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☆ 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

☆ What is the Syrian Kurdish YPG?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 5 (Reuters) - U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish forces said on Thursday that Turkish attacks had killed eight people in an escalation prompted by a bomb attack in Ankara claimed by Kurdish militants. A Turkish defence ministry official said a ground operation into Syria was one option for Turkey, which has previously mounted several incursions into northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. BORN IN SYRIAN WARThe YPG, or the People's Protection Units, emerged as a powerful armed group during the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. It is affiliated to the main Syrian Kurdish faction, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and has a female counterpart, the YPJ. YPG control was initially concentrated in three predominantly Kurdish regions of northern Syria - known in Kurdish as Rojava.

Persons: Khalil Ashawi, Bashar al, Assad, Abdullah Ocalan, Tom Perry, Jon Boyle Organizations: REUTERS, Kurdish, Syrian Kurdish, Islamic State, Kurdistan Workers Party, Democratic Union Party, U.S, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic, AS, European Union, NATO, DAMASCUS, Kurdish Regional Government, Thomson Locations: Tal Abyad, Syria, Syrian Kurdish, Ankara, Turkey, Syrian, United States, France, Kurdish, U.S, TURKEY, Damascus, Qamishli, Iraq

☆ U.S.-led forces reportedly down drone in Syria as Turkey strikes area
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Turkish defence ministry official said the drone shot down by the coalition did not belong to the Turkish armed forces, without saying whose property it was. A Turkish defence ministry official said on Thursday a ground operation into Syria was one option Turkey could consider. Turkey has mounted several previous incursions into northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG group. In a statement, the security forces said Turkish attacks killed six members of the internal security forces in northeastern Syria, and two civilians in two separate strikes. Turkey has warned forces of third countries to stay away from facilities controlled by the PKK and YPG.

Persons: Huseyin Hayatsever, Tom Perry, Jonathan Spicer, Alex Richardson, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Kurdish, Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, NATO, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, Syrian Democratic Forces, Security, Islamic State, Thomson Locations: ANKARA, Syria, Syrian Kurdish, Ankara, U.S, Turkish, Turkey, Kurdistan, Kurdish, United States, Iraq, France

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Monday it had captured an operator for the Islamic State extremist group during a helicopter raid in northern Syria. The operator, Abu Halil al-Fad’ani, “was assessed to have relationships throughout the ISIS network in the region,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The U.S. has approximately 900 troops in Syria focused on countering the remnants of the Islamic State group, which had held a wide swath of Syria until 2019. News of the capture came as U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces imposed a curfew after continued skirmishes with rival Arab militiamen. Political Cartoons View All 1179 ImagesSyria remains in a bloody 12-year civil war that has killed a half-million people.

Persons: Abu Halil al, “, Troy Garlock, Bashar Assad Organizations: WASHINGTON, State, ISIS, U.S . Central Command, Islamic State, Syrian Democratic Forces Locations: Syria, U.S, Col, Kurdish, Deir el, Zour, Ziban, Damascus, United States

☆ U.S. officials visit Syria's Deir al Zor in bid to defuse Arab tribal unrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

An American soldier sits on a military vehicle, at al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria March 23, 2019. An Arab tribal backlash against the rule of the Kurdish YPG militia has led to clashes, with over 150 killed and dozens injured. Arab tribal fighters initially drove out the Kurdish-led forces from several large towns but the SDF has begun to regain the upper hand. Arab tribal leaders say they have been deprived of their oil wealth after the Kurdish-led forces laid their hands on Syria's biggest oil wells after the departure of Islamic State. Washington has pushed for a bigger say for Arab inhabitants in running their affairs in SDF areas, Western diplomats say.

Persons: Omar, Aboud, Syria Ethan Goldrich, Joel B Vowell, Deir al Zor, Sheikh Mahmoud al Jarallah, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, SDF, Senior U.S, Kurdish YPG, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic, U.S, State Department, Thomson Locations: American, al, Deir Al Zor, Syria, Iran, AMMAN, Zor, U.S, Islamic State, Arab, Busayrah, Shuhail, Kurdish, Russia, Damascus, Deir al, Washington

☆ America's foes are teaming up to push the US military out of the Middle East, and it's messing up plans to fight terror
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Russia and Iran are working together with Syria to ultimately push US forces out of the country. US officials and war experts say these efforts are hurting the international fight against ISIS. AP Photo/Baderkhan AhmadBoth Russia and Iran are allied with the brutal Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad. What are Russia, Iran, and Syria doing? In early July, a Russian fighter jet flew 18 close passes near American MQ-9 Reaper drones during a two-hour-long encounter.

