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With the balance of power in northern Syria swinging toward the rebels who toppled the Assad regime, U.S.-backed Kurdish forces and their ability to contain ISIS may now be under threat. Suspected ISIS fighters in a prison cell in northeastern Syria in 2019. “One camp recognizes the historic fight with the Kurds against ISIS … and of course the other camp — where Trump probably lands — is to try and move out of Syria,” he said. Syrian Kurds fleeing areas north of Aleppo walk to the western outskirts of Raqa, on Dec. 3. Delil Souleiman / AFP via Getty ImagesIf a second Trump administration were to pull out of Syria, it would leave Kurdish forces without a major international ally.

Persons: Assad, —, Mazloum Abdi, Ugur Yildirim, Hayat Tahrir, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Fadel Senna, ”, Renad Mansour, Mansour, Erik Kurilla, State Anthony Blinken’s, “ We’ve, Lloyd Austin, “, Delil Souleiman, Donald Trump, Trump, Farhad Shami Organizations: ISIS, Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic State, Syrian National Army, Getty, Kurdistan Workers Party, House, NBC, U.S . Central Command, State, ”, Syrian Democratic Forces, ISIS …, Reuters, NBC News Locations: Syria, U.S, Kurdish, Turkey, Manbij, Israel, Damascus, Turkish, Iraq, East, North Africa, London, Japan, Aleppo, AFP, United States, Syria’s, —, Raqa, “

☆ Israel says it has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria, targeting 'strategic weapons stockpiles'
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-11 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Israel's defense minister said it intended to create a "defense zone free of weapons and terrorist threats in southern Syria." Israel says it has launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syria in the days since Bashar Assad's regime collapsed. AdvertisementOn Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had "struck most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria" in 48 hours as part of a push to stop the weapons "falling into the hands of terrorist elements." Per Tuesday's IDF statement, the Israeli military had conducted strikes on targets including antiaircraft batteries, Syrian Air Force airfields, and weapons production sites. AdvertisementA still from a video shared by Israel Defense Forces.

Persons: Bashar Assad's, Benjamin Netanyahu, Assad, Hayat, Per, Israel Katz, Katz, Israel, Joe Biden, Jonathan Lord, Netanyahu, embeds, Matias Delacroix, Stéphane, Dujarric Organizations: Israel Defense Forces, Sunday, Israel, Syrian Air Force, Human Rights, IDF, Israeli Defense, CNN, Business, Washington, Pentagon, Syrian Democratic Force, Troops, Reuters, AP, Egypt Independent, Arab League, UN, United Nations, Observer Force Locations: Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Al, Latakia, US, Turkey, Ankara, Kurdish, Damascus, Golan, Egypt

☆ The US is striking targets across Syria, and it isn't the only one dropping bombs in this uncertain moment
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US isn't the only military conducting strikes amid the uncertain situation in Syria. The US military has carried out extensive airstrikes in Syria since the Assad regime collapsed over the weekend, and it's not the only country on the hunt for targets in this uncertain moment. F-15 Strike Eagles, like the one pictured above, took part in the widespread strikes against ISIS over the weekend. The US military said the goal of the strikes was to prevent ISIS from reconstituting in central Syria. Related storiesThe Israeli military has also sent its ground forces across the Syrian border beyond a United Nations-monitored buffer zone that separates the two countries.

Persons: Assad, it's, Biden, John Kirby, Bashar Assad, Jonathan Lord, AAREF WATAD, Avi Melamed, Kirby Organizations: ISIS, US, Turkish, National Security, US Air Force, Central Command, Eagles, American, Pentagon, Sunday, Human Rights, Middle East Security, Center, New, New American Security, United, UN, Syrian Democratic Forces, AP, House, Syrian Army, Hezbollah Locations: Syria, State, Damascus, Sunday, reconstituting, Israel, Latakia, AFP, New American, United Nations, Turkish, Kurdish, Ankara, Turkey, Russia, Iran, Ukraine

☆ How world leaders and countries are reacting to Assad being toppled in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-09 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Western leaders view Assad's fall as a hopeful opportunity, not an outright victory. AdvertisementAs Bashar Assad's regime collapsed over the weekend, world leaders and countries issued statements on Syria. Here's how the world's been reacting to Assad's fall. Russia: Foreign MinistryIn a statement on Sunday, Russia's foreign ministry said it was monitoring Syria "with extreme concern." There is no serious threat to their security at the moment," the foreign ministry said.

