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

Artex said:
I wonder a couple of things about this al Bagdadi video since the US claims they "got him" in 2014. How can we know this isn't a deep fake (he's about the size of Pompeo *wink*)? If it's not, does that count as confirmation of rumors that the US has been protecting al Bagdadi?
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April 30, 2019 - Purported video of IS leader Al-Baghdadi: What clues does is it give terror experts?
Al-Baghdadi is the world's most wanted man
Al-Baghdadi is the world's most wanted man - Copyright REUTERS

Intelligence experts are scrutinizing the purported video message from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the so-called Islamic State, for clues about his whereabouts and the terror organisation’s next moves.

The 18-minute propaganda clip, released through IS media network Al Furqan, is the first to show him alive since he declared the jihadists' now-defunct "caliphate" five years ago.

The CIA has not commented on the video, the first supposed message since an audio recording released in August 2018.
Al-Baghdadi is among the few senior IS commanders still at large after two years of steady battlefield losses with a $25 million bounty on his head.

“It is proof of life,” said Charlie Winter, a fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in The Hague. “If they had just released a picture of him or another audio recording there would be room to dismiss it as a body double or a fake.”

'Fatter than he was'
The speaker appears to be in good health and looks like a slightly older version of al-Baghdadi than when he was pictured in 2014, addressing followers from a pulpit to declare a caliphate stretching across Iraq and Syria.

He can be seen sitting cross-legged on the floor giving an address to three aides who have their faces blurred.

“His beard has got longer and more grey and he’s fatter than he was,” said Winter. “The henna dye in his beard is because the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have done the same.”

The video offers few clues to al-Baghdadi’s whereabouts, and previous Al Furqan videos have used computer editing techniques to change the background and disguise the location.

Winter believes it is likely to have been filmed in western Iraq, “although he probably moved as soon as the video was made.”

Instead, intelligence agencies will focus on how the video was produced and distributed, and what the message tells us about future IS ambitions.

Security bubble
The capture or killing of many other terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, was enabled by security leaks involving couriers shuttling messages to followers and the media.

“Every time someone makes and released a video, it breaks the security bubble around senior figures and al-Baghdadi is the most wanted man on earth,” Winter said. “Each communication, each meeting risks a leak that could give away his location.”

At the height of its power, IS ruled over millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through towns and villages along the Tigris and Euphrates valleys to the outskirts of Baghdad.

But in 2017, the fall of its strongholds in Mosul and Raqqa stripped al-Baghdadi of the trappings of a caliph and turned him into a fugitive thought to be moving along the desert border between Iraq and Syria.

The timing of the video appears to suggest an attempt to start a new chapter for IS, Winter said.

“He seems to be bookending the past five years, effectively calling and end to its aim of being a proto-state or a territorial entity and instead casting IS as an organisation with global ambitions.”

Winter added: “The fact that the video doesn’t have any of the computer-added effects suggests a different kind of message, a turning point. It is deliberately not a flashy production.”

In his purported message, al-Baghdadi pledged that “jihad will continue until doomsday.”
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April 29, 2019 - Russia Vows to Expel Terrorists out of Syria’s Idlib
Russia Vows to Expel Terrorists out of Syria’s Idlib
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the remnants of ISIL Takfiri terrorists and al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra front militants continue to stage provocations and are reluctant to abide by a ceasefire agreement in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Lavrov said during a press conference in Moscow on Monday that the terrorist outfits, especially militants from the Fateh al-Sham terror group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, are constantly breaching the de-escalation zone agreement by attacking civilians and carrying out provocations against the Syrian Arab Army in the troubled region.

The top Russian diplomat went on to say that the Syrian government had every right to protect people living in the country, including Idlib province, which is under the control of al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra front.

