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☆ Lebanon is 'not tank country' and an Israeli armored assault there exposes it to Hezbollah's firepower
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Towards the end of their 34-day war in 2006, the Israeli Army sent tanks into southern Lebanon. Advertisement"Out of the 400 tanks involved in the fighting in southern Lebanon, 48 were hit, 40 were damaged, and 20 penetrated. Israeli tanks suffered losses to Hezbollah during their 2006 war in Lebanon. Any cross-border incursion by Israeli armor would undoubtedly have cover and protection from accompanying infantry, artillery, aircraft, and drones. "The idea is that the first missile is taken out by an Israeli tank's Trophy defense system, but (that active protection system) doesn't have time to counter the second missile.

Persons: —, That's, Hassan Nasrallah, Israel, Nicholas Heras, Ryan Bohl, RANE, Nicholas Blanford, Blanford, RANE's Bohl, Spike ATGMs, Heras Organizations: Service, Business, Hezbollah, New Lines Institute, Israeli Army, GALI TIBBON, Getty, East, Hamas, Atlantic Council, Israel, IDF Locations: Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Lebanese, Russian, Wadi Saluki, Wadi Hujeir, GALI, Gaza, North Africa, Iranian

☆ Inspired by Muhammad Ali, meet the judo star who fled civil war conscription in Syria and will now compete at the Paris Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Rory Fleming | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“He was someone who stood up and said ‘no.’ To have that sort of strength was something that inspired me,” says Adnan Khankan ahead of his Olympic judo debut in Paris later this month. Ed Kolenovsky/APConscription into the Syrian Army“I didn’t see it as my war, how could it be when it was Syrian people killing other Syrian people? The Syrian Civil War, which initially broke out in 2011, is now considered the biggest humanitarian crisis since World War II. Michael Kappeler/picture-alliance/dpa/AP“It really motivated me when I found out about the existence of a refugee team,” said Khankan. Adnan Khankan“The refugee team speak different languages, are different ethnicities, come from different cultures, but we are all one team competing together.

Persons: CNN — It’s, Muhammad Ali, Brown, ”, Ali, Adnan Khankan, Khankan, Bashar al, spiralled, ” Khankan, Ed Kolenovsky, Bashar Al, Assad, Diaa Al, “, ” Adnan Khankan, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Mardini, Yusra Mardini, Michael Kappeler, Marius Vizer, Adnan, “ Adnan, Vizer, Adnan Khankan “, I’ve Organizations: CNN, International Olympic Committee, Syrian Army, CNN Sport, Al, Free Syrian Army, Reuters, taekwondo, Getty, Rio Olympics, IOC, Rio, Tokyo, Japan, Judo, International Judo Federation, UNHCR, “, Olympic Locations: Vietnam, America, Paris, Cologne, Germany, Damascus, Syria, Houston, Arbeen, Ghouta, Tashkent, AFP, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungarian, Cairo, Tokyo, Europe, Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, East, Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, Cuba

☆ Turkish officials call for calm as social media hysteria fuels anti-Syrian riots in Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Scott Mclean | Isil Sariyuce | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Istanbul CNN —Allegations of sexual abuse against a child by a Syrian man in Kayseri, Turkey, have sparked overnight riots that targeted Syrian businesses and cars in the city. Protesters in al-Bab, Aleppo, Syria, attack a Turkish truck during demonstrations against Turkey on July 1, 2024. Bakr Alkasem/AFP/Getty ImagesIn another town, Ghazawiah, also in northwest Syria, protesters were seen pulling the Turkish flag town from a military site. At the “Bab al-Salama” border crossing with Turkey, the Turkish flag was removed, burned and replaced with a Free Syrian Army flag, according to a local resident and images circulating on social media. Turkey hosts more Syrian refugees than any other country, but Turkey has often struggled to integrate Syrian refugees fully into society.

