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Pro-government Turkish daily Yenisafak, has claimed that Turkey will use the Incirlik Airbase as a bargaining chip to stop the US from backing the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a prominent force in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leading the Raqqa operation.According to Yenisafak, “Turkey is prepared for possible scenarios with the YPG. Considering the logistical contribution to US air operations, the utilisation permit of Incirlik Airbase is an important leverage to convince the US against working with the YPG.”Incirlik Air base, located in the Incirlik province of the southern city of Adana, has strategic importance to the US. Most of the US’ air operations...

A suicide bomber attacked Turkish-backed rebels just outside the Syrian town of Al-Bab Friday, killing 42 people in a major blow just hours after they hailed its capture from ISIS. The bomber blew up a vehicle packed with explosives outside a rebel command centre in the village of Susian, five miles northeast of Al-Bab, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The blast devastated the twin command posts and also seriously wounded a large number of fighters, the Britain-based monitoring group said.

Israeli jets allegedly struck targets near the Syrian capital overnight on Wednesday, reportedly a weapons shipment to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, Lebanese media reported. Syrian media reported witnesses hearing "loud explosion sounds" in the early morning hours. According to Lebanese media, the targets that were hit around 3.00 a.m. were affiliated with the Assad regime and were the regime army's 3rd Division in the al-Katif suburbs of the capital. The report also claimed that the IDF struck from within Lebanon, circling the Beqaa Valley and Baalbek, so as not to be blocked by the Russian defense systems operating in...

CIA-coordinated military aid for rebels in northwest Syria has been frozen since they came under major Islamist attack last month, rebel sources said, raising doubts about foreign support key to their war against President Bashar al-Assad. Rebel officials said that no official explanation had been given for the move this month following the jihadist assault, though several said they believed the main objective was to prevent arms and cash falling into Islamist militant hands. But they said they expected the aid freeze to be temporary.

I am so happy to report that Obama’s CIA backed so-called moderate Syrian rebels are not receiving their paydays any longer. Last month the money did not come, and the Obama gang is really up in arms about being cut out of CIA loop. I think it would be more accurate to say, they are down in arms, so they cannot give anymore to ISIS. Now they will all defect to the ISIS camp, as if they had not already, but Obama never gave up on them…(sarcasm). Hillary and Obama must be so upset to learn aide had been frozen...

Speaking during his visit to Bahrein in a joint press meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Turkish President Erdogan commented on his army’s Euphrates Shield operation in the north of Syria.Erdogan said, “The step we took [in al-Bab] is locked onto a target. After this if we can take joint steps with coalition forces we will go towards Manbij and Raqqa. There we will form a safe zone in which we will allow for mainly our Arab and Turkmen brothers and sisters to settle into.”Turkey has been a long-time supporter of forming safe zones in Syria. Until...

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in an overnight phone call on joint action against Islamic State in the Syrian towns of Raqqa and al-Bab, both held by the militants, Turkish presidency sources said on Wednesday. U.S.-Turkish differences during former President Barack Obama's administration impeded the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State, and closer coordination could mean faster progress towards freeing swathes of northern Syria from IS. Erdogan now hopes that relations with Washington, strained by the presence in the United States of a cleric he blames for an attempted military coup last year and by U.S....

AMMAN — Royal Air Force jets on Friday destroyed various targets of the Daesh terrorist group in southern Syria, a Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army statement said Saturday, cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra. One of the targets was a military site that previously belonged to the Syrian army and was seized by Daesh, the statement said, adding that the attack was dedicated to the memory of those who died in the line of duty in the war against terrorism. The Royal Air Force’s unmanned jet fighter planes destroyed ammunition warehouses, a structure designated to customising and booby-trapping vehicles and...

Barack Obama’s plan for military intervention in Syria was abruptly derailed by David Cameron and British members of parliament, US secretary of state John Kerry claimed on Thursday. The American president said he would bomb the Syrian regime if it used chemical weapons but he did not follow through on his promise. The failure to enforce his stated “red line” after President Bashar al-Assad used sarin gas in a Damascus suburb in August 2013 is seen by some as the worst stain on Obama’s legacy. The British parliament’s vote against air strikes has long been cited by Obama and others...

Barack Obama’s plan for military intervention in Syria was abruptly derailed by David Cameron and British members of parliament, US secretary of state John Kerry claimed on Thursday. The American president said he would bomb the Syrian regime if it used chemical weapons but he did not follow through on his promise. The failure to enforce his stated “red line” after President Bashar al-Assad used sarin gas in a Damascus suburb in August 2013 is seen by some as the worst stain on Obama’s legacy.

