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☆ 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

☆ Majd Kamalmaz: American therapist detained in Syria more than seven years ago has died
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Avery Lotz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Majd Kamalmaz, an American man detained in Syria more than seven years ago, has died, according to a statement from the Bring Our Families Home Campaign (BoFH). The visit was held in an effort to secure the release of American prisoners believed to be held by the Syrian government. A vigil is held outside of the White House on February 17 to mark three years since Majd Kamalmaz's detention in Syria. family photo“We do feel invisible,” said Maryam Kamalmaz, speaking on the first-ever Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day about her father’s disappearance earlier this year. “For the last seven years, we have been struggling to come to grips with my father’s absence,” Maryam Kamalmaz said in the statement announcing her father’s death.

Persons: Majd, Tragically, ”, Jonathan Franks, Kamalmaz, Maryam Kamalmaz, Joe Biden, ” Maryam Kamalmaz Organizations: CNN, White, ” CNN, US State Department Locations: Syria, Texas, Damascus, Trump, Syrian

☆ Who are ISIS-K, the group that claimed it carried out the Moscow terror attack?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It is a branch of ISIS, the terror group that emerged in Syria and Iraq and, at its peak, controlled a huge stretch of territory. By 2018, ISIS-K was ranked the world’s fourth-deadliest terror group, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace, which monitors global terrorism. Video Ad Feedback What we know about ISIS group claiming responsibility for Moscow terror attack 04:16 - Source: CNNWhat do they want? Russian state media reported on March 7 that the FSB, Russia’s security service, prevented an ISIS attack on a synagogue in Moscow, according to Reuters. It is the most active terror group in the country, responsible for 73 deaths in 2023, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Persons: Kamala Harris, –, Joe Biden, Putin, ”, Daniel Byman, ” Byman, John Miller, Wakil Kohsar, Washington, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, Islamic, ISIS, Sunday, US, Institute for Economics, The United Nations, Sharia, “, RIA Novosti, RIA, Reuters, Kabul University, CSIS, National Legal Training, US Central Command, National Intelligence, UN, Manchester Arena, State Department, Kyiv Locations: Moscow, Soviet, Tajikistan, Khorasan, Asia, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Africa, East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Kabul, Afghanistan’s Kunar, Nangarhar, United States, Britain, Europe, “ Russia, Georgetown, Caucasus, Pakistan –, Mastung, AFP, Germany, Paris, Ariana Grande, England, Orlando , Florida, Russian, Ukraine, Crocus

☆ Syria Blames Israel for Deadly Airstrike in Damascus
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Adam Sella | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Syrian state media reported on Wednesday that an airstrike on a residential building in Damascus had killed two people, and said that Israel was responsible for the attack. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria, said that a third person had been killed by shrapnel from the attack, which also damaged surrounding buildings. A strike last February in the same neighborhood killed at least five people. At the time, a senior Western diplomat said the strike was targeting Iranians near a site used by the Iranian military. While Israel did not comment on the latest attack, it has acknowledged hundreds of past strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria.

Persons: Israel Organizations: Syrian, Human Rights Locations: Damascus, Kafr Sousa, Britain, Syria, Western, Israel, Iran

☆ Returning Syrian Refugees Face Abduction, Sexual Abuse: UN
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - Syrian refugees who fled the war are facing gross human rights violations such as torture and abduction on their return home while women are subject to sexual harassment and violence, the U.N. human rights office said in a report on Tuesday. "There are reasonable grounds to believe that the overall conditions in Syria do not permit safe, dignified and sustainable returns of Syrian refugees to their home country," she added. A Syrian government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "Women are nowadays forced to do all sorts of things in order to go on with their lives. "In some cases, they are even divorced by their husbands and disowned by their own families," the report said.

Persons: Elizabeth Throssell, Emma Farge, Ros Russell Locations: GENEVA, Syria, Geneva, Israel, Gaza, Ghouta

The scale and ferocity of the conflict in Gaza and the unspeakable suffering of its civilians have rightly provoked the world’s outrage. Syria, too, desperately needs a halt to the violence. But instead, the more than 12-year-long war there grows more intense, now along five fronts in a kaleidoscope of conflict. With the region in turmoil, a dedicated international effort to contain the fighting on Syrian soil is imperative. A lasting truce in Gaza would also considerably calm the situation in Syria, decreasing tensions between the foreign powers — including the United States, Israel and Iran through its proxies — that are active militarily inside the country.

