Syria

Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 15-21, 2019)

This week, the Syrian army forces completed the takeover of the rural area west and northwest of the city of Khan Shaykhun. In view of these developmentsTurkey sent a military convoy that included dozens of armored vehicles and tank transporters. The convoy was attacked from the air, reportedly by Russian and Syrian aircraft. The incident created the first friction of its kind between Turkey, on the one hand, and Russia and Syria on the other. In response to the airstrike, the Turkish foreign minister warned Syria “not to play with fire” In the Iraqi arena, ISIS’s terrorist and guerrilla operations in the various provinces continued, in the form of sniper fire, IEDs, and mortar shells. This week as well, Afghanistan was the scene of many of the attacks carried out by ISIS operatives in its provinces in Africa and Asia.
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Developments in the Idlib Region (Updated to the morning of August 20, 2019)

During the past two weeks the Syrian army scored a series of victories southwest of the Idlib region, the first of their kind since the ground offensive at the beginning of May 2019. Syrian army forces took control of a number of villages west and northwest of the city of Khan Sheikhoun. Syrian advance forces entered the western outskirts of the city and set up a roadblock on the M5 highway (the Damascus-Hama-Aleppo road)
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Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 8-14, 2019)

Following the collapse of the ceasefire in the Idlib region, the Syrian army launched a series of ground attacks in several zones. In the Euphrates Valley in eastern Syria, ISIS continues its increased activity in the area of Al-Raqqah and Deir ez-Zor–Al-Mayadeen. In the Iraqi arena, ISIS’s terrorist and guerrilla activity in the various provinces continues, as does the widespread operation by the Iraqi security forces to mop up northern and western Iraq. On August 3-11, 2019, ISIS carried out its Raids of Attrition Campaign, which is intended to encourage ISIS’s supporters and to reinforce the message that ISIS is enhancing its presence and activity around the globe.
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Spotlight on Iran (July 28 – August 11, 2019)

In late July, the Commander of the Qods Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Qasem Soleimani, visited the Albu Kamal crossing connecting Syria and Iraq and met with commanders of pro-Iranian militias in the region. In the economic sphere, Iran is preparing to participate in the international fair set to be held in Damascus soon. In early August, a delegation of high-ranking commanders of the Iraqi Shi’ite pro-Iranian militia, Harakat al-Nujaba’, visited Iran. Recent reports about the visit of the Hamas delegation to Tehran at the end of July indicate that during the visit, the representatives of Iran and Hamas agreed to expand cooperation between them. These reports indicate that Iran promised Hamas to advocate on its behalf with the Syrian regime, to allow Hamas’ leadership to return to Damascus and improve relations between the Palestinian faction and the Syrian leadership, after the rift emerged between the two sides following the outbreak of the civil war in Syria.
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Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 1-7, 2019)

On August 2, 2019, the Syrian army announced a ceasefire in the Idlib area following the statement that was made by participants of the Astana meeting (August 1, 2019). The Astana statement called for a calm on the ground in the Idlib area based on the implementation of the Sochi Memorandum The ceasefire lasted four days until the Syrian army announced the resumption of military activity. Following the Syrian army’s announcement, exchanges of fire in the Idlib area resumed. In the Iraqi arena, ISIS’s intensive activity in the various provinces continues. On August 3, 2019, ISIS renewed its Raids of Attrition campaign in Syria, Iraq and the various provinces around the globe. Intensive activity in Afghanistan was the major part of ISIS’s attacks around the globe. In addition, “routine” attacks by ISIS operatives continued in the Sinai Peninsula, Nigeria, Niger, Mozambique, Somalia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Yemen.
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Spotlight on Global Jihad (July 25-31, 2019)

The Syrian army managed to record an achievement in the Idlib area after many weeks of being bogged down. At the same time, ISIS’s process of recovery in Syria continued. In the Iraqi arena, ISIS continues its intensive terrorist and guerrilla activity in the various provinces. ISIS’s routine activity in the various overseas provinces and regions continued
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