During the past week, the Syrian army took over the entire rural area north of Hama. In the meantime, the Turkish force, which arrived in the region on August 19, 2019, continues to establish its presence on Highway M-5. In the Iraqi arena, ISIS’s intensive activity continues, as does the Iraqi security operation to mop up the northern and western parts of the country. ISIS’s provinces in Africa and Asia continued their “routine” attacks. Read more...
Serious terrorist attacks continue in Judea and Samaria. At the center of events this past week was the IED attack on a father and his two children visiting a natural spring near the community of Dolev, northwest of Jerusalem. The 17-year-old daughter was killed and the father and son were critically injured. In the Gaza Strip violence continues, threatening to lead to escalation rather than a lull. About 9,200 Palestinians participated in the weekly return march in the Gaza Strip, more than in recent weeks. This past week the Palestinian Authority (PA) agreed to accept refunds from Israel from the tax on oil. Read more...
In light on the ongoing escalation between Iran and the United States in the Persian Gulf, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Shamkhani, threatened that in the event of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States, Tehran will utilize proxies against the United States and its allies in the region. The spokesman of the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs labeled the understanding reached between the United States and Turkey concerning the establishment of a joint operations room near the Turkish-Syrian border “provocative and concerning.” He reiterated that there is no need for intervention of foreign powers to maintain security in northern Syria. The Iraqi Minister of Interior, Yassin al-Yaseri, visited Tehran in mid-August to discuss the coordination between the two countries ahead of the Arabeen ceremony, the pilgrimage to the Shi’ite holy sites in Iraq. The secretary general of the Iraqi pro-Iranian militia, Kataeb Hezbollah, visited Iran and declared that the Iraqi Shi’ite militias see the leadership of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, as a continuation of the rule of the Prophet Muhammad and the first Shi’ite Imam, Ali. Read more...
This week, the Syrian army forces completed the takeover of the rural area west and northwest of the city of Khan Shaykhun. In view of these developmentsTurkey sent a military convoy that included dozens of armored vehicles and tank transporters. The convoy was attacked from the air, reportedly by Russian and Syrian aircraft. The incident created the first friction of its kind between Turkey, on the one hand, and Russia and Syria on the other. In response to the airstrike, the Turkish foreign minister warned Syria “not to play with fire” In the Iraqi arena, ISIS’s terrorist and guerrilla operations in the various provinces continued, in the form of sniper fire, IEDs, and mortar shells. This week as well, Afghanistan was the scene of many of the attacks carried out by ISIS operatives in its provinces in Africa and Asia. Read more...
Events this past week focused on the stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem and the vehicular attack in Gush Etzion. Three people were injured, a policeman (in Jerusalem) and two civilians (in Gush Etzion). In the Gaza Strip terrorist operatives continue their attempts to penetrate into Israeli territory. This past week four rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory in two separate attacks on consecutive days. Read more...
Following the collapse of the ceasefire in the Idlib region, the Syrian army launched a series of ground attacks in several zones. In the Euphrates Valley in eastern Syria, ISIS continues its increased activity in the area of Al-Raqqah and Deir ez-Zor–Al-Mayadeen. In the Iraqi arena, ISIS’s terrorist and guerrilla activity in the various provinces continues, as does the widespread operation by the Iraqi security forces to mop up northern and western Iraq. On August 3-11, 2019, ISIS carried out its Raids of Attrition Campaign, which is intended to encourage ISIS’s supporters and to reinforce the message that ISIS is enhancing its presence and activity around the globe. Read more...
