Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?

[sToRmR1dR]

Trump is ordering the EU 'allies' (UK, Germany and France) 'to take back to track' (Syria), or US will be forced to release 800 ISIS fighters to 'permeate Europe' (slaughtering in EU). - Actually Trump is calling the US 'allies' for a joint military presence, for fighting against the Russia, Syria, Iran and Turkey to protect the US and Israel's interests in Syria, and if they not 'take back to track' he is threatening that he will release 800 ISIS fighters, and the US 'does not want to watch' the ISIS's slaughtering in the EU.

Trump tells Europe to 'take back' 800 ISIS fighters or US 'will be forced to release them'
17 Feb, 2019

US Urges Allies to Send 1,500 Troops to Syria to Create Safe Zone – Reports
16.02.2019

Lavrov: Patience is not endless regarding presence of terrorists in Idleb
Written by Gh.A.Hassoun on 16 February, 2019

 

[angelburst29]

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday his government would not bargain over the country's constitution with the Turkey-backed opposition, lambasting a U.N. peace process that aims to rewrite its terms.

Sunday February 17, 2019 - Syria's Assad pledges no bargaining over Constitution
Syria's Assad pledges no bargaining over constitution

FILE PHOTO: A poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen on the main road to the airport in Damascus, Syria /Omar Sanadiki/File Photo

A congress convened by Russia, Assad’s key ally, last year tasked the U.N. envoy for Syria with forming a committee to draft a new constitution, after many rounds of talks to end the war had failed.

The stalled process is meant to lead eventually to new elections.

“The constitution is the fate of the country and as a result, it does not succumb to any bargains that could have a bigger price than the war itself,” Assad said in a televised speech.

Assad added that the U.N. role was welcome as long as it respected state sovereignty. He described opposition officials chosen for the constitutional committee as “agents” of Turkey, which backs anti-Assad rebel factions in northwest Syria.

U.N.-based talks to end the eight-year conflict have never led to direct meetings between the two warring sides. With the help of Russia and Iran, government forces have seized most of the country back from rebels and Islamic State militants.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned on Sunday the United States would not protect those depending on it, in reference to Kurdish fighters who control much of the north.

February 17, 2019 - Syrian's Assad: US will sell out those relying on it
Syrian's Assad: U.S. will sell out those relying on it

FILE PHOTO: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with AFP news agency in Damascus, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on April 13, 2017. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

“We say to those groups who are betting on the Americans, the Americans will not protect you,” he said without naming them. “The Americans will put you in their pockets so you can be tools in the barter, and they have started with (it).”

U.S. President Donald Trump declared in December he would pull troops from Syria, raising more questions over the fate of Washington’s Kurdish allies under the threat of Turkish attacks.

The U.S. move drove Syrian Kurdish leaders into fresh talks with Damascus and its key ally Moscow, hoping to agree a deal that could protect the SDF region and safeguard at least some of their gains. “Nobody will protect you except your state,” Assad said in a live televised speech on Sunday. “If you do not prepare yourselves to defend your country, you will be nothing but slaves to (Turkey)”.

The United States should keep arming and aiding the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) following the planned U.S. withdrawal from Syria, provided the group keeps up the pressure on Islamic State, a senior U.S. general told Reuters on Friday.

February 15, 2019 - Exclusive: US General recommends arming, aiding Syrian fighters after pullout
Exclusive: U.S. general recommends arming, aiding Syrian fighters...

Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces control the monitor of their drone at their advanced position, during the fighting with Islamic State's fighters in Nazlat Shahada, a district of Raqqa, Syria August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

The recommendation by Army General Joseph Votel, who oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East as head of Central Command, is one of the strongest signs yet of U.S. military hopes for an enduring partnership with the SDF despite the concerns of NATO ally Turkey, which says Kurdish SDF fighters are terrorists.

“As long as they are fighting against ISIS and continue to keep pressure on them, I think it would seem to me to be in our interest to continue to provide the means for them to do that,” Votel said in an interview, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Votel said he expected future U.S. assistance to the SDF to change after it seizes the final bits of Islamic State territory. The SDF will then have to contend with a more dispersed, harder-to-detect network of Islamic State fighters, who are expected to wage guerrilla-style attacks.

“When they go to a kind of a wider area security mode, then that will drive a different type of requirement (for support),” he said during a trip to Oman.

Asked about Votel’s remarks, a White House official did not comment on future assistance to the SDF but reaffirmed the Trump administration’s commitment to the broader anti-Islamic State coalition.

U.S. President Donald Trump confounded his own national security team, including generals like Votel, with a surprise decision to withdraw the roughly 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, declaring that Islamic State had been defeated there. The decision ran against Pentagon recommendations and helped lead to the resignation of Trump’s defense secretary, Jim Mattis. It also triggered rare public criticism from Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress.

Also on Friday, Votel told CNN, of Trump’s decision, “It would not have been my military advice at that particular time.” Reuters has reported that Trump’s decision was in part driven by an offer by Turkey to keep the pressure on Islamic State once the United States withdrew.

But current and former U.S. officials warn Ankara would be unable to replicate the SDF’s success across the areas of Syria that the militias captured with U.S. support including arms, air strikes and advisers.

Brett McGurk, who resigned in December as Trump’s special envoy to the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, warned last month that the SDF could not be replaced as the provider of stability in areas of Syria formerly held by the militant group. He also cautioned that Turkey was not a reliable partner.

Asked whether he agreed that the SDF could not be replaced, by Turkey or anyone else, Votel said: “I would agree with that and I would include Americans, frankly. This is not a mission we should take on ourselves completely.” “The fact that they (the SDF) own this, they represent the tribes ... is a really important aspect,” Votel said.

PLAYING CATCH-UP
Nearly two months after Trump announced the pullout, Votel and other U.S. military leaders are hammering out the best way to carry it out while preserving as many gains as possible.

Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine who sits on the Senate committee overseeing the military, voiced deep concern in an earlier interview about Trump’s decision and the impact on U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in the SDF. “The military (are) going to make the best of it, but it’s clear to me that what they are doing is playing catch-up in terms of determining what the strategy is,” he told Reuters.