Persons: Bashar Assad's, Tahrir, Assad, Abu Mohammad al, Al, Joe Biden, Biden, Donald Trump Trump, Vladimir Putin, Trump, Ursula Von der, Von der Leyen, Keir Starmer Starmer, Starmer, Chancellor Olaf Scholz Scholz, Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Justin Trudeau Trudeau, Hakan Fidan Fidan, Fidan, it's Organizations: Syrian Democratic Forces, ISIS, EU, European, UN Security Council, Foreign Ministry, Islamic, Foreign, Russian Federation, Hmeimim Air Base, Tartus, Base Locations: Syria, Al Qaeda, Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Damascus, Germany, France, Canada, China, Iran, Foreign Ministry Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran, West Asia, Turkey, Ankara, Moscow, Africa

☆ What happened in Syria’s civil war, who took over and what’s next after decades of brutal rule?
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-09 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

They’re led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the head of militant group HTS, a former al Qaeda affiliate in Syria that used to go by the name Al-Nusra Front. The leader of Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group Abu Mohammed al-Jolani at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque on December 8, 2024. Assad is the second generation of an autocratic family dynasty that held power in Syria for more than five decades. Analysts told CNN the Syrian rebels used a vacuum left by the group to advance in Syria. Syrian rebel fighters and locals celebrate in the central city of Homs early on December 8, 2024, after entering Syria's third city overnight.

Persons: CNN — Long, Assad, Damacus “, Bashar al, ”, Louai Beshara, ” It’s, They’re, Abu Mohammad al, al, Jolani, ” Jolani, Tahrir, Abu Mohammed al, Aref Tammawi, Hafez al, Sam Hariri, what’s, Joe Biden, Abdulaziz Ketaz, Syria Hossein Akbari Organizations: CNN, ISIS, Getty, Operations Command, Nusra, Syrian National Army, Syrian Democratic Forces, United Nations, Baath Party, UN, Amnesty, Saydnaya, Syria's, Ministry, AFP, Rebels, Hezbollah, Analysts Locations: Syria, ”, Russia, Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs, Damascus, Moscow, AFP, Iran, Qaeda, al Qaeda, Turkey, Kurdish, United States, Umayyad, London, Ukraine, Israel, Assad Syria, Syrian, Syria's

Smoke rises as a member of the rebels, led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen in Aleppo, Syria, on November 29. Mahmoud Hasano/ReutersSyria’s rebel coalition consists of Islamist and moderate factions who, despite their differences, are united in fighting the Assad regime, ISIS and Iran-backed militias. The Syrian National Army (SNA): The “Syrian National Army” incorporates dozens of factions with various ideologies that receive funding and arms from Turkey. In Syria’s south, fighters from the country’s Druze religious minority have also joined the fight, a local activist group told CNN. Druze are fighting in the southern city of as-Suwayda, which neighbors the Daraa province, where opposition forces claim to have taken control of Daraa city.

Persons: Mahmoud Hasano, Assad, Al Sham, Abu Mohammad al, al, Sham, Tal Rifaat Organizations: Reuters, ISIS, Hayat, Organization for, Jolani, Syrian National Army, Liberation, Sharia, Free Syrian Army, Syrian Democratic Forces, Peoples ’, CNN Locations: Rashideen, Aleppo, Syria, Iran, al Qaeda, United States, Iraq, Syrian, Turkey, Kurdish, Tal, Daraa

Smoke rises as a member of the rebels, led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen in Aleppo, Syria, on November 29. Mahmoud Hasano/ReutersSyria’s rebel coalition consists of Islamist and moderate factions who, despite their differences, are united in fighting the Assad regime, ISIS and Iran-backed militias. He created Jabhat al-Nusra, al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, and operated the group until a public split with in 2016 over ideological differences and opposition to ISIS. The Syrian National Army (SNA): The “Syrian National Army” incorporates dozens of factions with various ideologies that receive funding and arms from Turkey. In Syria’s south, fighters from the country’s Druze religious minority have also joined the fight, a local activist group told CNN.