A new report by the Pulitzer-winning veteran journalist Seymour Hersh says the Joint Chiefs of Staff has indirectly supported Bashar al-Assad in an effort to help him defeat jihadist groups. Hersh reports the Joint Chiefs sent intelligence via Russia, Germany and Israel on the understanding it would be transmitted to help Assad push back Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Secretary of State John Kerry was clearly exasperated, not least at his own government. Over and over again, he complained to a small group of Syrian civilians that his diplomacy had not been backed by a serious threat of military force, according to an audio recording of the meeting obtained by The New York Times. The 40-minute discussion, on the sidelines of last week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, provides a glimpse of Mr. Kerry’s frustration with his inability to end the Syrian crisis. He veered between voicing sympathy for the Syrians’ frustration with United...

Shortened title. Full title: Absolutely Stunning – Leaked Audio of Secretary Kerry Reveals President Obama Intentionally Allowed Rise of ISIS There are moments within investigative research when your jaw can stand agape as you recognize the scope of what you are reading or hearing.  A brutally down-played audio of Secretary John Kerry is just such an occasion.

There are moments within investigative research when your jaw can stand agape as you recognize the scope of what you are reading or hearing. A brutally down-played audio of Secretary John Kerry is just such an occasion.(snip) This evidence within this single story would/should forever remove any credibility toward the U.S. foreign policy under President Obama. It also destroys the credibility of a large number of well known republicans. What the recording reveals is substantive: ♦ First, only regime change, the removal of Bashir Assad, in Syria was the goal for President Obama. This is admitted and outlined by Secretary...

The UN Security Council has unanimously voted to back a ceasefire deal in Syria led by Turkey and Russia, as well as plans for fresh peace talks next month. The resolution, drafted by Russia, also calls for rapid access for humanitarian aid to be delivered across the country. The ceasefire, which began just over a day ago, has mostly held.

President Obama was left out of peace talks in Syria in December that came up with a ceasefire agreement. The ceasefire was brokered between Russia, Turkey and Iran, but the Russian envoy told reporters today he does expect the US to be involved in future peace talks.

The latest on the conflict in Syria, and the Russia and Turkey brokered cease-fire agreement between Syria's government and opposition rebels. All times local. 10 p.m. U.S. deputy ambassador Michele Sison says the Obama administration strongly supports a nationwide cease-fire in Syria accompanied by "unfettered humanitarian access" but regrets that details of the agreement brokered by Russia and Turkey have not yet been made public. Sison told the U.N. Security Council after it unanimously adopted a resolution Saturday backing Russian and Turkish efforts to end the fighting in Syria and jump-start peace negotiations that "the goals are laudable and we...

TURKEY’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed he has “confirmed evidence” US-led forces have supported ISIS. Erdogan said “it’s very clear” the US is supporting terror groups in a damning press conference in Ankara. He said: “They were accusing us of supporting Daesh (Islamic State). “Now they give support to terrorist groups including Daesh, YPG, PYD. It’s very clear. We have confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos and videos.” Casualties have mounted as the military tries to take the town of Al-Bab from ISIS jihadists and Ankara has become incresingly impatient over the lack of support from the US against the...

Ambassadors from Russia, Iran and Turkey met in Moscow Tuesday to engage in negotiations regarding the ongoing crisis in Syria, intentionally excluding Secretary of State John Kerry. No U.S. representative attended the talks, nor was the United Nations invited to attend. The lack of any Western representation is yet another sign that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his Russian and Iranian allies will have their way in Syria, solidifying another failed attempt on Kerry’s part to seek a diplomatic solution to the problem. The U.S. Department of State maintained a positive view of the negotiations, despite being left out of them.

At least 14 US-led coalition military advisers have been captured by the Syrian Special Forces in a bunker in the city of Aleppo, according to media reports... Mutaz Kanoğlu – Turkey David Scott Winer – USA David Shlomo Aram – Israel Muhamad Tamimi – Qatar Muhamad Ahmad Assabian – Saudi Abd-el-Menham Fahd al Harij – Saudi Islam Salam Ezzahran Al Hajlan – Saudi Ahmed Ben Naoufel Al Darij – Saudi Muhamad Hassan Al Sabihi – Saudi Hamad Fahad Al Dousri – Saudi Amjad Qassem Al Tiraoui – Jordan Qassem Saad Al Shamry – Saudi Ayman Qassem Al Thahalbi – Saudi...