Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

For 2nd time in days, IDF says troops arrested terror cell in Syria working for Iran

2025-07-08

[IsraelTimes] Military says forces captured several members of IRGC-linked terror cell; UK-based war monitor says IDF raided a village in the Quneitra countryside and detained two brothers

For the second time in days, the IDF said Monday morning that it carried out an overnight raid in southern Syria, where forces captured a cell of operatives operating on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Reservists of the Alexandroni Brigade and field interrogators of the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 operated overnight in the Kwdana area — close to the border and near an IDF post in southern Syria — to detain the cell, the military said.

Several members of the cell who the IDF said were operating on behalf of the IRGC were nabbed.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Israeli forces raided a village in the Quneitra countryside of southern Syria early Monday and "carried out searches targeting several homes, which ended with the arrest of two brothers."

On Wednesday, Israel’s military said its forces had apprehended members of an Iranian-backed terrorist cell in southern Syria and seized weapons.

Since Assad’s fall, Israel has carried out strikes and raids in Syria aimed at denying military assets to the Islamist-led interim administration.

Israel has said it is interested in striking normalization agreements with Syria and neighboring Leb
Leb

...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
, but insisted the strategic Golan Heights — which Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and later annexed — would remain part of Israel under any peace accord.

The two countries are currently engaged in "advanced talks" to end official hostilities and resolve the buffer zone issue, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel last week.

The contacts are focused on coordination around security matters, said the official, who would not speculate on when a full peace deal between the two enemy states could turn into reality.

The neighboring states have been in conflict for decades, including direct and often bitter combat from the 1948 War of Independence through the 1982 First Lebanon War.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

IDF says troops arrested Iranian terror cell in southern Syria

2025-07-03

[IsraelTimes] Israeli troops arrested several members of a terror cell deployed by Iran
Iran

...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
in southern Syria in an overnight raid, the military says.

The cell was operating in two locations near the border with Israel and was targeted based on intelligence gathered over recent weeks, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

During the raid, troops from the 474th Golan Regional Brigade, who carried out the raid together with field Sherlocks from Military Intelligence’s Unit 504, also seized weapons, including firearms and grenades.

The IDF says it will continue efforts to thwart the entrenchment of Iranian-linked terror groups in Syria, particularly near the Israeli border.

Israeli troops have been stationed in Syria since the fall of the former Assad regime in December, where they are holding a small buffer zone near the border.

Update from An Nahar at 10:35 a.m. EDT:

Israel's military said on Wednesday its had apprehended members of an Iranian-backed "terrorist cell" in southern Syria, where state TV reported three arrested by Israeli troops.

An Israeli military statement on Wednesday said that in a "targeted night-time" raid, troops "apprehended several terrorists" and seized weapons.

It said the operation targeted "a terrorist cell operated by Iran", Israel's arch-foe against which it had fought an unprecedented 12-day war last month.

Syrian state TV said an Israeli patrol "consisting of eight vehicles and around 40 soldiers arrested three individuals from the village of Al-Bassali" in the Quneitra area of southwest Syria bordering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported an operation which "resulted in the arrest of three citizens of Palestinian origin".

It said the people were inside a farm "at the time of the raid, without any clashes or intervention by (Syrian) military or security forces in the area".

According to the Observatory, the overnight operation came two months after a relative of the three was arrested and transferred to an Israeli prison.

Since the December overthrow of Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes primarily on military sites and sent troops to carry out raids aimed at denying military assets to the Islamist-led interim administration. It has also deployed troops across the demilitarized zone on the Syrian side of the armistice line that used to separate the opposing forces on the Golan, with Israeli troops regularly carrying out raids in southern Syria.

On June 12, Syria said the Israeli military killed one civilian and detained seven people during an overnight incursion, with the Israeli army saying it seized members of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israel said Monday it was "interested" in striking normalization agreements with Syria and neighboring Lebanon, but insisted the strategic Golan Heights -- which Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized by the United Nations -- would "remain part of" Israel under any peace accord.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

US-backed forces to launch anti-ISIS operation in Syria: Brigade spox.

