ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Click to see the full-size map On October 28, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Tiger Forces advanced in al-Umal area (workers 1 and workers 2) in the center of Deir Ezzor city and captured al-Rusafi and al-Eirfi mosques inside the district, according to pro-governemnt sources. From its side, the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq claimed that ISIS fighters repelled an attack of the SAA in al-Umal district. Amaq reported that ISIS fighters killed 35 Syrian soldiers, and destroyed two tanks, a BMP-1 vehicle, a bulldozer and another vehicle during the clashes in the district. Click to see the full-size map Meanwhile, in the southern Deir Ezzor countryside, the SAA and Hezbollah repelled an attack of ISIS on their positions east of the T-2 station, according to the Hezbollah media wing in Syria. Several ISIS vehicles were destroyed by SAA soldiers while they were repelling the attack. Moreover, Iranian Unmanned Combat Arial Vehicles (UCAVs) destroyed several positions of ISIS

For years now, those who believe that the United States could one day be forced into darkness as a result of a massive EMP strike have been mocked and laughed at. However, as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea continue to rise, so too do the chances that our country may be hit by an electromagnetic pulse bomb and sent back to the stone age in a matter of seconds. Indeed, the threat is becoming more and more real with each passing day. According to experts, North Korea could be gearing up to unleash a massive EMP strike against the United States, which would scramble all electronics within the region and send our country into the darkness in no time at all. These experts warn that such an attack could directly or indirectly kill  90 percent  of the United States population within just one year, making an EMP strike from the North Korean regime one of the most serious threats that America faces today. The warning comes from Dr. William Graham and Dr. Peter Vincent Pry from th

Shadi Hatem / APA images The United Nations must “review Israel’s status as a law-abiding member of the United Nations”, UN Human Rights Council special investigator Michael Lynk said on October 26. Lynk spoke at a press conference in New York in advance of his presentation to the Third Committee on October 27 in which he  outlined  violence and lack of accountability, collective punishment and forcible transfers, and the denial of right to development as the chief violations of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel. He proposed a UN General Assembly resolution that asked the International Court of Justice at The Hague to issue an advisory opinion on whether Israel’s occupation was illegal, as the difference between a legal and an illegal occupation defines the sanction tools that the UN could use against it. “Now we regard Israel as the lawful occupant of the Palestinian territories, albeit with a range illegal features to it,” Lynk said. “If we no

On October 26, former Qatar Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassim said during an interview to the Qatari national TV that Doha supported the Syrian opposition armed groups and even terrorists like the al-Nusra Front (the local al-Qaeda branch) in Syria in coordination with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the US. “Anything [weapons] that was sent [to Syria] would go through Turkey and was coordinated with the US, and the distribution of anything was via US forces. Turkey, we and our Saudi brothers… There could be a mistake and support was given to a fiction [al-Nusra Front], but not ISIS. They are exaggerating… Maybe there was a relation with the al-Nusra Front. Maybe I don’t know about this. But I can say that even if this was the case, it was decided that the al-Nusra Front was not acceptable. The support for it stopped,” Bin Jassim said. Bin Jassim went on and revealed that Saudi Arabia changed its position on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad recently. According to Bin Jassim, Saudi Ara

On October 27, a commander of the US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) group Jaysh Ahrar al-Ashayer was assassinated in Daraa governorate, according to opposition sources. Abd Allah Khalf al-Eafash al-Eiadat was killed after an IED targeted his car on the Smad-Semej road in the northern Daraa countryside. Jaysh Ahrar al-Ashayer is known for its attack on Syrian Arab Army (SAA) positions near the Syrian-Jordanian border on August 19 . Back then, officials of the FSA said that Jaysh Ahrar al-Ashayer attacked the SAA from inside the Jordanian territories without the knowledge of the US-led coalition or the approval of Jordan. On October 26, Syrian opposition sources said that Ihsan Awad Hoshan, a commander of Shabab al-Sunnah FSA group, was  assassinated. Ihsan was killed by an IED in Saida town in the eastern Daraa countryside. Back on August 31,  Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Shabab al-Sunnah militant group in Daraa has access to chemical weap

Reuters/Gleb Garanich / Reuters Written by  The Saker ; Originally appeared at  The Unz Review The latest big news out of the Ukraine Have you heard what the latest big news out of the Ukraine is? No? There is a mini-Maidan under way and Ukrainian nationalists seem to hope that Poroshenko will be kicked out before the end of the week. You did not know? Well, that is the real big news, the fact that you did not hear about this. Truthfully, what is going on is kind of interesting. Let me sum it up: the former President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili (who was stripped from his Georgian citizenship and of his Ukrainian citizenship) recently crossed the border (through Poland, of course) and proceeded to travel to Kiev to demand Poroshenko’s resignation. You think that I am kidding? Check t he Wikipedia article about him , it has all the details. It gets better. There is a consensus amongst analysts that Saakashvili is being used as a battering ram by somebody far more influenti

The Hezbollah (“Party of God”) movement was formed in 1982 in Lebanon by a segment of the Shia community displeased with the secular, in their view, nature of the Amal moderate Shia party. There were also disagreements concerning whether Israel should be confronted using new organizational forms and methods of warfare. According to its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, since its formation, Hezbollah was a purely intra-Lebanese creation, relying on the support and aid from the Palestinian and Lebanese parties, while the support from Iran and Syria came later. Since the very beginning, Hezbollah’s activities have been based on three principles. First, Islam is declared an ideological, doctrinal, and practical basis for the organization’s functions. Secondly, its main aim is the struggle against Israeli occupation of Lebanon and Palestine and against Zionist domination. Third, it recognizes the Iranian Shia thesis concerning the necessity of Vilayat-e-Fakih. This Shia doctrine assert

On October 26, the US-based Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and its Brazilian partner Embraer Defense and Security announced in a press release that the US purchased 6 additional A-29 warplanes for the “Afghanistan Program”. The A-29 is a light warplane that’s used by the Afghan Air Force as a Counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft. The warplane is also used in aerial reconnaissance mission, and for training Afghan Air Force pilots. The total Number of A-29 warplanes that have been bought by the US for the Afghanistan Program is now 26. However, only 12 are currently in service with the Afghan Air Force. Afghanistan received the last batch of four A-29s at the end of March. Meanwhile another seven warplanes are stationed at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, US for pilot training. The warplanes will be handed over to the Afghan Air Force in the upcoming months, according to Afghan officials. “We believe this decision demonstrates that the A-29 Super Tucano is the best aircraft for