Eurasia

President Joe Biden also appointed a special envoy for the war-wrecked country. President Joe Biden is cutting off US support for “offensive operations” in Yemen and appointing a special envoy to push for a diplomatic solution to end the six-year civil war.

The strike follows the killing of IS’ top official for Iraq near Kirkuk last week. Two Islamic State officials who allegedly facilitated last month’s double suicide bombing in a crowded Baghdad marketplace have been killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi says.

Some claim that a secret deal between Ankara and Damascus is behind the latest escalation between the Syrian government and the Kurds, but the situation could be more complex than it seems.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)… is a key supporter and sponsor of the Houthis, and has been stepping up its weapons supply to Yemen…. Saudi Arabia, Iran’s rival, has been the main target of Iran’s supply of weapons to the Houthis.

Taliban insurgents have killed at least 21 government troops in new attacks in Afghanistan as U.S.-brokered peace talks between the two warring sides remain stalled. The fighting comes as the United States is reviewing a February 2020 agreement with the Taliban, which required remaining American and allied forces to leave …

The leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia jointly called on Friday for a special meeting of Southeast Asian nations to discuss this week’s military coup in Myanmar, saying this was a matter of concern for the region.

USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law. This freedom of navigation operation (“FONOP”) upheld the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the unlawful restrictions on innocent passage …

The 74-members of the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) have selected an interim Prime Minister and President of its new executive council, marking what the UN Special Representative called another “historic moment” on the road to unification of the war-torn country and national elections in December.

Turkish defense minister Hulusi Akar’s unique visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region this week was dominated by the subject of the fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). A number of his comments to the media, hinting at a rare coordination between Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil against the PKK, …

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Friday announced the arrests of tens of Islamic State (ISIS) suspects in Deir ez-Zor in the past 24 hours, the first day of a new military operation launched in retaliation for the recent assassination of two female municipal employees.