Middle East

French Rafale jets strike ISIS tunnels in northeastern Iraq

French Rafale fighter aircraft conducted airstrikes on a number of Islamic State munitions caches in northeastern Iraq

Read More »

It took almost a year, but a simple shift in US stance led to Turkey’s assault against Syria’s Kurds

US diplomats' short-sighted Syria strategy may have led to Turkey's incrusion and unravelled the partnership with the SDF

Read More »

Turkey and Russia begin joint patrols on northern Syria border

Turkish and Russian forces on Friday, November 1 began joint patrols near the Syria-Turkey border under a deal agreed in Sochi for the border area. The first joint patrol with ground units and drones began on Friday in the Darbasiyah district of Hasakah governorate, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence tweeted along with photos of the patrol. Rusya Federasyonu ile 22 Ekim 2019 tarihinde Soçi’de varılan mutabakat çerçevesinde; Türk ve Rus askeri unsurlarının ve İHA’ların iştirakiyle ilk ortak devriye, Fırat’ın doğusundaki Derbesiye bölgesinde başladı.#MSB #TSK pic.twitter.com/tseFhBlERy — T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) November 1, 2019 The patrols were set to begin earlier this week but were delayed. After marathon talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi on October 22, Russia and Turkey signed a deal that would see Russian military police and Syrian border guards “facilitate the removal” of Syrian Democratic Forces from border areas. On October 9, NATO-member Turkey and its Syrian proxy forces launched the Operation Peace Spring incursion into Syria to push the SDF and its predominantly-Kurdish YPG component south after U.S. President Donald Trump said American troops would withdraw from the immediate area. Ankara wants to clear a 30-km buffer zone to …

Read More »

Turkey releases 18 Syrian soldiers after talks with Russia

Turkey freed 18 Syrian soldiers that its forces captured in northeastern Syria, the defense ministry said

Read More »

ISIS confirms death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, announces new leader

ISIS confirmed the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the appointment of a new leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi

Read More »

Belgium court orders repatriation of ISIS-linked family from Roj camp in Syria

Belgian authorities were ordered to repatriate a woman who joined ISIS and her two children from Roj camp in Syria where she is being held

Read More »

Pentagon releases new details of raid that killed ISIS leader Baghdadi

ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died in a hole in northwest Syria, but the fight against the terror group is not over, CENTCOM commander Gen. McKenzie said

Read More »

Syria’s defense ministry calls on SDF to join government forces

Syria’s defense ministry called on Syrian Democratic Forces members to integrate into the army as its troops deployed on Turkish border

Read More »

Joint Russia-Turkey patrols to begin in northeast Syria on Friday

Turkish-Russian joint patrols will start in Syria on Friday, Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after a deadline for an SDF withdrawal expired

Read More »

18 ‘regime elements’ captured in northern Syria, Turkey’s defense ministry says

18 people who said they were Syrian government forces were captured near Ras al-Ayn in northern Syria, Turkey's defense ministry said

Read More »