Middle Orient

Senior Islamic State leader detained in US raid in Syria

A senior IS leader was detained by US-led forces during a pre-dawn raid in northern Syria on Thursday. A senior Islamic State (IS) leader was detained by the US-led coalition during a helicopterborne, pre-dawn raid in northern Syria on Thursday. Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi is believed to be “an experienced bomb …

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Palestinians: The House Demolitions and Land-Grabs No One Talks About

The raid on the village came after the Hamas-controlled Land Authority in the Gaza Strip ruled that the residents must be evacuated because they had built their homes on “state-owned” lands. Sources in the Gaza Strip said that there are 28 more villages slated for demolition by Hamas on the …

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Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service continues anti-ISIS operations in coordination with Kurdish Asayish

“The coordination between the CTS and KRG CT entities is by far the most detailed of all Iraqi Federal coordination with KRG.” Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Services (CTS) arrested four ISIS members in coordination with the Kurdistan Region’s Asayish in Sulaimani province on June 8. In a tweet on Monday, the …

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Syrians returning from Al-Hol camp stigmatised over IS ties

Noura al-Khalif married an Islamic State group supporter and then wound up without her husband in a Syrian camp viewed by many as the last surviving pocket of the “caliphate”. The 31-year-old woman has been back in her hometown outside the northern city of Raqa for three years but she …

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Israel puts Syria on notice over Iran

According to foreign reports, Israel is increasing its offensive activities in Syria against Iran-related targets. With negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program stalled and the world’s attention focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israel appears to be intensifying its military activity in Syria. According to foreign news reports, Israel has …

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Iran Opens Ababil-2 Drone Factory in Tajikistan: Reasons and Implications

On May 16–17, with much of the attention in Eurasia still fixated on the Russian-Ukrainian war, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, paid a visit to Tajikistan, where he met with President Emomali Rahmon and senior military officials. In the most important event …

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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham holds massive military maneuvers in Idlib

The Syrian jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is boosting readiness in anticipation of new government offensive. Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, held during the last week of May major combat military drills. The exercises were conducted in the various fighting fronts with the Bashar …

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Iraqi-KRG counterterrorism cooperation increases in response to attacks

Joint operations between Iraqi Counterterrorism Services and their counterparts in some areas of the Kurdistan Region continue to target Islamic State cells, while other armed groups attack Erbil. As discord at other levels grows more acute between the central government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), coordination in …

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The End of Laissez-Faire: Russia’s Attempt at Reshaping the World Economy

Starting on May 31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov embarked on a tour to Gulf Cooperation Council countries, where he visited Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, among others. Lavrov’s main objective of these visits is to strengthen ties between Russia and GCC nations amid a global race for geopolitical …

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