Iraq & Syrian Civil Wars - Page 305

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In the wake of the raid that killed Abu Sayyaf, suspicions of an undeclared alliance have hardened. One senior western official familiar with the intelligence gathered at the slain leader’s compound said that direct dealings between Turkish officials and ranking Isis members was now “undeniable”.

“There are hundreds of flash drives and documents that were seized there,” the official told the Observer. “They are being analysed at the moment, but the links are already so clear that they could end up having profound policy implications for the relationship between us and Ankara.”
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"We condemn this bombardment that led to the martyrdom of people from the Kurdistan region and call on Turkey not to bombard civilians again," Massoud Barzani said in a statement on Saturday, Reuters reported.

“The PKK must keep the battlefield away from the Kurdish region in order for civilians not to become victims of this war,” Barzani added.

BEIRUT (AP) -- The Islamic State group on Thursday seized a key town in central Syria following heavy clashes with President Bashar Assad's forces, in the militants' biggest advance since capturing the historic town of Palmyra in May, Syrian activists said.

The heavily populated town of Qaryatain lies southwest of Palmyra, which is home to towering Roman ruins, and some 85 kilometers from Homs city. Its capture allows the IS group to link up areas under its control in and around Palmyra with areas in the eastern countryside of Qalamoun in Damascus province.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the IS group seized the town Thursday after three suicide bombers targeted army checkpoints at the entrance the day before, setting off a fierce battle.

Websites affiliated with the Islamic State group confirmed the militants had taken over Qaryatain. A Facebook page through which the IS posts news of its military activities carried photos that purported to show the fighting to "liberate" the town, including a tank allegedly seized from the Syrian army.

Qaryatain lies midway between the cities of Homs, Palmyra and Damascus. Activists say it has a mixed population of around 40,000 Sunni Muslims and Christians, as well as thousands of internally displaced people who had fled from Homs.

Iraq's cabinet has approved Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi's proposal to overhaul the government bureaucracy, scrapping three vice presidential posts and the offices of three deputy prime ministers.

The cabinet backed the proposed reforms on Sunday, which still needs parliamentary approval.

The six posts under threat represented various political and sectarian blocs in the government.

The plan also effectively would push out of government former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, widely criticised for inflaming sectarian tensions and appointing loyal, less-qualified senior officers to Iraq's military ahead of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group's advance last year.

However, al-Maliki issued a short statement backing the proposed plan.

The proposal followed weeks of demonstrations, and a call for tougher reform measures from top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is revered by millions of Iraqis.

On August 11 2015 19:09 Maenander wrote:
I don't know why Erdogan chooses to further antagonize the Kurds.

In my (maybe naive) opinion the easiest way to take the wind out of the sails of the Kurdish independence movement in Turkey would be to make Turkey a protecting power for the Kurds in neighbouring countries. The Kurds in Turkey don't go away, it's better to get them on the Turkish side. The turmoil in Syria and Iraq would have been a historic chance in that regard.

On August 12 2015 08:03 Yoav wrote:


Unfortunately, racism generally doesn't make for pragmatic politics.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Anti-ISIL Coalition, Brett McGurk, who was in Ankara this week to finalize the Incirlik agreement between Turkey and U.S., has said Washington “can’t succeed against Daesh without Turkey,” speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News in an exclusive interview via Skype.

“The threat of Daesh is extremely serious. It’s not going away. It’s growing. It’s a challenge the world has never seen before,” McGurk said, emphasizing the two countries’ close collaboration up to now.

He aslo said Turkish F-16’s will fly with U.S. jets from Incirlik very soon and the only reason Turkey is not yet engaged in anti-ISIL airstrikes are “technical arrangements” that are soon to be finalized.

Here is the full text of the interview: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/we-really-cant-succeed-against-isil-without-turkey-us.aspx?pageID=238&nID=86993&NewsCatID=510

Earlier this week, multiple units from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) began an offensive to lift the three year long siege on the Kuweires Military Airport in the Aleppo Governorate’s eastern countryside.

The SAA soldiers would launch an assault from three different axes (Al-‘Aziziyah, Sabihiyah, and Kabaraah), capturing a little over 5 square kilometers of territory from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) near the strategic city of Al-Safira that is located along the Khanasser Highway, which is the Syrian Government’s last supply line to Aleppo City.

Unfortunately, 24 hours after the offensive began, the Syrian Arab Army’s Central Command ordered the commanding officers at the city of Al-Safira to halt their assault near the Jibreen Railway.

FSA 1st Coastal Division targeting Iran's radio eavesdropping center with 107 mm rockets.

1st Coastal TOW strike against regime vehicle near Joureen in the Al Ghab plain.

Southern Storm rebels - clashes in Daraa.