and monitor the 1000km  long borders with Libya that terrorists use to conduct raids attacks against the army and to smuggle weapons.

FILE IMAGE On Saturday, both Russia and Syria reached a de-escalation agreement with groups of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus. According to opposition sources, the agreement was reached with the help of the Egyptian mediation. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the first humanitarian aid convoy was set to Eastern Ghouta along with the evacuation of the wounded persons as part of the agreement. The Russian Defense Ministry said: “Today’s agreement delineates the borders of the de-escalation zone in the eastern Ghouta, and identified the deployment of separation and observation forces in Ghouta and the authorities, as well as, identified the lines of humanitarian aid and civilian crossings.” The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the agreement was the result of negotiations in the Egyptian capital of Cairo between the Syrian government and the moderate Syrian opposition. From his side, spokesman for Faylaq al-Rahman fac

Jaysh Assoud al-Sharkia announced on July 19 that unknown militants assassinated one of its commanders in eastern Qalamoun. According to opposition sources, militants on a motorcycle shot Shibli Khalifa in Dumair City. Jaysh Assoud al-Sharkia is considered one of the largest groups backed by the US-led coalition, and there are fighters from it in the US base of Al Tanf on the Syrian-Iraqi border. Opposition activist Karam Saad al-Haj said that the assassination took place near the local clinic and the al-Qal’a Roundabout. He also said that Khalifa was transferred to a medical point immediately, but he died there, adding that the perpetrators of the assassination hadn’t yet been identified. Opposition sources accused Syrian Intelligence or ISIS of being behind the operation. Earlier this month a unidentified militant had assassinated a commander of Assoud al-Sharkia in Dumeir town. Assoud al-Sharkia accused the Syrian Intelligence of being behind the assassination. However, pro

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) published a video that shows the targeting of ISIS fighters inside Raqqa city with armed drones. It’s believed that the SDF managed to obtain drones equipped with thermal cameras and modified them for combat against ISIS. The SDF continued its advance in Nazlat Shehadeh district in the western part of the city. The SDF is trying to evacuate hundreds of civilians who can no longer flee easily after ISIS closed all streets in Raqqa City.  Follow قوات سوريا من الجبهة   @QSD_Jabha قوات سوريا الديمقراطية  # قسد  تخوض اشتباكات عنيفة ضد داعش منذ ليلة الامس في حي نزلة شحادة لتحرير مدنيين عالقين في المعارك # الرقة # الخلافه 4:28 PM - 21 Jul 2017     3 3 Retweets     11 11 likes Twitter Ads information and privacy According to Kurdish sources, 8 ISIS fighters were killed during the clashes on Friday. On the other side, ISIS fighters targeted SDF positions in the southwestern part of Raq

This handout photo taken on July 20, 2017, and released by the Presidential Photo Division (PPD) shows Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte following his arrival at Cagayan de Oro airport on the southern island of Mindanao. (Photo by AFP) On July 20 , Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visited Marawi City where fierce clashes were taking place between the Philippine Army and ISIS fighters. Duterte announced that Marawi crisis is coming to an end soon: “The fight in Marawi would soon be over. [The] one thing that’s stopping us now is ‘yung sa mosque, it’s a big one, it has underground tunnels but not so much about that.” The president expressed his concern over more than 300 people still being held hostage by ISIS fighters in Marawi city and said he needed a martial law to secure the city during this crisis. However Duterte assured that he could work without military law. “If I have to arrest you without a warrant, I will arrest you without a warrant — with or witho

In June 2014, the so-called Islamic State (IS) occupied about one-third of Iraq’s territory, including Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul. It meant the radical islamists were close to capturing Baghdad and imposing its authority over all of Iraq. At that point the Iraqi government recognized the real danger of the situation and started forming militia units to liberate the country from IS. The Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) played a decisive role in that process. The PMU (Al-HashdAl-Sha’abi) are pro-government forces operating under the formal leadership of the Iraqi military and consisting of about 70 factions. They were formed at the directive of Iraqi religious authorities after IS seized large swaths of territory in several provinces north of Baghdad in 2014. Establishment history One of the internal political factors which led to the PMU’s appearance in Iraq was the failure of state capacity in the realm of national security, against the backdrop of the rise of IS influ