Author: Steven Sahiounie

ISIS militants are fleeing Syria and moving to ungoverned areas in northern Iraq, media reported, citing US military and commanders of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the region, who also hinted at the threat of the re-emergence of the self-proclaimed “caliphate.” According to the NBC broadcaster, militants have moved to a valley that is controlled by the Kurdish Peshmerga forces on one side and by the Iraqi Armed Forces on the other. The militants are reportedly moving to uncontrolled areas between the two sides. “They have some tunnels, they have some caves. And they are moving — especially at night,” Gen. Sirwan…

Protesters blocked roads in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Monday, continuing the wave of demonstrations that have immobilized the country since mid-October. The protest is effectively a sequel of Sunday evening’s anti-government demonstration that saw tens of thousands of Lebanese streaming into capital’s main square following a smaller rally earlier in the day in support of President Aoun. The protesters called for a general strike Monday and for a rapid formation of government following Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation last week. Unprecedented demonstrations have gripped Lebanon since October 17, demanding an overhaul of political leadership deemed corrupt and…

Iraqi security forces opened fire on protesters who tried to break into Baghdad’s Green Zone, where government HQs and foreign embassies are located, killing and wounding several people, according to witnesses and news reports. Thousands of anti-government demonstrators have amassed in central Baghdad, defying Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s Sunday appeal to suspend the protest movement which he said was costing Iraq’s economy billions of dollars and had achieved its goals, as new elections and reforms have been promised.Protesters gathered on three central bridges in Baghdad in an attempt to sneak into the Green Zone across the Tigris River. They…

By Nauman SadiqA carbomb exploded [1] in northern Syria killing 13 and wounding 20. The blast on Saturday ripped through a crowded market in Tal Abyad, a town recently occupied by Turkish-backed militant proxies. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast targeted pro-Turkey fighters and civilians were also among the dead. Even though the Turkish Defense Ministry promptly laid the finger of blame on Turkey’s arch-foe,the Kurdish YPG militia, without conducting an investigation, car bombing as a tactic for causing widespread fear is generally employed by jihadist groups and not by the Kurds. It’s important to note in the news coverage…

A dangerous escalation of tensions near the Gaza Strip border comes against the backdrop of Tel Aviv’s threat to launch a ground war on the Palestinian enclave, as Israeli fighter jets struck targets in Gaza in retaliation for recent rockets launched from near the border. Hamas says it has shot down an Israeli drone in the northern Gaza Strip, according to Al-Arabiya. According to Al Mayadeen TV, the drone that was shot down was a quadcopter. Amid other conflicting accounts, Al Ain said that Hamas was able to take possession of the drone, while the Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post cited some reports as saying that…

Over the past two weeks, President Trump has repeatedly commented on the need to “secure” and “keep” Syria’s oil, prompting Syrian President Bashar Assad to characterise him as “the best” US president in recent memory for at least being “transparent” about Washington’s sinister intensions. Speaking to reporters late last week, US President Donald Trump told reporters that although he has been pulling troops out of Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria, the US has “stayed back and kept the oil” in northeastern Syria. “I like oil. We’re keeping the oil,” he emphasised. Just how much oil is Trump talking about? On October 26,…

Steven Sahiounie, political commentator Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have continued to pull back as agreed, while the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and their Russian military allies have taken positions through much of the northeast of Syria, to counter the Turkish invasion.  There are clashes sporadically, and the Turkish backed sectarian militias have committed murders of unarmed civilians reportedly.  Generally, the agreement between Turkey and the US, and between the SDF and the Syrian government, brokered by Russia, has been holding. On Oct. 29 the US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to officially recognize the Armenian genocide at the hands…

A senior Turkish official says the delivery of a second batch of Russian S-400 missile defense systems may be postponed beyond a planned 2020 timeline after bilateral talks on technology sharing and joint production. “We are planning a timeline for next year. As opposed to the first (batch), there is joint production and technology transfer here. It is beyond the ‘let’s buy it quickly and install it’ of the first system,” Ismail Demir, head of the Turkish Defense Industries Directorate, said on Monday. “The joint production concept may move the timeline. We have some sensitivities regarding some of the production…

The European Union has called on Israeli authorities to put an end to their illegal settlement expansion activities in the occupies West Bank, as the Tel Aviv regime goes ahead with land expropriation and settlement construction policies in violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions. “The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity, in line with its obligations as an occupying power,” an EU spokesperson said in a statement released on Monday. The spokesperson said Israeli authorities had in October approved the advancement of over 2,000 housing units in illegal settlements in the West Bank. “The European Union’s position…

Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned an attack on the Iranian consulate in the holy city of Karbala, reaffirming Baghdad’s commitment to protection of diplomatic missions in the Arab country. The ministry censured on Monday the attack by a group of so-called demonstrators on the Iranian consulate and voiced Baghdad’s commitment to the security and “inviolability” of foreign missions in the country. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the attack by some demonstrators on the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the holy city of Karbala, and reaffirms the ministry’s commitment to the inviolability of diplomatic missions guaranteed by…