October 9, 2021 Middle Orient
Moscow is intensifying its airstrikes on Islamic State targets in the Syrian desert. ALEPPO — Islamic State attacks in the Syrian desert have escalated over the past two weeks, causing heavy losses among the Syrian government forces and their allied militias. Russia has intensified airstrikes on IS positions in support …
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October 9, 2021 Africa, Magreb
The Islamic Ennahda movement is facing a wave of resignations that are depriving it of its historical leadership and popular base after being the country’s ruling party since 2011. TUNIS — During the Oct. 3 protests in support of Tunisian President Kais Saied in the coastal Monastir province in northeastern …
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October 9, 2021 Middle Orient
Arab-Israelis are divided over the government’s decision to bring in the IDF and the Shin Bet to help police control rising crime and violence in Arab towns. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett convened the first meeting of the ministerial team for combating crime in Arab society on Oct. 3. This team, …
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October 9, 2021 Middle Orient
Iraqi national security forces working closely with local tribal fighters say they have managed to kill two key Islamic State figures involved in planning suicide attacks. A man driving a car loaded with explosives who was thought to have been about to attack a police station detonated himself in the …
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October 9, 2021 Afghanistan
Afghanistan and Tajikistan share a 1,400-kilometer border. Recently, a war of words has erupted between Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and the Taliban government in Kabul. Rahmon censures the Taliban for the destabilization of Central Asia by the export of militant groups, while the Taliban leadership has accused Tajikistan’s government of …
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October 9, 2021 Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
Iran wants Russia to know that it is concerned by both the presence of Israel-Azerbaijan relations as well as Turkey’s moves to open up a land corridor. Iran is worried. It sees an emerging alliance between Turkey and Azerbaijan as well as between Azerbaijan and Israel as potentially cutting it …
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October 9, 2021 Middle Orient
“They said they are going to stay in Syria and will not withdraw – they will keep fighting Islamic State,” Ahmed said. “Before they were unclear under Trump and during the Afghan withdrawal.” A leading Syrian Kurdish politician said on Thursday the United States will stay on in Syria to …
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October 9, 2021 Iran, Middle Orient
Three rounds of Saudi-Iranian talks were held in Iraq in the months before Iran’s new hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, took office in August. Talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia have gone a “good distance,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told a news conference in Beirut on Thursday, referring to efforts …
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October 9, 2021 Iran, Middle Orient
Iran’s drone program, unlike its nuclear weapons program, is not secretive. The Islamic Republic openly brags about its drone capabilities. Iranian drones are an emerging threat to the Middle East. In 2019, Iran used a combination of drones and cruise missiles to attack the giant Abqaiq oil-processing facility in Saudi …
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October 9, 2021 Middle Orient
Iraq will head to the polls on Sunday for early legislative elections, the fifth in the past 20 years. The poll comes two years after mass protests brought down the government of Adel Abdul Mahdi, but not before security forces and paramilitary groups killed more than 600 protesters. Angry Iraqis …
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