☆ Distant wars waged by Israel and Russia changed Syria’s fortune. What comes next is impossible to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-07 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But the war of attrition has left Russia “incapable” of assisting Assad, even President-elect Donald Trump noted on Saturday. But this is one seized by Turkey, a NATO member which has dealt with the most fallout from Syria’s turmoil. Adem Altan/AFP/Getty ImagesThe unknowable impact of vast, fast change left Syria mired in half-policies and US inaction before. This may prove the swift and severe change that Syria needed to stabilize – a shaking of the carpet that leaves society smoother. Syria’s past 13 years have been so brutal it deserves exactly that.

Persons: George W Bush, Obama, Donald Trump, Bashar al, Assad, Ghaith, Sergei Lavrov, ”, Hayat Tahrir, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Erdogan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Adem Altan, Barack Obama, Trump’s Organizations: CNN, US, NATO, Syrian Democratic Forces, ISIS, Getty Locations: Syria, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Hama, Homs, Damascus, Ghouta, Beirut, Donetsk, Syrian, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Ankara, Turkish, Ireland, Afghanistan, AFP

CNN —Biden administration officials, watching the remarkable speed of the Syrian rebel advance, increasingly see the possibility of the regime of Bashar al-Assad falling within days, five US officials told CNN. “Probably by next weekend the Assad regime will have lost any semblance of power,” one said. The Biden administration appeared caught off guard by the speed of the rebel advance launched last week. Regime troops have collapsed and melted away, leaving a fragile shell of an army to defend the president and Damascus. Leading the rebel advance in Syria is a group designated by the US as terrorist organization: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which was previously linked to al Qaeda.

Persons: CNN —, Bashar al, Assad, hasn’t, isn’t, Biden, Tahrir, Jake Sullivan, —, Turkey Organizations: CNN, CNN — Biden, US, Rebels, “, Pentagon, Syrian Democratic Forces, ISIS, SDF Locations: Syrian, Homs, Syria’s, Damascus, Afghanistan —, Ukraine, Russia, Syria, al Qaeda, Iran, Kurdish, Turkey, Moscow, Tehran, Latakia

☆ What’s happening in Syria? A simple guide
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-30 | by ( Lauren Kent | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The offensive is the first time opposition forces have seized territory in Aleppo since 2016, shattering the stalemate of a war that never formally ended. Extremist Islamists including al Qaeda took an interest in Syria, taking up a common cause with the moderate Syrian opposition who did not welcome jihadist involvement. Analysts told CNN that the Syrian rebels are using a vacuum left by the group to advance in Syria. The new grouping is made up of a broad spectrum of opposition forces, from Islamist factions to moderates. The backbone of the SDF are Kurdish fighters from a group known as the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), which has previously fought other Syrian opposition groups.

Persons: CNN —, Bashar al, Assad, Assad –, Syria’s, al Qaeda, al, CNN’s Eyad Kourdi, Ben Wedeman, Mostafa Salem, Christian Edwards Organizations: CNN, Saudi, United Arab, Guard, Syrian Air Force, Russian, ISIS, Syrian Democratic Forces, Operations Command, ”, Iranian, Analysts, Nusra, Peoples ’ Locations: Aleppo, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States, Iran, Russia, Kurdish, Idlib, Ukraine, Israel, Syria’s, Hayat Tahrir, Qaeda, al Qaeda

☆ America's allies in Syria hope they can sway Trump's decisions about US troops there
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-22 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementUS troops remain in Syria to counter ISIS and patrol oil fields in the region. For almost a decade, US troops have been on the ground in Syria to assist Kurdish-led forces in the defeat of the infamous Islamic State. AdvertisementDuring his first term, Trump ordered the withdrawal of US troops partnered with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after ISIS' territorial defeat. Trump then backtracked and kept 900 US troops in Syria. Advertisement"We may have felt frustrated during Trump's first term due to his decision to withdraw American forces from Syria in 2019," Mohamad said.

