Countries - The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Spotlight on Global Jihad (July 5-11, 2018)

The Syrian army is recording achievements in the campaign for the takeover of southern Syria: These steps by the Syrian army were carried out as part of the Russian-mediated ceasefire agreement with the rebel organizations, which was achieved on July 6, 2018. The ceasefire agreement applies to the Daraa area and does not include the Syrian Golan Heights. The military and political moves currently taking place in southern Syria have long-term significance, because they reflect a process of shaping the nature of the borders of the Syrian state vis-à-vis Jordan and Israel Read more...

Hezbollah and Iran-handled Shi’ite militias are integrated into the Syrian army in its campaign to take control of south Syria

Shi'ite forces, handled by Iran, are being integrated into the campaign currently waged by the Syrian army in south Syria. There are at least two Iraqi-Shi'ite forces (the Dhu al-Fiqar Brigade and the Abu F–al-Abbas Brigade). There are also Afghan Shi'ite fighters in the Fatemiyoun Brigade. In addition, it was reported that Hezbollah operatives also participate in the fighting, including operatives from its elite al-Radwan unit, who were sent from Lebanon. Read more...

“The Owj Arts and Media Organization:” An Iranian NGO, tied to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, plays a central role in the struggle for hearts and minds at home and abroad

The Arts and Media Owj Organization (literally: “climax”) is a non-governmental organization operating in Iran since the spring of 2011. The organization initiates, leads and promotes activity in the spheres of art and culture inspired by the values of the Islamic Revolution and in accordance with the official ideology of the Iranian regime. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (June 24 – July 8, 2018)

The campaign in Syria continues to exact a price from Iranian forces. As reports emerge about negotiations between the United States and Russia concerning Syria’s future and military operations intensify in the country, Tehran and Moscow continue to deliberate concerning developments in Syria. While negotiations concerning the establishment of a new government in Baghdad continue apace, the National Security Adviser of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Faleh Fayyad, visited Tehran and met senior Iranian officials. Internal public criticism of Tehran’s policy of investing beyond the country’s borders, and in particular the support for the Assad regime, Hezbollah and the Palestinians is growing in Iran, as Iranian citizens face a worsening economic crisis. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (June 28 – July 4, 2018)

The main event of this past week was the progress of the Syrian army in the eastern enclave of the rebel organizations (east and northeast of Daraa) with the support of the Russian and Syrian air forces. The Syrian army is supported by Iraqi Shiite militias handled by Iran, but their weight in the Syrian order of battle participating in the campaign appears to be insignificant. In the wake of the fighting, there is a mass exodus of an estimated 270,000 displaced persons (UN website, updated to July 2, 2018). Read more...

Hamas spread the false claim an infant who died as a result of a heart defect was killed during the “return marches” to defame the IDF and Israel

On May 14, 2018, the Hamas-controlled ministry of health in the Gaza Strip reported the death of Layla Anwar Ghandour, an eight-month-old infant. The story of her death was accompanied by a Palestinian campaign to defame the IDF and the State of Israel. The infant's cousin, a terrorist operative detained by the IDF said during interrogation that Yahya al-Sinwar, head of Hamas' political bureau in the Gaza Strip, paid the family a large sum of money to say she had died from tear gas inhalation and to hide the fact she had died from heart disease. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (June 10 – June 21, 2018)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad asserted once again that Iran’s military presence in Syria is limited to that of “advisers” alone. The Commander of the Qods Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Qasem Soleimani, labeled the results of the latest elections in Lebanon “a great victory” for Hezbollah. Iran continues to maintain political and security coordination with its partners in the campaigns in Syria and Iraq. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (June 21-27, 2018)

The battle in southern Syria has begun: After a few weeks of preparation, the Syrian army launched an attack against the rebel organizations in southern Syria. The attack is concentrated on a rebel-controlled enclave northeast of Daraa, extending from the Syrian-Jordanian border to a distance of about 70 km northwards. The objective of the attack, in the ITIC’s assessment, is to divide the enclave by taking over the village of Basr al-Harir (located around 40 km from the Syrian-Jordanian border). Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (June 14-20, 2018)