“There’s a limit to everything. The situation in Idlib and other areas where terrorists are still active cannot go on like this forever. We will proceed from the fact that the Syrian government has every right to ensure the safety of its people on its territory,” Lavrov stressed, adding, “As Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, Russia cannot tolerate these terrorists remaining safe there like in a preserved area.”
 
 
sToRmR1dR said:
The US State Department is demanding from Russia to stop air strikes on the White Helmets.
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Russia and the regime also blatantly continue to militarily target humanitarians such as White Helmets volunteers as they attempt to save victims in many of these affected communities.
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30086

You know, I have felt guilty/ashamed of my own country's war crimes for a long time now but reading that directly off of the U.S. State Dept. web page I hope these asshats get everything the universe gives them/us in karmic pay-backs. 😡
 
The Syrian army units are on high alert while Israeli tank entering the demilitarized zone in southern Syria.

ISRAELI TANK VIOLATED DEMILITARIZED ZONE IN SOUTHERN SYRIA TO HIDE TRACES OF SUPPORT FOR REBELS (PHOTOS)
02.05.2019

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER: ANKARA AND WASHINGTON ARE CLOSE TO AGREEMENT ON NORTHEASTERN SYRIA SAFE ZONE
02.05.2019

HAY’AT TAHRIR AL-SHAM LAUNCHES DOZENS OF ROCKETS AT HMEIMIM AIRBASE. CIVILIAN CASUALTIES REPORTED
02.05.2019

A civilian martyred, 4 injured in a terrorist shelling attack on Jablieh countryside
By Ruaa al-Jazaeri - 2 May, 2019

RUSSIAN AND SYRIAN WARPLANES CARRIED OUT MORE THAN HUNDRED AIRSTRIKES ON TERRORIST POSITIONS IN LAST 24 HOURS (VIDEOS)
02.05.2019

SYRIAN ARMY & IRAQI PMU LAUNCH JOINT COMBING OPERATION ALONG BORDER
02.05.2019

Security forces cleanse border strip with Syria
By Loaa Adel - May 2, 2019
 
Lavrov just made an interesting statement that I think is directly related to all the stuff summarized in the posts below, essentially revealing that russia is building its own coalition of countries via the UN that will concretely oppose the US and their allies in Interventions, meddlings and "humanitarian wars" in other countries in the future; upholding international law and the UN-Charta and opposing those who do the opposite and have done so for decades without consequence. It very much looks like Russia has checkmated the empire step by step!!!

Pashalis said:
[...]
There is a very interesting development happening in Venezuela that I think might be related to the following post:

Pashalis said:
There is a significant development that went largely unnoticed in the press during Putins recent visited to China. Putin and Xi Jinping released a joint signed statement in which both countries promised and set themself the goal of reforming the UN and thereby essentially stopping the actions of certain countries without an UN-Mandate. For way to long certain countries bluntly ignored the rules of the UN-Charta by interfering in other countries against all rules of the UN and started war after war also in defiance of those rules.

We all know that russia pointed those things out again and again the last two decades so clearly and consistently as no other country has, which has a significant position in the world.

I would go as far as to say that China committing itself now so openly together with russia to essentially stop all those illegal interventions in a step by step fashion, through reforms at the UN, is a huge step forward for the world! I think the times that wars like in Afghanistan, Irak or Libya can be pulled of as easily as in the past, will be gone sooner or later, (and that might already have happened, thanks to the efforts of russia) if both parties stick to it and maybe pull in more countries into that initiative. That development might also include interventions in other countries that are done "in secret" which will get harder and harder to be pulled of. Or at least we can hope so.

Seems like Putins team has worked hard to get to a point that they eventually can implement the already existing rules that the UN provides in a way that everyone has to abide by without exception in the future. That might still be quite a way ahead though, but still it seems it develops into that direction.

I hope other countries will join China and Russia in their efforts as soon as possible. As far out as it might sound, what we see here maybe could lead to something like world peace in the future.

