Showing posts with label ISIS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ISIS. Show all posts

Saturday, 20 February 2021

The resurgence of ISIS has become fact

 

The Syrian Arab Army Between The Hammer And The Anvil

Submitted by South Front,


The resurgence of ISIS has become fact. There can be no denying it or acting as if it’s still an impending event.



Terrorist activities are becoming bolder, as evidenced by ISIS cells ambushing another Syrian Arab Army (SAA) unit in the Homs countryside.

According to the terrorist group’s own information agency, five SAA soldiers were killed in the attack.

Just days earlier, ISIS attacked three phosphate mine posts, which were being defended by Iranian-backed forces, to the east of the town of Khunayfis in southern Homs.

ISIS has ramped up the intensity and frequency of its attacks in central Syria. They are attempting to spread their influence back into the areas of their former self-proclaimed Caliphate. So far, the terrorists haven’t been able to push all that far towards the Hama-Aleppo-Raqqa triangle and western Deir Ezzor.

This could just be a matter of time, however, since they now appear both revitalized and re-equipped.

The SAA and its Russian support are attempting to contain them, so far with relative success.

ISIS is pushing towards the province of Raqqa, and ultimately the city of Raqqa, both of which are currently under the control of the SDF, while Turkish proxies operate in the surrounding area. They are also targetting the SAA and sometimes Russia’s forces.

On February 17th, Turkish forces destroyed a truck of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the northern Raqqa countryside. The SAA are present there to monitor the ceasefire and didn’t respond.

Another push, however, could be coming from northwestern Syria – from Idlib. Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the ruling group in the region, has just released US journalist and propagandist Bilal Abdul Kareem.

The propagandist, who had been detained because of a conflict with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was released as a result of a plea from a group of Atimah locals and public figures.

This could potentially lead to a more united terrorist front in Idlib, which might possibly receive U.S. support. The Biden Administration recently started talking about “moderate opposition” again, claiming that HTS has reformed and is no longer affiliated to al-Qaeda.

The Syrian Arab Army is caught between the hammer and the anvil. The government is attempting to consolidate power and contain ISIS in the central region, HTS and other terrorists in the northwest, and Turkish proxies in the northeast.

On February 17th, a slight spark of hope came from the Russian-brokered prisoner exchange between Syria and Israel, but this does not mean that tensions between the sides will be calming in any significant way.

A de-escalation with Israel will only be possible when Tel Aviv drops its primary policy of destabilizing and undermining the sovereignty of Syria, in order to hamper Iran’s influence.


Friday, 19 February 2021

The "war against ISIS" is BACK

 INTEL: Russia equipping Syria air base to receive nuclear bombers




Hal Turner ,

18 February, 2021


Since the installation of Joe Biden as the (illegitimate) President of the United States, the US has begun very significant military moves inside Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.  Clearly there is a very significant build-up of US forces and equipment taking place.


Moreover, there has also been a sudden and dramatic increase in military operations (in Syria) by the UK and elsewhere in the Middle East by France.


It is no secret that the West wants Bashar Assad ousted as President of Syria, to allow Qatar to run a gas pipeline through Syria territory, to carry natural gas to Europe.


Syria refused permission for that pipeline and when permission was refused, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hatched a plan to cause Civil War inside Syria to oust Assad.   The plan almost worked.


At the last minute, Assad sought help from its ally, Russia, and the Russians responded.  That wrecked the plans by the West.


When Donald Trump won the US Presidency in 2016, he refused to continue the effort to oust Assad.  A small delay in the plans of the "Deep State."


With Trump gone and a dementia-addled Joe Biden illegitimately installed through overt election fraud, it's starting to appear that the plans for Syria are back on the front burner.


Russia isn't sitting idly-by this time.


Russia has taken a stunning and major step with regard to its relations with the West, and Russian operations in Syria and the Middle East.


Russia has begun extensive modification of an air base inside Syria, to make that base capable of handling long range, Russian Strategic Bombers.  Nuclear-Capable bombers!


Word from Intelligence circles says that a delegation from Germany went to the Kremlin to discuss certain issues and they were told in no uncertain terms that Russia will not tolerate any more shenanigans with Syria.


According to intel sources, the Germans bluntly "cautioned" Vladimir Putin that the west was going to engage in certain activities in Syria and the Germans were told "it will mean direct war with Russia."


After that German delegation departed the Kremlin, sudden and specific action began taking place at Russian air bases: Lengthening runways, building hardened bunkers, and more.


It is clear now from the modifications taking place, that Russia plans to deploy a significant number of strategic bombers inside Syria.  Bombers that would raise the price to be paid by the West, if more shenanigans commence in Syria.


