Middle Orient

Yesterday, a jihadist Telegram channel published a short statement (seen below) attributed to Saif al-Adel, a wanted terrorist who has worked for al Qaeda since the 1990s. The message addresses the jihadist scene in Syria, specifically dealing with the controversies surrounding relations with Turkey and Turkish-backed rebel groups.

A US delegation has arrived in Turkey to set up an operation center in the country for the stated purpose of creating a “safe zone” in Syria.

Russia’s chief nuclear official has vowed to continue developing new weapons while attending a funeral on August 12 of five Russian nuclear researchers who were killed in an explosion in what U.S. experts suspect was a mishandled test of a new nuclear-powered engine.

Bahrain has agreed to buy the US-built Patriot anti-aircraft and missile interceptor system, the Raytheon Company said in a press release.

Fighters loyal to Yemen’s Houthis attacked several positions belonging to southern separatists Wednesday, Arab media reported. The attacks occurred a day after a Houthi delegation met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who reportedly backed a resumption of stalled talks between rival Yemeni groups.

A hypersonic weapon moving at five times the speed of sound can travel across the Pacific Ocean in just over 100 minutes.

Turkey established its first military base in Qatar in 2017, on the basis of a bilateral security agreement signed in late 2015, with the base said to be part of a broader security effort by the two countries to confront unspecified “common enemies.”

Years after their parents left Belgium and France to join the Islamic State, 18 children were taken from squalid refugee camps in Syria and flown recently to new lives in Belgium and France, drawing widespread attention in those countries as examples of Europe grudgingly accepting the children of its jihadis.

IRGC chief says Lebanese proxy group honed skills fighting in Syrian civil war, claims US-led efforts to undermine Tehran’s regional influence have backfired.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has criticised a US-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz, saying Washington’s military build-up in the Gulf was aimed at “creating division and emptying the treasuries” of countries in the region.