$2m ransom demanded to release abducted relative of Syria’s Assad
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (R) with his wife, Asma Al-Assad [Facebook]
September 18, 2019 -
The cousin of the wife of Syrian regime President Bashar Al-Assad has been abducted in Lebanon with a demand for a ransom to be paid for his release, Lebanese news sources reported yesterday.
According to Lebanese TV network
LBC,
Murhaf Akhras went missing two days ago between the areas of Chtoura and Aley “in mysterious circumstances”.
His wife,
VDL News reported, received a call asking her to pay $2 million for his release.
The site pointed out that “Akhras was kidnapped last Thursday on the high road – Chtoura, his car was found parked in Aley, while he was on his way from Damascus.”
Murhaf is the son of Syrian businessman Tarif Akhras,
Asma Al-Assad’s uncle.
Assad’s relative, held for ransom, released in Lebanon
September 19, 2019 - The cousin of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s wife has been released days after he was held for ransom in Lebanon, local media reported.
According to the National News Agency,
Murhaf Akhras was released after intensive efforts were made by Lebanese officials, with the Director of Directorate of General Security (DGS) Major General Abbas Ibrahim following up on the matter himself.
Akhras was
abducted by unidentified men last Thursday on his way from Lebanon to Syria.
The website of the Lebanese
VDL NEWS revealed that his wife had received a call from a Syrian number asking her to pay a
$2 million ransom for his release.
The site pointed out that “Akhras was kidnapped last Thursday on the high road – Chtoura, his car was found parked in Aley, while he was on his way from Damascus.”
Saudi jets helping Israel strike pro-Iran militias on Syria-Iraq border
Royal Saudi airforce fighter jet [File photo]
September 19, 2019 - Saudi fighter jets joined Israeli ones in a
recent campaign to strike pro-Iran Shia militias on the Syria-Iraq border, an unnamed western source told the
Independent newspaper’s Arabic site.
“Saudi fighter jets have been spotted along with other fighter jets that have attacked facilities and positions belonging to Iranian militias,” the source told
Independent Arabia, referring to the airstrikes on the Iranian-backed militias in the Albukamal area of eastern Syria on Monday night. There were reportedly four airstrikes that night, in which five to 16 Iraqi militants were killed.
It is believed that the attacks conducted by Saudi and Israeli jets targeted positions belonging to the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and according to the source, Iran was set to use the sites to hit other targets following the
attack on the Saudi Aramco oil facilities on Saturday.
The source added that the Global Coalition Against Daesh had begun targeting other groups including the Quds Force and others which have ties with Iran in the Levant. Saudi sources later denied the claims made by the Western source.
Sep 20 2019
- Explosions Heard in Damascus Suburbs
Several explosions were heard in the Eastern suburbs of Damascus, the Arabic-language media outlets said.
The Arabic-language al-Akhbariyeh TV network reported that the blasts were heard in Southeastern Jermana near the Western axis of the Eastern Ghouta region. Some early reports indicated that the explosions were caused by a drone attack on the Aqraba area.
In a relevant development earlier this month, Israel attacked a Hezbollah compound in the Aqraba area; the attack caused damaged to Hezbollah military compound.
Sep 20 2019
- People of Eastern Syria Strongly Oppose US-Turkey Agreement on Safe Zone
Residents of Eastern Syria are infuriated at a new agreement between Washington and Ankara on the establishment of a safe zone in Northern Syria as popular unrests against the presence of foreign occupying forces have increased, the Arabic-language media outlets said. The Beirut-based al-Akhbar newspaper reported that many residents of Syria’s regions bordering Turkey have started voicing strong protest against the creation of a safe region by the US and Turkey in Northeastern Syria.
US spy plane operated drones that attacked Hmeymim Base in Syria: Russia
2019-09-20 - The drones that attacked Russia’s Hmeymim airbase in Syria were operated from the US Poseidon-8 reconnaissance plane, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin said at a plenary session of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on security on Thursday.
“Thirteen drones moved according to common combat battle deployment, operated by a single crew. During all this time the American Poseidon-8 reconnaissance plane patrolled the Mediterranean Sea area for eight hours,” he noted.
When the drones met with the electronic countermeasures of the Russian systems, they switched to a manual guidance mode, he said. “Manual guidance is carried out not by some villagers, but by the Poseidon-8, which has modern equipment. It undertook manual control,” the deputy defense minister noted.
“When these 13 drones faced our electronic warfare screen, they moved away to some distance, received the corresponding orders and began to be operated out of space and receiving help in finding the so-called holes through which they started penetrating. Then they were destroyed,” Fomin reported.
“This should be stopped as well: in order to avoid fighting with the high-technology weapons of terrorists and highly-equipped terrorists it is necessary to stop supplying them with equipment,” the deputy defense minister concluded.
The Russian Defense Ministry earlier said that on January 6 militants in Syria first massively used drones in the attack on the Russian Hmeymim airbase and the Russian naval base in Tartus.
The attack was successfully repelled: seven drones were downed, and control over six drones was gained through electronic warfare systems. The Russian Defense Ministry stressed that the solutions used by the militants could be received only from a technologically advanced country and warned about the danger of repeating such attacks in any country of the world.
Russia, China Block UN Resolution on Ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib
Western resolution on Idlib aims to save the international terrorists from final defeat, and to paint Russia and Syria as parties responsible for what is happening in Idlib, the Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said.
Russia casts 13th veto of U.N. Security Council action during Syrian war
Russia cast its 13th veto on Thursday of U.N. Security Council action on the Syrian conflict, blocking a demand for a truce in northwest Syria because it does not include an exemption for military offensives against U.N. blacklisted militant groups.
Russia, China fail to get enough votes for rival U.N. demand for Syria truce
A Russian and Chinese drafted U.N. Security Council resolution demanding truce in northwest Syria with an exemption for military offensives against U.N. blacklisted militant groups failed to get the minimum nine votes needed on Thursday.
www.almasdarnews.com
2019-09-17 
![Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (R) with his wife, Asma Al-Assad [Facebook]](/forum/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fwww.middleeastmonitor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F08%2FAsma-Al-Assad.jpg%3Fresize%3D1200%252C800%26quality%3D75%26strip%3Dall%26ssl%3D1&hash=6251441e53465dbc5c2ea9e05ab35db3 "Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (R) with his wife, Asma Al-Assad [Facebook]")
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