Persons: Trump, tamp, Donald Trump, specter, Sinam Mohamad, Trump's, Mohamad, Bashar al, Assad, Mohammed A, Salih, Delil SOULEIMAN, Paul Iddon Organizations: ISIS, Syrian Democratic Forces, Office, Syrian Democratic Council, Autonomous Administration, North, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, Trump, Foreign Policy Research Institute, SDF Locations: Syria, Turkey, Kurdish, State, Russia, United States, East Syria, Syrian, Kurdistan, Ankara, America, Jordan, Hol, Afghanistan, Iran, North

☆ Kurdish militants claim responsibility for deadly attack on Turkish defense firm
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ap-Live-Blog-Byline-Image.Png | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A banned Kurdish militant group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack on the headquarters of a key defense company in Ankara that killed at least five people. A man and a woman stormed TUSAS’ premises on the outskirts of Ankara, setting off explosives and opening fire. The assailants were also killed in a subsequent battle with security teams and more than 20 people were injured in the attack. Its defense systems have been credited as key to Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants. Meanwhile, police in Istanbul detained at least 35 people suspected of links to the PKK, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Persons: TUSAS, Turkey’s, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Abdullah Ocalan Organizations: Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, People’s Defense, Kurdish, Workers ’ Party, Syrian Democratic Forces, Turkish, Anadolu Agency Locations: Ankara, Turkish, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Istanbul, Kurdistan, Iraq’s Sinjar, Kurdish

CNN —Armed assailants launched a deadly “terror” attack on Turkey’s state-run aerospace company near the capital Ankara on Wednesday, government officials said. At least five people were killed and 22 injured in the “terrorist attack” on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) headquarters in the outskirts of Ankara, said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The attack occurred while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the Russian city of Kazan to attend the annual BRICS summit. Turkish Aerospace IndustriesTurkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “An attack on a major Turkish defense contractor, a public company, but also the crown jewel of Turkey’s defense industry, is going to be a huge trauma,” she said.

Persons: ”, Ali Yerlikaya, –, Cevdet Yılma, Yasar Guler, Guler, “, ” Yerlikaya, Mehmet Demiroglu, TUSAS, Ragip, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Erdogan, Mark Rutte, Mansur Yavas, Yilmaz Tunc, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, “ It’s, ” Aydıntaşbaş, Tal Rifa’at, Farhad Shami, Mazloum Abdî, Serdar Ozsoy, Kamiran Hassan, Asos, Ebubekir Şahin, Netblocks, Putin, ” Putin, Turkey “ Organizations: CNN, Turkish Aerospace Industries, Turkish, Turkish Defense, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, European Union, Social, Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party, Reuters, Anadolu, Turkey’s Ministry of Industry, Technology, TUSAS, Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, European Council, Foreign Relations, Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, ISIS –, of Communications Center, ” Broadcasters, Television Supreme, Facebook, YouTube, US State Department Locations: Ankara, Turkey, United States, Syria, Iraq, Ragip Soylu, Russian, Kazan, Turkish Aerospace Industries Turkey, Turkish, Kurdish, Kobani, Tal, Aleppo, Mawat, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq’s Kurdistan, Turkey’s

☆ 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

☆ Children of ISIS fighters coming of age in detention ask what they’re being punished for
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Brent Swails | Clarissa Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Northeastern Syria CNN —He had had visitors just once before, years ago when he first arrived in prison at 14. According to Amnesty, the estimated 30,000 children currently held in at least 27 detention facilities and two detention camps – Al-Hol and Al-Roj – in northeastern Syria represent the highest concentration of children arbitrarily detained and deprived of their freedom anywhere in the world. CNN was granted extremely rare access inside detention camps and facilities for suspected ISIS fighters and their family members, including Panorama prison. ‘A breeding ground for the next generation of ISIS’At Al-Hol, a sprawling detention camp of faded tents, rusted barbed wire and wind-swept earth, the scale of the problem reveals itself. Hoda Muthana holds hands with her 7-year-old son at the Al-Roj detention camp in northeastern Syria.

