Middle East
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Jun- 2018 -5 June
Biji Manbij? US and Turkey plan for the Syrian city’s future without the YPG
After months of talks and threats of military action against the strongest force fighting ISIS in Syria, the U.S. and Turkey agreed to a ‘roadmap’ that would see the YPG leave Manbij
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5 June
YPG to leave Syria’s Manbij after US-Turkey deal
The People's Protection Units (YPG) announced that it would withdraw advisors from the Syrian city of Manbij, a day after the United States and Turkey agreed to a roadmap
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4 June
Explosion reported near Coalition base in Ayn Issa, Syria
An explosion was reported near a military base near Ayn Issa in Syria's Raqqa governorate, where U.S. and French troops fighting ISIS are believed to be posted
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3 June
Iraq court sentences French woman to life in prison for joining ISIS
An Iraqi court sentenced a French woman to life in jail for membership in ISIS despite her claims that her husband tricked her into traveling to the region
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May- 2018 -29 May
Israel strikes targets in Gaza after militants fire mortars at southern Israel
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of mortar shells at southern Israel, the army said, causing no injuries but raising tensions in the border area
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27 May
Russian soldiers killed by Syrian ‘militant fire’ in Deir Ezzor
Four Russian soldiers were killed in Syria's Deir Ezzor governorate when a group of militants attacked a Syrian military position, the Russian Ministry of Defence said.
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24 May
SDF captures prominent French ISIS member Adrien Guihal in Syria
Another French jihadist allegedly involved in attacks in France, Adrien Guihal, was arrested by a special unit of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria
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22 May
Israel claims world’s first F-35 airstrikes
Israel has used its F-35 fighter jets to carry out airstrikes in the region, IAF commander Major General Amikam Norkin said, the first acknowledgement of the plane's operational use.
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21 May
Syrian army says Damascus ‘completely secure’ after taking Yarmouk camp from ISIS
Syria’s army said it was in full control of the capital Damascus and its outskirts after ousting Islamic State, marking a major milestone in the seven-year war. “The Syrian army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure,” it said in a statement carried by state media network SANA on Monday, May 21. The development came after troops had captured a key southern portion of Damascus from IS, the statement said, including the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk and the adjacent district of Hajar al-Aswad. “The wheel of our progress on the battlefield will not stop until all Syrian land is purified,” it added. Russian-langauge Russkaya Vesna posted video of Syrian Arab Army troops raising the national flag in the Yarmouk camp, which had been under siege for years. Syria’s war erupted in 2011 with protests against President Bashar al-Assad, including in the capital. The following year, the government began losing control of parts of Damascus and placed a crippling siege around Yarmouk, which lies in the capital’s south. The army’s announcement came hours after a tenuous evacuation deal saw hundreds of ISIS fighters and their relatives quit Yarmouk, according to reports. Videos posted on social media on Sunday …
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21 May
US troops unlikely to withdraw from Syria after ISIS defeat in Deir Ezzor
US troops are unlikely to leave Syria after defeating ISIS in Deir Ezzor despite tough talk from President Trump and Turkey's calls for the SDF to leave Manbij, Wladimir Van Wilgenburg reports
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