Organizations: ISIS Locations: Gaza, Syria, Turkey, Kurdish, United States, Israel, Iran

☆ Riad al-Turk, the ‘Mandela of Syria,’ Dies in Exile at 93
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Adam Nossiter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Riad al-Turk, a veteran Syrian opposition leader known as the “Mandela of Syria” after spending nearly two decades in prison for speaking out against his country’s dictatorial regimes, died on Jan. 1 in Eaubonne, a northern suburb of Paris. Mr. Turk’s death, at a hospital, was confirmed by his daughter Khuzama Turk in an interview. Mr. Turk’s life was a dark mirror of his country’s torments, and his improbable survival was testimony to his will to endure. He was imprisoned four times, tortured repeatedly and spent nearly 18 years in solitary confinement, mostly in an underground cell with no windows. “We can say that it was about my height — it was the size of a small elevator,” he said in one of his last interviews.

Persons: Riad, Mandela, Turk’s, Khuzama Turk, Turk, ”, Robin Wright Locations: Syrian, Syria, Eaubonne, Paris, France, Damascus

☆ Six US-Backed Kurdish Fighters Killed in Drone Attack on US Base in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

AMMAN (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces said on Monday that six of their fighters had been killed in an explosive drone attack by Iran-backed armed groups that came from areas of Syria's Deir al Zor under the control of the Syrian government. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq - an umbrella group of several Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups - on Monday claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Al-Omar field, saying it launched the attack on Feb. 4. Washington blames the group for a drone attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan earlier this month that killed three U.S. forces. The U.S. launched dozens of strikes over the weekend against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria, killing about 40 people, the vast majority reported to be militants. Iran-backed groups declaring support for the Palestinians have entered the fray across the region as the war between Israel and the militant Hamas group has intensified.

Persons: Syria's Deir al, Farhad Shami, Omar, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Timour, Gareth Jones, William Maclean Organizations: Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, Commando, Washington, Hamas, Lebanese Locations: AMMAN, Kurdish, Iran, Syria's Deir, Syria's Deir al Zor, U.S, Al, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Israel, Gaza, Red

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military has launched strikes on dozens of sites manned by Iran-backed fighters in western Iraq and eastern Syria in retaliation for a drone strike in Jordan in late January that killed three U.S. service members and wounded dozens. A deadly strike on the desert outpost known as Tower 22 in Jordan near the Syrian border further increased tensions. The Euphrates River cuts through Syria into Iraq, with U.S. troops and American-backed Kurdish-led fighters on the east bank and Iran-backed fighters and Syrian government forces to the west. He said the strikes also hit an area inside the town of Mayadeen known as “the security quarter.”Iraqi government spokesperson Bassim al-Awadi said the border strikes killed 16 people and caused “significant damage” to homes and private properties. There have been no new attacks by the Houthis since the U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria.

Persons: Guard’s, Ali, Ein Ali, Deir, Rami Abdurrahman, Omar Abu Layla, Bassim, Awadi, PMF Organizations: Hamas, U.S, Guard’s Quds Force, Human Rights, Popular Mobilization Force, Houthis Locations: BEIRUT, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, U.S, Tehran, Deir el, Hassakeh, American, Kurdish, Syrian, Iranian, Guard’s Quds, Boukamal, Quriya, Mayadeen, Britain, Europe, IRAN, Washington, Gaza, Iraqi, Irbil, Yemen

The alleged strike targeted the Mazzeh neighborhood in Syria’s capital, home to several diplomatic missions including the Iranian embassy, according to Syrian authorities. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) identified the four others killed as military advisors Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi and Mohammad Amin Samadi. Their presence in Syria had been “at the official invitation of the Syrian government,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, noted in a statement on social media. Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty ImagesRegional spillover fearsThe attack in Damascus comes amid concerns that Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza is spiraling into a regional war. Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday vowed to “punish” Israel for the Damascus missile strike.

