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KHANPACH MAVSAROV Khanpach Mavsarov Chechnya Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia 20050314 Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanese forces arrest two individuals involved in smuggling weapons and ammunition
2025-06-12
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
An Asayish patrol came under attack by ISIS cells in Deir ez Zor, eastern Syria
2025-06-12
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

The Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish) announced on Wednesday that one of their patrols was attacked by cells affiliated with the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 (ISIS) in the western countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.

"On Tuesday, one of our patrols was targeted by ISIS cells," the Asayish said in an official statement. "The attack resulted in material damage only, with no casualties reported."

The statement added that Asayish units immediately launched a sweep operation to track down those responsible and reinforced security measures in the surrounding area.

The Asayish noted that the attack comes amid a recent surge in ISIS activity, stating: "This incident is part of an escalating pattern of ISIS operations over the past few days, during which the group carried out two separate terrorist attacks in eastern Deir ez-Zor in an apparent attempt to undermine security and destabilize the region."
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran's defence minister warns that Tehran will strike U.S. bases in the region if nuclear talks collapse and conflict erupts
2025-06-12
[X]
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria signs $7B energy deal with firms from the US, Qatar, and Turkey to add 5,000 MW to the grid
2025-05-31
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian Internal Security seizes large cache of weapons in northeast Homs during ongoing operation to stabilize the region
2025-05-31
[X]

Syrian Internal Security Forces announced Thursday the seizure of a large cache of weapons and ammunition during a security sweep in the al-Mukharram area, northeast of Homs city. Authorities say the confiscated arms were intended for operations aimed at destabilizing the region.

According to a statement released by Syria’s Ministry of Interior, the weapons haul included both light and medium-grade arms, as well as a significant quantity of ammunition. The operation was carried out on Wednesday and is part of what the ministry describes as "ongoing efforts to restrict arms possession to state authorities."

Photos released from the scene show boxes of munitions, rifles, and explosives that officials claim were prepared for imminent use in attacks.

This latest raid follows a similar operation conducted earlier in the week, during which Internal Security units uncovered improvised bombs (IEDs), bomb-making materials, and other weapons in the city of Homs. No group has grabbed credit for the intended attacks, and authorities have not specified the identity of the individuals or networks linked to the seized weapons.

Officials emphasize that these operations are part of a broader national campaign to dismantle weapons networks and prevent the proliferation of arms outside formal military structures. The Interior Ministry reiterated its commitment to "ensuring the safety and security of citizens by neutralizing threats before they materialize."

The region has faced sporadic security challenges in recent years, particularly in areas formerly contested during Syria’s protracted conflict. While many regions, particularly those administered by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), enjoy a higher degree of local stability, parts of central and western Syria have continued to witness occasional incidents linked to criminal groups or dormant turban cells.

Security operations like the one in al-Mukharram underscore the lingering threat posed by unsecured weapons stockpiles and underline the necessity of continued vigilance by local and national forces.

The seizure comes at a time when the Syrian transitional government is attempting to project authority and re-establish centralized control across its territory following the departure of former president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
 in late 2024.

No casualties were reported during the latest operation, and investigations are reportedly underway to trace the origin of the weapons and identify any individuals involved in their transport or planned use.
Related:
Homs city: 2025-03-20 Israeli strikes reported in central Syria on former regime’s military sites Tuesday
Homs city: 2020-05-28 New information about commander of ‘Al-Sham Corps’ recruited by Turkish authorities and arrested in Libya
Homs city: 2019-04-27 More than 7,000 Syrians quit camp near Jordan border: UN
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria welcomes Japan's decision to lift sanctions on four national banks
2025-05-31
[X]
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
U.S. envoy to Syria holds phone call with the Kurdish SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi amid renewed diplomatic activity in Damascus
2025-05-31
[X]

Related:
Mazloum Abdi 05/28/2025 Rojava, Damascus reach agreement on al-Hol camp
Mazloum Abdi 05/15/2025 Syrian militants continue abuses in north Syria despite integration: HRW
Mazloum Abdi 05/11/2025 SDF thwarts multiple ISIS attacks in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Salam says ''no turning back'' in plans to monopolize arms, Hezbollah will ‘’go far’’ on issue - no donor reconstruction until complete
2025-05-17
[NAHARNET] Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said that Lebanon ''has managed to pave the way for a promising new start, despite all the difficulties that the project of rebuilding confidence and the course of reform are facing.''

