Author: M Barbu

Somalia: At Least 9 Killed in Mogadishu Suicide Car Bombing

At least nine people were killed and nine wounded Saturday in a suicide car bombing targeting a government convoy near two major hospitals in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

“A deafening, huge blast sent plumes of smoke into the sky and destroyed business buildings including restaurants, and I could see the dead bodies of at least eight people,” eyewitness Hussein Jim’ale, driver of a three-wheeled motorized taxi, told reporters at the scene.

Jordanian Salafi-Jihadi Ideologue Al-Maqdisi Denounces Syria-Based Saudi Cleric Al-Muhaysini’s Call For Bolstering ‘Brotherhood’ Between Turkey, Taliban

On June 27, 2021, Syria-based Saudi jihadi cleric Abdallah Al-Muhaysini tweeted [1] a call to bolster ties between Turkey and Afghanistan’s Taliban. Commenting briefly on a potentially closer relationship, Al-Muhaysini wrote: “It is proper for Muslim Turkey, which supported people and provided refuge to the oppressed, to be supportive of the Taliban. Likewise, it is proper for the Taliban to take their Turkish brothers as loyal allies. It is vital to build bridges of trust and strengthen the relationship, for that is in the interest of Muslims in general.”

Chinese Media Outlet Duowei: Beijing Appears To Be Considering Abandoning Its ‘Wolf Warrior’ Foreign Policy

On June 6, 2021, a bipartisan team of U.S. senators visited Taiwan, arriving aboard a C-17 U.S. military transport plane. Netizens from Mainland China were surprised that Beijing did not react strongly to the presence of a U.S. military airplane in Taiwan, since in the past Chinese diplomats and media persons had repeatedly stated that “the day U.S. troops appear in Taiwan will be the day we reunify Taiwan by force.”

As Ethiopian Troops Exit Tigray, Time to Focus on Relief

Ethiopia’s military withdrew from Tigray’s capital on 28 June, having suffered a string of battlefield reversals. Addis Ababa and Tigrayan leaders should now work on extending immediate aid to a population at risk of famine. They should also pursue political reconciliation in due time.

Attack Targets U.S. Occupation Base in Deir-ez-Zor Countryside

Missiles were fired at a U.S. military base in the province of Deir-ez-Zor, but potential casualties were not revealed, SANA reports.

The U.S. occupation military base at the al-Omar oil field in Deir-ez-Zor’s eastern countryside was targeted on Sunday evening with a missile attack for the second time in less than a week, local sources told SANA.

From War, to Turkey, to Top Scores: The Story of a Young Syrian Refugee

After fleeing war and taking shelter in Siirt, in 2015, Dlyar Safo got a full score on the LGS, thanks to the support he got from his teachers and family, according to Anadolu Agency.

After fleeing the horrors of war in Syria, a young refugee taking shelter in neighboring Turkey has achieved remarkable successes and now has distinguished himself as one of the few students to get a perfect score on his high school entrance exam.

Defections Threaten Ahrar al-Sham Jihadist Movement

Defections due to financial problems and leadership feuds are threatening to dissolve the Ahrar al-Sham, according to Al-Monitor.

The owner of the well-known @MzmjerSh Twitter account revealed in a thread on June 22nd that Ahrar al-Sham is experiencing major defections within its ranks.