ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

FILE IMAGE 1,871 militants and their supporters have settled their legal status in Syria’s Eastern Qalamoun region over the past few days. “During the past day, as many as 1,871 people settled their statuses under the control of the Russian reconciliation center and Russian military police units,” chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria Yuri Yevtushenko said on April 27. According to the center’s chief, local authorities in Eastern Qalamoun are working to raise awareness of members of militant groups who are willing to surrender arms and settle their legal status. He added that units of the Russian Military Police are patrolling the settlements of Ruheiba, Jeiroud and Nasiriyah in order to prevent provocations and provide security in these areas. “To prevent provocations, ensure security for civilians and maintain law and order, units of the Russian military police have organized patrolling in the settlements of Ruheiba, Jeiroud a

The House Intelligence Committee’s just-released report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election reveals in a footnote that an  ongoing,  private investigation  into Trump-Russia claims is being funded with  $50 million  supplied by a group of 7-10 wealthy donors from California and New York. This effort was originally revealed in February and reported on by  The Federalist ,  after a series of  leaked text messages  between Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and lobbyist Adam Waldman   suggested that Daniel J. Jones – an ex-FBI investigator and former Feinstein staffer, was  “ intimately involved with ongoing efforts to retroactively validate a series of salacious and unverified memos published by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent, and Fusion GPS. “ In short, Jones is working with Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele  to continue their investigation into Donald Trump, using a $50 million war chest just revealed by the House Intel Committee report. D

A screenshot from the video On April 28, Yemen’s Houthis launched at least 8 Badr-1 ballistic missiles at “economic and vital targets” in the southwestern Saudi province of Jizan, according to the pro-Houthis al-Masirah television network. Al-Masirah added that all the missiles had hit their targets. However, no details were provided on on the exact locations of the targets and the possible casualties and the extent of damage caused. The Houthis has recently vowed to avenge the killing of one of their top leaders, Saleh al-Samad, in a Saudi airstrike last week. The April 28 missile strike may be considered as one of the actions carried out in response to the death of Saleh al-Samad. Video Player 00:00 00:52 On April 23, the Houthis launched two Badr 1-type ballistic missiles at oil facilities belong to Saudi Arabia’s energy giant Aramco in Jizan. The missile strike followed Saudi-led coalition strikes on a wedding ceremony in Yemen’s Hajjah on Ap

Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained four members of ISIS “sleeper cell” in Moscow. ISIS members arrived from the city of Noviy Urengoy in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region with a goal to carry out “high-profile” attacks in Moscow,  the FSB’s press service told Russian media  on April 26. According to FSB, the detained ISIS members had received instructions from Syria through Telegram messenger. The security services clarified that searches and detentions had been held in Novy Urengoy. In the course of special operations, 20 people were rounded up in the city. A large number of religious extremist books, as well as “communication facilities used for contacting foreign emissaries” were seized. On April 21, FSB killed an ISIS terrorist who had plotted an attack on administrative buildings in Stavropol. Security forces recovered a firearm, explosive components and ISIS flag. In a separate development, large-scale counter-terrorism operations were staged in D

Taliban fighters during a military exercise before “Operation al-Khandagh” Taliban fighters captured two military bases and nine checkpoints of the Afghan Army and Police in a successful coordinated attack in the Almar district of the northern province of Faryab, the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad reported on April 27. According to the news agency, Taliban fighters captured loads of weapons including two US-made armored vehicles. Mohammad Saleh Saleh, the governor of Almar district, acknowledged that nine Afghan policeman had been killed and fifteen others were injured in the Taliban attack on the district, according to the Afghan TOLO TV. Abdul Karim Yourish spokesman for Faryab Police said that Afghan policemen had killed eleven members of the Taliban during the clashes in Almar, including “Mohammad Amin” the movement’s field commander. However, Yourish didn’t clarify if the attack had been fully repelled. The Voice of Jihad said that the attack is a part of the Tal

Russian and Syrian officials as well as witnesses of the alleged chemical attack that took place in Syria’s Douma on April 7,  held a press conference in The Hague on April 26. HINT: The US, the UK and France used the April 7 incident in Douma to justify their April 14 missile attack on Syria.  MORE HERE The preess conference included “Presentation by the representative of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation with direct participants of the fake video produced by ‘White Helmets’ on 7th April 2018, in the Hospital of Douma”. Click to see the full-size image Major-General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, provided the following info: Russian experts had performed “a detailed analysis of the information on the ground”. No people injured or killed in the alleged chemical attack found. No witnesses that the alleged chemical attack took place found. Two gas cylinders, allegedly dropped by the government forc