ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Sputnik / Mikhail Klimentyev Written by  The Saker ; Originally appeared at  The Unz Review This has been an interesting week for Russia.  First, and  contrary to my own expectations , Iulia Skripal has been allowed to make a  recorded statement on video  where she is seen writing a statement in English and Russian.  This falls far short of even the basic British obligations to allow consular access to both Skripals, but it is a sign that the Brits are finally starting to feel the pressure.  This is just a small first step, but thank God for small things. Now let’s just hope that the pressure to free both Skripals will not abate. Second, the St Petersburg Economic Forum has started to what promises to be a big success: 14’000 participants, including many top western business and even representatives of the British oligarchy (to the great despair of  The Times ).  Now that the “economic block” of the Russian government is firmly...

By Africa Gate News, Click to see the full-size image On May 25, a booby-trapped car exploded on Gamal Abdel Nasser street in the northeastern Libyan city of Benghazi, according to the Libyan outlet Africa Gate News. Libyan sources said that the explosion targeted a nearby Syrian commercial expo, which was organized by the Damascus government. Africa Gate News said that eight civilians and soldiers of the Libyan National Army (LNA) had been killed and more than twelve others had been injured in the attack in Benghazi. Reportedly, no Syrian citizens were killed or injured. By Africa Gate News, Click to see the full-size image By Africa Gate News, Click to see the full-size image By Africa Gate News, Click to see the full-size image The Libyan Counter-Terrorism Unit revealed that it had known in advance that sleeper cells were planning to target Benghazi and had informed the Ministry of Interior of Libya. However, the ministry didn’t take any protective measures, ac...

Illustrative Image On May 25, the Saudi-led coalition and its Yemeni proxies continued their advance along the western Yemeni coast and captured a key road between the town of Zabid and al-Tuhayat district center, according to the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV. Reportedly, the Houthis withdraw from their positions near the road to the city of Bayt al-Faqih and al-Husseiniyah town north of Zabid. Sky News Arabia said that the Saudi-led coalition and its proxies killed more than 83 fighters and commanders of the Houthis during their advance in the western Yemeni coast. The Saudi-led coalition resumed its military operations along the western Yemeni coast  and captured four key positions in the southern part of the al-Tuhayat district on May 18. Back then, al-Arabiya revealed that Brigadier General Tariq Mohammed Saleh of the Yemeni Republican Guard is leading the ground operations of the coalition there. With the Houthis unable to resist, observers believe that the Saudi-led co...

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,  Reute...

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 sp...

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...