Contents tagged with Syrian Conflict

  • US special forces capture prominent ISIS leader

    In the Iraqi province of Kirkuk, US Special Forces captured one of the leaders of the so-called Islamic State, Abu Omar Ash-Shishani. American commandos caught Ash-Shishani and two field commanders and killed 7 militants during a special operation in the Riyadh region of the Kirkuk province. The three terrorists were reportedly brought to the city of Sulaymaniyah in Northeastern Iraq.

    International Coalition Forces have waged a continuous campaign against the so-called Islamic State with …

  • Turkish Foreign Ministry Accuses Russia of Killing 600 Civilians in Syria

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, stated that on December 20th 200 civilians were killed during Russian airstrikes in the Syrian province of Idlib.  The Ministry has accused the Russian Federation of the murder of more than 600 Syrian citizens as a result of these air strikes, as reported by the Turkish Press Agency Anadolu. Cavusoglu also noted that 90% of the areas bombed by Russian aircraft are held by the Syrian opposition and include residential neighborhoods. …

  • Herbst: War in Ukraine is more important than Russian invasion of Syria

     

    The former U.S Ambassador to Ukraine, John Herbst, in his interview with the Voice of America, stated that U.S Secretary of State, John Kerry, is not the best candidate for negotiations with Russia regarding the cessation of the war in Ukraine. According to him, his soft diplomacy will not convince the Kremlin that it’s time to pull back.

    “The point is that during negotiations with the Kremlin, U.S Secretary John Kerry doesn't speak harshly in regards to Russian crimes, such as the Crimean …

  • US withdraw 12 fighter jets from Turkey

    The U.S. deployed numerous military aircraft to Turkey a month ago.  The Pentagon said that the recall of 12 of these units does not indicate a change in the American commitment to Turkey or in the fight against ISIL.

    Washington announced the withdrawal of a dozen military aircraft from Turkey, in particular six F-15 Eagle Fighters and six F-15 Strike Eagle bombers.  The decision to recall these units was made public less than a month after they were deployed from a base in the UK to support …

  • Free Syrian Army Denies Military Cooperation with Russia

    Representatives of the "Free Syrian Army" (FSA) told Reuters that Russian aviation not only supports them, but also regularly bombs rebel forces.

    Groups identifying themselves as FSA, together with Kurdish police, formed a new coalition called the "Democratic Forces of Syria" (DFS), which has received U.S. support for fighting ISIL.

    The Alliance has acknowledged that Russian air strikes indirectly helped them during the recent battles with the enemies of "al-Nusra", a member of terrorist …

  • Turkish captain didn't hear shots from the Russian ship

    Turkish captain didn't hear shots from Smetlivy

    Turkish sailors denied information about the shelling. 

    The captain of the fishing vessel claims that his vessel was sailing within one mile from an anchored Russian patrol ship. 

    The Turkish ship captain gave his version of the incident, which occurred on Sun. Dec. 13 in the Aegean Sea. In an interview to the Dogan news agency, he denied reports that his ship was shelled. "That's a lie," he said. According to the captain, his fishing vessel …

  • U.S. Treasury: ISIS Sells Most of Its Oil to the Assad Regime

    The "Islamic State" organization has received approximately half a billion dollars from the oil trade.  Most of this amount is directed to the Syrian authorities and some part goes to Kurdish areas and Turkey.

    According to the Treasury of the United States, about one third of the capital of the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) comes from trading black market oil.  The IS’s holdings are estimated at about $1.5 billion, said a senior official of the U.S. Treasurer on Thursday, …

  • Polish apples and Turkish oranges: the Kremlin's response to Ankara

     

    The Kremlin has not yet decided what measures will be taken to punish Turkey for the downed Su-24.  For now, the Russian government had decided to strike Turkey financially.  Turkish imports were banned and a one-sided visa regime for Turkish citizens entering Russia was introduced.  In Turkey, the visa-free regime for Russian citizens was never cancelled.Putin, and more precisely the Russian government, is trying to kill two birds with one stone. In situations in which the Russian budget …

  • Russia looking to use Cyprus airfields for emergency landings

    Moscow seeks to obtain permission from Cyprus to utilize their airfields. Both Germany and France have been granted the use of Cyprus’ airfields for emergency landings. The Cyprus Mail reported on December 7th that Russia has also requested use of these airfields for Russian aircraft engaged in the fight against terrorism in Syria.

    The Russian Ambassador in Cyprus, Stanislav Osadchiy, stated that Moscow is discussing this topic with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cyprus. “I think we will …

  • The Guardian: Five-year-old visiting relatives in Syria killed by a Russian bomb

    Five-year-old Raghat loved singing, nail polish, teasing her toddler sister, the alphabet she was starting to learn at nursery, and goofing for the camera. In the last photos of her, taken barely 10 minutes before the Russian bombs landed, she shows off a new bracelet and freshly painted nails with glee, then squeezes a kiss from her squirming baby sister.

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