Turkey detains Kurdish figures ahead of vital polls

At least 126 politicians, journalists, lawyers and artists have been detained in an operation that observers call an intimidation tactic before the May 14 elections.

More than 120 people were detained across Turkey on Tuesday in an alleged counter-terrorism operation that targeted mainly Kurdish politicians, journalists, lawyers and artists less than three weeks ahead of crucial elections.

Iran’s IRGC seizes oil tanker in Gulf of Oman

Open-source reports indicated the Advantage Sweet was bound for Houston, Texas, when the United States said it was seized by Iran’s IRGC navy on Thursday afternoon.

Naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized an oil tanker in international waters in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said.

SDF arrest four ISIS operatives in Raqqa: Coalition

The U.S. Combined Special Operations Joint Task Force – Levant (SOJTF LEVANT) on Monday said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested four ISIS operatives in Raqqa on April 14 and 15.

“SDF, advised, assisted, and enabled by Coalition Forces, planned and achieved the successful capture of Hasan Husain Muhammed Al Ali, Hasan Harald Ali Hajju, Omar Ibrahim Omar Al Sulaiman, and Muhamad Al Ali, who are assessed ISIS operatives while conducting searches for weapons, explosives, and other illicit items, with the focus on disrupting and dismantling ISIS networks,” the SOJTF LEVANT said in a press release.

Mazloum Abdi: U.S. Barred Türkiye from Carrying Out Military Operation in Syria

SDF Commander tells Asharq Al-Awsat he won’t visit Damascus before conditions for political solution are available.

Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi said the American administration of former President Donald Trump “betrayed” its allies in the SDF when it did not oppose the Turkish infiltration in Syria in late 2019. In an interview to Asharq Al-Awsat, he revealed that the current administration has prevented Türkiye from carrying out a new operation in Syria.