Here is the only article in english that I could find that mentions some of the points of that agreement:

Russia, China to jointly support reasonable UN reforms - statement

BEIJING, June 8. /TASS/. Moscow and Beijing will jointly support the necessary and reasonable reforms of the United Nations, including its Security Council, according to the two countries’ statement signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping following Russian-Chinese talks.

According to the statement, the parties will uphold the UN’s pivotal role in global governance and jointly support the necessary and reasonable reforms of the organization and its Security Council "in order to better comply with the UN Charter." Moscow and Beijing believe it is necessary to discuss these reforms "solely through broad and democratic consultations, without imposing artificial time limits and immature projects." Russia and China believe it is necessary to look for a "package" solution taking into account the interests and concerns of all parties; proceed from the premise that the reform of the UN Security Council, should, first of all, expand the representation of the developing countries and their right to vote to make sure that a wide range of small and medium-sized states have more opportunities to take part in the Security Council’s work and the decision-making process on the basis of the principle of rotation."

In their joint statement, Vladimir Putin and Xi Xinping highlighted their intention "to counteract attempts by any countries to unilaterally conduct military operations without the authorization of the UN Security Council or without the consent of the legitimate government of a country on whose territory such actions are carried out." Russia and China will also take part in shaping the equal and indivisible security architecture "based on the refusal to use force or the threat of the use of force, non-interference in the internal and external affairs of other countries, the resolution of international disputes by purely political and diplomatic means."
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After Russia, China has now send military personnel to Venezuela too, which is quite a remarkable step for china that used to not commit itself and "stay out of the fringe" in regards to the empire and its doings worldwide. I think this might mark a game changer event and is derectly related to the above quote. China seems to slowly cover the back of russia and also help, not only verbally, to stop the US nonsense.

www.newsclick.in

This Article is Under Review | NewsClick

This article is under review in light of the Chinese government’s denial regarding sending troops to Venezuela.
www.newsclick.in www.newsclick.in

I think we will see similar stuff in the future every time the empire tries another coup or military aggression in a country. The times that the empire could do all of that are pretty much over I think.

I think the main driver behind those developments is the russian government headed by Putin. They seem to have learned a lot in the last years about the strategies the empire uses to conduct its business in other countries and how to stop it in its tracks. I further think that they are now starting to aid other countries via knowledge of how the empire operates so that they can help themselves in that regard and not fall prey to the empire and its follies.

In this german article it is pointed out that the Venezuelan government already started heavy buying of chinese and russian military stuff between 2010 and 2014 for 349 Million Dollar. In 2017 this was than topped by heavy investment in Chinese and Russian "tanks, ammunition, uniforms, infantry equipment as well as spare and service parts".

I think the empire is finding itself in a desperate situation now where it just can't do a darn thing anymore, as it was used to do in the past. I think they have been outmaneuvered mainly by the russians. They just can't do anything anymore that just "worked" in the past.

Amazing to watch.
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angelburst29 said:
April 30, 2019 - Purported video of IS leader Al-Baghdadi: What clues does is it give terror experts?
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Another article on the purported video ...

April 30, 2019 - Islamic State Leader Makes First Video in 5 Years
Islamic State Leader Makes First Video in 5 Years

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made his first video appearance in five years, following the release of a 40-second message to his supporters.

Al-Baghdadi has not been seen publicly since a 2014 sermon at the Grand Mosque, Mosul – the so-called Caliphate’s former Iraqi stronghold.

It seems to put to an end rumors that the leader had either died through ill-health or been killed amid ongoing fighting in neighboring Syria. A clue as to his survival was provided by Imam Mohamad Tawhidi – a moderate Shia cleric who was formerly radicalized in Iran but now spreads a message of peace among all – who commented on a video that the suicide bombers who attacked churches and hotels in Sri Lanka at Easter posted. They pledged their allegiance to the ISIS Caliph, with Tawhidi explaining that this could not be done to a dead leader.