Persons: Ali Yerlikaya, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ” Erdogan, ”, Bakr, Bab, Salama, Forces ”, Yerlikaya, “, Erdogan, Bashar al, Assad Organizations: Istanbul CNN, Anadolu, CNN, Getty, Free Syrian Army, “ National Coalition for Syrian Revolution, Forces Locations: Istanbul, Syrian, Kayseri, Turkey, Turkish, Anatolian, “, Syria, Atareb, Bab, Aleppo, AFP, Ghazawiah

☆ Killings show ISIS remains a threat in Syria's desert 5 years after losing its caliphate
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

ISIS killed an estimated 84 Syrian soldiers and 44 civilians in central Syria in March, making it the most violent month in the ISIS desert campaign since late 2017. Another four Syrian troops were killed in another desert attack in late April. "Over the past several years, ISIS has been able to make regular attacks in the desert," Landis told Business Insider. AdvertisementLandis noted that the Syrian military is picking up its efforts to attack ISIS in the Homs-Palmyra region. AdvertisementWhile the Syrian military does carry out combing operations in the Homs desert, ISIS remnants are far from Damascus's top priority.

Persons: —, Joshua Landis, Landis, Bashar al, Aron Lund, Lund, Assad, what's, there's Organizations: Service, ISIS, Human Rights, Business, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma, Century International, Syrian Democratic Forces Locations: United Kingdom, Homs, Syria, Iraq, Deir ez, Palmyra, Islamic State, Kurdish, Turkey, Syria's Hasakah, Damascus, State

☆ Mohammad Faris: ‘Armstrong of the Arab World’ and Syria’s first astronaut dies in exile
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Eyad Kourdi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In 1987, Faris, a pilot in the Syrian Air Force, spent eight days in space with the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos spaceflight program. Faris flew with a Soviet crew to Mir space station becoming the first and only Syrian astronaut and second Arab to make it to space. Upon his return to Syria, Faris was celebrated as a national hero by tens of thousands of Syrians. Faris decided in 2012 to defect and publicly oppose the Syrian regime, putting his family and himself in life-threatening danger. In 2020, Faris was granted Turkish citizenship, as reported by the Turkish state broadcaster TRT.

Persons: CNN — Mohammad Faris, Armstrong, Faris, Hafez al, Assad, Bashar, “, Jazeera, Assad, Faris –, Hafez al - Assad, Prince Sultan bin Salman, Allah, “ let’s, ” Faris, Bashar al, Al Jazeera, Moscow propping Organizations: CNN, Syrian Air Force, Saudi, Free Syrian Army, Turkish, TRT, Star City, AP Locations: Turkish, Gaziantep, Soviet, Syria, ”, Aleppo, Turkey, Istanbul, Russia, Moscow, Soviet Union

☆ Drones have ushered in a brutal new phase of Syria's civil war
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewDrones are increasingly shaping warfare in the Syrian civil war that entered its 14th year in March. Kasim Rammah/Getty ImagesHowever, unlike drones, Syrian Air Force aircraft require significant support from Russia. Advertisement"The Russians might not want to spend any more jet fuel and Soviet-designed bombs on Assad just to help him blow up hospitals and marketplaces in Idlib," Lund said. Advertisement"It seems well within the means of Tahrir al-Sham, the dominant jihadi militia in Idlib, to manufacture and use kamikaze drones," Lund said. Even though many of these opposition drones are often described as crude, low-tech, and DIY, Lund also does not rule out the possibility that Syrian opposition groups have received state backing for some attacks.

Persons: —, Bashar al, Assad, Freddy Khoueiry, RANE, Khoueiry, Aron Lund, Lund, Kasim Rammah, Moscow's, they're, RANE's Organizations: Service, Business, Century International, Syrian Air Force, embroilment, Scientific Studies, Research Center, Ministry of Defense, Hezbollah, Russia Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Damascus, Hayat Tahrir, Idlib, Homs, East, North Africa, Syria, Aleppo, Soviet, Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Hmeimim, Latakia, Tahrir, Turkey

☆ Iran accuses Israel of killing a spy chief and 3 of its top Revolutionary Guards in Syria, escalating tensions in the region
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An airstrike on Damascus on Saturday killed four senior members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The attack is the latest escalation in tensions in the region following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The attack killed the chief of the IRGC intelligence in Syria and his deputy along with two other members of Iran's Revolution Guards, according to Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency. The attack is the latest escalation in tensions in the region following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas. Throughout the war, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian territory , predominantly targeting Iran-backed forces and Syrian Army positions, which have intensified since the Israel-Hamas war began, per AFP.