This could be Biden's first foray into foreign war as a tool of the Deep State that put him in power.


Russia has other ideas.


Trump Gone Less than a Month and War is Back on the Menu, Boys! ISIS Returns; NATO To announce Increase in Troops into Iraq


Hal Turner ,

18 February, 2021


News and Commentary by Hal Turner:

President Donald Trump has been out of office less than a month and WAR seems to be back on the menu for the USA! 

Within days after the end of President Trump's term, the Pentagon began sending convoys of US Troops and Armor into Syria from Iraq.

A convoy of US military trucks crossed the Waleed border, entering Syria from Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. This came after Israeli warplanes fired several missiles towards central Syria. The attack killed a family of four, including two children, and four others were injured.



In the weeks since Trump left office, a number of large US military convoys have entered Syria carrying troops, artillery, armored personnel carriers, ammunition, and heavy weapons.


NATO Troops To Iraq

Now, intel sources tell the Hal Turner Radio Show that very shortly, NATO chief will announce expansion of NATO force in Iraq from 500 to around 4,000.

Those intel sources reveal NATO allies agreed in private meetings Thursday to significantly expand their "training" mission in Iraq, a move that will bolster the alliance’s position in the Middle East and potentially ease demands on U.S. forces in the country.

The non-U.S. NATO mission will grow from its current 500 service members to about 4,000, and its efforts will extend to regions beyond the greater Baghdad area.

NATO has been in Iraq since 2004, when it deployed a small number of advisers who worked with Iraqi security forces both in the country and in neighboring nations.

In 2018, the alliance began its current training mission aimed at helping Iraqi forces prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group, which a few years earlier controlled large swaths of the country.

 

OH.  SURPRISE:  ISIS RETURNS!

As if on que, less than one month after President Trump left office, that old nemesis, "ISIS" has returned!

According to a report published in "The SUN" newspaper, "Ten thousand ISIS fighters poised for new wave of terror after bloodthirsty jihadis exploit Covid to rebuild"

The story goes on to report

"It comes as the RAF has also been called into action to strike at targets in Iraq.

ISIS once controlled a vast swath of territory across Iraq and Syria, seized in terrifying offensive in 2014, culminating in its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declaring an Islamic Caliphate in a Mosul mosque.

The bloodthirsty jihadis ruled with extreme brutality before a coalition of Kurdish forces backed by western airpower pushed them into their final pocket of territory in Baghouz, Syria in 2018.

But since their apparent defeat, they have been slowly rebuilding, despite the death of Baghdadi at the hands of US special forces. 

Now Sirwan Barzani, a commander of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stationed near the northern city of Erbil, told The Times the terrorists had taken advantage of a lull in operations against them."

Well, well, well.   Donald Trump managed to defeat ISIS and reduce US troops . . . yet less than a month after Dementia-Joe becomes US Commander-in-Thief (by stealing the Presidential Election through voter fraud), suddenly, ISIS is back . . . . and with ten thousand Jihadis! ! ! ! 

 

RUSSIA WARNS OF "DIRECT WAR"

It is plain to see what's being done.   

The failed effort to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, so as to enable Qatar to run a gas pipeline through portions of Syria, to Europe, is back on the menu. 

And to make certain that it succeeds this time, after failing under Hillary Clinton's (inept) State Department, and Barack Obama's Community Activist (Ignorant) Presidency, this time, they plan on getting the overthrow done.

They're resurrecting ISIS, bringing in NATO Troops and feeding the Deep-State mass-media stories to plant seeds on the public mind, which will ultimately justify sending troops in to a major Middle East conflagration.

And Major it will be.   

A delegation from Germany visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow over the weekend and discussions swerved into Syria.   According to well placed sources in a position to know, Putin told the German delegation that western plans for Syria "Will result in direct war with Russia."

Putin made clear his nation has expended too much time, blood, and money, restoring the Syrian government; Russia will "not allow" Syria to be wrecked again.

Someone ought to tell that to the NATO Troops being deployed to Iraq, the US Troops being re-deployed into Syria, and the western media which is already lying to the public claiming ISIS is back.

Almost immediately after the German Delegation departed Moscow, Orders hit Russian air bases inside Syria to begin Expedited Construction to enhance runways, hangars and fuel capabilities at those bases to accommodate Russian long-range, Strategic Bombers!

Those bombers have the capability to be nuclear-equipped.

All the pieces are being moved into place for a stunningly major war.