In the video discussing the Islamic State’s ongoing war against ‘crusades’, al-Baghdadi calls for revenge after defeat in Syria’s Baghouz, suggesting the video had in fact been filmed in recent months and was not archival footage of the reclusive chief.

“The battle of Baghouz is over,” he admitted, but he blamed ISIS’ defeat in its last Syrian stronghold on the “savagery, brutality and ill intentions of the Christians toward the Muslim community.” He also claimed the deadly terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka as revenge.

Rumors of Al-Baghdadi’s death first surfaced in July 2017, a day after Iraq declared it had driven the jihadists from what was once their largest stronghold in Mosul.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a longtime monitor of the country’s conflict, said it had information from top IS leaders confirming Baghdadi’s death. However, such claims could not be independently verified.

Al-Baghdadi’s current whereabouts are unknown, although Iraqi intelligence sources – according to DEBKAfile – assess that he is in hiding in the small village of Jabal Abu Rajmin near the Syrian town of Palmyra.

The reappearance of the Islamic State leader only reinforces that the organization and ideology is far from a spent force and has not – as the most optimistic commentators would have had us think – been defeated.
 
Mohamad Tawhidi, the well-known “Imam of Peace” has compiled a useful list of Islamic groups engaged in terrorism. I have added, at the very end, CAIR, which was unaccountably left out of the original list. By Hugh Fitzgerald
Mohamad Tawhidi Prepares a Useful List