2025-06-30

[Rudaw] US-backed forces in Syria are preparing to launch a large-scale military operation against 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) cells, a spokesperson for a faction aligned with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told Rudaw on Sunday. The campaign comes amid a growing threat from ISIS across the country, especially in northeast Syria (Rojava).

Mahmoud Habib, spokesperson for the North Democratic Forces - a component of the SDF - said the campaign is in response to a recent uptick in ISIS activities. "The details of the operation are not yet known. We do not know when it will be launched, what its nature will be, or which forces will take part alongside the SDF and coalition troops," Habib stated.

The US-backed SDF functions as the de facto military force in Rojava and is the primary local partner of the Washington-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The North Democratic Forces operate mainly in northern Syria and share the SDF’s objective of combating terrorism.

According to Habib, the upcoming operation may see the participation of other US-backed groups, namely, the Syrian Free Army (SFA). He noted that the campaign aims not only to dismantle ISIS cells but also to prevent potential attacks on major population centers, including the capital Damascus, its surrounding countryside, and the central Homs province.

The Syrian Free Army (SFA), originally a broad rebel coalition, has evolved over the past decade from earlier US-backed groups such as the New Syrian Army (NSA) and the Revolutionary Commando Army (RCA). These factions were trained and supported by the US and have operated primarily from the al-Tanf garrison - a strategically located US military base near the Syrian, Iraqi, and Jordanian borders - carrying out counter-ISIS operations.

Following the fall of Syrian dictator Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
in early December, the SFA is reportedly being integrated into the newly established 70th Division of the unified Syrian army, currently being formed by the incumbent transitional government.

Importantly, Habib noted that the upcoming operation follows recent intelligence reports indicating that ISIS cells are planning attacks near urban areas. "The goal of the operation is to stop these kinds of attacks," he said.

ISIS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019. However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
in recent months, the group has seemingly been trying to make a comeback, capitalizing on the shifting security landscape following Assad’s ouster.

Last week, a deadly bombing struck the Mar Elias Church in Damascus during Sunday mass. Two assailants opened fire on worshippers before detonating an explosive vest, killing 25 people and injuring 63 others, according to the Syrian health ministry’s final toll.

On Tuesday, the Syrian interior ministry attributed the attack to an ISIS cell. Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba claimed the two jacket wallahs were "non-Syrian" and had infiltrated the capital from al-Hol camp, located in SDF-controlled northeast Syria (Rojava). al-Hol camp houses thousands of individuals, many of whom are family members of suspected ISIS murderous Moslems.

However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) swiftly rejected the ministry’s claims, emphasizing that al-Hol primarily shelters women and kiddies rather than imported muscle. The SDF also noted that any individuals released from the camp in recent months, were freed at the request of Damascus authorities.

Notably, the upcoming military campaign also comes amid a surge of ISIS attacks across SDF-controlled areas, with both civilians and security forces increasingly being targeted.

In mid-May, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that it had documented 84 ISIS operations in Rojava since the beginning of 2025. These included armed assaults, targeted liquidations, and bombings.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

SDF says ‘disinformation campaign’ seeks to undermine the force

2025-06-29

[Rudaw] Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria (Rojava) said on Saturday that there is a targeted "disinformation campaign" to undermine the force by falsely linking them to the terror attack on a Christian church in Damascus.

"A renewed targeted online disinformation campaign falsely claims that an ISIS [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....
] member who contributed to the terrorist attack on the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus had previously received kerosene aid from an American NGO while residing in al-Hawl camp. This narrative is part of a broader effort to attack the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), continuing a pattern of falsifying documents to undermine their legitimacy," the SDF said in a statement on Saturday.

On Sunday, a jacket wallah affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) entered Mar Elias Church in Damascus during mass, opened fire on worshippers and detonated an explosive vest, killing 25 people and injuring 63 others. The attack renewed fears of sectarian violence in Syria as it tries to recover from decades of dictatorship and years of civil war.

Syrian authorities arrested six suspects and killed two others during a raid on an ISIS cell. Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said that two of the suspects were not Syrian nationals and had infiltrated the capital from al-Hol camp that houses thousands of ISIS family members in the SDF-held northeast.