Persons: Israel, —, Nasser Kanani, Bashar al Organizations: Saturday, Iran's, Guards, Service, Guards Corps, Public Relations Department, Zionist, Revolution Guards Corps, Iranian Armed Forces, Human Rights, Israel, Iran, Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Syrian Army, Hamas, US State Department Locations: Damascus, Iran, Israel, Syria, Iranian, Tehran, Syrian, AFP

☆ Syria says Israel strike puts Damascus airport out of service
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMMAN, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes put Damascus airport out of service on Sunday, forcing incoming flights to be diverted elsewhere, the Syrian army and a pro-government newspaper said. Israel has for years carried out strikes against what it has described as Iranian-linked targets in Syria, including against Aleppo and Damascus airports. The Syrian army said in a statement its air defences intercepted Israeli missiles flying from the Golan Heights. It said the Israeli strikes, which also targeted outposts in the Damascus countryside, led only to material losses but did not elaborate on the extent of damage to the country's biggest civilian airport.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Flights scheduled to arrive in Damascus were being diverted to Latakia and Aleppo, Al Watan newspaper said.

Persons: Kinda, Adam Makary, Suleiman al Khalidi, Giles Elgood, Jan Harvey, Nick Macfie Organizations: Thomson Locations: AMMAN, Damascus, Israel, Syria, Aleppo, Latakia, Al

☆ Russian forces kill 34 fighters in Syria's Idlib - Interfax agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Russian forces have killed 34 fighters and wounded more than 60 in air strikes on targets in Syria's Idlib governorate, Russia's Interfax reported late on Sunday, citing the deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria. "The Russian Aerospace Forces carried out air strikes in the province of Idlib on targets of illegal armed groups involved in shelling the positions of Syrian government troops," Interax cited Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit as saying of the Saturday attack. Kulit said that in 24 hours, positions of Syrian government troops were attacked seven times. Kulit also reiterated frequent Russian accusations of aircraft violation in Syria's airspace by the U.S.-led coalition saying that a number of jet and drone flights were not coordinated with the Russian side. Earlier, a source told Reuters that the United States has carried out two air strikes against Iran-aligned groups in Syria.

Persons: Vadim Kulit, Kulit, Bashar al, Assad, Lidia Kelly, Robert Birsel Organizations: Russian Reconciliation Center, Russian Aerospace Forces, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Idlib, Russia's, Syria, Aleppo, Moscow, Damascus, Gaza, U.S, Russian, United States, Iran, Melbourne

☆ Russian Forces Kill 34 Fighters in Syria's Idlib - Interfax Agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - Russian forces have killed 34 fighters and wounded more than 60 in air strikes on targets in Syria's Idlib governorate, Russia's Interfax reported late on Sunday, citing the deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria. "The Russian Aerospace Forces carried out air strikes in the province of Idlib on targets of illegal armed groups involved in shelling the positions of Syrian government troops," Interax cited Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit as saying of the Saturday attack. Kulit said that in 24 hours, positions of Syrian government troops were attacked seven times. Kulit also reiterated frequent Russian accusations of aircraft violation in Syria's airspace by the U.S.-led coalition saying that a number of jet and drone flights were not coordinated with the Russian side. Earlier, a source told Reuters that the United States has carried out two air strikes against Iran-aligned groups in Syria.

Persons: Vadim Kulit, Kulit, Bashar al, Assad, Lidia Kelly, Robert Birsel Organizations: Reuters, Russian Reconciliation Center, Russian Aerospace Forces Locations: Idlib, Russia's, Syria, Aleppo, Moscow, Damascus, Gaza, U.S, Russian, United States, Iran, Melbourne