Al-Shabab (Africa)
Al Murabitun (Africa)
Al-Qeada (Afghanistan)
Al-Qaeda (Islamic Maghreb)
Al-Qaeda (Indian Subcontinent)
Al-Qaeda (Arab Peninsula)
Hamas (Gaza)
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Palestine)
Popular Front for the Liberation of (Palestine)
Hezbollah (Lebanon)
Ansar al-Sharia-Benghazi (Lebanon)
Asbat Al-Ansar (Lebanon)
ISIS (Iraq)
ISIS (Syria)
ISIS (Cauacus)
ISIS (Libya)
ISIS (Yemen)
ISIS (Algeria)
ISIS (Philippines)
Jund al-Sham (Syria/Afganistan)
Al-Mourabitoun (Lebanon)
Abdullah Azzam Brigades (Lebanon)
Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (Somalia)
Al-Haramain Foundation (Saudi Arabia)
Ansar-Al-Sharia (Moroccon)
Moroccon Mudjadine (Morocco)
Salafia Jihadia (Morocco)
Boko Haram (Africa)
Islamic movement of (Uzbekistan)
Islamic Jihad Union (Uzbekistan)
Islamic Jihad Union (Germany)
DRW True-Religion (Germany)
Fajar Nusantara Movement (Germany)
DIK Hildesheim (Germany)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (Kashmir)
Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (Syria)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (Syria)
Jamaat al Dawa al Quran (Afghanistan)
Jundallah (Iran)
Quds Force (Iran)
Kata’ib Hezbollah (Iraq)
Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (Somalia)
Egyptian Islamic Jihad (Egypt)
Jund al-Sham (Jordan)
Fajar Nusantara Movement (Australia)
Society of the Revival of Islamic
Heritage (Terror funding, worldwide)
Taliban (Afghanistan)
Taliban (Pakistan)
Tehrik-i-Taliban (Pakistan)
Army of Islam (Syria)
Islamic Movement (Israel)
Ansar Al Sharia (Tunisia)
Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of (Jerusalem)
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (Libya)
Oneness and Jihad in (West Africa)
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Palestine)
Tevhid-Selam (Al-Quds Army)
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (Morocco)
Caucasus Emirate (Russia)
Dukhtaran-e-Millat Feminist Islamists (India)
Indian Mujahideen (India)
Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (India)
Ansar al-Islam (India)
Students Islamic Movement of (India)
Harakat Mujahideen (India)
Hizbul Mujhaideen (India)
Lashkar e Islam (India)
Jund al-Khilafah (Algeria)
Turkistan Islamic Party
Egyptian Islamic Jihad (Egypt)
Great Eastern Islamic Raiders’ Front (Turkey)
Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (Pakistan)
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (Pakistan)
Lashkar e Toyiba(Pakistan), Lashkar e Jhangvi (Pakistan) Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (Pakistan)
Jamaat ul-Ahrar (Pakistan)
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (Pakistan)
Jamaat Ul-Furquan (Pakistan)
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (Syria)
Ansar al-Din Front (Syria)
Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Syria)
Jamaah Anshorut Daulah (Syria)
Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement (Syria)
Liwa al-Haqq (Syria)
Al-Tawhid Brigade (Syria)
Jund al-Aqsa (Syria)
Al-Tawhid Brigade (Syria)
Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade (Syria)
Khalid ibn al-Walid Army (Syria)
Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (Afganistan)
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (Afghanistan)
Hizb ut-Tahrir (worldwide caliphate)
Hizbul Mujahideen (Kashmir)
Ansar Allah (Yemen)
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (USA)
Jamaat Mujahideen (India)
Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (Indonesia)
Hizbut Tahrir (Indonesia)
Fajar Nusantara Movement (Indonesia)
Jemaah Islamiyah (Indonesia)
Jemaah Islamiyah (Philippines)
Jemaah Islamiyah (Singapore)
Jemaah Islamiyah (Thailand)
Jemaah Islamiyah (Malaysia)
Ansar Dine (Africa)
Osbat al-Ansar (Palestine)
Hizb ut-Tahrir (group connecting Islamic Caliphates across the world into one world Islamic Caliphate)
Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order (Iraq)
Al Nusra Front (Syria), 111. Al-Badr (Pakistan)
Islam4UK (UK)
Al Ghurabaa (UK)
Call to Submission (UK) [this is global, and accessible online]
Islamic Path (UK)
London School of Sharia (UK)
Muslims Against Crusades (UK)
Need4Khilafah (UK)
The Shariah Project (UK)
The Islamic Dawah Association (UK) [ALSO IN THE U.S.]
The Saviour Sect (UK)
Jamaat Ul-Furquan (UK) [ALSO IN THE U.S]
Minbar Ansar Deen (UK)
Al-Muhajiroun (UK) (Lee Rigby, London 2017 members)
Islamic Council of Britain (UK) (Not to be confused with Official Muslim Council of Britain) [there are also Islamic Councils in the U.S.]
Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (UK)
Al-Gama’a (Egypt)
Al-Islamiyya (Egypt)
Armed Islamic men of (Algeria)
Salafist Group for Call and Combat (Algeria)
Ansaru (Algeria), 133.Ansar-Al-Sharia (Libya)
Al Ittihad Al Islamia (Somalia), 135.Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia)
Al-Shabab (Africa)
al-Aqsa Foundation (Germany)
al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (Palestine)
Abu Sayyaf (Philippines)
Aden-Abyan Islamic Army (Yemen)
Ajnad Misr (Egypt)
Abu Nidal Organization (Palestine)
Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (Indonesia)

CAIR, which has been declared a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates, and was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial.
 
sToRmR1dR said:
SYRIAN ARMY & IRAQI PMU LAUNCH JOINT COMBING OPERATION ALONG BORDER
02.05.2019

Security forces cleanse border strip with Syria
By Loaa Adel - May 2, 2019
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Video Footage Of The Joint Syrian, Iraqi Military Operation Against ISIS In East Syria
May 4, 2019

OPERATION CLAWS OF DEATH: IRAQI INTELLIGENCE FOILS MAJOR ISIS TERRORIST PLAN
04.05.2019

Iraq, Russia in talks over S-400 missile defense system
By Mohammed Ebraheem - May 4, 2019