Friday, 17 January 2020

ISIS resurgent in Libya


Pentagon Confirms ISIS Resurgent In Libya At Moment Turkey Transfers 2,000 Syrian Fighters


Zero Hedge,
16 January, 2020

This might come as a surprise to the broader American public and a mainstream media which has largely ignored recent escalating events in Libya, but guess who's back?
"The Donald Trump administration is seeing a “small” resurgence in the Islamic State’s numbers in Libya since strongman Khalifa Hifter began a bloody march on the capital Tripoli more than two months ago, the Pentagon’s second-ranking military official said" reports Al-Monitor's Pentagon correspondent.

Fighters of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) fire a rocket at Islamic State fighters in Sirte, Libya, on August 4, 2016. Source: Reuters.

The Pentagon official, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Paul Selva, described the currently stalemated fight for Tripoli between Benghazi-based Gen. Khalifa Haftar and the UN-recognized and Turkey-backed GNA in the capital as giving breathing space for the Islamic State's return to the country.


Within the past three years, amid the chaos in the wake of the US-NATO 2011 war which toppled Gaddafi, ISIS actually had a stronghold in the coastal city of Sirte before being booted by US-backed Libyan forces. 
But now, as General Paul Selva explains: “Because they’re now going after one another in the capital, it’s actually taking their attention off of IS and we’ve seen a small resurgence of those [IS] camps in the central region.” Alarmingly, per Al-Monitor's report, this gives an opening for ISIS to become a "third party" in the war:
US troops helping to fight IS in Libya left the country in April as security conditions deteriorated. Selva said he worried about IS becoming a “third party in the fight in Libya.”
These dire statements also follow on the heels of US ally King Abdullah of Jordan warning while attending a NATO conference in Belgium that ISIS is indeed on the rise in Libya and now sits closer than ever to Europe's shores. He specifically identified Turkey's efforts to transfer Syrian 'rebel' militants from FSA factions to Libya as potentially fueling the crisis. 

ISIS attack on Libyan foreign ministry building (GNA) in Tripoli, Libya in 2018. Image source: Reuters

New reporting in The Guardian confirms that some two thousand Syrian militants are already en route with Turkish military support:
Two thousand Syrian fighters have traveled from Turkey or will arrive imminently to fight on the battlefields of Libya, Syrian sources in all three countries have said, in an unprecedented development that threatens to further complicate the north African state’s intractable civil war.
The deployment came after Turkey agreed last month to come to the aid of the Libyan prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj, who is backed by the UN, in the face of a months-long campaign by his rival, the warlord Khalifa Haftar.
We previously described this as a jihadists and arms "rat line" in reverse of sorts. It must be remembered that both Turkish and US intelligence oversaw the transfer of both heavy weaponry and jihadist fighters to Syria from already war-torn Libya for the purpose of toppling Assad in the early years of the Syrian war. It's just now the jihadist pipeline across the Mediterranean has been reversed. 
The Guardian report also details that the Syrian mercenaries are getting paid significant sums via Turkish state coffers to deploy in support of the Tripoli government, which Ankara has long backed against Haftar



The fighters have signed six-month contracts directly with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), rather than with the Turkish military, SNA sources said, for $2,000 (£1,500) a month – a vast sum compared with the 450-550 Turkish lira (£52-£72) a month they earn in Syria. All have been promised Turkish nationality, a carrot Ankara has used to cajole fighters in brigades on its payroll for several years.
And at least four Syrian FSA militants have already died during recent fighting in Libya:
Turkey is also paying medical bills for injured soldiers and is responsible for repatriating the dead to Syria. At least four Syrians have died in Libya already, the Guardian can confirm...
Though again long ignored in the media (which has by and larged "moved on" after Obama and Hillary's so-called "liberation" of the country from Gaddafi), the Libya War 2.0 is set to possibly be 2020's biggest conflict alongside the potential for the Iran situation to explode further. 
* * *
“We came, we saw, he died!”... Thanks Hillary. 

Sunday, 12 January 2020

ISIS is Donald's greatest friend


Official ISIS Newspaper 
‘Thanks God’ for Trump 
Killing Iran’s General 
Soleimani