U.S. arming of the SDF has infuriated Turkey, which sees the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters that spearhead the group as indistinguishable from the Kurdish PKK movement that has waged an insurgency inside Turkey. The YPG fear a Turkish onslaught once U.S. forces withdraw. That has left Washington searching for a way to address the concerns of both partners. (Article continues.)

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States was asking European allies to "take back over 800" Islamic State fighters captured in Syria and put them on trial.

February 16, 2019 - Trump urges Europe to 'take back' hundreds of captured IS fighters
Trump urges Europe to 'take back' hundreds of captured IS fighters

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump declares a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border while speaking about border security in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jim Young

“The Caliphate is ready to fall,” he said in a Tweet. “The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them...”

U.S.-backed fighters in Syria are poised to capture Islamic State’s last, tiny enclave on the Euphrates, the battle commander said on Saturday, bringing its self-declared caliphate to the brink of total defeat.

U.S.-backed fighters in Syria are poised to capture Islamic State's last, tiny enclave on the Euphrates, the battle commander said on Saturday, bringing its self-declared caliphate to the brink of total defeat as U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of "100 percent victory".

February 16, 2019 - IS 'caliphate' on brink in Syria as Trump urges Europe to do more
IS 'caliphate' on brink of defeat in Syria as Trump urges Europe to...

Jiya Furat, commander of the assault on the last jihadist enclave in eastern Syria, talks during a press conference near Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria February 16, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said

Jiya Furat said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had cornered the remaining militants in a neighborhood of Baghouz village near the Iraqi border, under fire from all sides.

“In the coming few days, in a very short time, we will spread the good tidings to the world of the military end of Daesh,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

 

[angelburst29]

Came across this news story - was surprised actually, as it concerns a couple of 'Canadian' women who it says were "being detained" in Raqqa, Syria in "the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria" where they fled from.

It states that they had gone to Syria at the insistence of their husbands (nothing much about them is stated) and were held in ISIS controlled territory. It also mentions that they had surrendered to the U.S. (backed) SDF.

One was from Alberta and the CNN interview said she "claimed to be a 34-year-old former graphic designer from Alberta." It also mentions that:

It quickly mentions how the Canadian government has "resisted calls to repatriate Canadian fighters in Syria and their families" which is not so true based on the many returning ISIS fighters who acknowledged their roles; they say they are being watched in Canada by 'authorities' yet basically they have been reintegrated.

In the new video, a Canadian Minister is shunning the repatriation which Bain advocates (which is tied to these stateents), yet prior the Government funded, in part, the previous study (which requers more than a skim through, yet get the ghist of it. Obviously there are children involved now and people are looking for answers.

Former ISIS recruiter calls for help to return to Canada

I've been looking into this situation a little more deeply, Voyageur and also the angle "of repatriation" in certain cases. It's like opening up a can of worms - everything is so intricately intertwined.

Stories of the Canadian woman has trickled down to the local news in my area including making headlines in some of the major New York - tri-state (NY/NJ/Pa) publications. It's getting a lot of media - play.

The Isil bride who travelled to Syria to marry a terrorist is "traumatised", according to her lawyer, who likened his client to a World War One soldier.

Sun, Feb 17, 2019 - Shamima Begum is 'traumatised', says her lawyer as he likens Isil bride to a First World War soldier
Shamima Begum is 'traumatised', says her lawyer as he likens Isil bride to a First World War soldier

Shamima Begum, 19, flew to the Middle East four years ago to join the terror group. There, she married a Dutch-born fighter with whom she had three children.

Her two eldest children have died, but she gave birth at a refugee camp in northeastern Syria on the weekend and now wants to return to Britain.

In an interview over the weekend, Begum said that people should be feeling sympathy for her, and her lawyer Tasnime Akunjee defended her attitude.

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I think it's difficult to take what she's saying in the current circumstances and try to draw from the lack of emotion that she has.

"She's a traumatised person. She finds herself in a camp and was clearly quite attached to her husband, it would seem, and suddenly he's not by her side."

The British schoolgirl who ran away to join Isil has appealed for public sympathy following the birth of her son, as a row intensifies over whether she should be allowed to return to the UK.

Shamima Begum, 19, went to Syria in 2015 and was discovered there in a refugee camp last week, heavily pregnant and insisting she wanted to go home.

The birth of her child over the weekend prompted calls for the baby to be subject to care proceedings should Begum be able to return from Syria, as it emerged that the Family Division of the High Court had presided over cases involving at least 150 children deemed at risk of radicalisation in the last five years.

Sun, Feb 17, 2019 - Shamima Begum: Isis child bride says she had 'good time' in Syria but wants to bring baby home
Shamima Begum: Isis child bride says she had ‘good time’ in Syria but wants to bring baby home

Sun, Feb 17, 2019 - Jihadi bride Shamima Begum gives birth and says 'people should have sympathy for me'
Jihadi bride Shamima Begum gives birth and says 'people should have sympathy for me'
~
These 3 headlines are only a small sampling but it seems the main point is the reference to "ISIL/Jihadi child bride"? I'm not trying to play down the emotional and mental suffering or the physical toll ... or any of the moral, civil or legal issues involved but I sense that there is more to this situation "on an International scale" then is being revealed?

One of the complicating questions which comes to mind, " Why is this situation being highlighted now and getting special attention? If you think back to a few months ago, Israel sent it's Elite Forces into Syria in a secret mission to extradite some of it's other elite forces and top Jihad commanders. A few weeks later, there were headlines of a certain number "of those elite terrorist" being sent back to "their Countries of origin"? Those guys didn't just show up "solo" but were accompanied by their Wife (or whatever) and children! So, why the big splash now ... over "a few women" who want to return home and in the case above - with her newborn Son?

I sense, the real issue at heart is " repatriation, in general and what is/are the Government's responsibilities and liabilities"
in such circumstances?

