ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali On September 8, the Ministry of Defense of Russia announced that ISIS top commander in Deir Ezzor governorate “Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali“ was killed during an airstrike on a terrorist bunker. Many European intelligence services believe that al-Shimali played a key role in the 2015 Paris attacks. “According to confirmed information, there were four influential field commanders, including ‘emir of Deir ez-Zor’ Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali, responsible for financing and smuggling new recruits to ISIS training camps,” the Ministry of Defense of Russia said. Al-Shimali is the subject of a $5,000,000 bounty by the United States Department of State Rewards for Justice Program. According to the Rewards for Justice Program al-Shimali is a key leader in ISIS’ Immigration and Logistics Committee that’s responsible for facilitating the travel of foreign terrorist fighters from and to Syria. Moreover, Al-Shimali and the Immigration and Logistics Committee coordinate s

Written by  Darius Shahtahmasebi ; Originally appeared at  theantimedia.org As the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) continues to make  significant gains  in strategic areas of Syria, the U.N. has declared that the Syrian opposition groups fighting inside Syria have essentially lost the six-and-a-half-year conflict. According to U.N. Special Envoy for Syria and U.N. peace talks mediator Staffan de Mistura, Syria’s opposition must accept that they have lost the war. “For the opposition, the message is very clear: if they were planning to win the war, facts are proving that is not the case. So now it’s time to win the peace,”  de Mistura told reporters, as  quoted  by  Reuters . Asked if this meant the Syrian government had effectively won the war, de Mistura acknowledged the significant military advancements of the SAA but stated that no one can actually claim to have won the war: “Victory can only be if there is a sustainable political long-term solution. Otherwise instead of war, Go

FILE IMAGE On Saturday, Houthi fighters captured 13 points of the Saudi-backed forces supporintng Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in Sirwah district of Ma’rib governorate, according to the Houthis media wing. The media outlet also announced that 21 pro-Hadi fighters were killed or injured in the attack. Houthi fighters also destroyed two vehicles of pro-Hadi forces with ATGMs in al-Mukhadarah and al-Rabiah valleys in Sirwah district. Moreover, the Houthis shelled many positions of pro-Hadi forces in Sirwah district with Katyusha rockets. In a related development, the Saudi-led coalition deployed 3 additional MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems and 8 self-propelled artilleries to Ma’rib governorate, according to local sources. The source added that the equipment entered Yemen throw al-Wadia’a crossing on the Yemeni-Saudi border in Hadhramaut governorate. Meanwhile, Yemeni officials said that 6 people including 2 al-Qaeda fighters were killed in an Unmanned Combat A

On Saturday, the Hezbollah presence in Deir Ezzor city was “officially” confirmed for the first time when a Hezbollah commander in Deir Ezzor city Haj, Abu Mustafa, was interviewed by the Lebanese al-Mayadeen news TV channel inside Deir Ezzor Airport. Abu Mustafa said that his appearance was a result of direct orders from Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah. The Hezbollah commander thanked the Syrian leadership and the leadership of Hezbollah for their unlimited support to Deir Ezzor city. Abu Mustafa also said that Iran and Russia played a major role in supporting the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resistance against ISIS . Furthermore, Abu Mustafa said that  the key element for the victory in Deir Ezzor city was a cooperation between civilians and the SAA. Pro-government sources have repeatedly claimed that  special operation units of Hezbollah were deployed by aircraft to Deir Ezzor city in 2014  in order to assist the SAA in defending the city from ISIS. This information became o

FILE IMAGE On Friday, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the buildings of Raqqa University in the southern part of Raqqa city, according to Kurdish sources. The SDF also announced that its fighters killed over 20 ISIS members who tried to sneak into al-Amin and an-Thaknah districts in the center of the city. Furthermore, the SDF discovered a large ammo depot of ISIS in the liberated areas in the center of Raqqa.  Follow Afarin Mamosta   @AfarinMamosta SDF captured ISIS depots of armaments, originally captured by ISIS from Syrian army.  # Raqqa 19:24 - 7 Sep 2017   3 3 Replies     58 58 Retweets     90 90 likes Twitter Ads information and privacy Meanwhile, the US-led coalition announced that its warplanes carried out more than 8 airstrikes against ISIS in Raqqa city in the last 24 hours. US Army colonel Ryan Dillon Spokesman for the US-led coalition announced on Thursday that over 60% of Raqqa city

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif announced from the Chinese capital Beijing that China, Pakistan and Afghanistan will hold new talks later this year in China to push forward the negotiations for a political solution in the war-torn country. Asif emphasized that there is no military solution for the war in Afghanistan and that the solution should be a political one. Asif statement is believed to be a response to the US President Donald Trump plan to deploy more troops to Afghanistan. “It’s our firm view that there is no military solution in Afghanistan, the focus should be on a politically negotiated settlement … China is playing a very constructive role in this regard,” Asif said. From his side, Wang indirectly criticized the US accusation about the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban. Wang stressed that Pakistan contributed many efforts to solve the conflict in Afghanistan. “The government and people of Pakis

Credit: PNA / MANILA BULLETIN On Friday, Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, spokesperson for Marawi Joint Task Force, announced that only 0.2 square kilometer of Marawi city is still under ISIS control. “Our soldiers are still trying to clear a portion of about 20-21 hectares [0.2 square kilometer] land area in the main battle area,” Petinglay said. So far 653 ISIS fighters have been killed in the Marawi battle by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), while the AFP has lost 145 soldiers. In a related development, Australian Minister for Defense Marise Payne announced after a meeting Philippines Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana in Manila that Australia will send a small unit of Australian soldiers to train AFP soldiers. “We are very committed to supporting the Philippines in its efforts to defend itself against terrorist threats,” Payne said. The Australian soldiers will advise the AFP soldiers and train them, according to Payne’s statement. However, the Australian sold

Putin reveals 'fair multipolar world' concept in which oil contracts could bypass the US dollar and be traded with oil, yuan and gold By Pepe Escobar The annual BRICS summit in Xiamen – where President Xi Jinping was once mayor – could not intervene in a more incandescent geopolitical context. Once again, it’s essential to keep in mind that the current core of BRICS is “RC”; the Russia-China strategic partnership. So in the Korean peninsula chessboard, RC context – with both nations sharing borders with the DPRK – is primordial. Beijing has imposed a definitive veto on war – of which the Pentagon is very much aware. Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test, although planned way in advance, happened only three days after two nuclear-capable US B-1B strategic bombers conducted their own “test” alongside four F-35Bs and a few Japanese F-15s. Everyone familiar with the Korean peninsula chessboard knew there would be a DPRK response to these barely disguised “decapitation” tests. S