IN VIDEO: SYRIAN ARMY DEPLOYS TOS-1A THERMOBARIC ROCKET LAUNCHERS AROUND IDLIB
04.05.2019

SYRIAN SU-22, SU-24 FIGHTER BOMBERS POUND TERRORISTS FORTIFICATIONS IN IDLIB AND HAMA (VIDEOS)
04.05.2019

Deputy FM: Damascus Won’t Let Turkey Control Even One Centimeter of Syrian Territory
May 04, 2019

TURKISH-BACKED MILITANTS LAUNCH SURPRISE MILITARY OPERATION IN NORTHERN ALEPPO, CAPTURE KEY TOWN SOUTH OF AFRIN (PHOTOS)
04.05.2019
 
I think the Idlib terrorists are going to be feeling the heat soon...

sToRmR1dR said:
IN VIDEO: SYRIAN ARMY DEPLOYS TOS-1A THERMOBARIC ROCKET LAUNCHERS AROUND IDLIB
04.05.2019
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The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has deployed at least two TOS-1A thermobaric rocket launchers around the militant-held governorate of Idlib in the northwestern part of the country, a video released by pro-government activists on May 3 revealed.



The TOS-1A, which is based on the T-72 tank chassis, launches heavy 220mm rockets with a range of up to 6km. The rockets are armed with a unique fuel air explosives (FAE) warhead.

In Video: Syrian Army Deploys TOS-1A Thermobaric Rocket Launchers Around Idlib
Click to see full-size image
The SAA successfully used the TOS-1A rocket system for the first time during the battle of northern Lattakia in 2015. Later, the system saw action in the army’s anti-terror operations in Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Homs, Damascus and Daraa.

The TOS-1A is mainly used against military personnel, equipment and buildings, including fortified constructions, such as trenches, tunnels and caves.

Last week, several pro-government sources claimed that the SAA and its allies are preparing to launch a large-scale military operation around Idlib. Despite the lack of any official confirmation, the deployment of TOS-1A thermobaric rocket launchers may be considered as a fact supporting these claims.
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sToRmR1dR said:
Indeed! The Syrian army is gearing up for the offensive in Idlib.
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While Turkey, Iran, and Qatar are in a de facto alliance in the Middle East against Saudi Arabia and their allies, they support opposing forces inside of Syria.
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Potential Outcomes

For the Syrian Arab Army, this offensive will be successful if they can push the jihadist and rebel forces north of the demilitarized zone.

If they are successful, the jihadists and rebels will no longer be able to conduct raids near the government-held towns in the Hama and Idlib governorates.

For the opposition groups, if they are able to repel the Syrian offensive, they will score a major victory against the government forces for the first time in years.

A victory for the opposition groups would only embolden Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, who is already considered one of the most powerful forces in northwestern Syria.
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I am cheering for the SAA. :thup: Iran is mainly against Saudi Arabia and Turkey just hates the Kurds I guess.

I will keep watching...🙄
 
sToRmR1dR said:
Indeed! The Syrian army is gearing up for the offensive in Idlib.

SYRIAN ARMY STRIKES TURKISH OBSERVATION POST IN NORTHWESTERN HAMA, CASUALTIES REPORTED (VIDEOS)
04.05.2019
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The Turkish army has allegedly abandoned their observation posts, after an attack by the Syrian army.

Turkish Army allegedly abandons observation posts in northwest Hama
2019-05-05

Turkish Army cancels offensive in northern Aleppo amid safe zone talks with Russia: reports
2019-05-05

Turkey, Russia may setup safe zone without US forces in northern Aleppo
2019-05-05

Turkish Army offensive in northern Aleppo fails after initial success
2019-05-05

Military source: Terrorist groups in Idleb and its surrounding prepare an attack on army positions, safe areas in direction of Hama and Lattakia
By Ruaa al-Jazaeri - 5 May, 2019

Russian jets destroy jihadist bases in northeast Latakia
2019-05-05

Blackwater Starts Training of ISIL Terrorists at US Base in Western Iraq
May 05, 2019
 
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