I might be taking a gigantic leap here but what are the differences (technically or otherwise) between a young female who has been recruited or radicalized "as a Jihad/ISIL child bride" or what has been reference to as a "comfort woman" in an on going Legal battle between South Korea and Japan?

January 29, 2019 - 'Fight until the end': South Korean 'comfort women' campaigner dies at 93 (Photos)
'Fight until the end': South Korean 'comfort women' campaigner dies at 93

At 93, Kim Bok-dong died as she had lived for many years: at the heart of the controversy over Japan's use of forced labor in its wartime brothels.

Kim, who died on Monday at a hospital in the South Korean capital of Seoul, was a fixture at weekly protests outside the Japanese embassy calling for a sincere apology and compensation.

She remained angry at Japan until the end, her supporters said.

Kim was among the two dozen known surviving South Korean "comfort women", a Japanese euphemism for women who were forced into prostitution and sexually abused at Japanese military brothels before and during World War Two.

Activists say they plan to march alongside Kim's casket past Japan's embassy on Friday, a demonstration that could further strain ties between Seoul and Tokyo.

The two Asian neighbors share a bitter history stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean peninsula.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said during his visit to Kim's funeral home on Tuesday it was "heartbreaking" that victims die without a resolution of the issue.

In a separate post on Facebook, Moon said Kim revealed a "hidden history" by becoming one of the first victims to come forward in 1992.

Kim was 14 when she was first sent to a military brothel, and forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers also in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, according to Yoon.

"SINCERE APOLOGY" - Articulate and charismatic, Kim was a vocal critic of a 2015 deal in which Tokyo apologized to the victims and provided one billion yen ($9.1 million) to a fund in Seoul to help them. Kim said it was not sincere because some Japanese leaders continued to deny the women were forced to work in brothels.

"We won't accept it even if Japan gives 10 billion yen. It's not about money. They're still saying we went there because we wanted to," Kim told a parliamentary session in September 2016.

Moon's government has said it will not seek to renegotiate the 2015 deal. Last year it vowed to shut down the Japan-sponsored fund and pursue a more "victim-oriented" approach.

Japan says the claims have been settled by past agreements and apologies, and that the continued dispute may threaten relations between the two countries.

Only 23 registered South Korean survivors are still alive, highlighting a sense of urgency behind efforts by the women to receive a formal apology and legal compensation from Japan while their voices can still be heard.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denounced a top South Korean lawmaker’s comments about Emperor Akihito as “extremely inappropriate,” ratcheting up already high tensions between the two neighbors.

Feb 12, 2019 - Japan demands South Korean speaker retract call for Emperor's apology to 'comfort women'
Japan demands South Korean speaker retract call for Emperor's apology to 'comfort women' | The Japan Times

Abe told the Diet on Tuesday that Japan asked South Korea to apologize for National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang’s remarks last week describing Emperor Akihito as “the son of the main culprit of war crimes.” Moon made the statement in a Bloomberg interview Thursday in which he urged an imperial apology to resolve a dispute over the “comfort women.”

The term comfort women is a euphemism used to refer to women who provided sex, including those who did so against their will, for Japanese troops before and during World War II.

“When I read these remarks, I was really surprised,” Abe told lawmakers during the Lower House Budget Committee meeting in Tokyo. “Our country immediately conveyed to South Korea via the diplomatic route that Speaker Moon’s comments were extremely inappropriate and most regrettable. We protested strongly and called for an apology and a retraction.”

Top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga also told a news conference the same day that the remarks “were extremely inappropriate and deplorable,” adding Tokyo has lodged a “stern protest” with Seoul and demanded an apology through diplomatic channels.

The South Korean government has told Japan that the report did not reflect Moon’s “true intentions” to seek an improvement in bilateral ties, according to Suga.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday that Moon’s remarks were intended to emphasize the suffering of the victims and that the country was committed to “future-oriented” ties. “Japan needs to show sincerity for honor, dignity and to heal the emotional pain of the victims based on a victim-centered approach,” the ministry said.

The ministry confirmed Tuesday that it had received Japanese requests for an apology Sunday and Monday, but didn’t immediately respond to Abe’s latest remarks.

The row comes at a time when bilateral ties have increasingly chilled over wartime issues related to Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945, as well as disputes over military activities.

A standoff over the comfort women issue has been intensifying after South Korea said in November last year that it will dissolve a Japanese-funded foundation set up under a 2015 agreement designed to finally and irreversibly settle the issue.

The South Korean assembly speaker’s interview came before the 85-year-old Emperor abdicates on April 30, the first living Japanese monarch to do so in about 200 years.

Bilateral ties have also soured over South Korean top court rulings ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation for wartime labor, and a dispute over a South Korean navy vessel’s alleged locking of a fire-control radar on a Japanese patrol plane in December.

Emperor Akihito expressed his “deepest regret” on May 24, 1990, over the “sufferings” Koreans experienced during Japan’s colonial rule.

Addressing an Imperial Palace banquet for the visiting South Korean president, Roh Tae-woo, the Emperor said: “I think of the sufferings your people underwent during this unfortunate period, which was brought about by my country, and cannot but feel the deepest regret.”

The Emperor’s statement was apparently aimed at putting an end to the long-standing dispute between the two countries over South Korea’s demand for a “clear-cut apology” by the emperor for the colonial rule.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Taro Kono had cautioned Moon against making divisive remarks, without publicly demanding an apology.

“We don’t yet know how South Korea will deal with this, but we expect a sincere response,” Kono told the Diet on Tuesday.

Moon was in Washington, where he met with Deputy U.S. Secretary of State John Sullivan on Monday. They pledged to strengthen trilateral cooperation with Japan, the State Department said.

“It only takes one word from the prime minister, who represents Japan — I wish the emperor would do it since he will step down soon,” Moon said in the Bloomberg interview. “Isn’t he the son of the main culprit of war crimes?”

