Author: Steven Sahiounie

By Elijah J. Magnier The US did not plan to kill the vice commander of the Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi brigade Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes when it assassinated Iranian Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani on Thursday at 11:00 PM local time at Baghdad airport. Usually, when Soleimani was arriving in Baghdad, security commander Abu Zeinab al-Lami, a deputy officer to al Muhandes, would have welcomed him. This time, al-Lami was outside Iraq and al-Muhandes replaced him. The US plan was to assassinate an Iranian General on Iraqi soil, not to kill a high-ranking Iraqi officer. By killing al-Muhandes, the US violated its treaty…

By Elizabeth McLaughlin The Pentagon is deploying roughly 3,500 more troops to the Middle East in response to rising tensions in the region with Iran and one day after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian military commander. The soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division could leave Fort Bragg in North Carolina for the Middle East as early as this weekend, two U.S. officials told ABC News. One official indicated the troops could be stationed in Kuwait, where 750 soldiers from the same brigade were deployed on Tuesday following violent protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The decision to deploy additional…

Steven Sahiounie, political commentator Qasem Soleimani was assassinated last night in Baghdad by a drone strike ordered by President Trump. The Iranian Commander of the ‘Quds Force’ was killed alongside the leader of the Iraqi ‘Popular Mobilization Forces’, Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, aka Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, along with at least 6 persons. Regional leaders and analysts feel that Trump has crossed a ‘red-line’ by killing such a high-level Iranian official. This may illicit a comparable attack on a US official of equal stature. This decision by Trump is unprecedented, and many feel demonstrates his chaotic Middle East foreign policy. Defense Secretary…

Three rockets landed on the edge of Baghdad International Airport in the Iraqi capital early Friday morning, causing explosions, according to local reporters. At least 12 Iraqi servicemen were injured and 8 people killed, as well as several leaders of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, including head of protocol affairs Mohammed Rida al-Jabri. The attack reportedly targeted several SUVs belonging to a leadership committee of the Popular Mobilization Forces, the collection of semi-independent militias tied to the Iraqi government that were formed to fight Daesh in 2014. A Sky News reporter tweeted in Arabic about the potential deaths of PMF…

In its latest recruitment drive the British army has ascended a higher bar of desperation by reaching out to some of the most questionable elements in society. Army posters and adverts are now targeting “social media addicts”, “gym junkies” and “binge drinkers”. The aim of the campaign is to appeal to young people’s quest for self-confidence by creating the impression that army life can correct their low self-esteem and associated chaotic lifestyles. This latest clumsy recruitment drive comes on the heels of similar bizarre and failed attempts by the British army to recruit from the most disturbed sections of society.…

Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad has appointed the new government to be presented to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as the country strives to recover after months of political crisis, Algerian media reported. According to the Algerian state television, the new government will comprise Kamel Beldjoud as interior minister, Sabri Boukadoum as foreign minister, Mohamed Arkab as energy minister, Belkacem Zeghmati as justice minister, Abderrahmane Raouia as finance minister, Bendoudad Malika as culture minister, and Cherif Omari as the minister of agriculture — a total of 28 ministers, the youngest among them 26-year old Minister of Startups Yacine Oualid. Said Chengriha will serve…

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) launched on January 2 afternoon a tactical ballistic missile at militants’ positions in the so-called Greater Idlib region. Opposition activists said that the missile landed in the outskirt of the town of Bidama, which is located in the western Idlib countryside. According to the available information, a Soviet-made OTR-21 Tochka missile armed with a cluster warhead was likely used in the strike. The missile has a range between 70 – 185 km depending on the variant and a circular error probable (CEP) smaller than 70m. A few minutes after the missile strike, a Facebook page affiliated with…

Previously, Ankara and the UN-recognised Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) presiding in Tripoli signed an agreement on military cooperation in November 2019. The Turkish parliament has passed a bill giving a green light to the deployment of Turkish troops in Libya after discussions were held on 2 January. 325 lawmakers voted in favour of the motion, while only 184 rejected it. “A Libya whose legal government is under threat can spread instability to Turkey. Those who shy away from taking steps on grounds that there is a risk will throw our children into a greater danger”, said Ismet Yilmaz, a member of…

After signing a memorandum of understanding last year, the Mediterranean trio is taking the next formal step towards building a route for delivering billions of tons of fuel from the region to Europe. The move comes shortly after Turkey and Libya agreed to delineate maritime borders, affirming claims to the zone that the pipe might run through. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have joined the ceremony at which their countries’ energy ministers signed a trilateral gas agreement, formally moving ahead with building the EastMed pipeline to Europe. The summit, which…

On 31 December, protesters in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad set fire to the outer fence of the US embassy and then the checkpoint gate, reportedly in response to recent American airstrikes against the Iraqi Shia Kata’ib Hezbollah militia. Washington blamed Iran for the raid, while US President Donald Trump threatened Tehran with retaliation. Former Obama-era undersecretary for political affairs, Wendy Sherman, lambasted Trump for his foreign policy, claiming that it has led to the attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad. “It is President Donald Trump’s failed policy toward Iran that has brought us to this combustible moment,” she…