☆ Russian forces strike drone warehouse in Syria's Idlib, Interfax reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 6 (Reuters) - Russian military forces carried out air strikes on a drone warehouse in Syria's Idlib governorate, the Russian Interfax news agency reported, citing Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit, deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, on Sunday. "The Russian Aerospace Forces launched an air strike ... against a warehouse of unmanned aerial vehicles of militants involved in shelling the positions of Syrian government troops," Kulit was quoted as saying. No information about the scale of the damage or potential casualties was available. The Syrian army has blamed rebels, who it says are Islamist jihadists, for attacks on government-held areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces and denies indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas in areas under rebel control. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vadim Kulit, Kulit, Bashar al Assad, Lidia Kelly, Richard Chang Organizations: Russian Reconciliation Center, Russian Aerospace Forces, Thomson Locations: Russian, Idlib, Syria, Aleppo, Moscow, Damascus, Gaza, Melbourne

☆ Israel Strikes Syrian Army Assets After Rocket Launches, Israeli Military Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - Israel's military said its jets struck Syrian army infrastructure and mortar launchers early on Wednesday in what it described as a response to rocket launches from Syria toward Israel. The military said it had identified two rocket launches from Syria that had landed in open areas late on Tuesday, and that it had responded with artillery fire at the sources of the launches. In a further response, the military said its fighter jets "struck military infrastructure and mortar launchers belonging to the Syrian Army". It did not accuse Syria's army of firing the two rockets, which set off air raid sirens in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday. Israel has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah and militants in Syria in recent days, a wider conflict over its northern border as it battles Islamist Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip following a deadly attack in Israel.

Persons: Syria's, Rami Ayyub, Sandra Maler Organizations: Reuters, Syrian Army, Hezbollah Locations: Syria, Israel, Golan, Gaza

Since then, Omar Abou Nabout has sought accountability over his father’s killing while forging a new life in France. Legal cases have been filed against the Syrian regime before. The Syrian regime used them extensively, and indiscriminately, in densely populated areas at the height of the civil war, which was considered a form of prohibited indiscriminate attack under international humanitarian law. It may deny targeting civilians, but Abou Nabout says the new indictments are a victory for him and others fighting impunity. I was part of it … I watched people die including friends,” Abou Nabout said.

Persons: Paris CNN — Omar Abou Nabout, Bashar al, Assad, Salah Abou Nabout, Omar Abou Nabout, Abou Nabout’s, ”, Mohamad Abazeed, Abou Nabout, Salah, Muhammed Yusuf, ” Abou Nabout, “, Mazen Darwish, Mark Esplin, CNN Abou Nabout, Darwish, Anwar Raslan, –, SANA, Fahed, ” Darwish, there’s Ali Abdullah Ayoub –, Ahmad Balloul, Ali al, Safatli, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he’s, ” Assad, … Organizations: Paris CNN, CNN, Getty, Anadolu Agency, Syrian Network for Human, Sorbonne University, French Foreign Ministry, Syrian Center for Media, Syrian Defense, Syrian, Air Force, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Arab League Summit, Saudi Royal Court, Reuters, International Criminal Court, ICC, UN Security Council Locations: Paris, France, Daraa, Syrian, AFP, Syria, Russian, Tareek, France –, Europe, Germany, Fraij, Damascus, ”, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Bandar Algaloud, Netherlands, Russia

☆ Syria mourns scores killed in drone attack on military academy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Coffins carrying the bodies of some of the people who were killed on Thursday in drone attack on a military academy, lie on the ground outside a military hospital during the funeral in Homs, Syria October 6, 2023. Several weaponised drones hit the Homs Military Academy's courtyard where families were gathered with the new officers on Thursday, minutes after defence minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas had left. On Friday morning, coffins carrying victims and draped in the Syrian flag were sent out from the Homs Military Hospital. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the Syrian conflict, put the toll at above 120. Russia has helped in efforts to strengthen the Syrian military.

Persons: Firas, Ali Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas, Bashar al, Assad, Maya Gebeily, Tom Perry, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Homs Military Hospital, Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, Observatory, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Homs, Syria, Idlib, Aleppo, Qardaha, Latakia, Russia, Iran, Tehran

☆ At least 100 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy, monitor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People stand and walk outside a building after drone attack on Syrian military academy in Homs, Syria October 5, 2023 is seen in this screen grab from a video. Video obtained by Reuters/via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT, Oct 5 (Reuters) - At least 100 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and an official said, with weaponised drones bombing the site minutes after Syria's defence minister left a graduation ceremony there. Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria's defence ministry said, adding "terrorist" groups had used drones. Syria's defence and foreign ministries vowed to respond "with full force". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 100 people were killed and 125 injured.

