Free Republic

Beirut (dpa) - A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab forces were Saturday closing in on a strategic dam held by Islamic State in northern Syria, a monitoring group said. The Tishreen Dam is located about 22 kilometres from al-Raqqa, Islamic State's de-facto capital in Syria. It is one of three major dams on the Euphrates River that flows from Turkey through Syria and into Iraq, and supplies much of northern Syria with electricity. The Democratic Forces of Syria (DFS), a coalition comprising mainly local Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians, seized the eastern bank of the Euphrates close to Tishreen...

SNIPPET - quote: www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl1955.aspx Treasury Announces New Sanctions Against Iran Actions Target Iran’s Nuclear and Missile Proliferation Activities 5/23/2013     WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury is taking action today against 20 individuals and entities for their involvement in Iran’s nuclear and missile proliferation networks and Iran’s continued attempts to circumvent sanctions. These networks are responsible for moving supplies and providing essential services to Iran’s clandestine nuclear and weapons programs. These actions are designed to increase pressure on the Iranian regime by tightening sanctions against Iran’s energy sector and exposing key proliferation related networks that span the...