The SDF denied the connection, saying that it reviewed camp files and no one fitting the ministry’s description had been released during the timeframe specified. The SDF, which is keeping several thousand ISIS fighters in prisons, further explained that the camp mostly comprises women and kiddies rather than imported muscle of ISIS.

The director of the Middle East Institute’s Syria Program, Charles Lister, then shared on X a document that claimed to show one of the suspects received aid in al-Hol delivered by the humanitarian organization Blumont.

Blumont on Friday said the document is not legitimate. "We are aware of images circulating online reportedly from our team’s work in Syria. The images are not authentic and do not reflect how we track the distribution of humanitarian assistance," it said.

Lister has since deleted the post and on Friday he confirmed that the document was fake but said a senior Syrian government official had confirmed that two of the six members of the ISIS cell were "smuggled out from al-Hol in late-2024."

Smuggling people out of al-Hol is a problem at the sprawling camp. The SDF has reported arresting suspected smugglers. In March they captured a man accused of "smuggling terrorists, particularly foreign ISIS women, out of al-Hol camp.

The accusations against the SDF come at a sensitive time as the Kurdish administration in Rojava is in talks with the interim government about their integration into national institutions. Kurds are looking for guarantees of their political and cultural rights that had been denied under the former regime.

SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a landmark agreement in March over the future of SDF and the Kurdish enclave. Several articles of the agreement have been implemented, including swapping of prisoners, and there are ongoing talks between both sides.

Sheikhmous Ahmed, who supervises Rojava’s camps, told Rudaw English on Friday that the recent deadly festivities between Damascus-affiliated gangs and religious minorities like the Druze and Alawites created the belief that only the SDF can protect the minorities.

He claimed that Damascus is using the attack on the church as a pretext to spread disinformation about the SDF as part of "a smear campaign."

Rojava has been internationally praised for its coexistence and women rights.

Violence broke out in early March in the Alawite-majority coastal areas of western Syria after loyalists of ousted Syrian dictator Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
launched attacks on security forces affiliated with the new Syrian leadership.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) then reported that around 1,500 people, mostly Alawite civilians, have been killed in the violence. The UK-based war monitor added that most casualties were caused by government or government-affiliated forces.

In April, global human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
watchdog Amnesty International censured the "mass killings," accusing Damascus of perpetrating a "war crime" against the minority group and warning of further "atrocities" if accountability is not enforced.

Many members of the Druze community were killed in late April following attacks by groups linked to Damascus. The fighting was initially triggered by an audio recording that was allegedly blasphemous toward the Prophet Muhammad. Initially attributed to a prominent Druze holy man, the recording was later discredited by both the holy man and Syrian authorities.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

More than 20 killed in Damascus church attack

2025-06-23

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] More than 20 people were killed in a terrorist attack during a service at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Damascus, Syria TV reported on June 22.

“According to preliminary data, more than 20 people were killed as a result of the terrorist attack in the church in Duweil,”

…I think that means the Damascus Old City district of Duweil'a, a traditional Christian neighbourhood…

the publication’s Telegram channel said.

The incident occurred in the Duweil area, where the Christian population lives. It is noted that the suicide bomber, who entered the temple, opened fire on believers with an automatic weapon, after which he detonated an explosive device.

The area was cordoned off by police and ambulances arrived at the scene.

According to SANA, the terrorist was a member of the Islamic State (IS, a terrorist organization banned in Russia). This information was later confirmed by the Syrian authorities.

The Times of Israel adds:

A jacket wallah in Syria on Sunday let 'er rip inside a Greek Orthodox church filled with people, killing at least 20, Syrian state media reported.

The explosion in Dweila, on the outskirts of Damascus, took placej as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church. SANA, citing Syria’s health ministry, said that at least 53 others were maimed.

Britannia-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were at least 19 people killed and dozens of others maimed, but did not give exact numbers. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.

The attack on the church was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus, under its de facto Islamist rule, is trying to win the support of minorities. As President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of bad boy groups in the war-torn country.

No group immediately grabbed credit Sunday, but the Syrian Interior Ministry said an bad boy from the Islamic State

More from Rudaw:

Twenty people were killed and 52 others injured in a suicide bombing that targeted Mar Elias Church in Damascus on Sunday, according to Syrian authorities.