''There will be no turning back in the project of consolidating the monopoly of arms in the hands of the Lebanese state alone, which should be in charge of the war and peace decisions and of defending its land and sons -- all its sons -- with the means allowed by international laws and norms,'' Salam added, in an interview with the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

''The entire Lebanese state is seeking full Israeli withdrawal from its land and to prevent all forms of violations. The government is also working on rallying efforts to launch the reconstruction process,'' Salam went on to say.

Hezbollah will ''go far'' in the issue of arms handover
[NAHARNET] Hezbollah will ''go far'' in the issue of the handover of its weapons to the Lebanese state and it will ''embarrass'' everyone, a source close to Hezbollah said.

''Consensus between Hezbollah and the Lebanese president has become bigger than the issue of arms handover and dialogue between Presidenty Joseph Aoun and Hezbollah is ongoing, without specifying any deadlines or dates,'' the source added, in remarks to Al-Arabiya's Al-Hadath channel.

''The handover of weapons is possible, in return for gains for Hezbollah such as Israel's withdrawal and reconstruction,'' the source said, adding that ''Hezbollah's acceptance to hand over its weapons does not mean giving them up for nothing in return.''

''Hezbollah is convinced that the slogans it voiced in the past and which needed weapons are no longer existent and it is fully cooperating with Aoun and offering him solutions related to its heavy and strategic weapons,'' the source revealed.

''President Aoun knows Hezbollah's concerns as to the withdrawal of its arms and is working on resolving the difficulties, while Hezbollah knows well the magnitude of international pressure on the president for its disarmament,'' the source went on to say.

Report: No reconstruction funds before reforms and Hezbollah disarmament
[NAHARNET] Lebanese officials have sensed reluctance from major powers, particularly Arab countries, to provide reconstruction funds, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Friday.

''Arab and donor countries have informed Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
 that they will not to engage in the reconstruction project until the vision for Lebanon and the region becomes clear. According to their definition, reconstruction is linked to the state's ability to undertake necessary reforms, fully disarm Hezbollah and prevent it from rebuilding its military and financial capabilities,'' the daily said.

''These countries do not want to engage in such a project while the situation has not yet reached a peaceful path,'' the newspaper added.

All the Arab and European promises are ''awaiting serious action by the Lebanese state and signals from Washington,'' the daily said.
Related:
Nawaf Salam 05/13/2025 Salam vows to confront electoral bribery and security violators
Nawaf Salam 05/11/2025 Beirut Airport security overhaul thwarting Hezbollah smuggling, satisfying Israeli, US officials — report
Nawaf Salam 05/07/2025 Palestinian president confirms Beirut visit after disarmament call — Naharnet

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Home Front: WoT
RUMINT: MANPADS in CONUS-Twitter post makes "informed" assertion-anyone got corroboration?
2025-05-05
[X]
…2 solid sources — one south of the border and then one from an element within our own government that confirmed independently of each other that Iranian made MANPADS, so surface to air missiles had come across the border.

We had the location and everything else. Well, we got this to Secret Service. We did the whole gamut and got everything pushed to them, and that's why Trump was pushing a lot of this stuff out when he was because we had told the Secret Service and they had the reporting and everything else. We have not, to my knowledge, have not recovered those MANPADS.

But what I do know we have done is we have apprehended the couriers on a second run of theirs and local law enforcement got together with federal law enforcement and rolled up the safe house. And we have since identified what that issue was on the border.”

“So we now have Iranian missiles. Who knows how many inside The United States”
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Terrifying image shows hooded gunmen roaming Virginia neighborhood before killing three, 4 teens tied up after illegal gun sale gone wrong
2025-04-10
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Authorities in Virginia are on the hunt for multiple suspects who are believed to have opened fire on a townhouse - killing three people, and wounding three others.

The Spotsylvania Sheriff's office announced Tuesday night that it had received a call at around 5:30pm about a shooting at a complex outside of Fredericksburg.