 

[angelburst29]

Between all the media hype focused on the US defeating the ISIL "caliphate" and bringing it "to the brink of total defeat" within a matter of days (two weeks ago?), along with Erdogan's failure to get his "safe zone" during the Astana meeting - looks like the two collaborated and decided to engage in - Plan B? To send in the black helicopter's and transport "the caliphate" - to Africa! To get rid of the remaining 800 misfits, Trump has urged Europe "to do more" so full victory can be declared. Can't wait to see how the WaPo and NYT handle and spin this one?

Commissioner of the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) in the Middle East Haitham Abu Said affirmed the US’s involvement in smuggling and transporting terrorists from Raqqa countryside and others areas in northern Syria to countries in Africa , in collaboration with the Turkish regime’s army.

18 February، 2019 - IHRC: US involved in smuggling terrorists from Syria to Africa
IHRC: US involved in smuggling terrorists from Syria to Africa

Abu Said indicated in a statement on Monday that around 1200 terrorists from different nationalities, including French, German and Chechen, were transported to the African continent, and specifically to Nigeria, with the help of the US troops and the Turkish army, adding that there is information that some terrorist groups’ leaders have entered Morocco.

Evidence and facts confirm that there is close relationship between the US and Daesh (ISIS) terrorist organization. US aircraft helped smuggle and transport high-level Daesh leaders from their positions to areas where the US forces are deployed, in order to save their lives as the Syrian Arab Army goes forward in its fight against terrorism, particularly in Raqqa, Hasaka and Deir Ezzor among others areas.

The commander of U.S.-backed forces in Syria called on Monday for about 1,000 to 1,500 international forces to remain in Syria to help fight Islamic State and expressed hope that the United States, in particular, would halt plans for a total pullout.

February 18, 2019 - US backed Syrian forces call for 1,500 coalition troops to stay
U.S.-backed Syrian forces call for 1,500 coalition troops to stay

A fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rides on a vehicle in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria February 18, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said

The remarks by Mazloum Kobani, the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, followed talks with senior U.S. generals in Syria and offered perhaps the most comprehensive view to date of his requests for an enduring military assistance from the U.S.-led coalition.

“We would like to have air cover, air support and a force on the ground to coordinate with us,” Kobani told a small group of reporters who traveled with the U.S. military to the talks at an airbase at an undisclosed location in northeast Syria.

Kobani said there was discussions about perhaps French and British troops supporting the SDF in Syria. But he stressed he also wanted at least “a partial group of American forces”, who now number more than 2,000 in Syria, to stay as well. “American forces must remain beside us,” Kobani said through a translator.


IS 'caliphate' on brink of defeat in Syria as Trump urges Europe to do more
U.S.-backed fighters in Syria are poised to capture Islamic State's last, tiny enclave on the Euphrates, the battle commander said on Saturday, bringing its self-declared caliphate to the brink of total defeat as U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of "100 percent victory".

Europe Reluctant to ‘Take Back’ Daesh Fighters as Trump Demands
President Donald Trump’s call to European countries to “take back” and prosecute jihadists captured in Syria has met quite a mixed reaction, with Germany expressing legal concerns over the move and Denmark rejecting it altogether.

German Islamic State fighters in Syria have right to return home: government spokesman
German citizens who have fought with the Islamic State militant group in Syria have a fundamental right to return to Germany, a spokesman for the interior ministry said on Monday. “All German citizens, including those who are suspected of having been involved with the Islamic State have a fundamental right” to be in Germany, the interior ministry spokesman said.

France snubs Trump's appeal to repatriate IS fighters en masse, for now
France will for now not act on U.S. President Donald Trump's call for European allies to repatriate hundreds of Islamic State fighters from Syria, taking back militants on a "case-by-case" basis, its justice minister said on Monday.

 

[Voyageur]

These 3 headlines are only a small sampling but it seems the main point is the reference to "ISIL/Jihadi child bride"? I'm not trying to play down the emotional and mental suffering or the physical toll ... or any of the moral, civil or legal issues involved but I sense that there is more to this situation "on an International scale" then is being revealed?

Interesting read on Kim Bok-dong, angelburst29. She said "It's not about money. They're still saying we went there because we wanted to."

This, too, is a bad situation for these woman, now with children (and fatherless) and obviously a resolve for them needs to take place. I don't know what that looks like. What is "being revealed" is blurred, yet remember with the initial uptick in the proxy war, as was seen early on, was the influx of both western men and woman traveling to Syria via Jordan from all areas of the Western world, and there seemed to have been an established coordinating network. As posted above, this was mentioned when the Canadian Parliament jumped into the story and then was likely told to zip it, without more being said; the media sure said nothing. Here was that story again from 2015:

Canada silent on alleged CSIS links to man helping girls go to Syria

Man accused of helping to smuggle British girls into Syria reported to have attempted to trade info with Canadian embassy in Jordan

www.theglobeandmail.com

The problem may also be that should they ever need to be repatriated (as is the case now), what would they say of why they went there in the first place and more so, how was it organized. If official coordination was involved, well you can't have them saying that so they need to be handled, as do the news stories. If it was not something like this - and free will was involved 'just followed their husbands' as was inferred by one of the Canadians, then that is what it is and their anger (if they expressed) would be directed as applicable.

More needs to be assessed - like what were the statistics of how many went there to join the proxy ranks and how many were thereafter repatriated. What does that repatriation look like. How many were killed from that initial number might be 75% or more, don't know.

I'm inclined to think that for those traveling to join the proxy ranks in the first place that it was not something done exactly under the radar. If there was any collusion, those colluding might have thought it would not really matter after they won the war; but they did not win and now people are reappearing.

Edit: fix and, see you just added to this before posting re Germany etc.