The Syrian health ministry confirmed in a statement that "nine civilians were killed and 13 others were injured in the terrorist attack that targeted Mar Elias Church in the Dweilaa area of Damascus."

Mar Elias Church is regarded as one of the most prominent Christian places of worship in rural Damascus. It holds deep spiritual and historical significance for Syria’s Christian community and frequently hosts both religious and social gatherings, particularly on Sundays and during holidays.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Druze leader denounces Syria's constitutional declaration as ‘tyranny’

2025-06-12

A transcript of the interview can be read in English at the link.

[Rudaw] The spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze community, Hikmat al-Hajari, on Monday reiterated his rejection of Syria’s new constitutional declaration, labeling it a "declaration of tyranny" that threatens the country’s sectarian and ethnic fabric.

"What was called the constitutional declaration was in reality a declaration of tyranny, and we and all of Syria's components did not agree with most of its articles," Hajari told Rudaw in a written interview. "What it lacks in rights is not just for the Kurds but for all sects, spectrums, and components."

The constitutional declaration, signed in March by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, was introduced by the Islamist-led interim government that came to power after Sharaa’s now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS) overthrew the regime of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
.The document emphasizes Islamic jurisprudence as a primary source of legislation, drawing criticism from Syria’s Christian, Druze, Kurdish, and Alawite communities, who view it as exclusionary and a threat to religious and cultural diversity.

"The brothers [HTS] who reached Damascus call on us saying that ’whoever liberates decides,’" Hajari said, explaining that the new government makes unilateral decisions without consultation of minority groups. "All of us as one people are partners in victory. Otherwise, we will return to another face resembling the tyranny of Bashar."

The Druze, a religious minority concentrated in southern Syria, as well as parts of Leb
Leb

...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
and Israel, have expressed growing concern over the Islamist-led government since Assad’s fall. Tensions have risen between local groups in the Druze-majority province of Suwayda and the new authorities in Damascus.

In April and May, deadly festivities erupted in Suwayda after an offensive audio recording about the Prophet Muhammad - initially attributed to a Druze holy man - sparked sectarian anger. More than 100 people were killed in the fighting, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Rijal al-Karama (Men of Dignity) Movement, the largest Druze gang in Suwayda, has played a key role in defending the province from external threats and local corruption since the fall of Assad.

In early April, Hajari denied making any political agreements with Damascus, calling the current government "extremist in every sense of the word."

While the state-run SANA news agency reported in late May that Druze representatives had reached a "preliminary agreement" with the government to halt the violence, local outlet Suwayda24 said the meeting ended without a clear deal, noting only "non-binding points," including a proposed ceasefire and the formation of a joint committee to address the aftermath of the festivities.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Thirty-five dead in Israeli strikes on Syria since Assad’s fall: Monitor

2025-06-09

[Rudaw] At least 35 people, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Israeli ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on Syrian territory since the fall of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
’s regime on December 8, a war monitor reported on Sunday.

"The territory of Syria has been targeted 63 times, including 50 airstrikes and 10 ground attacks, resulting in the death and martyrdom of 35 people," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based war monitor.

The now-dissolved Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS), headed by Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, spearheaded a coalition of opposition groups in early December that toppled Assad’s regime.

Since then, Israel has intensified efforts to destroy Damascus’s military stockpiles, and Israeli forces have entered a buffer zone east of the annexed Golan Heights, justifying their actions as a security precaution amid Syria’s ongoing political instability.

The corpse count included 15 civilians and nine soldiers of Syria’s new army, according to the Observatory.

"Israeli aircraft also launched approximately 500 airstrikes on military sites, destroying Syria’s entire weapons arsenal," it added.

Israel has refused to establish ties with the interim government in Damascus, with several Israeli officials calling the new Syrian authorities murderous Moslems.

But US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and whatever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th and 47th President of the United States...
is trying to mend ties between the two countries. On May 14, he called on Sharaa to normalize ties with Israel during a meeting in Riyadh hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists...
and attended remotely by Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First

His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First

...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
In a statement following the meeting, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time that Trump urged Sharaa to "sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel."