Persons: Syria's, Hassan Al, Ghobash, Bashar al, Assad, Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Kinda, Jon Boyle, Mark Heinrich, David Gregorio, Alexandra Hudson, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, Health, Thomson Locations: Homs, Syria, Rights BEIRUT, Idlib, Damascus, Syrian, fatigues, Russia, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey

☆ At least 60 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Oct 5 (Reuters) - At least 60 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and a security source said, with weaponised drones bombing the site minutes after Syria's defence minister left a graduation ceremony there. Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria's defence ministry said in a statement, adding "terrorist" groups had used drones to carry it out. The statement did not specify an organisation and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Syria's defence minister attended the graduation ceremony but left minutes before the attack, according to a Syrian security source and a security source in the regional alliance backing the Damascus government against opposition groups. We don't know where it came from, and corpses littered the ground," said a Syrian man who had helped set up decorations at the academy for the occasion.

Persons: Syria's, Bashar al, Assad, Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Kinda, Jon Boyle, Mark Heinrich, David Gregorio, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Syria, Homs, Damascus, Syrian, fatigues, Russia, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey

☆ Russian jets said to step up strikes on Syrian rebel enclave
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

White Helmets/Handout via REUTERSAMMAN, June 25 (Reuters) - Russian jets bombed villages and towns near the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on Sunday, killing at least nine civilians and wounding dozens in a major flare-up of violence in the country's last opposition stronghold, witnesses and rescuers said. No immediate comment was available from Russia or its allies in the Syrian army, whose artillery pounded rebel areas in the countryside west of Aleppo. During past outbreaks of fighting, Damascus and Russia have said they only target insurgent groups and deny indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Damascus has in recent rounds of Russian-brokered talks with Ankara demanded that Turkey withdraw a formidable military presence in the last foothold of the Syrian rebellion. Turkish troops based in the region have held back Russia and Damascus from a final assault to wrest back control of the enclave.

Persons: Sham, jihadists, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Russian Sukhoi, Ankara, Thomson Locations: Russian, Jisr, Shughour, Syria, REUTERS AMMAN, Syrian, Idlib, Jabal al, Russia, Turkey, Aleppo, Damascus, Turkish, Hayat, Qardaha, Latakia, Moscow

☆ Twenty-two U.S. troops wounded in Syria helicopter mishap, U.S. says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which control swathes of northeast Syria, referred questions to the U.S.-led coalition under which American troops are deployed in the zone. In March, 25 U.S. troops were wounded in strikes and counter-strikes in Syria, which also killed one U.S. contractor and injured another. U.S. forces first deployed into Syria during the Obama administration's campaign against Islamic State, partnering with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces. Thousands of other Islamic State fighters are in detention facilities guarded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, America's key ally in the country. U.S. officials say that Islamic State could still regenerate into a major threat.

Persons: Obama, Bashar al, Assad Organizations: U.S, military's, Command, U.S . Central Command, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic State, Islamic Locations: Syria, U.S, Kurdish, Damascus, Islamic State, Iran, State, Iraq, Russia, Iranian

There are about 900 U.S. personnel deployed to Syria, most of them in the east, as part of a mission fighting the remnants of the Islamic State. In March, 25 U.S. troops were wounded in strikes and counter-strikes in Syria, which also killed one U.S. contractor and injured another. U.S. forces first deployed into Syria during the Obama administration's campaign against Islamic State, partnering with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces. Thousands of other Islamic State fighters are in detention facilities guarded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, America's key ally in the country. U.S. officials say that Islamic State could still regenerate into a major threat.

Persons: Obama, Bashar al, Assad, Phil Stewart, Kanjyik Ghosh, Kim Coghill, Gerry Doyle Organizations: U.S, military's, Command, U.S . Central Command, Islamic State, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Syria, U.S, Islamic State, Iran, Kurdish, State, Iraq, Russia, Iranian, Washington, Bengaluru

☆ Syria says Israeli missiles target sites near Damascus
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMMAN, May 29 (Reuters) - Syrian army air defences on Sunday confronted an Israeli missile strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, and there were no casualties, state media said. Citing a Syrian military source, state media said missile strikes coming from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights had targeted several sites it did not identify. "Our air defences confronted the aggressors' missiles and downed some of them with only material losses," the Syrian military source said. The strikes are part of an escalation of what has been a low-intensity conflict with a goal of slowing Iran's growing entrenchment in Syria, Israeli military experts say. Fighters allied to Iran, including Hezbollah, now hold sway in vast areas in eastern, southern, and northwestern Syria and in several suburbs around the capital.