 

[angelburst29]

This, too, is a bad situation for these woman, now with children (and fatherless) and obviously a resolve for them needs to take place. I don't know what that looks like. What is "being revealed" is blurred, yet remember with the initial uptick in the proxy war, as was seen early on, was the influx of both western men and woman traveling to Syria via Jordan from all areas of the Western world, and there seemed to have been an established coordinating network. As posted above, this was mentioned when the Canadian Parliament jumped into the story and then was likely told to zip it, without more being said; the media sure said nothing. Here was that story again from 2015:

Notice ... the Countries screaming the loudest about accepting their citizens back from the Syrian war zone ... are the very one's who armed and supported (ISIS/ISIL/Daesh) terrorists in the first place! What are they going to do when this same scenario repeats itself again, when war activities begin to slow down in Iraq and Afghanistan? These Countries (US/Canada/France/Germany/UK) invaded a Sovereign Country - Syria - in an undeclared War - but never prepared themselves for - the End Game! Or the eventual fall-out!

19/02/2019 - ISIS fighters had thousands of kids. So what happens to them now?
ISIS fighters had thousands of kids. So what happens to them now?


Thousands of children have been born or raised in the Islamic State. Now the world's governments have to decide how and whether to reintegrate them into their societies . As the militants retain only a tiny sliver of territory in Syria, Western countries are being forced to grapple with how to deal with minors who qualify for citizenship through their parents, including foreign fighters who carried out atrocities abroad. A plea last week by a British ISIS bride to return to the U.K. with her infant son illustrates the conundrum. The family of 19-year-old Shamima Begum — one of three British high school students who together abandoned their lives in east London in 2015 to marry ISIS fighters — has appealed for the U.K. government to help bring the pair home from a refugee camp. They cited the innocence of Begum's newborn child.

Only Russia has so far repatriated any children of Islamic State fighters — with 27 arriving in Moscow earlier this month, Gerges said. The children were aged between 4 and 13. About 50 other Russian children were expected to return soon, according to the Associated Press.Gerges said governments also have a legal and ethical responsibility to help these children reintegrate. "It's not their fault that their fathers are killers and their mothers were participants" in the Islamic State, he said.

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump called on European countries to take back the captured ISIS fighters or risk them being released. "The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial," Trump tweeted Saturday. France has said it will repatriate ISIS fighters on a "case-by-case" basis and Germany has said while citizens have the right to return home it is difficult for the government to assess how many German citizens are actually affected. NBC News security analyst Duncan Gardham said ISIS recruits who wish to return home to the U.K. would have to travel to a British Consulate in Iraq or Turkey and the same would apply for their children. Couples living in the caliphate were encouraged to marry young and to have as many children as possible so the next generation could "continue to carry the jihad banner," Gerges said, adding that many ISIS fighters also married more than one woman.

Gardham said some children would be forced to watch and participate in the execution of ISIS prisoners. "The motto of ISIS is you're never too young to start thinking about jihad," he said. "Indoctrinating children into violence is very much part of their ethos." An ISIS math textbook obtained by NBC News in 2017 showed images of guns, bullets and tanks to help explain basic math, while an English language workbook used illustrations of bombs to teach how to read the time. World news Mohammed Elshimi, a researcher at the London-based Royal United Services Institute defense think tank, said the working assumption should be that the children of ISIS-linked parents are both vulnerable and dangerous. Elshimi said risk assessments would be needed on a case-by-case basis, with those closer to the age of 18 more capable of posing a real threat. "Some of these children have received bomb training," he added

The family of a teenager who fled the UK to marry a member of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria is “disappointed” that the Home Office intends to remove her British citizenship, their lawyer said.

19/02/2019 - ISIS bride Shamima Begum faces move from UK Home Office to revoke citizenship, says family's lawyer
ISIS bride Shamima Begum faces move from UK Home Office to revoke citizenship, says family's lawyer

A statement from Shamima Begum’s family, shared on Twitter by their lawyer Mohammed Akunjee, said the family are “very disappointed with the Home Office’s intention to have an order made depriving Shamima of her citizenship”.
IS schoolgirl Shamima Begum stripped of UK citizenship

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Trump is ordering the EU 'allies' (UK, Germany and France) 'to take back to track' (Syria), or US will be forced to release 800 ISIS fighters to 'permeate Europe' (slaughtering in EU). - Actually Trump is calling the US 'allies' for a joint military presence, for fighting against the Russia, Syria, Iran and Turkey to protect the US and Israel's interests in Syria, and if they not 'take back to track' he is threatening that he will release 800 ISIS fighters, and the US 'does not want to watch' the ISIS's slaughtering in the EU.

Trump tells Europe to 'take back' 800 ISIS fighters or US 'will be forced to release them'
17 Feb, 2019

A US military camp for producing the terrorists - Maybe Trump's releasement of the 800 ISIS fighters could start from here.

Report: US Experts Working on Reemergence of ISIL Terrorists
Feb 20, 2019


In the meantime some interesting developments in Syria.

Assad’s adviser flatly rejects of Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria
2019-02-20


SDF Voices Support for Talks with Damascus Gov't
Feb 20, 2019


Tribal leader aligned with US-backed forces travels to Russian base (video)
2019-02-20


SDF troops advance on last remaining IS enclave in Deir ez-Zor (video)
2019-02-20


US-BACKED FORCES EVACUATE MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN FROM ISIS-HELD POCKET IN EUPHRATES VALLEY
20.02.2019


ISIL Terrorists Transferred from Eastern Syria on US-Led Coalition Trucks
Feb 20, 2019

 

[sToRmR1dR]

After Netanyahu rescheduled his visit to Moscow, the Israeli war planes were spotted near the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Israeli warplanes spotted near Syrian-Lebanese border
2019-02-21

 

[angelburst29]

After Netanyahu rescheduled his visit to Moscow, the Israeli war planes were spotted near the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Israeli warplanes spotted near Syrian-Lebanese border
2019-02-21

From countless reports in the past, we know it's not unusual for Israeli planes to show up on the Syrian-Lebanese Border but Netanyahu's visit to Russia was first scheduled for the day after Putin's Annual address, then cancelled (no reason reported in the press) and now it's being reported that it's rescheduled for next Wednesday, Feb. 27th. I'm wondering, if the Israeli plane spotted near the Lebanese border was a signal - that Netanyahu was aware of the head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate, Major General Jamil Hassan had been admitted to a hospital in Lebanon?