Persons: Israel “, “, Hojjatollah Omidvar, Iran’s, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi, Mohammad Amin Samadi, Nasser Kanaani, Louai Beshara, Tehran’s, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Matt Miller, ” Miller, Ebrahim Raisi, ” Israel, ”, CNN’s Kareem Khadder Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Syrian Ministry of Defense, Israel Defense Forces, Network, Quds Force, Revolutionary Guards, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Security, Getty, Economic, Israel, Palestinian Ministry of Health, State Locations: Damascus, Syria’s, Iranian, Mazzeh, Syria, AFP, Gaza, Iraq, Tehran, Lebanon, Yemen, Red, Davos, Palestinian, Ramallah, The, Israel

"While it's Syrians that are calling for it, for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, if states so wish, it could be far beyond Syria," Olabi told Reuters. The Exceptional Chemical Weapons Tribunal proposal was launched on Nov. 30, the day victims of chemical attacks are remembered worldwide. 'SOME KIND OF JUSTICE'The use of chemical weapons is banned under the Geneva Conventions that codified the laws of war. That ban was strengthened by the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, a non-proliferation treaty joined by 193 states which is overseen by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The OPCW has the power to investigate claims of chemical weapons use and in some cases identify alleged perpetrators, but it has no prosecutorial powers.

Persons: Safaa Kamel, We'll, Ibrahim Olabi, Olabi, Bashar al, Akande, Mohamad Salim Namour, IIIM, Catherine Marchi, Uhel, Maya Gebeily, Stephanie van den Berg, Anthony Deutsch, Mahmoud Hasano, Angus MacSwan, Bernadette Baum Organizations: HAGUE, Reuters, Diplomats, Convention, Organisation, Chemical Weapons, United Nations, United Nations International Law Commission, ICC, UN, Islamic, TEN, International, Thomson Locations: Eastern Ghouta, Syria, Syrian, Afrin, BEIRUT, The Hague, Jobar, Syria's, Damascus, Ghouta, British, Geneva, France, Balkans, Rwanda, Lebanon, Douma, Russia, Beirut

☆ Gaza Civilians, Under Israeli Barrage, Are Being Killed at Historic Pace
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Lauren Leatherby | More About Lauren Leatherby | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

In the nine-month battle of Mosul, which Israeli officials have cited as a comparison, an estimated total of 9,000 to 11,000 civilians were killed by all sides in the conflict, including many thousands killed by the Islamic State, The Associated Press found. A similar number of women and children have already been reported killed in Gaza in less than two months. More broadly, Israeli officials say this is a campaign on its own borders to wipe out Hamas, a group dedicated to Israel’s destruction. “The war here is for our existence,” one Israeli war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz, told reporters on Nov. 8. But even before those changes, the number of women and children reported dead already outpaced other conflicts.

Persons: Crawford, Brown, ”, Brian Castner, Mr, Castner, “, Conricus, Mark Regev, Israel, Regev, ” Israel, Benny Gantz, ” Yoav Gallant, Biden, Barbara Leaf, Rick Brennan, Brennan Organizations: Islamic, Associated Press, ISIS, Amnesty International, U.S . Air Force, PBS, ”, Gaza Health Ministry, World Health Locations: Gaza, U.S, Iraq, United States, Afghanistan, Syria, Islamic State, Mosul, Raqqa, Ukraine, Israel, Egypt

The conflict is also testing the limits of the regional coalition whose members - which include the Syrian government, Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups from Iraq to Yemen - have differing priorities and domestic challenges. On Oct. 7, Hamas' military commander Mohammed Deif called on its axis allies to join the struggle. Yet, like its backer Iran, Hezbollah has avoided an all-out confrontation. Iran does not recognise Israel's existence, while Israel has long threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to curb its disputed nuclear activity. "Iran has shown a four-decade commitment to fighting America and Israel without entering into direct conflict.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ismail Haniyeh, wouldn't, Yemen's Houthis, Mohanad Hage Ali, Israel, Mohammed Deif, Khaled Meshaal, Dennis Ross, Hamas didn't, didn't, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin, Yoav Gallant, Israel didn't, Karim Sadjadpour, Parisa Hafezi, Laila Bassam, Arshad Mohammed, Tom Perry, Jonathan Saul, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Pravin Organizations: Israel, Reuters, Hezbollah, Carnegie Middle East Center, Hamas, Washington Institute for Near, Iran, AMERICA, United, U.S, Pentagon ., . Defense, NORTH Austin, Carnegie Endowment, International, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Tehran, Israel, Iran, Palestinian, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Beirut, Gaza, Lebanon, Palestine, United States, U.S, East, Iranian, Afghanistan, Seoul, ISRAEL, America, Dubai, Saint Paul, Jerusalem, Washington

