ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

mod.gov.sy The Syrian Arab Army (SAA), Hezbollah and their allies are advancing against  ISIS in the area of Jaffrah located on the western bank of the Euphrates River near Deir Ezzor Airport. Jaffrah is one of the key remaining ISIS strong points near Deir Ezzor Airport.  If government troops are able to fully secure it, they will further tighten siege on ISIS units inside the  northern part of Deir Ezzor city and to set a foothold for a possible operation to corss the Euphrates River. It looks that ISIS commanders understand this. This is why the terrorist group strongly opposes to the SAA advance in the area. Map shows a possible SAA operation aimed at crossig the Euphrates River: Click to see the full-size image Despite some reports that the SAA is not going to cross the Euphrates River.  It’s unlikely that the idea is abandoned by the Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance. The full liberation of Deir Ezzor city will take a notable time that will be used by ISIS in orde

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects the defence detachment on Mahap Islet in the western sector of the front in this undated photo released by KCNA. KCNA via Reuters North Korea has vowed to increase its military strength and to boost its nuclear program in response to a new round of “evil” United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions. North Korean Foreign Ministry called the sanctions an act of “heinous provocation” adding that the new economic restrictions strengthened the country’s desire to build nuclear weapons. The ministry said in a statement that the resolution “served as  an occasion for the DPRK to verify that the road it chose to go down was absolutely right , and to strengthen its resolve to follow this road at a faster pace without the slightest diversion until this fight to the finish is over.” “ Since the scheme of the U.S. to impede the DPRK’s development, disarm it through the unprecedented sanctions and pressure, and conquer it with the help of n

German soldiers after taking part in a drill on June 29. JOHN MACDOUGALL / AFP – Getty Images Germany has frozen all major arms exports to Turkey, the country’s foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday explaining that the decision was made due to the deteriorating human rights situation in the country and increasingly strained ties to its NATO ally. “ We have put on hold all big requests (for arms exports) that Turkey has sent to us, and these are really not a few, ” the minister said during a panel discussion organized by German business daily Handelsblatt. He added that Germany is obliged to send arms to a NATO ally, if requested. However, this is currently not possible. On Tuesday, Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister, Omer Celic, responded to Germany’s decision. “ This decision will weaken Turkey’s fight against terrorism, and weakening the Turkish fight would mean making Europe’s future more vulnerable, ” he said. “Germany must leave security issues out of political

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