Orientul Mijlociu

Russian Middle East Specialist Magid: Powerful Bloc Comprising Turkey, Pakistan And Azerbaijan Set To Target Iran, India And Russia

According to Russian Middle East Expert Mikhail Magid, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan and Azerbaijan hope to fill the political vacuum in the Middle East and Central Asia created by American retrenchment. Iran, India and Russia have reasons for concern about this bloc’s formation. The Three Brothers– 2021 military exercise involving special forces from Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan, was launched on September 12, 2021, and lasted 8 days.[1] illustrated the close relations between the participants, and it followed the acceptance of the Baku Declaration in July 2021, by the speakers of the three countries’ parliaments. The joint declaration urges increased cooperation between the three countries, based on cultural and historical ties, mutual respect and confidence. The declaration also emphasizes Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan’s roles in building peace, stability and development in their regions.[2]

Ilham Ahmed: PKK Fought Terrorism, No Enmity Towards Turkey

In a press conference, Ilham Ahmed claimed that the PKK fought extremism, and expressed the SDC’s willingness to dialogue with the Assad regime and Turkey, according to Syria TV.

“The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has fought terrorism and extremism in several areas where the Kurds are present. They have given everything, their most precious offerings, including the lives of their members,” said Ilham Ahmed, joint president of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC). She noted that this “puts a moral obligation on the SDC towards the party.”

US-Led Coalition Conducts Numerous Raids in Syria Killing ISIS Members

Despite President Biden’s remarks last week to the UN that the United States is at peace for the first time in 20 years, fighting continues against terrorism in the Middle East.

The US-led coalition conducted several operations against Islamic State fighters and support cells recently, even as the administration is trying to move the American troops from a combat role to an advisory one in neighboring Iraq.

Russia bombs Turkey’s allies in Syria ahead of Putin-Erdogan summit

Russian jets shelled a camp for the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army in Afrin, north of Aleppo, and intensified its airstrikes against the areas controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib ahead of the meeting between the Turkish and Russian presidents on Sept. 29.

Sources affiliated with the Syrian opposition’s so-called National Army, formerly known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), told Al-Monitor that Russian jets launched several air raids on Sept. 26. The raids hit a military base of Al-Hamza Division, a group affiliated with the National Army, in the village of Barad in Afrin in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Syrian jihadist group won’t reconcile with al-Qaeda affiliate in Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, is refusing to sit down with al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din leaders to resolve pending disputes.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, is refusing calls from al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din (Guardians of Religion Organization) to resolve their differences through Sharia arbitration.

Iraq’s Sunni parties compete for votes in crucial election

Iraqi Sunnis are weighing whether to vote for candidates on a tribal or party-linked basis, try for independents or maybe not even vote at all.

Baghdad streets were teeming by early September with billboards and posters bearing candidates’ faces and the numbers they will be associated with on ballots to be cast in Iraq’s Oct. 10 early elections.

Top generals step down in ominous sign for Turkish military in Syria

Top generals in charge of Turkey’s military operations in Syria have sought retirement amid escalating tensions in Idlib, fueling questions over Ankara’s Syria policies.

Turkey was rattled last week by reports that five generals serving on Syria-related missions were seeking to resign, including the head of a command center in charge of all Turkish operations in Syria and two others at the helm of commando forces that are deployed in Syria on a rotational basis.

Delegation of Palestinian Clerics from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria Visits Hizbullah Brigades in Iraq

A delegation of Palestinian clerics from Gaza, South Lebanon and Syria has been visiting Iraq in the recent days to attend the “Call of Al-Aqsa Procession”, organized by the Iraqi “Call of Al-Aqsa” (Nida Al-Aqsa) organization. The procession is held as part of the “Arba’een Pligrimage” march from Najaf to Karbala, held annually at the end of the 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, the Prophet’s grandson, who was assassinated in 680.