Iraq

Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 27, 2018 – January 2, 2019)

Around two weeks after President Trump announced the pull-out of the American soldiers from Syria, the attention of the key players in the Syrian arena was diverted to eastern and northern Syria/ In the city of Hajin and its environs, the SDF campaign against ISIS continues. The Kurdish-controlled city of Manbij, is attracting considerable political and military attention in the wake of the Trump statement. In the Idlib area, incidents between the Syrian army and jihadi organizations continue. According to Arab media, the Americans have begun to evacuate their soldiers from Syria to the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (December 16, 2018 – December 30, 2018)

The decision of United States’ (U.S.) President Donald Trump to withdraw American forces from Syria was met in Iran with surprise and satisfaction by most senior officials and commentators. The news of the U.S. withdrawal reverberated in Iraq as well, where the Iranian ambassador declared that his country ended its military presence in Iraq. In late December, a delegation of Hamas’ political bloc in the Palestinian parliament, headed by the senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar, visited Tehran/ Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 20-26, 2018)

The most important event of the week was the US announcement that it intended to pull out its military personnel from Syria. An ITIC analysis of ISIS’s situation in Syria, Iraq, and the various provinces abroad shows that the organization has not been defeated, even though it was weakened following the collapse of the Islamic Caliphate. After the Caliphate collapsed, ISIS once again changed its methods and adapted itself to the changing realities. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 13-19, 2018)

In eastern Syria, the SDF forces, with Coalition air support, managed to take over most of the city of Hajin (ISIS’s main stronghold in the enclave under its control east of the Euphrates River). ISIS continues its terrorist attacks and guerrilla warfare in in the various provinces in Iraq, despite the preventive actions of the Iraqi security forces. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (December 2, 2018 – December 16, 2018)

Iran is keeping a low profile with regards to the “Northern Shield” operation carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to destroy Hezbollah tunnels along Israel’s border with Lebanon. The Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)’s Qods Force, Qasem Soleimani, visited Iraq and met with the country’s grand mufti. An extraordinary commentary published in the reformist Iranian paper harshly criticized Hamas Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 6-12, 2018)

In eastern Syria, SDF forces, with massive air and artillery support from the Coalition countries, launched an attack on ISIS in the city of Hajin, ISIS’s stronghold in the enclave north of Albukamal. In the Idlib area incidents continued, consisting mainly of exchanges of artillery fire between the Syrian army and the jihadi rebel organizations. On December 12, 2018, a shooting attack was carried out in the Christmas market in Strasbourg, France. Four people were apparently killed and around 12 wounded Read more...

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