Persons: Northeastern Syria CNN —, Stefan Uterloo, Uterloo, ” Uterloo, It’s, We’ve, ”, Roj, Mazloum Abdi, ” Mazloum, Erik Kurilla, Mike Pratt, Hol, Ní, Ní Aoláin, “, you’ve, it’s, Shamil Chakar, doesn’t, ” Shamil, ‘, Brandy Salman, Hoda, She’s, Muthana, Trump, Hoda Muthana, Christina Jump, Scott McWhinnie, Oscar Featherstone, Augusta Anthony , Lou Robinson, Sarah Tilotta, Eliza Mackintosh, Laura Smith Organizations: Northeastern, Northeastern Syria CNN, American, CNN, ISIS, Syrian Democratic Forces, Panorama, Amnesty, United Nations, SDF, UN, US military’s, Command, US, Boys, Twitter, State Department Locations: Northeastern Syria, United States, Suriname, Dutch, South America, Syria, Kurdish, Iraq, Hol, Al, Panorama, Baghouz, Cologne, Germany, Minnesota, American, Alabama, US

☆ Close US partners in the Middle East demand air defenses after Iranian drone attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US Congress has already asked DoD to develop a plan to equip the Peshmerga with air defenses. Iraqi Kurdistan expects the US to appreciate such stances and provide air defenses, given the high stakes for the autonomous region. Ceng Sagnic, chief of analysis of the geopolitical consultancy firm TAM-C Solutions, said “several considerations” are involved in supplying the Peshmerga air defenses. Turkey may not object to an American air defense provision to Iraqi Kurdistan under certain conditions. Advertisement“Using recent clashes as a reason to request additional US air defenses is likely to be viewed negatively in Ankara,” Ali Bakir, a Turkey expert and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East program, told BI.

Persons: —, America’s, Masrour Barzani, ” Mohammed Salih, ” Salih, Ceng Sagnic, ” Sagnic, Mazlum Kobane, ” Ali Bakir Organizations: DoD, Service, Kurdistan’s, NBC News, Foreign Policy Research Institute, TAM, C, ISIS, ”, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Patriotic Union of, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, Reuters, US Locations: Kurdish, Syria, Turkey, Iraq’s Iran, United States, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan, Iran, Iraqi, Erbil, Jan, Washington, Iraq, American, Baghdad, Ankara, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Kurdistan

☆ U.S.-Led Coalition Blocks Attacks at Conoco Oil Field in Syria -Source
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Air defence systems operated by U.S.-led coalition troops based in eastern Syria halted six drone attacks targeting their base at the Conoco oil field on Saturday, a security source said. The source did not tell Reuters if there were casualties. Coalition troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who together fight remnants of the Islamic State group, have faced increased attacks by Iran-backed groups in Syria and Iraq since Hamas’s attack against Israel on Oct. 7. Another drone attack blamed on Iran-backed groups on a border outpost in Jordan killed three U.S. soldiers. Photos You Should See View All 21 Images(Reporting by Orhan Qereman; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

Persons: Mazloum Abdi, Orhan Qereman, Maya Gebeily, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: U.S, Reuters, Coalition, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic State Locations: BEIRUT, Syria, Kurdish, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Jordan

☆ Exclusive-US-Backed Force in Syria: More Air Defence Needed After Deadly Drone Attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Maya Gebeily(Reuters) - A force that has been the backbone of the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State said additional air defences should be deployed in northeast Syria after six of its fighters were killed in a drone attack it blamed on pro-Iran factions. Mazloum Abdi, commander of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, said his force considered it "a dangerous development when our camps are targeted in drone attacks by factions backed by Iran." On Feb. 4, the SDF said an explosive drone attack by Iran-backed armed groups in eastern Syria killed six of their fighters. Asked whether he had requested additional military backing to fend off such attacks, Abdi said his Kurdish-led force would "require technical capabilities and an increase in the aerial defensive systems" deployed in northeast Syria. It holds a quarter of Syria, including oil fields and areas where some 900 U.S. troops are deployed.

Persons: Maya Gebeily, Mazloum Abdi, Jan, Abdi, That's, Bashar al, Assad, Phil Stewart, William Maclean Organizations: Islamic State, Syrian Democratic Forces, U.S, Hamas, SDF, Reuters, Pentagon, State Department, White, Islamic Locations: U.S, Syria, Iran, State, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Jordan, Kurdish, Washington, Islamic State, Turkey

BEIRUT (AP) — A drone attack on a base housing U.S. troops in eastern Syria killed six allied Kurdish fighters late Sunday, in the first significant attack in Syria or Iraq since the U.S. launched retaliatory strikes over the weekend against Iran-backed militias that have been targeting its forces in the region. The U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Monday the attack hit a training ground at al-Omar base in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour and accused “Syrian regime-backed mercenaries” of carrying out the attack. In late January, a drone attack by the same group killed three U.S. troops and wounded dozens more at a desert base in Jordan. The U.S. military launched dozens of retaliatory strikes targeting Iran-backed militant groups in western Iraq and eastern Syria and also struck the Houthis in Yemen. The attack late Sunday came two days after the U.S. military carried out strikes against militant targets linked to Iran in Syria and Iraq.

