ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

On May 24, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) annonced in an official statement that its units had captured a group of ISIS fighters including French-jihadist Adrien Guihal during a special operation inside Syria on May 19. The US-backed force claimed that its intelligence had tracked Guihal for months before it had been able to capture him. Adrien Guihal The SDF revealed that Guihal had joined ISIS on 6 March of 2015 after he had managed to enter Syria through the Tell Abyad border crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border. According to the SDF statement, Guihal played a key role in the terrorist attacks that hit the French capital of Paris on November 13 and 14 of 2015 and in the ramming attack in the city of Nice on July 14, 2016. The US-backed force said that it had also captured Guihal’s wife during the same operation, but didn’t clarify if it is planning to hand him over to France, or at least to French troops that are now operating in the SDF-held areas in easte

Illustrative image In an interview to the CCTV, a military scholar with the China National Defense University Wang Mingliang said that Beijing could send its Chengdu J-20 stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft for patrols over Taiwan,  the Asia Times reported on May 21 . Mingliang stressed that Taiwan’s F-16 fighter aircraft and Dassault Mirage 2000 jet fighters would not be able to counter the Beijing force. Mingliang also pointed out that the Taiwanese military is not well acknowledged with the J-20 fighter aircraft and it is concerned about the capability of “precision strikes on the leadership or key targets.” This allegation comes after the successful May 9 exercise of the China’s Chengdu J-20 stealth fifth-generation fighter jets in sea areas for the first time. On May 23, the Pentagon officially announced that China is uninvited from a major naval drill Rim of Pacific (RIMPAC) 2018 after it criticized China’s “continued militarization” on May 19,  Reuters report

FILE IMAGE: M142 high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) launcher On May 24, the US Army in Afghanistan annonced in an official statement that its Task Force-Southwest targeted a high-level headquarter of the Taliban in the Musa Qala district of the southern Helmand province with a M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The US Army claimed that prominent commanders of the Taliban had planned and facilitated several attacks against the Afghan Army and security forces in the targeted headquarter. However, the results of the rocket strike were not revealed. “One way we support our Afghan partners is with kinetic strikes so that they are able to maintain the offensive … Strikes like this one not only degrade Taliban operations, but also give our partners the ability to maintain continuous pressure against a weakened enemy.” said U.S. Marine Corps Brigade General Benjamin T. Watson, Task Force-Southwest commander. Meanwhile, Mohammad Yousef Ahmadi, a spokes

On May 23, the Turkish Army deployed 30 armored vehicles at its observation posts in the town of Murak and the village of Midan Ghazal in the northern and northwestern Hama countryside, according to the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Enab Baladi. The source said that the units of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) group Faylaq al-Sham escorted the armored vehicles of the Turkish Army to the observation posts. In a related development, the Ministry of Defense of Russia revealed on May 23 that Russian and Iranian forces had established seventeen observation posts from the northern Aleppo countryside to the northwestern Lattakia during the last few months. Green: Iranian Army posts, Red: Russian Army posts, Yellow: Turkish Army posts, By the Ministry of Defense of Russia The Russian MoD also confirmed that the Turkish Army had established twelve observation posts between the Afrin area and the northern Lattakia countryside since late 2017. Russia, Iran and Turkey ag

On May 23, more than 300 former fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the newly liberated northern Homs countryside surrendered their personal weapons and signed a reconciliation agreement with the Damascus government, according to Syrian state TV. The source said that some of these fighters will join the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) while others will return to civilian life. Meanwhile, the Syrian al-Watan newspaper revealed that the Damascus government had rejected to grant a similar reconciliation agreement to 500 militants in the northern Homs countryside due to several crimes they had committed over the past seven years. These 500 radical militants will be evacuated with their families to the northern city of Jarabulus in the upcoming days, according to al-Watan. Under  the reconciliation agreement which was reached on May 2 , the Damascus government is supposed to pardon the former militants there within six months. The government is also supposed to allow those who can’t be

Wikileaks published an email of the former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton revealing that the administration of the ex-President of the US Barack Obama may have fueled a war in Syria to assit Israel against the Iranian-Syrian “dangerous alliance”. In the email, Clinton stressed that the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad must be overthrown “only by force” to assist Israel in dealing “with Iran’s growing nuclear capability”. She affirmed that Assad’s relationship with Iran and Hezbollah had undermined Israel’s security. Thus, Israel wasn’t capable to “respond any provocations” of this “dangerous alliance”. According to the email, this mission could be carried out by “arming the Syrian rebels and using western air power” that could limit the US costs. Clinton concluded pointing out that “with Assad gone” the US and Israel would agree on “red lines” and Syrian people would see the US as “as a friend, not an enemy.” Emails released by Wikileaks ( source ): UNCLASSIF

Illustrative image Last night, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip destroying a boat, which was preparing to meet other boats that were trying to sail through Israel’s naval blockade of the region, according to local sources quoted by the media. In turn, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed via Twitter that Israeli jets had “struck underground Hamas terror infrastructure in northern Gaza, as well as 2 additional military targets that belong to the terror organization’s naval force”. IDF ✔ @IDFSpokesperson A short while ago, IAF aircraft struck underground Hamas terror infrastructure in northern Gaza, as well as 2 additional military targets that belong to the terror organization's naval force 03:39 - 23 May 2018 915 388 people are talking about this Twitter Ads information and privacy According to the IDF, the strikes were a response to the event that took place on May 22 morning when

Photo : Russian Defense Ministry UPDATE:  The Russian military says that a UAV was intercepted. On May 21, Russian air defense systems, allegedly a Pantsir-S short to medium range system, launched at least four missiles at “unidentified” targets over the Khmeimim air base in Syria, according to local sources. According to some sources, the missiles intercepted unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched by militants. The number of the intercepted UAVs is unknown. Previously, Russian forces interceped two UAVs armed with projectiles on April 24.