Author: Steven Sahiounie

Preliminary reports suggest that two suicide bombers entered the Sikh temple in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and started to fire indiscriminately. Eyewitness also confirmed a massive explosion inside the house of worship. Narender Singh Khalsa, a member of the Afghan parliament, says that three to four people had been killed in the clash, while nearly 150 people are trapped inside the Dharamshala, a Sikh area of worship, in the Shorbazar neighbourhood of Kabul, where suicide bombers entered on Wednesday morning. Afghan security forces have reached the site and a gunfight is underway, said Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the…

The government of Iran has transmitted the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to at least five countries, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Monday. “Fact: In February, Iran’s chief terror airline, Mahan Air, ran at least 55 flights between Tehran and China, further infecting the Iranian people. At least five foreign countries’ first cases of coronavirus were directly imported from Iran, putting millions more lives at risk”, the statement said. Pompeo also accused the Iranian government of lying about the real number of cases of COVID-19 infection and deaths in the country as well as of using…

On Marh 23, Turkish and Russian forces conducted a second ‘limited’ joint patrol in the framework of the new Idlib de-escalation agreement recently reached in Moscow. The patrol reportedly involved 6 pieces of military equipment (3 – Turkish and 3 – Russian) and took place on a short chunk of the M4 highway west of Sraqib. Under the Moscow agrement, the Turkish side is responsible to create a security zone along the M4 highway in southern Idlib and secure the withdrawal of heavy weapons and radical militants from the area. After this, the sides had to start conducting patrols along…

Turkey launched a new anti-terror operation in its eastern Bingol province, involving upwards of 1,000 personnel, the Turkish Interior Ministry announced on March 23rd. The ministry said Operation Trap-9 Karer aimed at neutralizing terrorists hiding throughout Bingol. Some 68 operational teams from Gendarmerie Special Operations, special forces from police and security units have been established for the action. No specific group was mentioned, but the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are reportedly active in Eastern Turkey, thus it is almost certain that it is against Kurdish groups. Meanwhile, Turkey’s operation against PKK in Syria and Iraq are on-going. The counter-terrorism operations will continue…

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has bluntly refuted claims by US State Department that the Islamic Republic is fostering conspiracy theories by highlighting the role of the United States in the global spread of the deadly new coronavirus, known as COVID-19. On Sunday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei addressed the Iranian nation through a televised speech in which he described the US “the most evil enemy of the Iranian nation.” The Leader pointed to allegations by US President Donald Trump and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to the effect that Washington is ready to help Iran in…

Israeli troops have shot dead a young Palestinian man after he allegedly threw stones near a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Ni’lin, located west of Ramallah. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed on Sunday that the man has lost his life after being shot by the Israeli troops’ gunfire. A spokesperson for the Israeli military claimed the Israeli forces had thwarted an “attempted terrorist attack” near the N’ilin Junction on Sunday night. His claim comes as he himself admits the man killed by Israeli troops was among a number of people “throwing stones” toward Israeli vehicles. The Israeli…

Saudi Arabia is set to impose a nationwide curfew starting on Monday to fight the deadly coronavirus that hit more people in the kingdom and across the Middle East, while the United Arab Emirates will suspend all passenger flights. Saudi King Salman ordered an 11-hour curfew from 7 pm to 6 am to contain the spread of the COVID-19, state news agency SPA reported Monday. The curfew, which will take effect on Monday evening and last for 21 days, it added. The decree came as Saudi Arabia reported 119 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number to 511 – the highest among the Persian…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree on Friday postponing all events related to science, culture and the arts, as the country seeks to contain a surge in coronavirus cases. Turkey’s Covid-19 death toll has reached four, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Thursday. The number of confirmed cases in the country has surged since the first case was announced last week, reaching 359 on Thursday. The cases have roughly doubled every day since Sunday, Reuters reports. Erdogan’s decree, published in the Official Gazette on Friday, said all meetings and activities, indoors or outdoors, related to science, culture, art…

Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on ISIS hideouts in Hamrin Mountains in northern Iraq. According to the Iraqi military’s Joint Operations Command, many hideouts were destroyed in the airstrikes, which also eliminated “dozens” of ISIS terrorists. “The operation was carried out with Iraqi planning by the Joint Operations Command and the Army Chief of Staff and with the preparations of Iraqi technicians from the Air Force Command, after the withdrawal of the international [U.S.-led] coalition,” Yehia al-Rasool, a spokesman for the Iraqi military, said. The Iraqi military shared a video showing some of the…

On March 22, the Turkish military begin working to establish two “observation posts” near the city of Jisr al-Shughur in the northwestern part of Syria’s Greater Idlib. According to opposition activists, the pots will be established on the hilltops of Khattab and Msheirfeh, which overlook the M4 highway. The strategic highway, which links the coastal city of Lattakia with Aleppo city, also runs right through Jisr al-Shughur. Earlier, opposition sources, including the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), reported that several Turkish military convoys have entered Greater Idlib. Jisr al-Shughur and its vicinity are under the control of al-Qaeda-affiliated…