2019-02-21 - Breaking: Syrian Air Force Intelligence chief hospitalized in Lebanon
https://www.almasdarnews.com/articl...e-intelligence-chief-hospitalized-in-lebanon/

The head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate, Major General Jamil Hassan, has been admitted to a hospital in Lebanon, a source in Damascus told Al-Masdar News this afternoon.

According to the source, the Air Force Intelligence chief is seeking treatment for an undisclosed illness in Lebanon.

The source also denied reports that the new Lebanese Interior Minister, Raya Al-Hassan, was asked by Interpol to hand him over.

Hassan is one of the longest-serving intelligence chiefs in Syria and considered one of the most powerful men in the country.


Israel's Netanyahu to meet Putin in Moscow next week: statement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Feb. 27, Netanyahu's office said on Thursday, with the focus likely to be on Middle East issues led by Syria.

U.S. to leave 200 American peacekeepers in Syria after pullout
The United States will leave "a small peacekeeping group" of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a U.S. pullout, the White House said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump pulled back from a complete withdrawal.

Turkey's Erdogan, Trump discussed U.S. withdrawal from Syria in phone call: state media
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call on Thursday to carry out the U.S. military withdrawal from Syria in line with their mutual interests, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said.

President Trump’s announcement that the US would be withdrawing its entire contingent of 2,000 troops from Syria amid the defeat of Daesh (ISIS)* has shaken pro-war officials and lawmakers across Washington, prompting to a string of resignations of senior administration members, including (now-ex) Pentagon chief Jim Mattis.

2019-02-21 - Senator Graham calls Trump’s Syria withdrawal ‘dumbest f***ing idea I’ve ever heard’
https://www.almasdarnews.com/articl...-withdrawal-dumbest-fing-idea-ive-ever-heard/

Senior South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a long-time critic of Donald Trump’s foreign policy, has lashed out at acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on the Pentagon’s Syria policy.

The Washington Post detailed the harsh exchange between Graham and Shanahan at the Munich Security Conference last week, which reportedly included the senator blasting the defence secretary on the US’ 30 April withdrawal deadline.

“Are you telling our allies that we are going to go to zero by April 30th?” Graham reportedly asked. “Yes, that’s been our direction [from the president],” Shanahan replied. “That’s the dumbest f***ing idea I’ve ever heard,” Graham responded.

The Republican senator then began listing off a series of terrible consequences that a US withdrawal would mean, including the return of Daesh, Turkish forces attacking Syria’s Kurds, and Iran gaining an ‘advantage’ in the country.

“That could very well happen,” Shanahan reportedly replied. “Well, if the policy is going to be that we are leaving by 30 April, I am now your adversary, not your friend,” Graham retorted.

Other lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, reportedly voiced similar frustrations with Shanahan, describing him as a “deer in the headlights”, and complaining that all he did was repeat the president’s instructions, without elaborating.

New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez complained to WaPo that Shanahan basically “got a chorus of voices that basically said, ‘This is not going to work, there is a bipartisan resolve not to let this happen, and you need to send a message back to the president that there’s a combined, unified view that this is not the way to go and he should change course’.”

Social media users were not amused by Senator Graham’s expletive-filled rant, recalling his otherwise subservient attitude toward the president, or accusing him of being a war hawk.

President Trump’s announcement that the US would be withdrawing its forces from Syria was met with hostility among the majority of Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and led to a series of high profile resignations, including Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, special anti-Daesh coalition envoy Brett McGurks, DoD spokeswoman Dana White, and Pentagon Chief of Staff Kevin Sweeney.

While agreeing with the president on most domestic issues, Senator Graham has been a longtime critic of Trump on foreign policy. In early 2017, shortly after his election, Trump lashed out at Graham and (now deceased) Senator John McCain on Twitter, advising that the pair focus “their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.”

The Syrian government has repeatedly criticized the deployment of US troops on its soil, calling it an illegal violation of the country’s territorial integrity, and demanding that Washington withdraw immediately.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

From countless reports in the past, we know it's not unusual for Israeli planes to show up on the Syrian-Lebanese Border but Netanyahu's visit to Russia was first scheduled for the day after Putin's Annual address, then cancelled (no reason reported in the press) and now it's being reported that it's rescheduled for next Wednesday, Feb. 27th. I'm wondering, if the Israeli plane spotted near the Lebanese border was a signal - that Netanyahu was aware of the head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate, Major General Jamil Hassan had been admitted to a hospital in Lebanon?

2019-02-21 - Breaking: Syrian Air Force Intelligence chief hospitalized in Lebanon
https://www.almasdarnews.com/articl...e-intelligence-chief-hospitalized-in-lebanon/

If US-led coalition 'is literally on the doorstep', the US will leave 200 troops 'for a period of time' (sabotage) in Syria, and together with Turkey they would sell baklava not just in Syria but in Iraq too, so the question is: 'How Israel fits in the picture?' - 'Put your hands up in the air'.

Pompeo: US-Led Coalition ‘Hours Away’ From Taking Last Daesh Stronghold in Syria
21.02.2019


‘Peacekeeping group’? US to leave 200 troops in Syria for a ‘period of time’ after withdrawal
21 Feb, 2019


Washington to Host Top Turkish Military Leaders for Talks at Pentagon This Week
22.02.2019


Hezbollah Battalions Spokesman: US Has 31 Military Bases, 34,000 Soldiers in Iraq
Feb 21, 2019

 

[angelburst29]

The top U.S. military officer said on Friday he was confident that U.S. allies would step up in Syria, after Washington announced it would be leaving hundreds of troops in Syria.

February 22, 2019 - Top US General confident allies will step up in Syria
Top U.S. general confident allies will step up in Syria

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford attends a meeting of the National Space Council in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 18, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis

In addition, Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “There is no change in the basic campaign (in Syria). The resourcing is being adjusted because the threat has been changed.”