Paris CNN —France has issued an arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the alleged use of banned chemical weapons against civilians in Syria, a judicial source told CNN on Wednesday. This is the first international arrest warrant against Assad. “All Interpol member states should then comply with the arrest warrant,” Chammas told CNN. “We have never used our chemical arsenal in our history,” Assad said in 2017. He added that “morally” the Syrian government would never do this “because it’s not acceptable.”

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Maher al, Michael Chammas, ” Chammas, “, Mazen Darwish, ” Darwish, Hadi al Khatib, ” Assad, it’s, ” Organizations: Paris CNN —, CNN, Interpol, Syrian Centre for Media, Open Society Justice Initiative, Eastern Ghouta, Syrian Center for Media Locations: Paris CNN — France, Syria, Germany, Douma, Eastern, Ghouta, Damascus, France

☆ France issues arrest warrant against Syria's President Assad - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - French judges have issued arrest warrants for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and two other senior officials over the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians in Syria, a judicial source said on Wednesday. It is the first international arrest warrant that has been issued for the Syrian head of state, whose forces responded to protests that began in 2011 with a brutal crackdown that U.N. experts have said amount to war crimes. It is the first time international arrest warrants have been issued over the chemical weapons attack in Ghouta in 2013, says Mazen Darwish, lawyer and founder of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), which filed the case in France. In October, French judges issued warrants for two former defence ministers over a 2017 bomb that killed a French-Syrian man at his home in Daraa. Reporting by Layli Foroudi and Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Richard LoughOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Maher al, Mazen Darwish, Darwish, Layli Foroudi, Dominique Vidalon, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Richard Lough Organizations: Eastern Ghouta, Syrian Center for Media, United Nations, Organisation, Chemical Weapons, Thomson Locations: Syria, Douma, Eastern, Syrian, Ghouta, France, Daraa

☆ 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

☆ Opinion: Biden needs to call for a ceasefire and restore respect for international law
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Mary Ellen O Connell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +45 min

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images Palestinians inspect a destroyed area following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on October 21. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters A woman mourns over a dead man at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza City on October 18. Yousef Masoud/The New York Times A morgue worker arranges body bags at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on October 12. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux Children run for cover as bombs fall near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 9. Erik Marmor/AP Six-month-old Sama Alwadia is rescued from the rubble in Gaza City on October 9.

