October, 2023

• 26 October

  Rockets attack targets Iraqi base housing U.S. forces – sources

  Two rockets landed inside Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts U.S. and other international forces west of Baghdad, two security sources told Reuters on Tuesday. One of the sources said the rockets were big, and the rocket launcher was found about 50 km southeast of the base. Ain al-Asad …

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• 26 October

  ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in September 2023

  ISIS carried out at least 11 confirmed attacks in September in the Homs, Hama, Raqqa, and Deir Ez Zor governorates. These attacks killed at least 11 pro-Assad regime soldiers and seven civilians and wounded at least four additional soldiers and one civilian. There were also four high quality* attacks during …

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• 26 October

  Iran plays up mediator role in hosting Azerbaijan-Armenia dialogue

  

  The Islamic Republic took the opportunity of the regional summit to promote its anti-Western agenda by urging South Caucasus nations to reject “interference from extra-regional” powers. Tehran hosted a dialogue conference on Monday, known as the “3+3 format,” bringing together the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in an attempt …

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• 26 October

  Turkey’s Fidan travels to UAE, Qatar, seeks mediation on Israel-Hamas war

  

  The top Turkish diplomat, who met with the Emirati leaders in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, is set to travel to Qatar, where Hamas’ political bureau is based. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and will head to Qatar next as Ankara is seeking to …

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• 26 October

  Turkey’s Erdogan hails Hamas as liberators, leaving détente with Israel in shreds

  

  The Turkish president’s speech on Wednesday aligned himself more firmly with the Sunni Muslim world, while pushing aside the benefits of closer ties with Israel and other regional economies. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday ditched any semblance of neutrality in the Gaza conflict, saying that the Palestinian militant …

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• 26 October

  No consensus yet among Iraqi armed groups on joining Israel-Hamas war

  

  Interviews with faction leaders reveal anger with Hamas over starting a unilateral conflict, but also a determination to get involved if Hezbollah greenlights such a move and Israel invades Gaza. Iranian-backed Iraqi armed factions are unlikely to participate directly in the Israel-Hamas war as long as it is solely led …

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• 26 October

  Reset U.S.-Syria policy

  

  Key points After 12 years of civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government has consolidated its power and defeated credible threats to its rule. The anti-Assad armed opposition, which once controlled half of Syria, is relegated to the northwestern province of Idlib.While the Biden administration recognizes that Assad will likely …

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• 26 October

  Leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah holds talks with senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad figures

  

  The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group held talks on Wednesday in Beirut with senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad figures in a key meeting of three top anti-Israel militant groups amid the war raging in Gaza. In neighboring Syria, meanwhile, state media said an Israeli airstrike hit the international airport …

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• 26 October

  Hamas fires long-range rockets at Eilat, Haifa, as IDF strikes on Gaza continue

  

  Israel accuses Iran of directly aiding terror group; Hamas claims 80 killed overnight; rockets target Ashkelon, Gaza border towns; IDF strikes terror cell in West Bank’s Jenin Israeli fighter jets continued to pound the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Wednesday, targeting Hamas command centers and other assets and …

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• 26 October

  Will Lebanon Be Safe or Sorry?

  

  If the Israelis enter Gaza, there are a range of options that Hezbollah might adopt to maintain its protective shield on Iran’s behalf. Many Lebanese are playing a morbid game these days—assessing the probability that their country will be destroyed if Hezbollah enters the conflict in Gaza between Israel and …

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