The Syrian army continued reinforcing its troops in the Daraa region and preparing for an attack in southern Syria. On June 18, 2018, an airstrike was carried out near the city of Albukamal against Iraqi Shiite militias - handled by Iran on Syrian soil. ISIS continued its intensive terror and guerrilla activity in Afghanistan Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 10-15, 2018)

Despite the exchange of blows between the IDF and the Iranian forces in Syria, the Syrian army and SDF forces continued to fight against ISIS uninterruptedly in the two main arenas. While ISIS is facing severe pressure in its “core countries” (Iraq and Syria), its operatives or supporters, influenced by its ideology, continue to carry out terrorist attacks throughout the world. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called on Muslims (May 14, 2018) to carry out jihad against the United States and Western countries following the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (April 12-17, 2018)

With the takeover of the city of Duma and the evacuation of the last fighters from its territory, the Syrian army effectively completed the takeover of eastern Al-Ghouta. Now the Syrian army and the forces supporting it are shifting the center of operations to the Al-Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus. In Iraq, the security forces continued to operate against a number of areas where pockets of ISIS operatives remained. The Egyptian security forces, which have been working for around two months to eradicate the presence of ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula, suffered losses in an attempt by ISIS operatives to infiltrate one of the army bases in Sinai. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (June 7-13, 2018)

This week, the Syrian army attacked an ISIS enclave some 68 km northeast of As-Suwayda. While pressure is being exerted on ISIS in southern and central Syria, in eastern Syria ISIS took the initiative and attacked the city of Albukamal in the Lower Euphrates Valley. ISIS continues its intensive terror and guerrilla activity in Afghanistan Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 16-23, 2018)

After approximately one month of fighting, the Syrian army completed its takeover of the ISIS enclave south of Damascus. As a result, the Syrian regime declared the Damascus area “a terror-free zone. While ISIS is suffering defeats in Syria, and its operatives in Iraq are under incessant pressure from the Iraqi security forces, ISIS’s provinces and its supporters throughout the world continue to carry out intensive terrorist activity. In light of the achievements of the Syrian army, and as part of the preparations for the day after, tension is rising between the main centers of power supporting the Syrian regime. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (19-27 September 2017)

The Islamic State is disintegrating in Syria and Iraq. Its territorial areas of control Iraq are falling to the two anti-ISIS coalition forces one after another, although in some important strongholds ISIS operatives continue stubborn fighting. Read more...

Strong condemnation of Iran for its support of terrorism and calling Hezbollah a terrorist organization at an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo

On November 19, 2017, the Arab League's foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Cairo at the request of Saudi Arabia. The meeting focused on Iranian intervention in the internal affairs of the Arab states. Saudi Arabia complained of the launching of an Iran-manufactured ballistic missile into Saudi territory by the Iranian-supported Houthis. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (May 27 – June 10, 2018)

Iranian criticism of Russia is persisting in light of statements made by senior Russian officials calling for the withdrawal of foreign forces, including Iranians, from Syria. Two fighters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, one of them an officer, were killed last week in Syria. Tehran continues to closely follow the formation of the new government in Iraq. On June 8, rallies were held across Iran to mark the International Quds Day, which is marked annually since the Iranian Revolution to express Iran’s support and that of the Muslim world to the Palestinian struggle and the “liberation of Jerusalem.” Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 24-30, 2018)

After the takeover of the southern neighborhoods of Damascus from the hands of ISIS, and the mopping up of the entire Damascus area, the takeover of southwestern Syria from the hands of the rebel organizations is now on the agenda. The imminent campaign in southwestern Syria aroused many reactions at the political level, due to the proximity of the rebel forces’ control areas to the Syrian border with Israel and Jordan. Read more...