Author: M Barbu

Syrian government retaliates for killing of soldiers by Islamic State

The Syrian government and Russia accused the Islamic State of blowing up a troop bus of the Syrian army’s Fourth Division in its main headquarters near Damascus.

At least 18 Syrian soldiers were killed in an IED explosion targeting a military bus in the suburb of al-Saboura in the countryside of the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Oct. 13. The state-run Syrian news agency, SANA, quoted an unnamed military source as saying that a bus carrying military troops was hit on the morning of Oct. 13 in a “terrorist attack” that left 18 soldiers dead and 27 others wounded.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Alludes To Drone Supply To Russia: These Drones Are The Pride Of Our Country; Had We Not Launched Our Nuclear Project Years Ago, We Would Have To Launch One Now

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in an October 19, 2022 address that was aired on Channel 1 (Iran) that in the past, the West had dismissed Iran’s missile and drone technologies, but that today admits that they are very dangerous and complains about Iran supplying them to “so-and-so.” It should be noted that Khamenei’s statement may be a reference to recent reports that Russia has been using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine. Khamenei also said that the drones are the pride of Iran. Later in the address, he said that industrial use of nuclear energy has increased throughout the world, and that if Iran had not begun developing its nuclear project many years ago, it would have had to do so now and suffer the consequences of being so far behind the rest of the world.

Threat Of Radicalization In Syria’s ISIS Prisons – Analysis

Tens of thousands of ISIS detainees are housed in temporary prison camps and detention centers in Syria and Iraq by US-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).1 Charles Lister, the Director of Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism Programs at the Middle East Institute, warned that the international community is ‘doing nothing to prevent the current generation of detainees from wanting to continue to fight if they get out, and creating a melting pot for the next generation.’2

Russian role in Burkina Faso crisis comes under scrutiny

Within hours of Burkina Faso’s second coup this year, the head of Russia’s shadowy mercenary outfit Wagner Group was among the first to congratulate the new junta leader in West Africa.

In a message posted on Telegram, Yevgeny Prigozhin praised the mutinous soldiers for doing what “was necessary.”

Sahel : pourquoi l’idéologie compte dans la lutte contre le terrorisme

En répétant comme un mantra le fameux triptyque « sécurité-gouvernance-développement », les autorités des pays confrontés au terrorisme occultent à tort les motivations religieuses du jihad.

Prétendre que les motivations du jihad en Afrique de l’Ouest ne sont pas religieuses revient à se voiler la face. Le Sahel occupe en fait une place de choix dans le projet de réislamisation financé par les oligarchies pieuses du Golfe. Les acteurs de la « radicalisation » se sont certes épanouis grâce aux défaillances locales – qui font rimer démocratie avec corruption et inégalités –, mais aussi à la faveur de quarante années de financements extérieurs destinés à construire des mosquées, financer des centres d’éducation et des bourses d’études.

Threat Of Radicalization In Syria’s ISIS Prisons – Analysis

Tens of thousands of ISIS detainees are housed in temporary prison camps and detention centers in Syria and Iraq by US-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).1 Charles Lister, the Director of Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism Programs at the Middle East Institute, warned that the international community is ‘doing nothing to prevent the current generation of detainees from wanting to continue to fight if they get out, and creating a melting pot for the next generation.’2

Iran Providing Drones and Missiles, Technical Assistance to Russia

Iran has agreed to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles, and will provide more drones for use against Ukraine, Reuters reported citing two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats. In addition, other news outlets reported on Tuesday that Iran has sent members of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to a military base in Crimea, where many of the Iranian military drones were sent to Russia, to help train Russian troops in how to operate the unmanned aerial vehicles. Hundreds of Iran’s Shahed-136 drones have been sent to Russia, according to reports.

The PKK-PMF Nexus in Iraq

Iran-backed Iraqi militia leaders are becoming increasing vocal in their hostility towards Turkey as Turkish forces continue their counterterrorism operations against the PKK in Iraq. The latest tensions appear to be linked to the security situation in the Iraqi district of Sinjar, which is near the Syrian border and holds strategic importance regionally. This policy outlook seeks to examine relations between the Iran backed Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and the terror organisation known as the PKK and aims to understand the possible reasons behind the latest tensions in northern Iraq. It also seeks to analyse the possible Iranian role in fostering the apparent PMF-PKK alliance against Turkey.

The Global Imam

What does the leader of the world’s most influential Islamic movement really want?

The leader of what is arguably the world’s most successful Islamic movement lives in a tiny Pennsylvania town called Saylorsburg, at the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center, otherwise known as “the Camp.” The Camp consists of a series of houses, a community center, a pond, and some tranquil, woodsy space for strolling. From this Poconos enclave—which resembles a resort more than the headquarters of a worldwide religious, social, and political movement—Fethullah Gülen, a 69-year-old Turkish bachelor with a white moustache, wide nose, and gentle, sad expression, leads perhaps five million followers who, in his spirit if not his name, operate schools, universities, corporations, nonprofits, and media organs around the globe.