Author: Steven Sahiounie

Twenty-five Afghan policemen have been killed while attempting to escape the Taliban siege in the central province of Uruzgan, a source in the Gizab district told Sputnik on Monday.The heavy fighting has been ongoing in the district for several days, with the Taliban having seized a number of nearby areas. The confrontation comes against the backdrop of Kabul-Taliban peace talks, which started in Qatar on September 12.“Last night [late on Sunday], policemen wanted to get out of the encirclement of Taliban in the ‘Kandogak’ area of Gizab district and tried to escape the Taliban siege but on the way they…

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif will visit Moscow on September 24 and have a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Zamir Kabulov, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department and special presidential representative for Afghanistan, told Sputnik on Monday.“Yes, he [Zarif] is coming. His consultations with Sergey Lavrov are planned for September 24,” Kabulov said.“They will discuss the usual issues — bilateral relations, Syria, JCPOA, other regional issues,” he added.According to Kabulov, the ministers will discuss potential lifting of arms embargo.Source: Sputnik

The United States has not launched the procedure for reinstating the UN sanctions on Iran, which is envisioned by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and therefore any further unilateral restrictions against Tehran will be illegitimate, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, told Sputnik in an interview.On Saturday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that all the previously scrapped UN sanctions against Iran were being reinstated after the US triggered a 30-day snapback mechanism under Resolution 2231.“The regime of Iran sanctions was canceled five years ago when the [UN Security] Council adopted Resolution 2231, which means any…

The Russian side of the Russian-Turkish commission monitoring the implementation of the Syrian truce has recorded five ceasefire violations in the country in the past 24 hours, while the Turkish side has registered no breaches, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.“The Russian side of the Russian-Turkish commission reviewing issues related to violations of the ceasefire has registered five cases of firing in the provinces of Aleppo (3), Latakia (1) and Idlib (1). The Turkish side has registered no cases of firing,” the ministry said in its daily bulletin.In addition, the Russian military has held humanitarian operations in the village…

On Monday, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced that the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border has been tense and led to the death of an Azerbaijani soldier as a result of mutual exchange of hostilities.According to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, an exchange of fire with the Armenian forces resulted in the death of the soldier.The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense also accused the Armenian forces of opening fire on his country’s forces.They said, “As a result of another provocation of the enemy in the direction of Tovuz on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Sergeant of the Azerbaijani army,…

The Chinese Air Force released a “simulated video of an attack by H-6 bombers with nuclear capabilities on the Anderson Air Force base on the U.S. island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean,” as regional tensions continue to escalate.The 2-minute and 15-second video shows the H-6 bombers taking off from a desert air base in unknown location.In the middle of the video, a pilot is shown pressing a button to launch a missile at a coastal runway, whose name has not been revealed, but satellite images show a close resemblance to the Anderson Air Force base. The Reuters News Agency…

The Venezuelan military clashed with members of the “new” FARC militant group in Apure, near the Venezuelan-Colombian border on Sunday.According to military reports, four soldiers and as many as fifteen FARC members were killed in the conflict.Following the ratification of the Colombian peace deal on October 2, 2016, several members of the militant groups have split from the newly formed political party and rejoined forces mainly focused on the illegal narcotics trade.While clashes near the Venezuelan-Colombian border between various militant groups and gangs are common, the extend of the casualties on Sunday were unusually high.While the Colombian peace agreement was…

The Syrian and Russian air forces carried out a large number of airstrikes over the Idlib Governorate on Sunday, as their warplanes heavily targeted the positions of the the Al-Qaeda-linked Hurras Al-Deen group.According to a field source in the Latakia Governorate, the two air forces struck a number of jihadist bases and warehouses across Idlib, inflicting heavy damage on the latter’s installations and positions in the process.The source said the Syrian Air Force, backed by Russian reconnaissance aircraft, struck the jihadist group’s command center, resulting in its subsequent destruction.In addition to hitting these sites, the Syrian and Russian air forces…

British warplanes and ships have significantly increased their patrols along the Russian border in order to identify “weak points” in Russia’s defense, according to the Sunday Times newspaper.Since the last week of August, at least 28 RAF aircraft have been dispatched to Russia’s borders in the Black Sea region, as well as to the shores of the Kolsky Peninsula, the newspaper reported.The newspaper indicated that, at times, up to five fighters were involved during one sortie.According to the newspaper, long-range flights are carried out by Typhoon fighters and Voyager tank aircraft, as well as Sentinel, RC-135 and Sentry E-3 AWACS…

The General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces announced on Sunday, that it has thwarted an infiltration attempt from Jordanian territory into Syria.The General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces said, in a statement issued on its official website by a military source, that “the northern military region thwarted, yesterday, Saturday, on one of its facades, an attempt by a person to infiltrate from Jordanian lands into Syrian lands.”The source indicated that “the rules of engagement were applied, which led to his arrest, and his transfer to the competent security authorities.”The source added that “the Jordanian Armed Forces will deal…