Persons: Omar, “, Sunday’s, Samy Magdy Organizations: Syrian Democratic Forces, Human Rights, SDF, Sunday, U.S, U.S . Central Command, U.S . Navy, Britain, Associated Press Locations: BEIRUT, Syria, Kurdish, Iraq, U.S, Iran, The U.S, al, Deir el, Jordan, Yemen, Israel, Britain, Red, Cairo

☆ 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

☆ Iran-backed groups in the Middle East and major US military deployments
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | Abbas Allawati | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The US has attacked Iranian-backed groups in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, while Iran-linked groups have targeted American personnel in Iraq and Syria. The US, having been trying to pivot away from the Middle East for years, finds itself drawn back into the region. And in some places, including Iraq and Syria, the US military presence overlaps that of Iran and its allies. The US has around 13,500 US forces in Kuwait, the largest American military presence in the region. The US this month quietly reached an agreement that extends its military presence for another 10 years at the base.

Persons: Yemen’s, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Harakat, Sayyid, Al, Haq, Asad, Bashar al, Assad, Israel, Ali, Dalton Williams Organizations: UAE CNN, Hamas, Islamic, Navy, Marine Expeditionary Unit, Institute for National Security, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, National Intelligence, Badr Organization, Asad Air Base, Erbil AB, Al, Force, Fatemiyoun, ISIS, Syria Security, Syrian Democratic Forces, Syrian Free Army, CNN, Gaza, US Air Force, Battalion, 163rd Cavalry Regiment, Ali Al Salem Air Base, U.S . Air Force, Washington, United Arab, US, Udeid, Base, Forward Headquarters, Combined Air Operations Centre, Prince Sultan Air Base, UAE, Al Dhafra, Al Dhafra Air Base, Gulf Air Warfare Center, US Naval Forces Central Command Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, Israel, Iran, US, Iranian, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Tehran, Pakistan, Islamic Republic, Washington, Lebanon Lebanon, East, Lebanon, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Iraq Tehran, Baghdad, Al, Erbil, Syria Iran, Syrian, Pakistani, ”, Red, Saudi, Yemen’s, Kuwait, U.S, Palestinian, Arab, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Doha, Al Dhafra Air, Bahrain, Jordan, Incirlik

☆ American forces in the Middle East are constantly under attack, but they aren't really retaliating. Here's why the US holds its fire.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Iran-backed groups have launched dozens of attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17. Middle East security experts say there are a number of reasons why the US is holding its fire. Attacks on US forces by Iran-backed groups in the region are not a new phenomenon. The Pentagon has only publicly confirmed a single incident of retaliation against the Iran-backed militias. Right now, US officials stress that deterrence — signaled by the massive movement of American combat power into the region — is working, and the Iran-backed attacks on American forces have been unsuccessful.

Persons: there's, —, Jonathan Lord, Joe Biden's, Biden, Thaier, Sabrina Singh, What's, Lloyd Austin, Singh, it's, you've, we'd, Michael Knights, Baderkhan Ahmad, Weirdly, we're, Knights, doesn't, Washington isn't, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia, Al Sudani, Jonathan Ernst, Lord Organizations: Service, Pentagon, US Central Command, Hamas, Israel, US, Washington Institute for Near East, Institute for, REUTERS, Defense, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Militia, Washington Institute, Syrian Democratic Forces, AP, Knights, Middle East Security, Center, New, New American Security, Islamic, ISIS Locations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Washington, Gaza, Baghdad, East, Deir Ezzor, Yemen, Iranian, New American, Islamic State

☆ Fact Check: 2019 image shared as October attack on US military base in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A photo of explosions from shelling by U.S.-backed forces in Syria in 2019 has been miscaptioned online as showing an October 2023 attack on a U.S. military base in Syria. However, the circulating image does not show the reported October 2023 attacks on U.S. military bases. Posts on social media shared an image of a blast from a distance claiming to show attacks on U.S. military bases in northwestern Syria, described as a “massive explosion at the base located in the Al-Omar oilfield”. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attacked the Islamic State’s Baghouz enclave on March 10, 2019. The image of an explosion dates back to a U.S. attack against Islamic State in Syria in 2019, not an attack on a U.S. military base in October 2023.

