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Full translation of an article by Syrian Islamist outlet al-Durar al-Shamiya:" A new covert operation for the Free Army in Manbij .. A source reveals the details (Photos)al-Durar al-Shamiya:Last night, elements of the Free [Syrian] Army carried out a covert operation in the city of Manbij in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, which is under the control of the SDF militia.A security source in the Free [Syrian] Army of the al-Duarr al-Shamiya Network: "The covert activities in the areas under the control of SDF militia are varied, and perhaps the most influential is the assassination of leaders of this occupying...

A bomb attack claimed by Daesh killed two US troops and two civilians working for the US military in northern Syria on Wednesday, weeks after President Donald Trump said the group had been defeated there and that he would pull out all American forces, Reuters reports. The attack appeared to be the deadliest on US forces in Syria since they deployed on the ground there in 2015. The town is controlled by a militia allied to US-backed Kurdish forces. The US military confirmed four Americans were killed and said three US troops were wounded in the explosion. The Syrian Observatory...

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that he is concerned President Donald Trump's statements about Syria have emboldened ISIS and called on the President to rethink his decision to withdraw US troops from the country after the terror group claimed responsibility for a deadly explosion that killed US service members in the city of Manbij. Graham, who was a harsh critic of Trump's plans to bring home US troops from Syria when the decision was announced last month, interrupted the confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee William Barr to weigh in on the attack. "My concern, by the statements made...

The location of Wednesday's bomb blast that killed American service members -- the northern Syrian city of Manbij -- has proven vitally strategic for U.S. forces who have had a highly visible presence there for nearly two years. The Americans have conducted patrols in the city, in vehicles, and on foot, to act as a buffer between Turkey and the U.S.-led coalition's Kurdish partners, a group that's been critical to the fight against ISIS but which Ankara classifies as terrorists. Manbij has long had a historic population mix of Arabs, Kurds, and other minority groups and was part of a...

The bombing comes a month after President Trump announced a rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria BEIRUT—Islamic State claimed responsibility for a bomb blast Wednesday in a Syrian city under U.S.-backed Kurdish control that killed at least three American troops, according to U.S. officials, underscoring the threat the extremist group still poses as the Trump administration prepares to withdraw troops from the country. Local media and the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that allied fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces and a number of civilians were also among the dead and injured in the attack in the...

Taking charge of Group of 77, which encompasses 134 developing countries, Abbas slams Israel’s ‘occupation of the state of Palestine,’ condemns ‘terrorism in all its forms’ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas assumed the chairmanship of the largest bloc of countries at the United Nations on behalf of “the State of Palestine” on Tuesday in New York City. The Palestinians are slated to serve as the leader of the bloc, known as the Group of 77, for the next year. In a speech at the UN headquarters, Abbas called the task of leading the Group of 77 “a great responsibility.” "I...

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Democrat, was called out Monday after Palestinian activist Abbas Hamideh, a staunch defender of the terrorist group Hezbollah, posted photos of the two of them posing at her swearing-in ceremony in Detroit. Mr. Hamideh tweeted a photo of himself Saturday with Ms. Tlaib along with the caption, “I was honored to be at Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib swearing in ceremony in #Detroit and private dinner afterward with the entire family, friends and activists across the country.” Critics were quick to point out that Mr. Hamideh, a co-founder of the pro-Palestinian group Al-Awda, which means “right of return,” has...

FULL TITLE: Trump touts 'long overdue' Syria pullout, says US 'will devastate Turkey economically' if they attack Kurds President Donald Trump on Sunday tweeted that the "long overdue pullout from Syria" is starting, and threatened that the U.S. will "devastate Turkey economically" if they attack Kurdish forces in the war-torn country. Trump said the removal of troops, which he announced via Twitter in December, is happening "while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions." The president also vowed that the U.S. "Will attack [ISIS] again from existing nearby base if it reforms." Trump promised the...

Prince Turki al-Faisal told the BBC the action would have a negative impact, further entrenching Iran, Russia and the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. US President Donald Trump announced in December that it was time to bring US troops home from Syria. Prince Turki was speaking just before US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began a visit to Riyadh.

Starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions. Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds. Create 20 mile safe zone.... 5:53 PM - 13 Jan 2019 ....Likewise, do not want the Kurds to provoke Turkey. Russia, Iran and Syria have been the biggest beneficiaries of the long term U.S. policy of destroying ISIS in Syria - natural enemies. We also benefit but it is now time to bring our troops back home. Stop the ENDLESS WARS! 6:02...

