Syria

Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 25-31, 2016)

ISIS officially announced the death of its spokesman, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, in the Aleppo Province (August 30, 2016). The announcement threatened revenge for his death. As for the situation on the ground, after the takeover of the city of Jarabulus (August 24), Turkey continued its Euphrates Shield operation in the area west of the Euphrates
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Spotlight on Iran* (August 14-28, 2016)

Iran allowed the Russian air force to use its base at Hamedan (western Iran) for air strikes in Syria. A high ranking commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed Iran had established a “Shi’ite liberation army” operating in Syria, Iraq and Yemen under the command of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC’s
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The Campaign West of the Euphrates: Analysis of Turkish Army and Rebel Organizations’ Capture of Jarabulus (Initial assessment, morning of August 25, 2016)

On August 24, 2016, the city Jarabulus, located near the Turkish border, was captured from ISIS by Turkish army armored and special forces along with Syrian rebel organizations. From the Turkish perspective, the objective of the so-called Operation Euphrates Shield was to repel ISIS from proximity to its border and prevent the Kurdish forces from
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Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 18-24, 2016)

This week, the fighting in Syria was concentrated in and around the city of Aleppo and in the area west of the Euphrates River, near the Syrian-Turkish border In Aleppo, the rebel organizations (led by the Fateh al-Sham Front) managed to fend off attacks by the Syrian Army and maintain the logistical corridor in the
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Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 11-17, 2016)

The main event of the week was the liberation of the city of Manbij, west of the Euphrates River, near the Syrian-Turkish border. In the Aleppo region, the Syrian forces, with Russian air support, failed in their attempt to retake the logistics corridor that the rebel organizations had managed to open in the southern part
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Spotlight on Iran* (July 31 – August 14, 2016)

At least six Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) fighters and one regular army officer were killed during the past two weeks battling Syrian rebels in the Aleppo region. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force praised the brigade, which so far has lost about 400 of its fighters in combat in Syria. A delegation
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