Despite the much-touted “cessation of hostilities” agreement in Syria, which was supposed to halt attacks from all parties except ISIS and al-Qaeda, furious battles between rebels and Syrian government forces continue to inflict heavy casualties in the strategically vital city of Aleppo.
Here’s a disturbing report, made all the more disturbing because of the grisly familiarity of the topic: ISIS has executed 175 of the 300 Syrian cement workers it kidnapped on April 7.
At least 50 members of the resurgent al-Qaeda branch in Yemen were killed in a U.S. airstrike in the mountains of southern Yemen, Reuters reports, citing medics and a local official.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that his government will withdraw some its military from Syria six months after the Kremlin began airstrikes in the region.
Despite complaints of violations from all sides, and some ominous comments from faction leaders, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon insisted on Monday that the Syrian cease-fire is holding “by and large.”
Facing accusations that their own brutal air campaign has inflicted heavy civilian casualties around the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo, creating a new stream of refugees en route to Turkey and Europe, the Russians blamed American warplanes for bombing civilian areas in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan unleashed a furious rant against the United States on Wednesday, holding America responsible for the “sea of blood” spilled in Syria, and supporting other terrorist organizations while it focused too intently on defeating the Islamic State.
Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is willing to deploy ground troops to Syria to combat the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), as part of the U.S.-led coalition.
The city of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, scene of a recent mass abduction by the Islamic State, looks to be a decisive battle between ISIS and the Syrian army in the eastern region of the country—and there are indications ISIS is winning.
A U.S. non-governmental organization called the Syrian Emergency Task Force told Foreign Policy their field office in the Idlib province was hit by a Russian airstrike on Saturday. Other civilian damage in the area has been reported, and the strike is being cited as evidence Russia is not focusing its attention on Islamic State targets, as it frequently claims.
Russian President Vladimir Putin defended Russia’s annexation of Crimea but also pushed for more cooperation against terrorism in an interview with German publication Bild.
A witness of the Iraqi army’s efforts to seize back Ramadi described a macabre scene, telling CNN dogs were eating the heads of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) jihadists killed in the fight, while those who survived are trying to use civilians, including kids, as “human shields.”
While the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group has developed a reputation for successfully recruiting using social media, this week, a call from “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—demanding more Muslims join the jihadist group—was met with a chorus of mockery and jeers.
Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki failed to acknowledge the U.S.-led coalition air support in a statement about the liberation of Ramadi, although it was an integral part of the offensive to wrest control of the Iraqi city from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
Amnesty International has released a new report detailing how Russia is killing hundreds of innocents in its bombings of heavily-populated areas in Syria.
Back in 2002, in the dark ages before Breitbart News Network, the great conservative commentator Ben Shapiro warned that the United States must “Keep an eye on Russia,” because “Russia is renewing her relations with America’s enemies.” Shapiro reiterated his message in 2007, warning America that “Russia isn’t to be trusted.”
Army Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition that has been bombing the Islamic State, claimed on Monday that the terror state’s lucrative oil export business has been largely shut down by airstrikes.
There are rumors the spiritual and political leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the so-called “caliph,” was seriously injured in an October airstrike conducted by Iraqi forces.
Syria blamed the U.S.-led coalition for the deaths of three soldiers on Sunday night after warplanes attacked their camp. The Pentagon insists Russian forces, however, not Americans, conducted the airstrike. Russia is a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
A Russian soldier crossed Istanbul’s Bosporus aboard a warship, waving around a surface-to-air missile launcher, an action the Turkish government condemned and has branded “provocative.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States is expected to deploy up to 200 special operation forces to combat the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, including some who will participate in ground combat operations, U.S. defense officials have said.
Environmental concerns, along with worry about the fortunes of Syrian civilians after ISIS is gone, kept the Obama administration from striking Islamic State oil targets, claims former CIA director Michael Morell.
The use of chemical weapons in Syria, namely chlorine and mustard gas, is becoming routine, lamented the U.S. representative of a United Nations-backed chemical weapons watchdog.
Iranian media are denying a report circulating in various Arab media sources, which has reached the White House, claiming that General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s notorious special Quds Forces, was injured in Syria by rebel fire while fighting on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad.
Business Insider writes that Britain’s government is preparing to launch attacks against Islamic State in Syria: Britain is gearing up for war against Isis. The UK could join airstrikes targeting Isis bases in Syria before the end of the year.
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is going on the offensive in a bid to secure cross-party support for airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria. He will meet with the French President to discuss military tactics, before laying out a
The weakness of President Barack Obama’s tentative air-offensive against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in northern Syria was exposed November 18 by Russian video that showed hundreds of intact ISIS-run oil tankers parked nose-to-tail near a lightly damaged oil refinery.
In retaliation for the Friday night bloodbath in Paris, France launched what one spokesman described as a “massive” series of retaliatory airstrikes against the Islamic State’s (ISIS/ISIL) capital of Raqqa in Syria. The bombing began on Sunday and continued Monday morning.
Syrian state media are reporting that Israeli warplanes struck targets near the Damascus airport at around 6:00 PM Wednesday evening, in an operation similar to a purported attack against a weapons convoy in Syria two weeks ago.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Turkey would consider sending ground forces into Syria to fight the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS), but not unilaterally.
While the Obama administration deals with the fallout from bombing a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan, the Saudis have a similar situation on their hands in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi insurgents.
The Free Syrian Army has been backed by Western powers until now and has been actively targeted by Russian airstrikes, but it has reportedly made overtures to Moscow to discuss military cooperation, or at least an end to Russian bombing of their positions.
Syrian rebels supporter Qatar said it is considering a direct military intervention in Syria following Russia’s airstrikes in support of dictator Bashar al-Assad but added that it still prefers a political solution to the civil war.
Taliban terrorists committed “widespread and grave” human rights violations while they fought Afghan government forces for control of the key northern city of Kunduz at the beginning of this month, reveals Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).
Iranian troops, allied Hezbollah fighters, and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s army have reportedly joined forces to launch a ground offensive, backed by Russian airstrikes, to seize key areas from rebels in Syria.
Rockets flying out of an Islamist neighborhood hit Russia’s embassy in Damascus, the capital of Syria. Russia has declared the attack “obvious terrorism.”
During his 60 Minutes interview on Sunday night, President Obama said Russia’s airstrikes in Syria came as no surprise. He was vague on exactly what American intelligence knew.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that the Russian government used advanced cluster munition in an airstrike near Aleppo, Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman have agreed to military cooperation in Syria.
With astonishing speed, American influence—withered by years of Barack Obama’s indecisiveness—is fading, as Iraq realigns around Russia and Iran. Take it from the Iraqis, who are celebrating the arrival of “Putin the Shiite” in Syria, hoping he’ll swing into Iraq to pick up the fight against ISIS.