U.S. to leave a total of about 400 troops in Syria: official
The United States will leave a total of about 400 U.S. troops split between two different regions of Syria even as it withdraws most of the 2,000 troops currently in the country, a senior administration official said on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump had ordered the withdrawal in December after he said they had defeated Islamic State militants in Syria.

But he was persuaded by advisers on Thursday that about 200 U.S. troops would join what is expected to be a total commitment of about 800-1,500 troops from European allies to set up and observe a safe zone being negotiated for northeastern Syria
the official told reporters. (Note - Assad turned down Erdogan's request for a "safe zone'.)

Kurdish-led forces in Syria said they would complete the evacuation of thousands of civilians from Islamic State's last redoubt in the area on Friday, and welcomed a White House reversal of President Donald Trump's decision to pull out all U.S. troops.

February 22, 2019 - Syria Kurds evacuate civilians from IS redoubt, hail Trump reversal
Syria Kurds evacuate civilians from IS redoubt, hail Trump troop...

Trucks loaded with civilians ride near the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria February 22, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said

With Washington’s allies poised for victory against Islamic State fighters making a final stand in a pocket near the Iraqi border, the White House announced plans on Thursday to keep “a small peacekeeping force” of 200 troops in Syria.

An administration official later put the total number of troops to stay at 400, split between a safe zone being negotiated for northeastern Syria and a U.S. military base at Tanf, near the border with Iraq and Jordan.

Although the U.S. contingent would now be small, the official indicated that the 200 troops in the northwest would be part of a wider commitment of about 800-1,500 troops also drawn from European allies to set up and observe a safe zone.

Kurdish leaders suggested the U.S. troop decision could have a large impact on the fate of the area, preventing a security vacuum.
Washington could keep control of the air space and European allies could complement the force with more troops.

The planned assault on the final Islamic State redoubt in the area, Baghouz, would effectively end the territorial rule of the jihadist group, which ruled around a third of both Iraq and Syria at its self-proclaimed Caliphate’s height four years ago.

Reporters near the front line at Baghouz saw dozens of trucks leaving loaded with civilians, and empty ones driving inside accompanied by fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia.

Mustafa Bali, an SDF spokesman, said the evacuation would be completed on Friday, with thousands of civilians still inside the pocket from an estimated 7,000 at the start of the day, though by nightfall it was unclear if it had been completed. More than 20,000 civilians have left Baghouz in recent weeks, according to previous SDF estimates.

The Kurdish-led administration that runs much of northern Syria welcomed a U.S. decision to keep 200 American troops in the country after a pullout, saying it would protect their region and may encourage European states to keep forces there too.

February 22, 2019 - Northern Syria administration says US troops decision will protect area
Northern Syria administration says U.S. troop decision will protect...

“This decision may encourage other European states, particularly our partners in the international coalition against terrorism, to keep forces in the region,” Omar added.

“I believe that keeping a number of American troops and a larger number of (other) coalition troops, with air protection, will play a role in securing stability and protecting the region too,” he said.

The SDF is led by a Kurdish militia, which Turkey considers an enemy. Kurdish officials had feared that a total U.S. withdrawal would create a security vacuum and allow Turkey to launch a long-promised offensive against them.

The Kurds, who seek autonomy within Syria, have made overtures to the government of President Bashar al-Assad, seeking security guarantees as Washington withdraws.


Senior US-Backed SDF Commanders Defect in Hasaka
A number of senior commanders and forces of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defected in Hasaka province and were transferred to areas controlled by the Syrian army in the region.

Aleppo: Several Turkish Army Soldiers, Ankara-Backed Militants Killed in SDF's Military Operations in Afrin Region
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) conducted a military operation against Turkish Army and its allied militants in the surrounding areas of Manbij city in Northeastern Aleppo, killing a number of the Ankara-backed militants and that country's soldiers in Afrin region, Kurdish-language media reports said.

13 French ISIL Ringleaders Arrested by Iraqi Intelligence Forces inside Syria
Iraqi intelligence forces detained 13 notorious commanders of the ISIL, who are French nationals, as well as a members of a grouplet which provided financial support to the terrorist group during operations in Iraq and Syria, Arab media sources reported.

Swiss ex-sergeant convicted for leading Christian militia in Syria
A former Swiss soldier who commanded a Christian militia fighting Islamic State in Syria was found guilty on Friday of violating Swiss neutrality.

 

[angelburst29]

A Pentagon spokesperson indirectly confirmed the Thursday report by FNA that the IRGC gained control of several US aircraft that were constantly flying over Syria and Iraq and retrieved their first-hand intelligence after penetrating into the US command center.

Fri Feb 22, 2019 - Pentagon's Reaction to FNA Report Confirms IRGC's Penetration into US Command Center
Farsnews

When asked by RT about the report, Pentagon Spokeswoman Commander Rebecca Rebarich, said, “We are aware of the report and we have nothing else to add.”

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh had disclosed the incident on Thursday.

"Seven to eight drones that had constant flights over Syria and Iraq were brought under our control and their intel was monitored by us and we could gain their first-hand intel," General Hajizadeh said in the Western Iranian city of Hamedan on Thursday.

The footage released by FNA showed IRGC's penetration into US Army's Command Center, one of the many proofs in support of General Hajizadeh's remarks.

The footage showed a US flying drone starts malfunctioning and makes a rough landing in a desert area 10 kilometers away from its base.

The US troops avoided approaching the malfunctioning drone as they were not sure who was controlling the aircraft, and hence sent a manned aircraft to bomb the drone.

The footage that displayed the IRGC's penetration into the US spy drone's intel had been recorded by an IRGC drone flying above the scene.

Iran is one of the pioneering countries in drone technology. The country has long been manufacturing drones since the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s. But it took a long leap in drone technology nearly a decade ago. The Iranian military first downed a US army RQ-170 Sentinel in Eastern Iran in 2011. Months later, Iran started production of its own RQ-170 stealth aircraft after reverse engineering the downed US aircraft. The Iranian RQ-170 conducted its official flight in November 2014.

