Author: Steven Sahiounie

By:Brett Wilkins An unconfirmed number of Afghan civilians – reportedly more than 60 – were killed along with the regional leader of a splinter Taliban faction and dozens of militants in a US drone attack in Herat province on Wednesday. Local government officials and members of the Herat provincial council told Tolo News, Afghanistan’s leading 24/7 television news channel, that “at least 60 civilians, including women and children” died in US drone strikes in Shindand, a town in southern Herat. The outlet reported that four armed drones attacked several homes, targeting Mullah Mohammad Nangyalai, the regional leader of an insurgent faction…

Saudi Aramco announced on Sunday it has used its “greenshoe option” to sell an additional 450 million shares, raising its initial public offering (IPO) to a record size of  $29.4 billion. Saudi Arabia-owned Aramco initially raised a then-record $25.6 billion in its IPO in December by selling 3 billion shares at 32 riyals ($8.53), yet indicated that this is not the final number and it might sell additional shares through the over-allotment of shares. The company said it had used the “greenshoe option” or over-allotment, an option which allows companies to issue more shares in an IPO when there is…

Nearly 60 people, including 48 police officers, were injured in clashes between security forces and students outside the University of Wasit in Iraq’s eastern Wasit province, media reported on Sunday, citing a security source. “Forty-eight police officers were injured. Eleven demonstrators were also wounded,” the source told Alsumaria broadcaster. The anti-government protests in Iraq began in October with demonstrators demanding economic reforms and calling on the government to step down amid a poor economic situation in the country. Hundreds of people died and thousands of others sustained injuries as the protests were suppressed by the authorities and turned violent. The…

This comes following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart in Istanbul on 8 January when they urged both sides in the conflict in Libya to start observing a ceasefire from midnight on 12 January. Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) has shot down a Turkish drone that was carrying mortar rounds in violation of the latest ceasefire between the LNA and the Government of National Accord (GNA), the LNA’s Al-Karama Operations Room said Sunday. “An enemy Turkish drone that was carrying mortar rounds was shot down. This [the flight] was a violation of…

The Balad military base was a target of last week’s rocket attacks carried out in retaliation for the death of Iranian Quds chief Qasem Soleimani. The attack resulted in no casualties or damage. Seven mortar bombs have hit the Iraqi Balad Air Base in the north of the country, Reuters quoted military sources as saying. According to sources, four Iraqi soldiers were injured in the incident. However, AFP cited security forces as saying that the base was hit by just four rockets. The military installation is an Iraqi Air Force Base situated some 64 kilometres north of the capital Baghdad. The…

Earlier, the two opposing governments in Libya struck a ceasefire deal that began at midnight local time on January 12. The head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has arrived in Moscow, where he could hold talks with Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya Fayez Sarraj, a Libyan informed source said. According to the source, Sarraj will arrive in Moscow on Monday. “Khalifa Haftar has already arrived in Moscow. Sarraj will arrive there on Monday. They are expected to have negotiations in Moscow,” the source added. Earlier, the head of the Russian…

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a joint statement on Sunday that they remained committed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and urged Tehran to cancel all measures that go against the Iran nuclear deal. “We stay committed to JCPOA and its preservation; we call on Iran to cancel all measures incompatible with the agreement,” the statement, released by the Elysee Palace’s press office, read. Paris, Berlin and London also urged Tehran to refrain from further proliferation and reaffirmed their readiness to continue dialogue with Iran in order…

The commander of the Iranian Armed Forces’ Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, has apologized for shooting down Ukraine’s Boeing 737, Iran’s ISNA news agency reported. “Never in my life was I so ashamed. Perhaps we made a mistake that caused many of our compatriots to die. However, we did it unintentionally, we apologize,” the media outlet quoted Salami as saying during his speech in the Iranian parliament. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed near Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport minutes after takeoff on Wednesday. All 176 people on board were killed, including citizens of Iran, Ukraine,…

On January 2, the US launched an airstrike at Baghdad International Airport, killing Iranian Gen. Qassem Suleimani, and multiple Iraqis. It turns out that was not the only US assassination bid that day. US officials are now reporting that they also took a shot at Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Abdul Reza Shahlai, who was in Yemen at the time. They failed to kill him. Officials are declining to offer specifics, but the Treasury Department accused him of “a long history of targeting Americans and US allies globally.” Officials are also not talking about what specifically the justification for the attack…

Warplanes of the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) carried out on January 11 morning a series of airstrikes on Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) so-called “security zone” in Idlib’s city center. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the Syrian airstrikes targeted the outskirt of the “Cultural Center” in the city’s center. Several headquarters of al-Qaeda-affiliated HTS are believed to be located in that part of the city. Syrian warplanes also targeted the towns of Khan Assubul, Deir Sunbul, Sarmin, al-Nerab, Binish and the city of Ma`arat al-Nu`man, which are located to the east and south of Idlib’s…