CNN —A drone strike carried out by the US military this month in northwest Syria killed a 56-year-old father of ten out grazing his sheep, his relatives have told CNN, hours after US Central Command said a civilian may have been killed in the operation. The strike, carried out on May 3 in northwest Syria, targeted a senior al-Qaeda leader, Central Command said in a tweet announcing the operation that day. In the two weeks that have passed since the operation, Central Command has not released any more information about the intended target. The Washington Post first reported that the US military is investigating whether a civilian was killed in the strike. Killed alongside his sheepRelatives of a man who was killed in a lone strike on the same day in the same area have since come forward with their version of events, saying he was a family man with no links to militancy.

☆ After years of war, Assad returns to Arab fold
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

* Aug. 2011 - U.S. President Barack Obama says Assad has lost legitimacy to rule and should surrender power. * Nov. 2011 - The Arab League suspends Syria and urges its army to stop killing civilians. * Sept. 2015 - Russia joins the war on Assad's side, deploying war planes that bomb rebel-held areas - a turning point in the conflict. * March 2022 - Assad visits the United Arab Emirates and meets its leaders, his first trip to an Arab state since 2011. Assad says he will only meet Erdogan when Turkey is ready to withdraw forces from Syria.

☆ Syrian refugees deported from Lebanon face arrest, conscription, say relatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Youssef, a Syrian refugee and single father of two girls, attends an interview with Reuters, in Beirut, Lebanon April 26, 2023. One refugee told Reuters he and his three brothers were detained in a raid on a camp in Lebanon in late April. Another refugee said he was briefly held by the Fourth Division after being deported but paid smugglers to return to Lebanon. The Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR), a rights organisation, said it had documented the detention of at least two deported Syrians by the Fourth Division. Youssef, a Syrian refugee and single father-of-two, said he was so afraid of being deported and conscripted that he had stopped leaving his home in Lebanon.

☆ Turkey kills ISIS leader in Syria operation, says Erdogan Turkish National Intelligence Organization kills ISIS leader in Syria - President Erdogan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Gul Tuysuz Hande Atay Alam Jessie Yeung | Gul Tuysuz | Hande Atay Alam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed on Sunday that the country’s intelligence forces had killed the leader of ISIS in Syria as he vowed to continue the country’s fight against terrorism. In a broadcast, Erdogan said Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization had been tracking a man known as Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini Al-Qurshi “for a long time.”“This person was neutralized in the operation carried out by MIT (Turkish National Intelligence Organization) yesterday in Syria,” he said. Little was known about Al-Qurshi, but at the time of his appointment, ISIS described him as an “old fighter.”Erdogan’s announcement came after a recent absence from the public eye due to illness. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during an election rally in Ankara, Turkey on April 30, 2023. Cagla Gurdogan/ReutersMedia reports had speculated that his health was deteriorating just two weeks before a crucial election.

Summary Sources: Military equipment disguised as relief suppliesSyria is a conflict zone for Israel and IranIsrael mounts swift campaign against IraniansAMMAN, April 12 (Reuters) - Iran has used earthquake relief flights to bring weapons and military equipment into its strategic ally Syria, nine Syrian, Iranian, Israeli and Western sources said. The sources told Reuters that the goal was to buttress Iran's defences against Israel in Syria and to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The supplies included advanced communications equipment and radar batteries and spare parts required for a planned upgrade of Syria's Iran-provided air defence system in its civil war, said the sources, two regional sources and a Western intelligence source said. Regional sources told Reuters that Israel quickly became aware of the flow of weapons into Syria and mounted an aggressive campaign to counter it. A radar station used for drones was also hit on April 3, the regional source added, corroborating what two Western intelligence sources had told Reuters.

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