A US-backed alliance of Syrian fighters has announced that the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) has lost the last pocket of territory in Syria it controlled, bringing a formal end to the “caliphate” it proclaimed in 2014. IS once controlled 88,000 sq km (34,000 sq miles) of territory stretching from western Syria to eastern Iraq. It imposed its brutal rule… Read more »
More than 1,600 civilians were killed in US-led coalition air and artillery strikes during the offensive to oust the Islamic State group from the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2017, activists say. Amnesty International and monitoring group Airwars said they had carried out investigations at 200 strike locations and identified 1,000 of the victims. They urged the coalition to “end… Read more »
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-shooting-bus-attack-balochistan-gwadar-karachi-death-toll-a8875581.html Gunmen killed 14 people after ambushing a passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan, local authorities have said. Around 35 people are thought to have been travelling from Karachi to Gwadarwhen armed men stopped the vehicle, checked the identities of those on board and then began shooting people selectively. It is not yet clear why specific passengers were targeted, said officials in Balochistan province, where the attack took place…. Read more »
Posted By: Colin Bunn CNN NEWS http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/29/middleeast/raqqa-drone-footage-syria/index.html By Kara Fox and Waffa Munayyer, CNN Updated 8:22 AM ET, Tue August 29, 2017 (CNN)The streets are eerily empty, with few signs of life in sight. Plumes of smoke billow from the top floors of hollowed out buildings. Neighboring structures appear flattened by mortars and bombs. This is Raqqa, the capital of… Read more »
ISIS is losing ground in Syria and Iraq. In Mosul, the Iraqi Army seems to be soundly defeating its insurgent opponents. The liberation of cities such as Palmyra, Aleppo, and Al-Bab in Syria, and Mosul and Fallujah in Iraq, show the terrorist group is on the desperate defense. The Iraqi Army’s push into Mosul supported by US and coalition airstrikes,… Read more »
(AL JAZEERA): Ten Egyptian security personnel, including three army officers, have been killed in two roadside bombings during a security operation in Egypt’s troubled Sinai peninsula on Thursday, an Egyptian army spokesman said. The explosions hit the security vehicles during a raid on a group affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). Security… Read more »
In both Iraq and Syria, anti-ISIL forces have been making tremendous strides in their fight against the Islamic State. Starting with Syria, the ancient city of Palmyra has recently been recaptured by the Syrian government with the backing of Russia and Iran. Palmyra, the UNESCO world heritage site, has been heavily contested, with the city itself being captured by ISIL… Read more »
Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, at least 3,613 Kurdish soldiers have been killed fighting the totalitarian Islamic State and the little-better authoritarian alternative, Bashar Al-Assad’s government. The Kurdish YPG (“People’s Protection Units”) is the largest portion of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a military coalition of Kurds and Arabs that the United States backs through weapons sales… Read more »
(DAILY SABAH): Turkish forces have killed at least 14 Daesh terrorists in northern Syria in the last 24 hours. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Turkish General Staff said that Turkey’s land and air forces hit 110 Daesh targets as part of the ongoing Operation Euphrates Shield. A total of 89 Daesh targets, including shelters, command and control facilities, weapons… Read more »
(DEUTSCHE WELLE): An alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters has seized a dozen villages in eastern Syria. The move is part of a drive to encircle the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS) group’s stronghold of Raqqa ahead of new peace talks. Backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – an alliance dominated by the Kurdish People’s… Read more »