The Abraham Accords are a series of normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries - beginning with the UAE and Bahrain in 2020 - brokered by the US during Trump’s first term in office. These accords established formal ties in areas like diplomacy, security, and trade.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Eight Alawites said shot dead by ‘security personnel’ in central Syria

2025-06-05

[IsraelTimes] Eight civilians from Syria’s Alawite minority were shot dead by “security checkpoint personnel” on Wednesday in the central province of Hama, a war monitor says.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, of unclear funding, says that “security checkpoint personnel carried out a field execution of eight civilians, including three women, and injured five others — all Alawite, travelling in “a civilian passenger bus” in the western Hama countryside.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

ISIS claims first attack on Syrian government forces since Assad’s fall

2025-05-31

[IsraelTimes] Terror group says bomb targeted ‘vehicle of the apostate regime’ in southern province Sweida last week, leaving 7 soldiers dead or wounded; also hit US-backed Free Syrian Army

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....
group has grabbed credit for two attacks in southern Syria, including one on government forces that an opposition war monitor described as the first on the Syrian army to be carried out by the jihadists since the fall of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now...
’s regime in December.

In two separate statements issued late Thursday, ISIS said that in the first attack, a bomb exploded targeting a "vehicle of the apostate regime," leaving seven soldiers dead or maimed.

It said the attack occurred "last Thursday," or May 22, in the al-Safa area in the desert of the southern province of Sweida, a Druze-majority area that borders Jordan.

ISIS said that the second attack occurred this week in a nearby area during which a bomb targeted members of the US-backed Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
, claiming that it killed one fighter and maimed three.

There was no comment from the government on the claim of the attack and a spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, of unclear funding, said that the attack on government forces killed one civilian and maimed three soldiers, describing it as the first such attack to be claimed by ISIS against Syrian forces since the fall of the 54-year Assad family’s rule.

The man killed was accompanying the Syrian government forces in the desert area, according to the Observatory.

Islamic State, which once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, is opposed to the new authority in Damascus led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once the head of al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria and fought battles against ISIS.

Over the past several months, ISIS has grabbed credit for attacks against the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast.

ISIS was defeated in Syria in March 2019 when SDF fighters captured the last sliver of land that the turbans controlled. Since then, its sleeper cells have carried out deadly attacks, mainly in eastern and northeast Syria.

In January, state media reported that intelligence officials in Syria’s post-Assad government thwarted a plan by ISIS to set off a bomb at a Shiite Moslem shrine south of Damascus.

This week, Syrian authorities said they arrested members of an Islamic State cell near Damascus, accusing them of preparing attacks.

Another government operation in the northern city of Aleppo this month saw the death of one security forces officer and three ISIS members.

During a meeting with al-Sharaa in Riyadh this month, US President Donald Trump
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
called on him to help the US prevent the resurgence of ISIS, according to the White House.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said in a statement after the meeting that Trump urged Sharaa to diplomatically recognize Israel and "tell all foreign hard boyz to leave Syria."

Trump also said that Washington would work on lifting crippling economic sanctions imposed on Damascus since the days of Assad, and the US has begun to roll them back.

On Thursday, the long-shuttered US ambassador’s residence in Damascus was re-opened, and US Ambassador to ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
Tom Barrack — who has been appointed special envoy to Syria — proposed a "non-aggression agreement" between Israel and Syria.

Rooters reported earlier this week that Israel and Syria are in direct contact and have, in recent weeks, held face-to-face meetings aimed at calming tensions and preventing conflict in the border region.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

EU sanctions Syrian militia groups over deadly violence against Alawites

2025-05-29

[IsraelTimes] The EU imposes sanctions on three Syrian militia groups and two of their leaders for serious human rights abuses over their alleged involvement in deadly ethnic violence in March, an official document showed.

All three are units in Turkey’s Syrian National Army.

The Sultan Sulaiman Shah Brigade, the Hamza Division and the Sultan Murad Division, as well as the heads of the first two kkgroups, were added to Brussels’ sanction list for their “part in the violence in the coastal region of Syria, targeting civilians and especially the Alawite community,” the EU’s official journal reads.

