Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi also sacked a number of Iraqi security officials within hours of the attacks. A day after deadly dual bombings tore through a crowded market in central Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi promised that the intelligence failure “would not be repeated.” Kadhimi said during an urgent …
Read More »Monthly Archives: January 2021
Political violence in Ankara is more than meets the eye
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s alliance with his nationalist partner appears under growing strain amid a combination of domestic and external pressures. Three politically motivated assaults on figures critical of the government’s nationalist ally rattled the Turkish capital last week. The brazen violence sent shockwaves across opposition quarters, but President …
Read More »Egyptian-Russian Naval Exercises in the Black Sea: Strategic Balancing against Turkey?
In November 2020, Russia and Egypt conducted their first joint naval exercises in the Black Sea. The Bridge of Friendship-2020 naval drills brought the Egyptian Navy to the Black Sea for the first time (PortNews.ru, November 16, 2020). Along with expanding military cooperation with Cairo, Moscow also planned the event …
Read More »Foreign fighters were meant to leave Libya this week. A huge trench being dug by Russian-backed mercenaries indicates they plan to stay
Construction on an enormous trench across Libya, dug by Russian-backed mercenaries Wagner, is raising fears that foreign fighters will not withdraw from the country by Saturday, as a UN-brokered peace deal insists. US officials are also concerned over the long-term goals of the Kremlin ally in the war-torn state. One …
Read More »Security vacuum in SDF-held areas | Asayish member assassinated in Al-Raqqah, and SDF security checkpoint attacked in Deir Ezzor
SOHR sources have reported that unknown gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead, with machineguns, a member of the SDF-backed Internal Security Forces (Asayish) in Al-Karamah town in the east of Al-Raqqah city. Meanwhile, Asayish Forces launched a security campaign in the area, searching for the attackers, but they have not …
Read More »Security campaign | SDF storm several areas in eastern Deir Ezzor, searching for individuals suspected of “belonging and dealing with ISIS”
SOHR sources have reported that SDF stormed, this evening, the house of ex-ISIS member in Al-Busayrah city in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. However, the security forces have not found the former ISIS member, so they confiscated all mobile devices in possession of the former member’s family, then they …
Read More »Turkish forces shell Kurdish positions in northern Aleppo
Aleppo Province – Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: Turkish forces stationed in their military bases in “Euphrates Shield” areas, have shelled Al-Shahbaa area, Sad Al-Shahbaa and the surrounding areas of Mare’ town in Kurdish-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo. No casualties have been reported.
Read More »Aleppo | Military commander of Russian-backed formation killed with guided missile
A military commander of the Russian-backed “Liwaa Al-Quds” and his escort were killed, while another member sustained serious injuries, after their car was targeted today with a guided missile on Tallat Balah in Aleppo countryside.
Read More »Biden team picks Dana Stroul to lead Pentagon’s Middle East desk
Stroul, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, will join a roster of Obama-era veterans when she returns to the Pentagon.
Read More »Fire, blast at ammunition warehouse in western Libya kills 3
A fire, followed by an explosion at an ammunition warehouse at a naval academy in western Libya killed three people, including two officers, a Libyan spokesman said Wednesday.
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