When the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) recovered the last pocket of territory from under the control of the Islamic State in March 2019, the problem of how to deal with the foreign fighters who had joined IS but were now seeking to return to their countries of origin (or might do so the near future) became increasingly pressing.
Iranian security forces have arrested at least 14 foreigners during anti-government protests sparked by the death of a Kurdish-Iranian woman while in custody of the morality police for wearing her hijab improperly.
The Islamic Republic has been lashing out at London-based Iranian news outlets for their coverage of the anti-government protests in Iran.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced sanctions yesterday against Persian-language media outlets in the United Kingdom.
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 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.
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
Kurdish security source says 634 Iraqis crossed border en route to Al-Hol, which houses thousands of relatives of suspected IS fighters
Syria’s autonomous Kurdish region has transferred more than 600 relatives of suspected jihadists detained at the notorious Al-Hol camp to Iraq, a war monitor and a Kurdish security source said Tuesday.
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 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.
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.