The original US drone was a stealth aircraft manufactured for surveillance and spying operations, while the Iranian version of the RQ-170 drone has been equipped by the IRGC with bombing capability as well.

Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works advanced development arm is thought to have developed the RQ-170 by around 2005, and the US deployed the stealthy aircraft to Afghanistan by 2008. However, the US Air Force did not officially acknowledge the program until December 2009.

Back in October 2013, General Hajizadeh said Iran moved as much as 35 years ahead in building drone engines by reverse engineering of the US drone.

Iran has downed a collection of US drones, including Scan Eagle, Raptor, M-Q9 surveillance. The range of the various types of US Unmmaned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) downed by Iran has now amounted to a dozen, and it has started reproducing them immediately after conducting reverse engineering. Several squadrons of these robotic warriors are already in mission.

Last week, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri underlined that Iran along with Russia and Turkey believed that the foreign forces which had been deployed in Syria without any coordination with Damascus should evacuate the war-torn state.

Iran, Russia and Turkey as the guarantor states have called for the withdrawal of forces who are present in certain parts of Syria without coordination with the legal government in Syria and have occupied some regions, General Baqeri said, alluding to the deployment of the American forces in Eastern Euphrates region in Syria.

The Iranian top commander made the remarks in a joint meeting with Russian and Turkish Defense Ministers General Sergey Shoigu and General Hulusi Akar in the resort city of Sochi in Russia.

He also added that the US officials' remarks on withdrawing forces from Syria were just claims.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that the United States is blocking the exit of displaced Syrians from al-Rukban camp in al-Tanf area through the humanitarian corridors that were opened for this purpose.

22 February، 2019 - Moscow: Washington blocks the exit of displaced Syrians from al-Rukban camp
Army targets al-Nusra terrorists' positions in Idleb and Hama

“The United States is violating international humanitarian law by preventing civilians from leaving through the humanitarian corridors,” Zakharova said during her weekly briefing in Moscow on Friday.

She noted that the majority of the camp’s residents wish to leave it and return to their villages and towns which have been cleared of terrorism.

Two humanitarian corridors have been opened on Tuesday, Feb. 19 in order to evacuate the displaced Syrians besieged by the U.S. forces and their mercenary terrorists in al-Rukban Camp.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

After Netanyahu rescheduled his visit to Moscow, the Israeli war planes were spotted near the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Israeli warplanes spotted near Syrian-Lebanese border
2019-02-21

'Iran's aggression' ('the coordination mechanism' = The Iranians know how to use the S-300) is not the only 'nightmare' for Netanyahu.


Bibi is sweating - 'Ain't no sunshine?'

Israeli PM plans to discuss Iran’s activities in Syria with Putin
February 24, 2019

Israeli attorney-general to decide on indicting PM this week
24.02.2019

 

[sToRmR1dR]

The Israeli warplanes were spotted along the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Developing: Israeli warplanes spotted along Syrian-Lebanese border
2019-02-25

 

[angelburst29]

Syrian President Bashar al Assad made his first public visit to his closest regional ally Iran since the start of Syria's war in 2011, meeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Monday and championing their alliance, state media reported.

February 25, 2019 - Assad meets Khamenei in first Iran visit since Syrian war began
Assad meets Khamenei in first Iran visit since Syrian war began

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran in this handout released by SANA on February 25, 2019. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

Sitting next to Assad was Major General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force - an overseas arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He has appeared on frontlines across Syria, where his presence has infuriated Sunni-led insurgents who oppose what they view as Shi’ite Iran’s expansion in the region.

It was Assad’s first known foreign visit other than to Russia since the war began and his first to Tehran since 2010.

The Turkish intelligence officials and commanders of Tahrir al-Sham al-Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the al-Nusra Front) have been meeting on protecting and keeping the terrorist group in Idlib province, Arab media reports said Monday.

Mon Feb 25, 2019 - Ankara Making Last-Ditch Efforts to Keep Tahrir Al-Sham in Idlib
Farsnews

The Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper quoted sources close to the militants as saying on Monday that that Ankara has set conditions for supporting Tahrir al-Sham and its continued control over Idlib, saying that they should follow Ikhwan al-Muslimoun (Muslim Brotherhood) approach.

They added that the two sides have reached an agreement that includes a shift of approach by Tahrir al-Sham. "In return Turkey has promised the terrorist group that it will prolong the demilitarized zone agreement as long as possible, will not participate in any joint military operations against Tahrir al-Sham and will try to prevent such operations."

The paper also referred to the Syrian army's airstrikes against the terrorists in Northern and Northwestern Hama and Southeastern Idlib in response to their attacks, raising the possibility that military operations in Idlib would soon start.

The Turkish army has in recent days sent over 20 vehicles, carrying soldiers, military equipment and prefabricated houses to Northern Hama and Southern Idlib to strengthen its occupied points in Northern Syria in regions near the areas occupied by Tahrir al-Sham terrorists.

Media reports said on Sunday that Turkey was trying hard to keep Tahrir al-Sham al-Hay'at in Syria's Idlib province and block the implementation of upcoming military operations against the terrorist group by changing its name.

UN chief Antonio Guterres will unveil Monday a report which accuses Israel of burying radioactive nuclear waste in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory under occupation for over five decades.

Mon Feb 25, 2019 - UN: Israel Burying Nuclear Waste in Syria’s Golan
Farsnews

Guterres will submit the report - which is based on Syria’s charges against Israel - to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) at the panel's 40th session, set to open in Geneva Monday and run through March 22, presstv reported.

The Syrian Arab Republic noted that Israel continued to bury nuclear waste with radioactive content in 20 different areas populated by Syrian citizens of the occupied Syrian Golan, particularly in the vicinity of al-Sheikh Mountain,” the report said.

The practice has put the lives and health of Syrians in the occupied Syrian Golan in jeopardy, and constituted a serious violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention," it added.

Israel is the only possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, but its policy is to neither confirm nor deny having atomic bombs. The regime is estimated to have 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal.

Israel is not a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), whose aim is to prevent the spread of nuclear arms and weapons technology.