Persons: Mary Ellen O’Connell, Robert, Marion Short, “, ”, Mary Ellen, Khan, Ahmad Hasaballah, Ariel Schalit, Abed Rahim Khatib, Ronen Zvulun, Mahmud Hams, Leo Correa, Mohammed Abed, Amir Cohen, Mohammed Alaloul, Majdi, Fatima Shbair, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Mustafa Hassona, Neil Hall, Saeed Jaras, Mohammad Abu Hattab, Mohammed Talatene, Ditza Heiman, Shir Torem, Salman Habaka, Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Yuval Zilber, Hatem Ali, Jalaa Merey, Ahmad Salem, Ali Jadallah, Atef Safadi, Abed Zagout, Fadel Senna, Anas al, Yosef Vahav, Kiryat Shmona, Jalaa Marey, Albert Miles, Bernat, Ilan Rosenberg, Ashraf Amra, Manna, Tamar Chaya Torpiashvili, Abed Khaled, Tamir Kalifa, Khan Younis, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Ammar Awad, Jehad Al, Kafarnah, Teddy, Dan Kitwood, Dima Vazinovich, Jack Guez, Sagiv Ben Zvi, Evelyn Hockstein, Omar El, Mohammed Salem, Amir Levy, Yasser Qudih, Tsafrir, Francisco Seco, Mohammed Saber, Ali Mohmoud, Mai Yaghi, Yam Goldstein, Nadav, Khaled Joudeh, Samar Abu, Leon Neal, Hatem Moussa, Nir Oz, Wolfgang Schwan, Yousef Masoud, Shadi Tabatibi, Belal al Sabbagh, Rizek Abdeljawad, Ahmad Gharabli, Janis Laizans, Mohammed Dahman, Gallant, Ofir Libstein, Aza, Belal Khaled, Hod, Ayal Margolin, Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, Brendan Smialowski, Biden, Netanyahu, Kenny Holston, Kfar Aza, Ilia Yefimovich, Mahmoud Khaled, Dor Reder, Violeta Santos Moura, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, Antonio Macías, Macías, Eli Albag, Liri, Sergey Ponomarev, Dor Kedmi, Saher, Abraham Cohen, Valentin Ghnassia, Ghnassia, Yuri Cortez, Ibrahim Hams, Bashar Taleb, Baz Ratner, Yahya Hassouna, Mapal Adam, Agha, Reuters Itzik, Miriam Shafir, Dor Shafir, Savion Kiper, Maya Alleruzzo, CNN Sergey Ponomarev, Eden Guez, Ohad, Mohammed Soboh, Said, Noam Elimeleh Rothenberg, Ilai Bar Sade, Erik Marmor, Oren Ziv, Ramez Mahmoud, Roi Levy, Alleruzzo, Tali Touito, Oded, Ahmad Hasballah, Eyad Baba, Itai Ron, Hadas Parush, —, Ron Dermer, NPR’s Tom Bowman Organizations: Kroc, University of Notre Dame, Defense, CNN, Hamas, Mary Ellen O'Connell University of Notre Dame International, UN, UN Security Council, International Court of Justice, Nasser Medical, AP, Najjar, Reuters, Getty, Israel Defence Forces handout, Israel Defense Forces, Shutterstock, Reuters United Nations, Shifa, Palestine, Pictures, Bloomberg, Israeli Apache, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Palestinian, Al, IDF, EyePress, New York Times, Israeli, Getty Images, Nasser Medical Hospital, Deir Al, Tel Aviv University, Reuters Civil, AP Rockets, AP Israel's, Regional, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Israel's, Ahli Baptist Hospital, Ben Gurion International, Aris Messinis, Haim, Puma, Mount, Mount Herzl Military, Nova, Anadolu Agency, Nova Festival, Ben Gurion, West Bank, Rockets, United Nations, Reuters Police, Reuters Rockets, ISIS, United States, Gaza, US, Criminal, Pentagon Locations: Gaza, Israel, Khan Younis, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, AFP, Jerusalem's, City, Rafah, Jerusalem's Old City, Deir Balah, Mahmud, Southern Israel, Anadolu, Ashkelon, Al, Gaza City, Haifa, Yanuh Jat, Netaim, Israeli, Golan Heights, Lebanon, Egypt, Sderot, Shareef, Beit Guvrin, Reuters Israeli, Kiryat, Al Aqsa, Deir Al, Balah, Kibbutz Be'eri, Ashdod, Holon, Najjar, Ichilov, Kibbutz Shefayim, Deir, Samar, Samar Abu Elouf, Deir al, Kibbutz Kissufim, Zahra City, Europe, Xinhua, East Jerusalem, Ras, Israel's, Yehuda, Aqsa, Hod HaSharon, Kiryat Shmona, Ahli, Gan, Kfar, North Sinai, Beit Kama, Cyprus, Kfar Saba, Be'eri, Rehovot, Mount Herzl, Modiin Maccabim, Kfar Aza, Mount Herzel, Yassin, Palestinian, Beitar Ilit, Ramat Gan, Itai, Beit Hanun, Rishon Lezion, United, Iraq, Syria, Geneva, Rome

☆ 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

☆ In Israel-Gaza War, Recycled Images From Past Conflicts Can Undercut True Toll
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Angelo Fichera | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In a video circulating online meant to convey the horrors of the war between Israel and Hamas, a small boy wails, his face caked in dust. Yet the boy’s cries actually rang out hundreds of miles away, in Syria, nearly a decade before Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza over the past three weeks. “It’s horrifying.”Among the popular images and videos supposedly illustrating the human toll of the war: A heap of dead children swaddled in white, described as Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. A teenage girl being beaten by a mob and fatally lit on fire, promoted as proof of the ruthlessness of Hamas. Mr. Katan worked for the Aleppo Media Center, a group of antigovernment activists and citizen journalists, and is now based in Germany.

