Author: Steven Sahiounie

The US public must persuade Donald Trump to withdraw American troops from Iraq or become the target of retaliation, Iraqi militias, whose commander was killed in the airstrike on Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, warned. The deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was among the Iranian and Iraqi officials killed in a US operation in Baghdad on Friday. And PMF, which unites some 40 militias and has around 150,000 members, promised that they won’t let American “criminals” get away with murder. “All retaliation options are on the table… no red lines shall hinder our revenge,” Jawad Al Telbawi, a…

Iran fired a slew of missiles at US bases in Iraq, fulfilling its promise to avenge the death of its top general. Will both sides stop where they are, or are we witnessing the calm before an all-out storm?  Two waves of Iranian missiles rained down overnight on two military installations housing US and coalition troops, one in Al-Asad and one in Erbil. The strikes were heavy on symbolism, with Iranian leadership making sure that the US gets the message right. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the attack – codenamed ‘Martyr Soleimani’ after the slain commander of Iran’s clandestine…

The Turkish Defence Ministry has given no further details as to the exact area of the explosion or who is responsible for the attack. On Wednesday, four Turkish servicemen were killed in a car explosion in the north of Syria, the AFP news outlet reported, citing Turkey’s Ministry of Defence. According to AFP, the soldiers were killed on road patrol in the region where Operation Peace Spring had taken place last October. On 9 October 2019, Turkey conducted a military incursion, dubbed Operation Peace Spring, into Syrian border areas controlled by the Kurdish militants. Damascus views the Turkish offensive as a violation of…

The Tripoli-based Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) welcomed the Russian-Turkish statement on the situation in Libya. “The Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord followed the meeting between presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin … and the published statement. The Presidential Council is highly assessing and welcomes the efforts of friendly countries, aimed at looking for the solution of the crisis,” the GNA said on late Wednesday in a statement, published on the Facebook page. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on all parties to the conflict in Libya to cease fire…

Two US military bases in Iraq were attacked early on 8 January with Iranian missiles in an act of retaliation for Washington’s operation that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani on 3 January in Baghdad. In his address to the nation, US President Donald Trump said that no US military personnel were hurt in the Iranian missile attack on its bases in Iraq on 8 January, while the bases themselves sustained “minimal” damage. He noted that this was due to precautions that were taken, the “dispersal of forces”, and an early warning system. The POTUS further announced that the US would impose “new powerful…

The CNN report about “government destroying Uygur cemetery” was apparently biased and partial, the Global Times found, after visiting the “cemetery” mentioned by the CNN. CNN reported last Thursday that “more than 100 Uygur graveyards were demolished by Chinese authorities,” showing satellite images of the Sultanim “cemetery” and jumping to the conclusion that China has been destroying traditional Uygur cemeteries as part of a “campaign to control Islamic beliefs and Muslim minority groups within its border.” The Global Times reporters on Monday visited the Sultanim “cemetery” in Hotan, Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and interviewed local residents and officials to reveal the true…

Gold prices hit near seven-year highs on Wednesday before declining to stay above the key $1,500 support as President Donald Trump refrained from escalating the United States’ conflict with Iran after Tehran launched missile attacks on US-Iraqi airbases without killing anyone. Gold futures for February delivery on New York’s COMEX was down $11.35, or 0.7 percent, at $1,562.95 per ounce by 1:25 PM ET (18:25 GMT). They earlier hit $1,612.95, the highest since March 2013. The dollar, a contrarian trade to gold, rose on Wednesday as gold prices fell. The US Dollar Index, which pits against the greenback against a basket…

Two loud blasts followed by sirens were heard in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday night, Reuters reported, citing witnesses. According to Al-Mayadeen, two rockets fell in the Green Zone in central Baghdad, where government buildings and diplomatic facilities are situated. A Sputnik security source has confirmed that two rockets fell in Baghdad’s Green Zone. “Two rockets fell in the Green Zone in the centre of Baghdad, there is no information on any damage yet,” the source said. Later, the country’s security services said that no people were injured. “Two Katyusha rockets fell in the Green Zone, no people were injured,” the security services’ press service…

The LNA announced that the city of Sirte is now under its full control. However, the LNA is not going to develop the advance on the pro-GNA city of Misrata right now. Most likely, the LNA leadership is planning to negotiate a kind of a deal with the Misrata militia leadership. units of the Libyan National Army (LNA) took control of the Gardabiya Airbase near the city of Sirte and entered Sirte itself. According to reports from the ground, a part of Sirte(Misrata) militia loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) defected to the LNA. The rest of them…

Turkey is paying higher salaries to militants who go and fight in Libya, Foreign Policy Research Institute fellow Elizabeth Tsurkov said. According to her, fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian militant groups were paid approximately $50 a month in Syria, but the rumored salary in Libya was $1,500 per month. In addition, fighters are being promised Turkish citizenship after 6 months of deployment in Libya. Reportedly 3 Turkish-backed militants died fighting against the Libyan National Army (LNA), and there is even a debate on how to report their deaths, and even if to report them at all. Meanwhile, there was a…