Persons: Al, Omar, Zor, Delil Souleiman, Read Organizations: U.S, Hamas, Reuters, Getty, Islamic, Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, Thomson Locations: Syria, Iran, Iraq, Iranian, Israel, Palestinian, U.S, Deir, Zor, Lebanon, Al, Deir al, AFP, Islamic State, Syrian, Baghouz

☆ Turkey's drones are a big hit in Ukraine, but they're also showing how they can pose a threat to the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 drone has been praised for its performance against Russia in Ukraine. A Bayraktar TB2 drone, purchased in a crowdfunding campaign, displayed at a Lithuanian air base in July 2022. ReutersThe US no doubt supports Turkish drone sales to Ukraine and welcomes the TB2's success against Russian forces. In 2021, the US took issue with Turkey's sale of TB2 armed drones to Ethiopia during the Tigray War. The US government frequently touts its efforts to rally international support for Ukraine, and it undoubtedly welcomes the addition of Turkish TB2s Kyiv's arsenal.

Persons: Turkey's, —, Petras Malukas, TB2, Jodi Eastham, Pat Ryder, Ryder, Lloyd Austin, Austin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Joe Biden, GABRIEL BOUYS, Donald Trump, Biden, Paul Iddon Organizations: Russia, Service, Russian, Ukraine, Reuters, ISIS, Syrian Democratic Forces, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, US Army, Staff, Pentagon, Turkish Foreign Ministry, US, NATO, Getty, Turkish, Government, Islamic Locations: Ukraine, Turkey, Turkish, Kyiv, Ankara, Washington, Russia, Lithuanian, Syria, TB2s, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Ethiopia, Tigray, Kurdistan, Hasakah, United States, Madrid, AFP, Government of Turkey, Islamic State, Iraq, today's

☆ As Turkey intensifies war on Kurdish militants, Iraqi civilians suffer
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Lena Masri | Amina Ismail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

Seventeen-year-old Samir Saado was finishing his cleaning shift at the village medical centre when an airstrike hit the building. Four members of the PKK-allied Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), who were guards at the clinic, were killed, local officials said. All five said the medical centre was hit by at least three strikes about three minutes apart. Reuters showed Zwijnenburg the footage of the red crescent symbol on the wall of the medical centre. Across northern Iraq, local people say they are powerless to prevent armed groups setting up in their villages and districts.

Persons: Samir Saado, ” “, “, ACLED, Tayyip Erdogan, Iraq’s, Mustafa al, ”, Tatyana Eatwell, Jonathan Lord, ” Lord, Saeed Hasan, Isa Khoudeda, Turkey’s, wailed, Wim Zwijnenburg, Zwijnenburg, Saado, Yazidis, Saado’s, ” Saado, Schlier Namiq, Tuta Qal, Aram Kakakhan, Kakakhan, Ismail Ibrahim, Namiq, Saddam Hussein, Namiq’s, Ryam Ziad, Ziad Khedr, Hassan Kashmoula, Ryam, Mustafa Anwar, Khedr’s, ‘ neutralised, Nidal Mahmoud, Khedr's, ” Mahmoud Organizations: Turkish, Turkish Defence Ministry, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, European Union, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic, Turkey’s Defence Ministry, Reuters, Anadolu, Human Rights, Defence Ministry, Unit, Justice, United Nations Human, NATO, Pentagon, ISIS, ., Coalition, United Nations, Mission, Middle East Security, Center, New, New American Security, Military, Islamic State, Tuta, Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government, SDF, ” Reuters, International Crisis Group, Crisis, “ Locations: Iraq’s, Sinjar, Turkish, Saado, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Kurdistan, Ankara, Northern Iraq, United States, PKK, U.S, Islamic State, Skeiniya, Germany, Turkish Government, Washington, New American, ”, Iran, Istanbul, Gaziantep province, Sabah, Europe, Greece, Iraq’s Sulaimaniya, Kurdish, Tuta, Ibrahim, Chamchamal, Chicago, Mosul, Iranian, Khedr

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