Persons: wails, sobs, ”, Elisa Massimino, “, Hosam Katan, Katan Organizations: Hamas, Israel, Human Rights, Georgetown University, Aleppo Media Locations: Israel, Gaza, Syria, ”, Tajikistan, Guatemala, Aleppo, Germany

CNN —The US has intelligence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to provide the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah with a Russian-made missile defense system, according to two people familiar with the intelligence. The Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group, which operates in Syria, has been tasked with carrying out the delivery of the surface-to-air SA-22 missile system, the people said. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Wagner may provide the system to Hezbollah. A third source familiar with western intelligence said there was evidence of increasing collaboration between Hezbollah and Wagner in Syria. It is not clear how much influence Russia had over the decision to provide the system to Hezbollah.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, –, Hassan Nasrallah, CNN’s Oren Liebermann Organizations: CNN, Wagner Group, Street, Russian, US, Kremlin, Israel Locations: Lebanese, Russian, Syria, Russia, Syrian, Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Moscow, –, Gaza

☆ In the Israel-Gaza War, We Must Not Kill Some Children to Protect Others - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Nicholas Kristof | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Too bad about those Russian children, but they should have chosen somewhere else to be born. A prolonged ground invasion seems to me a particularly risky course, likely to kill large numbers of Israeli soldiers, hostages and especially Gazan civilians. The best answer to this test is to try even in the face of provocation to cling to our values. If your ethics see some children as invaluable and others as disposable, that’s not moral clarity but moral myopia. We must not kill Gazan children in order to protect Israeli children.

Persons: I’ve, Biden, it’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Iyad Abu Karsh, ”, Putin, Giora Eiland, Israel, Bravo Organizations: Hamas, Gaza Ministry of Health, Gazans, Times, Israeli National Security Council Locations: Gaza, Tel Aviv, United States, Israel, America, Ukraine, Russian, Aleppo, Russia, Grozny, American

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

☆ Iran's Revolutionary Guards Move Fighters Closer to Syrian Border With Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is moving some of its members toward the Israeli border, sparking concerns a new front could open in the confrontation between Tel Aviv and its regional foes. The IRGC has been redeploying fighters from the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor southward to an area close to Damascus, according to a Syrian government adviser and a Deir ez-Zor activist. The Syrian government adviser said Iran’s aim remained largely defensive. “There is a big concern that if there was a war, there is a strong need to protect the regime,” he said. A spokesman for the Iranian delegation at the United Nations didn't return a request for comment.

Persons: Deir, Iran’s, ” Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, United Nations Locations: Tel Aviv, Syrian, Deir, Damascus

☆ North Korea condemns attack in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Oct 9 (Reuters) - North Korea on Monday condemned "hostile forces inside and outside Syria" for a drone attack last week that caused many casualties in the country, calling it a terrorist attempt to overthrow the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Scores of people were killed in a drone attack on a graduation ceremony at a military academy in the Homs region in Syria on Oct. 5, in one of the bloodiest strikes against the military in more than 12 years of civil war. "The recent hideous terrorist act was prompted by ... the hostile forces inside and outside Syria who are ... attempting to overthrow the legitimate regime of Syria," state media KCNA said on Monday, citing North Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesperson. In November last year, Assad swore in a new ambassador to North Korea according to a statement by the Syrian government, continuing a history of ties between reclusive Pyongyang and Damascus, diplomatically isolated under a decade of Western sanctions. Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, KCNA, Joyce Lee, Sonali Paul Organizations: North Korea's Foreign Ministry, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Syria, Syrian, Homs, Pyongyang, Damascus

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