Early in his presidency, Barack Obama gave a speech in Cairo that he referred to as "A New Beginning." In that speech in June, 2009, Obama identified the United States as one of the causes of turmoil and violence in the Middle East. He never said the words, "I'm sorry," but his tone was apologetic as he viciously criticized the Israeli "occupation and the US invasion of Iraq. Yesterday, almost 10 years later, American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave the speech that Obama should have given. It was unabashedly pro-American and identified America as a force for good in...

MANAMA/Bahrain—The Trump administration, via Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is beginning to build a coalition of Arab allies that will help the United States expel "every last Iranian boot" from Syria and ensure the Islamic Republic's march across the Middle East is stopped in its tracks, according to U.S. officials.Pompeo arrived in Bahrain early Friday to hold the first of a series of meetings with Arab leaders in key gulf nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman. During this leg of Pompeo's weeklong trek across the region, the secretary of state will continue his behind-the-scenes...

ERBIL– Senior local officials in the northern Syrian city of Manbij said that both the US-led coalition and the Russian military police are operating in the area, including conducting regular patrols.Manbij Military Council (MMC) Commander Mohammed Abu Adel told Kurdistan 24 that there have been no changes on the ground regarding coordination with US forces and joint patrols, both of which continue.“We also have contact with Russian troops in Manbij. But there is only the internal security forces and Manbij Military Council forces that are deployed on the ground in Manbij,” Adel said.Since Monday, Russian military police units have been patrolling a 5...

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a blunt put-down Tuesday against White House national security advisor John Bolton over his pledges to ensure Turkish nonaggression against Kurds who fought against the Islamic State in Syria. “We cannot accept Bolton’s messages given from Israel,” the Turkish president said, adding that Bolton made a “serious mistake,” Reuters reported. He was referring to statements by the senior Trump administration official, made from Israel over the weekend, promising safety for the U.S.-allied Kurdish militias — who dominate areas in Northern Syria and whom the Turks view as terrorists — in the event of a...

Ankara, Turkey -- U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton arrived Monday in Turkey for negotiations on the fate of American-allied Kurdish fighters, who said they were unclear what to make of his recent comments about U.S. plans to withdraw troops from Syria. The Kurdish militiamen and women were central to the U.S. military's fight against ISIS in Syria, and many saw President Trump's recent announcement of a pull-out as potentially putting those allies at risk. ... Bolton will seek assurances from Turkey, a NATO ally, that it won't attack the Kurds when the U.S. withdraws troops from northeastern Syria. Monday's...

Kurdish forces in Syria said Sunday that they had captured two American citizens hiding out in the country's final Islamic State stronghold. In a statement, the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, identified the detainees as Warren Christopher Clark, 34, and Zaid Abed al-Hamid, 35. It said the pair had been captured alongside three others suspected of being foreign recruits in the extremist group.

The U.S. case against the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in Canada last month, centers on the company’s suspected ties to two obscure companies. One is a telecom equipment seller that operated in Tehran; the other is that firm’s owner, a holding company registered in Mauritius. U.S. authorities allege CFO Meng Wanzhou deceived international banks into clearing transactions with Iran by claiming the two companies were independent of Huawei, when in fact Huawei controlled them. Huawei has maintained the two are independent: equipment seller Skycom Tech Co Ltd and shell company Canicula Holdings Ltd. But...

Russian military police have begun patrolling around the Syrian city of Manbij, a spokesman said Tuesday, moving into an area once held by US-backed Kurdish forces. Russian forces are acting in support of Syrian government troops who recently deployed in Manbij, in Aleppo province near the border with Turkey. Kurdish fighters, fearing a Turkish military assault, invited regime forces into Manbij late last month after US President Donald Trump’s shock announcement of a full American withdrawal from Syria.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is set to depart Turkey without meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an apparent snub over disagreements about Kurdish fighters in Syria. National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said U.S. officials were told Erdogan cited local election season and a speech to parliament for not meeting with Bolton. In the speech to parliament Tuesday, Erdogan criticized the U.S. position that the Kurds must be protected, reiterating his government’s position that they are a terrorist group.

The group are wiping out rivals and taking areas of strategic interest to Turkey and Bashar Al Assad's government. Al Qaeda-linked militants in Syria are strengthening their grip on territory in western Aleppo’s rebel-held countryside, nearly 18 months after taking most of the neighbouring province of Idlib. A sudden campaign by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham last week caught Turkey and allied rebels by surprise (when they moved their forces to attack the Kurds near Manbij)... “Tahrir Al Sham chose the right moment to attack.”