When deputies then arrived on the scene, they found three people dead from gunshot wounds outside and three others who were rushed to a local hospital for their injuries.

Their conditions remained unclear early Wednesday morning, as did a motive for the shooting.

But Maj. Elizabeth Scott, spokesperson for the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office, said at a news conference that deputies are looking into the possibility that the shooting was committed by more than one person.

Photos obtained by Fox 5 also showed two people holding what appeared to be long-guns walking down the street in the moments before the shooting.

'There's dozens upon dozens of officers out actively looking for suspects and preserving the scene of the crime,' Scott said.

'We will be here all night until we find the suspects,' she said during an evening news conference.

4 teenagers arrested after Spotsylvania mass shooting

[MSN] Four teenagers were arrested after Tuesday night's deadly shooting in a residential area of the county, which police have now characterized as an illegal gun sale that turned violent mostly peaceful.

Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office said it found and took all suspects into custody around 7 a.m. Wednesday. Now, they've confirmed that two 16-year-olds, one 17-year-old and one 18-year-old were arrested. Only the 18-year-old, Jeremiah Upson, has been named at this time. Two of the teenagers are from Spotsylvania County and two are from Caroline County.

Police responded to the shooting around 6 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Olde Greenwich Circle in Spotsylvania. Three people were killed and three people were critically injured, the sheriff's office and State Sen. Bryce Reaves confirmed.

"Initial investigation reveals that this was an illegal gun sale/robbery," Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office wrote in a blurb Wednesday morning. They did not provide any more details on the relationship between the people involved. They also did not say what prompted the shooting.

The two of the three people killed in the incident have now been named. They are 18-year-old Chase Feaster and 18-year-old Alonzo Goffney, both of Spotsylvania County. The name of the third victim, a 20-year-old, is being withheld pending confirmation from the medical examiner's office.

The three injured people have not been named, but police have confirmed that one of the 16-year-old suspects is injured in the hospital. They will be moved to jail when they are released, where the other three are also being held with no bond.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Security forces in Idlib launch an operation against suspected Syrian government collaborators in Jabal al-Zawiya
2025-04-02
[X]
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian security forces arrest a former commander of the former Assad regime factions accused of war crimes
2025-03-21
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Syria’s Interior Ministry announced on Thursday the arrest of a former commander of the "Tiger Forces," a notorious pro-Assad military unit, as part of an ongoing crackdown on criminal networks operating in the post-war period.

In a statement, the ministry confirmed the detention of Bashar Mahfouz, who previously led assault units and oversaw recruitment for the 25th Division, which was commanded by Suheil al-Hassan, known as "The Tiger."

According to the Interior Ministry, Mahfouz is accused of committing war crimes and forming a gang involved in kidnapping and looting following the collapse of the previous government structure. He is set to face trial before a specialized court.

The arrest marks a significant move by Syrian authorities, reflecting an effort to address lawlessness that has persisted in various regions since the end of major military operations.

In a related security development, an intelligence source told local media that Syrian security forces had intercepted an illicit weapons deal in eastern Daraa countryside. Two individuals, identified as Raoui Kiwan and Moataz Ghanem, were apprehended while receiving a shipment of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles from a supplier known as "Abu Zaater."

Daraa, which has remained a hotspot for holy warrior activity and arms smuggling, has witnessed frequent festivities between security forces and gangs, complicating stabilization efforts in the south.

The crackdown on former military figures and illicit arms trade signals a broader attempt by the Syrian government to consolidate control and address lawlessness that has plagued parts of the country. However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
 security analysts suggest that such efforts face challenges due to lingering tensions and the presence of multiple factions operating within Syria’s fragmented landscape.

While these developments may indicate a shift in security policy, the long-term effectiveness of such measures remains uncertain amid the country’s complex political and military dynamics.
Related:
Tiger Forces: 2024-12-16 Iraq police remove ISIS flag from ex-stronghold Hawija
Tiger Forces: 2024-12-11 Good Morning
Tiger Forces: 2024-12-11 Member of Syria's infamous Tiger Forces who fed Assad's prisoners to his pet LION is 'publicly executed by rebels'
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