Syria

Spotlight on Global Jihad (October 26 – November 1, 2017)

A ramming attack was carried out this week in New York City (Lower Manhattan) on a bicycle path, by means of a rented pickup truck. In Syria and Iraq, Syrian and Iraqi forces are advancing in the Euphrates Valley in order to take over the last remaining “core areas” along the Euphrates River still under ISIS’s control, in the area between Rawa and Al-Qaim (Iraq) and Abu Kamal (Syria). In the ITIC’s assessment, the return of the foreign fighters to their home countries is expected to pose a serious security problem.
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Spotlight on Iran (October 15-29, 2017)

At the center of events of the past two weeks was the visit to Syria of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri. Alongside its military effort, Iran is acting to increase its reliagious influence in Syria. The visit of the Commander of the Qods Force of the IRGC, Qasem Soleimani, to the Kurdish region in northern Iraq was at the center of events in Iraq.
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Spotlight on Global Jihad (October 19-25, 2017)

The predominantly Kurdish SDF officially announced this week that the city of Al-Raqqah had been fully liberated. The United States and the Kurds are trying to enlist the Saudis to assist in the rebuilding of Al-Raqqah. This week, around 200 ISIS operatives were evacuated from the town of Al-Qaryatayn, southeast of Homs.
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Spotlight on Global Jihad (October 3-18, 2017)

Over the past week, the rapid collapse of the Islamic State, which is about to lose its last remaining strongholds in Syria and Iraq, has accelerated. In the face of ISIS’s defeats in Syria and Iraq, the operational capabilities of ISIS’s Sinai Province are noteworthy.
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Spotlight on Global Jihad (September 28 – October 2, 2017)

This week as well, the events in Syria centered around the areas of Idlib and Deir ez-Zor: A noteworthy event at the propaganda level is an audiotape released by ISIS and attributed to its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The calls by Al-Baghdadi and ISIS’s propaganda machine to intensify the attacks abroad are apparently being heeded.
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Spotlight on Iran (September 17- October 1, 2017)

Last week, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) struck several ISIS positions along the Syria-Iraq border. As the campaign against ISIS is drawing to a close, Iran continues to expand its foothold in Syria’s economy.
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