Persons: Baderkhan Ahmad, Bashar al, Assad, Qassem Soleimani, Sabrina Singh, Singh Organizations: ISIS, Service, Islamic, Institute for, American Enterprise Institute, Syrian Democratic Forces, AP, Washington, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Force, Ukraine, American, Pentagon Locations: Russia, Iran, Syria, Wall, Silicon, Washington, Deir Ezzor, Moscow, Tehran, Iraq, Russian, Palmyra, Hasakah

☆ Islamic State confirms death of its leader, names replacement
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Islamic State on Thursday confirmed the death of its leader Abu Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi and named Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quraishi as his replacement, the group's spokesperson said in an undated recording published on its Telegram channel. Islamic State, a shadow of the organisation that once ruled a third of Iraq and Syria, gave no details about the new leader. Abu Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi took over in November 2022 after his predecessor was killed, also in Syria. Islamic State militants continue to wage insurgent attacks in both Syria and Iraq. The U.S.-led coalition alongside a Kurdish-led alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is still carrying out raids against Islamic State in Syria.

Persons: Abu Hussein al, Husseini, Abu Hafs, group's, Tayyip Erdogan, Abu Bakr al, Baghdadi, Quraishi, Jana Choukeir, Nayera Abdallah, Nadine Awadalla, Enas Alashray, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Islamic, Syrian Democratic Forces, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Islamic State, Turkish, Syria, Iraq, U.S, Kurdish

☆ Two local officials in northeast Syria killed by Turkish drone, Kurdish authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QAMISHLI, Syria, June 20 (Reuters) - Two local civilian officials and their driver were killed in Syria's Kurdish-run northeast on Tuesday when their car was targeted by a Turkish drone strike, regional Kurdish authorities said. Kurdish medical sources and a security source said a Turkish drone had targeted their car in the village of Tal Shaeer in northeast Syria. It named the figure as Ridvan Ulugana and said he had been active in operations targeting the Turkish military. It did not say that any civilians were killed, or mention Tal Shaeer. (This story has been corrected to fix Chamoun's first name and job title in paragraph 2)Reporting by Orhan Qereman in Qamishli, Syria; Daren Butler and Huseyin Hayatsever in Turkey; writing by Maya Gebeily; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yusra Darwish, Liman Shawish, Gabriel Chamoun, Tal Rifaat, Tal Shaeer, Ulugana, Orhan Qereman, Daren Butler, Huseyin Hayatsever, Maya Gebeily, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: MIT, Turkish, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, European Union, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic, Thomson Locations: QAMISHLI, Syria, Turkish, Kurdish, Qamishli, Tal Shaeer, Tal, Turkey, Syria's, Ankara, United States, Islamic State

☆ 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

☆ Islamic State leader killed in Syria by Turkish intelligence services, Erdogan says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL, April 30 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkish intelligence forces killed Islamic State leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi in Syria. "This individual was neutralized as part of an operation by the Turkish national intelligence organization in Syria yesterday," Erdogan said in an interview with TRT Turk broadcaster. The area was later encircled by security forces to prevent anyone from approaching the area. IS selected al-Qurashi as its leader in November 2022 after the previous IS leader was killed in an operation in southern Syria. But IS lost its grip on the territory after campaigns by U.S.-backed forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as Syrian forces backed by Iran, Russia and various paramilitaries.

CNN —Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei decried the presence of the US military in Iraq during a meeting with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid in Tehran on Saturday. “The presence of even one American in Iraq is too much,” Khamenei said, Iranian state media outlet IRNA reported. “The United States will continue to strengthen and broaden our partnerships in support of Iraqi security, stability and sovereignty,” Austin said during his Baghdad visit. Growing tensionsIraq plays a crucial role for the United States in containing Iran’s influence in the region. Tensions between the United States and Iran are also growing over Tehran’s actions in Syria.

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