ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Illustrative image On March 4, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters recaptured the key town of Tuqad in the western Aleppo countryside from the Syrian Liberation Front (SLF), according to the pro-opposition STEP News Agency. The SLF imposed its control over Tuqad on February 27 after HTS fighters had withdrawn from it without a fight. Syrian opposition sources reported that more than ten fighters of HTS and the SLF had been killed in clashes inside and around Tuqad. Meanwhile, the SLF-linked news agency Madad Press announced that SLF fighters had destroyed six tanks of HTS with rocket-propelled grenades and ATGMs in the town of Tuqad and the villages of al-Sa’adiyah and A’jil around it over the last 48 hours. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image The STEP News Agency reported that HTS fighters are currently attacking the position of the SLF around the village of al-Sa’adiyah. HTS will likely impose its control over the village in the upco

Illustrative image On March 4, a spokesman of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Brigadier General Ahmad al-Musmari, announced that different parties are set to meet in the Egyptian capital of Cairo soon to discuss the unification of Libyan military forces, according to Erem News. Over the last few months, Cairo has hosted five similar meetings between representatives of the LNA, the Libyan Government of National Accord (LGNA) and several other Libyan parties. Brig. Gen. al-Masmari revealed that the sides had agreed during the last meeting in Cairo on March 1 that the General Commander of the LNA, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, will be a top commander of the soon to come unified Libyan military force. Meanwhile, LGNA president Fayez al-Sarraj stressed during a meeting with the LGNA representatives in the Cairo talks that the unification of the military forces “is an absolutely necessary to secure borders and comforting the challenges facing Libya,” according to the Egyptian new

Illustrative image The Turkish Armed Forces are ready to clear the Syrian city of Manbij from “terrorists” [i.e. the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces de-facto dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units], Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed on March 5, according to the country’s media. He went further and said that Operation Olive Branch, which is now ongoing in the YPG-held area of Afrin will continue throughout northern Syria to the border with Iraq. Erdogan also accused the YPG of displacing Arabs from Manbij. Meanwhile, the Turkish Armed Forces’ general staff claimed that at least 2,777 “terrorists” had been neutralized since the start of the operation in Afrin on January 20.

Written by  Philip M. Giraldi ; Originally appeared on  strategic-culture.org It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Donald Trump administration  has recently affirmed  that it has a perfect legal right to remain in Syria as long as it wishes because it is fighting terrorism. The argument goes something like this: Congress has approved a bill that permits the US military to seek out and destroy al-Qaeda and associated groups wherever they may be. It is part of what is referred to as the Authorization to Use Military Force or AUMF. According to the White House, an associated group, the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS), remains currently active in Syria and the United States military presence is therefore legal until the group is completely eliminated, requiring no additional legislation or authority to remain in the country. The Trump legal finding was spelled out in two letters released by the undersecretaries for policy at the State and Defense departments. They were in re

Illustrative Image On March 3, the Bahraini Ministry of Interior announced in an official statement that Bahraini security forces had arrested 116 “terrorist elements” in many areas of the country during a security operation. Several weapons including machine guns and RPG-7 rounds along with 42kg of explosives were seized by security forces, according to the ministry. The Bahraini Ministry of Interior claimed that the “terrorists” had been a part of “terrorist organization”, which had been formed by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The ministry accused the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iraqi Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq of arming, training, financing and recruiting new elements of the supposed organization outside Bahrain. According to the released statement, the “terrorist organization” was planning to carry out attacks against the country’s security forces and oil facilities. “The organization was planning to target the leaders and personals of the security forces

Illustrative Image On March 3, forces loyal to Saudi-backed Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi imposed full control of the district of Nati’s in the central province of al-Bayda after they had captured the strategic mountain chain of al-Dahir, according to the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV. Al-Arabia added that pro-Hadi forces had begun their offensive operations in the district of al-Malagim, located south of the Nati’ district, and captured several positions in the Ashar area. During their advance, pro-Hadi fighters killed more than 30 Houthi fighters and captured 12 others, according to Yemeni sources. Saudi-led coalition warplanes backed the pro-Hadi forces attack in the Nati’ district and destroyed three positions and vehicles belonging to the Houthis. In a related development, commander of the reserve forces in the Yemeni army, Major General Samir Haj, announced that pro-Hadi forces had captured several new positions in the Arhab district of the central province of Sanaa

On March 2, a booby-trapped mini truck driven by a suicide bomber exploded in the Qabel Bai area of the Afghan capital, Kabul, according to the Afghan Tolo TV. Nusrat Rahimi, a deputy spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, told Tolo that one Afghan civilian had been killed and 22 others had been injured in the attack. The Afghan Ministry of Interior claimed that the attack targeted a “a foreign forces convoy”. However, Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said in an official statement that the attack targeted several vehicles of the Australian Embassy. It added that no Australians had been killed or injured in the explosion. “Today, a suspected vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device was detonated near Australian Embassy vehicles while they were travelling in Kabul,” Bishop said in a statement. Later, Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior corrected the ministry statement and said that “ a convoy of foreigners was targeted in toda

Snipers of the so-called moderate opposition are haunting civilians attempting to leave the besieged region of Eastern Ghouta via humanitarian corridors established by Syrian and Russian forces. “[The] situation near the check point is still strained. Since yesterday evening,  snipers have been shelling at approaches to the check point. Today, the Jaysh al-Islam terrorists have carried out two mortar attacks from eastern outskirts of Douma targeting the security corridor leading to the check point near Muhayam al-Waffedin ,” spokesman for the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation Maj. Gen. Yury Yevtushenko said on March 2. Eastern Ghouta residents are informed about the opened humanitarian corridors via leaflets and other means, but they are not able to use them actively because of constant attacks by militants. Daily humanitarian pauses started in Eastern Ghouta from 9:00 till 14:00 local time in late February. Since then, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam, Ahrar al-Sha