Rudaw adds:

“In relation to the wave of violence that took place in Syria’s coastal region in March 2025, the Council has introduced new restrictive measures under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, targeting two individuals and three entities for serious human rights abuses,” the EU Council said in a statement.

Included in the sanctions list are Mohammed Hussein al-Jassim (Abu Amsha) and Seyf Boulad Abu Bakr, the notorious commanders of the Turkish-backed Suleiman Shah Brigade and Hamza Division, respectively, as well as their associated factions and the Sultan Murad Division.

The SNA is a coalition of militias backed by Turkey that have largely been integrated into the Syrian defense ministry. Throughout the course of the Syrian civil war, they have been complicit in attacks on minority communities such as Kurds and Alawites.

The EU accused all three factions of “targeting civilians and especially the Alawite community, including by committing torture and arbitrary killings of civilians,” stressing that they are “therefore responsible for serious human rights abuses.”

The measures are binding and directly applicable in all EU member states.

In March, violence erupted in Alawite-majority areas after armed groups, many loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad, launched attacks on forces allied with the government, prompting Damascus to respond with force.

Around 1,500 people, mainly Alawite civilians, were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said most of the casualties were caused by government or government-affiliated forces.

Two weeks ago, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Damascus to exclude those with records of abuse from the Syrian security forces - referring to SNA militants - and said the fighters continue to detain and extort civilians in northern Syria.

Syria’s new authorities have faced backlash, particularly from the Kurds, for appointing militia figures complicit in serious human rights abuses against the community.

Sharaa’s interim government, headed by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has faced repeated criticism for its treatment of minority groups, with many Syrians and foreign powers fearing it will impose strict religious rule, posing a threat to Kurds, Druze, Christians, and Alawites. The violence heightened concerns over the future of these populations.

On May 20, the EU officially decided to lift all economic sanctions on Syria.

“The Council has also removed 21 entities from the EU list of those subject to the freezing of funds and economic resources,” the Council said on Wednesday. “Several of these entities are banks, including the Central Bank of Syria, or companies operating in key sectors for Syria’s economic recovery.”

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas hailed the decision, saying it comes at a “historic” time to safeguard Syria’s economic recovery.

“The EU has stood with the Syrian people throughout the last 14 years, and it will continue to do so. Today the EU reaffirms its commitment as a partner for the transition,” Kallas said.

Link

International-UN-NGOs

Syrian collective files complaint against Sharaa at International Criminal Court

2025-05-25

A waste of time, but at least it gets the information into the historical record.

[Rudaw] A French-Syrian group has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing Syria’s interim president of being responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, according to a media report.

The Franco-Alawite Collective, which is composed of Alawites, Druze, Kurds, Christians, and Sunnis, filed the complaint against interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, La Belle Franceinfo reported on Friday. They accuse him of orchestrating massacres in March and May that left between 1,700 and 2,000 people dead.

In March, violence erupted

like lava from a volcano in Alawite-majority areas after gangs, many loyal to ousted president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Horror of Homs...
, launched attacks on forces allied with the government, prompting Damascus to respond with force. Around 1,500 people, mainly Alawite civilians, were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said most of the casualties were caused by government or government-affiliated forces. Amnesty International said the mass killings must be investigated as a "war crime."

In April and May, deadly festivities broke out between government forces and Druze fighters.

The collective claims the deaths qualify as genocide or crimes against humanity and say they have video evidence to support their accusations.

"This complaint is in the name of the Syrian people," said Lina Peron, a member of the collective’s legal committee, La Belle Franceinfo reported.

The complaint was submitted to the ICC prosecutor’s office, which will decide whether to open a formal investigation.

Facing international criticism, Sharaa, who led the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS) militia that spearheaded the offensive to topple dictator Bashir al-Assad, ordered an investigation into violence against minorities.

