After suffering grievously under ISIS, and during the battles to defeat it, Raqqa is being rebuilt. The calm is tenuous, however. The U.S. and partners should work toward long-term stability in Syria’s north east, through investment and talks about sustainable governance and security arrangements. Principal Findings What’s new? Two years after …
Read More »Oil pipeline reportedly explodes in Iran’s Khuzestan region
Tasnim news agency reported the blast “caused small tremors” but no casualties. State media outlets reported that an oil pipeline in southern Iran exploded on Wednesday, marking the latest in a series of explosions and fires reported across the Islamic Republic this year. The Iranian semi-official news outlet Tasnim reported …
Read More »Erdogan envisions alliance of Turkic-speaking states
The recent summit of Turkic-speaking states has fueled Ankara’s ambitions to lead a Turkic regional economic and security complex, but major geopolitical, economic and institutional hurdles remain. The eighth summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, known as the Turkic Council, held in Istanbul last week was a …
Read More »Iraqi Kurdistan brings home migrants trapped at Belarus-Poland border
The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq said its constituents were lured into emigrating by criminal smugglers. Hundreds of people returned to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from Belarus today after attempting to cross into the European Union. More than 400 migrants arrived at Erbil International Airport from the Belarusian capital …
Read More »Escorted with Helicopters | Above 50 Russian airstrikes bombard sporadically Syrian Desert
SOHR activists have reported new 50 airstrikes by Russian fighter jets have targeted positions in Ghanem al-Ali region, Deir Ezzur Desert, al-Beshri Mountains and Atheria district in the Syrian Desert. On the other hand, three Russian helicopters participated in scouting operation and the areal shelling of the region. Meanwhile, regime …
Read More »Military movements in “de-escalation zone” | Turkish forces prepare for establishing eighth military post near M4 and M5
Idlib province: SOHR sources have reported that Turkish forces have erected soil barriers on the outskirts of Saraqeb city to the east of Idlib city, as Turkish forces are preparing for establishing a new military post in that position which is near regime positions in Saraqeb. SOHR sources have confirmed …
Read More »The New Government In Iraq: Challenges Ahead – Analysis
In 2019, disillusioned with their political system, thousands of Iraqis protested and called for an end to rampant corruption siphoning their country’s oil wealth, for better public services and change in the government. The protest triggered a new election in October 2021, the result of which has given a new …
Read More »Turkey Faces Wait to Buy F-16 Fighter Jets
Shut out of the F-35 fighter jet programme, Turkey wants to buy F-16s instead to upgrade its aging fleet. But Washington is unlikely to say ‘Yes’ soon. ATurkish request to buy F-16 fighter jets from the United States reflects the urgency of Ankara’s drive to modernise its aging air fleet …
Read More »Turkey’s war of attrition against Syria’s Kurds
Alongside shelling and drones, Turkey is weaponizing water supplies in northeast Syria, turning an already horrible situation into a nightmare A concrete shack pockmarked with bullet holes and with no running water, electricity, windows or doors is what Faslah Hussein Osman, her husband and five children call home. It faces …
Read More »Iraqi Security Forces destroy 18 ISIS hideouts in Diyala: coalition
The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) destroyed 18 Islamic State (ISIS) hideouts in Diyala, sixty kilometers north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, on Monday with support of the US-led coalition. “Our shared mission to #DefeatDaesh (ISIS) continues as we transition from combat ops to #AdviseAssistEnable,” the official account of Combined …
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