Orientul Mijlociu

Besides Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama, few religious leaders today command as much respect among Muslims and non-Muslims alike as Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the 91-year-old “supreme marja” of the world’s Shiite Muslims.

Al-Sistani was a disciple of Ayatollah Abu Al-Qasim Al-Khoei, who was for decades the most renowned religious teacher in Iraq’s shrine city of Najaf, where he was known as the “professor of jurisprudence.”

Pro-government Turkish media outlets last week reported that preparations are underway for a new set of military operations in Syria. A parliamentary motion to authorize the government to continue sending troops abroad was tabled last month and easily approved.

Previous motions approved a one-year mandate for such operations, but this time it was done for a period of two years. This may be because the government is forecasting harder times ahead, when the mandate may not be renewed as a result of declining public support for the ruling party.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt by three armed drones in Baghdad on Sunday, officials said. The assassination attempt came weeks after a general election was disputed by Iran-backed militia groups.

The attempt dramatically raises tension in the country that has already seen threats of violence.

Al-Kadhimi took to social media moments after the attack and called for “calm and restraint from everyone.”

SOHR sources have reported that Turkish-backed factions arrested a cell working for regime forces, as the cell’s agents worked on providing the Syrian regime with coordinates and positions on the factions of the “National Army”.

It is worth noting that regime and ISIS cells are prevalent in areas under the control of Turkish forces and their proxy factions, while these areas have experienced explosions in residential areas and attacks which have left casualties.

The failed assassination attempt against Iraq’s prime minister at his residence on Sunday has ratcheted up tensions following last month’s parliamentary elections, in which the Iran-backed militias were the biggest losers.

Helicopters circled in the Baghdad skies throughout the day, while troops and patrols deployed around Baghdad and near the capital’s fortified Green Zone, where the overnight attack occurred.

Supporters of the Iran-backed militias held their ground in a protest camp outside the Green Zone to demand a vote recount. Leaders of the Iran-backed factions converged for the second day on a funeral tent to mourn a protester killed Friday in clashes with security. Many of the faction leaders blame the prime minister for the violence.

As a Turkish operation in Northern Syria against the SDF looms, the Syrian Army is getting closer to the Kurdish-led group, according to al-Watan.

Informed sources within the city of Ayn Issa revealed to al-Watan that the Syrian army has strengthened its presence near Ayn Issa and the outskirts of the city of Tell Abyad, in the northern countryside of the Raqqa governorate. The sources revealed that meetings had been held between representatives of the Syrian Arab Army and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leaders, which have not yet yielded any significant results.

ISIS is slowly regrouping in both Iraq and Syria, forming sleeper cells to launch attacks, while maintaining an effective command-and-control to wage a low-level guerrilla insurgency and mobilize new support.

The Islamic State is able to conduct asymmetric attacks on civilians and security forces, but can also marshal the resources to launch spectacular attacks intended to destabilize the Iraqi government.