Sharaa’s interim government has faced repeated criticism for its treatment of minority groups, with many Syrians and foreign powers fearing it will impose strict religious rule, posing a threat to Kurds, Druze, Christians, and Alawites. The violence heightened concerns over the future of these populations.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Jihadists Launch Deadly Attack On Russian Airbase On Syria's Coast

2025-05-24

(ZeroHedge] In another clear indicator of just how drastically everything has changed in Syria in the wake of Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December last year, a militant group attempted to storm Russia's Hmeimim air base on Syria’s coast on Wednesday. Already the future of the base is uncertain, but Russia has still been maintaining it - given also Hmeimim is Moscow's only airbase on the Mediterranean.

"Militants attacked a Russian air base in Syria, killing two soldiers, a Syrian government official and a local activist said Wednesday," according to The Associated Press. Russian statements, which offered little detail, did not indicate if the slain were Russian soldiers or possibly foreign nationals who were contractors.

At least two militants were killed during their assault on the airbase. They are being widely reported as foreign Islamist fighters affiliated with the new Syrian government's military under President Sharaa (Jolani).

The Jolani/HTS government has tried to distance itself from the attack, as it is still seeking diplomatic normalization with Russia and a reset in relations:

The government official said the two militants who were killed were foreign nationals who had worked as military trainers at a naval college that was training members of the new government’s military. He said they had acted on their own in attacking the base and were not officially affiliated with any faction.

Damascus has on Thursday deployed additional forces in an effort to stabilize the security situation in villages near the airbase.

"The city of Jableh and the villages surrounding the Russian Hmeimim air base in the Jableh countryside are witnessing a security alert. Heavy deployment of public security forces has been observed in the villages of Al-Sharashir and Al-Qubaisa, both close to the base," the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says.

SOHR had further described "clashes in which medium and heavy machine guns were used, coinciding with the sounding of alarm sirens inside the base" - when the incident unfolded.

One regional outlet has said Russian soldiers were killed, and that it was Uzbek terrorists behind the assault:

According to a report by the Erem outlet, the 20 May attack resulted in the killing of three Russian soldiers and the injury of at least six others. The report says the attack was carried out by an Uzbek-led faction, which afterwards began to mobilize in the village of Al-Sharashir, just two kilometers from the base.

Erem also said the Uzbek armed group, responsible for past atrocities including the killing of children, have displaced and intimidated scores of residents and have seized homes in in the nearby town.

#BREAKING | Islamist militants reportedly affiliated with ruling HTS attacked Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base in Syria around 4–5 AM. Russian forces returned fire, reportedly killing four militants. https://t.co/UQGcfjWqt0 pic.twitter.com/JorasQW3My
— The Global Eye (@TGEThGlobalEye) May 21, 2025

This coastal area near Latakia has for months seen attacks and massacres conducted by Islamic militant factions against the minority Alawite community of Syria. Christians and Druze have also been targeted.

Thousands of Alawites have been reported killed, and while the Jolani government has formally condemned the killings, eyewitnesses have consistently said the attacks had the involvement of HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) fighters, which remains the ruling faction in Damascus.

During the height of the sectarian killings, Alawite families sought refuge at Hmeimim air base in large numbers. Many thousands have been camped out on the base tarmac, with at times Russian troops seen handing out food and water and necessities of survival.

Back in March, Alawites expressed their distrust of HTS provided "security"...

HTS AlQaeda reps try to convince Syrian Alawi refugees to leave the Russian Hmeimim air base and go home. "Trust us now, mistakes happen, things got out of control". pic.twitter.com/JIpzSHpAB0

— tim anderson (@timand2037) March 18, 2025

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this week expressed particular concern about the chaotic situation in Syria, where he said extremist militant groups are carrying out "real ethnic cleansing and mass killings based on ethnic and sectarian identity". He blasted what he called the West’s "stunning" indifference to mass killings acts of terrorism.

The strong comments followed in the wake of President Trump meeting with Syria's Sharaa while in Saudi Arabia earlier this month. This stunned even some Washington officials, given that Sharaa/Jolani has long been a US-designated terrorist. Trump has said he wants to give Syria a fresh start, and also announced the US will drop sanctions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week told a Senate hearing that Syria could collapse within just weeks; however, he didn't acknowledge in the testimony that it was the CIA's Operation Timber Sycamore which served to weaken and destabilize the country in the first place.

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