ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

At about 8pm Wednesday night local time  a massive blast shook the central Ukrainian city of Kropivnitsky  in what is being initially described as a mystery explosion. Conflicting Ukrainian social media accounts include city residents citing anywhere between four and up to nine blasts, with initial reports of an electrical blackout in the city. Explosions shook Kropivnitsky in Ukraine at about 8pm local time, Image via Twitter Among the locations where explosions and a fire were observed in Kropivnitsky, which is the administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast, was at  a local gas station which may have held fuel storage tanks . Евгений @Evgeniusus В Кропивницком взорвалась газовая заправка. Скорее всего есть жертвы((( 6 7:33 PM - Mar 27, 2019 See Евгений's other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy Emergency crews are said to be responding, and there are early reports of injuries, with locals noting

In the late hours of March 27, Israeli warplanes carried out several airstrikes on positions inside the Shaykh Najjar industrial area northeast of the city of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). “At 23:00 of Wednesday’s night, 27\3\2019, our air defense systems repelled an Israeli aerial aggression that targeted some positons in the Shaykh Najjar industrial area, northeast of Aleppo. Many hostile missiles were shot down. Loses were limited to materials,” an official statement by the SAA General Command reads. Syrian pro-government sources confirmed that the Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces (SyAADF) opened fire at Israeli missiles. However, it remains unclear how many missiles were successfully intercepted. The previous Israeli aerial attack on Aleppo occurred on July 15 of last year. Back then, Israeli media claimed that the airstrikes targeted a position of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The new attack comes only three days after  the U.S.

Click to see full-size image In 2019, the US mission in Somalia has stepped up its airstrike activity in the country. Despite that, the aim of the US presence is the training of a local specialized infantry by US contractors and troops,  AFRICOM claimed. Somalia’s Danab Advanced Infantry Brigade (Lightning Force) is the Pentagon’s main objective in Somalia, according to Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, AFRICOM commander. The Danab troops are initially trained by a private security company – Bancroft Global Development. “As part of a broader international effort, Bancroft Global Development provides a package of mentoring services to the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), and through AMISOM to the Somali government,”  the company’s website says. After that the US troops continue their “grooming.” “Currently, the recruitment and basic training for the Danab Brigade is provided through a Department of State administered cooperative agreement with Bancroft Global Develo