Patrick Henningsen
21st Century Wire
It was only a matter of time before US President Donald Trump got the recognition he deserved for America’s military exploits these past two weeks. Yesterday, Trump received glowing praise from the official international ISIS newspaper, Al Naba, highlighting Washington’s assassination of Iranian IRGC’s General Qasem Soleimani on January 3rd.
In an ideal world, this latest endorsement by ISIS for Trump’s actions should really put to rest the well-worn Washington and Israeli propaganda talking point that Soleimani was an “evil and deadly terrorist.” Unfortunately, the current American political discourse is so thoroughly coated in layers of political fiction that this might take a while to sink in.
One only has to take a cursory look at reports over the last few years to quickly realise exactly how valuable the Iranian military and its celebrated general were in the global war on terror. Yet, this reality is mostly lost on US war hawks and America’s Conservative punditry class.
In her recent reporting, BBC Monitoring editor Mimi Al-Lami described how Islamic State terrorists are now “thanking God,” that the US and Iran are busy targeting each other, and “indifferent to the impact it has on their mutual fight against the Islamic State.”
Thread: In the editorial of its weekly paper , welcomes the death of in a US drone strike, but is careful not to openly credit the US for his demise but portrays it as an act of God to support IS and Muslims more broadly.
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The inconvenient fact that Soleimani was actually leading the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2018, has been carefully airbrushed from most US media coverage and commentary. But this wasn’t always the case. Even leading pro-war outlets like CNN admitted as far back as 2015 how US military officials acknowledged the pivotal leadership role played by the Iranian Quds Force commander – which helped turn the tide against the deadly terrorist wave.
Retired US Army General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, also praised Iran and Soleimani’s role in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and in particular, in the Battle of Tikrik, calling it ‘a positive step’. Newsweek said at the time, “without Iranian assistance and Soleimani’s guidance, the offensive on Tikrit may not have been possible.”
US Army Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis reiterated the praise for Soleimani back in November 2014, explaining, “The fighting that’s going on now in Iraq [against Islamic state] quite frankly has been led by General Soleimani, the Quds Force out of Tehran.”
In this longer version of the Robert Gates interview from 2016, he perfectly expresses the cynical US attitude towards ISIS: He doesn't like it, but he instinctively can't allow Iran to claim victory. Who does he credit for this line of thinking? Benjamin Netanyahu.
Another example of when western media used to admit Soleimani fought ISIS 👇

Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis in Nov 2014: "The fighting that's going on now in Iraq [against Islamic state] quite frankly has been led by General Soleimani, the Quds Force out of Tehran."
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Despite all of this, the rabid calls for military intervention dominate the Beltway’s bellicose conversation. Behind Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are perennial Republican hawks like Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Ben Sasse (R-NE), all of whom have been crowing endlessly about their seemingly great acheivement following the US drone attack which was carried out near Baghdad International Airport on Friday January 3rd. Their narrative is all but baked into any commentary after the fact, mainly to somehow justify what the White House has just done. The reclassification of Soleimani as a “terrorist” – and not someone who was instrumental in fighting terrorism, is perhaps one of Washington’s great propaganda successes of recent years.
Now with Soleimani out of the way, ISIS thanked the United States for eliminating one of its most feared adversaries. BBC’s Al-Lami adds:
“It welcomes IS enemies being busy fighting each other, saying it distracts them away from “Muslims” and drains their energy which, it adds, benefits jihadists.”
“The killing of Soleimani “has created changes in the path of the Crusader campaign against the Islamic State and its soldiers, which we believe is part of God’s support for His patient mujahidin.”
Coming to grips with the actual reality on the ground in the region may be out of the scope of understanding of American neoconservative war hawks, who generally view the Middle East in terms of  binary and sectarian paradigms like Israel vs Muslims, or Shia vs Sunni. Hence, it may take a while longer before any of this can filter through into the collective consciousness of a highly propagandized 21st century American society. For Trump’s MAGA cult followers, this cold reality will be even more difficult to grasp, and may never penetrate this group’s membrane of cognitive dissonance.
The loss of Soleimani in the war on terror was echoed by Rev Ibrahim Nseir, a pastor and leading Christian voice in the Middle East from the Arab Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Aleppo, who said, “All what Qassem Soleimani did was stand up for Christians against ISIS and Al Qaeda.”
“All what Qassem Soleimani did was stand up for Christians against ISIS and Al Qaeda”

A mass was held in the evangelical church of Aleppo, Syria to honor the martyrdom of General Soleimani who had an essential role in the liberation battle of Aleppo against US-backed Jihadists.
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Based on the terrorist group’s recent statement, General Qasem Soleimani was certainly regarded a mortal enemy of ISIS and al Qaeda in the Middle East, and will no doubt be remembered throughout the region as a key figure in the battle to push back radical jihadist terror.
If ISIS does reemerge, then there’s a risk that residents of the region may also remember Donald Trump’s double assassination of Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani and the Iraqi military’s PMU commander, Abu Mahdi al Mouhendis – for what it truly was, a gift to global terrorism.
Let’s hope the region can eventually overcome these reoccurring pestilences.

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Author Patrick Henningsen is an American writer and global affairs analyst and founder of independent news and analysis site 21st Century Wire, and is host of the SUNDAY WIRE weekly radio show broadcast globally over the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR). He has written for a number of international publications and has done extensive on-the-ground reporting in the Middle East including work in Syria and Iraq. See his archive here.
ISIS has claimed the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was an act of 'divine intervention' and that it will benefit their jihadist cause.  
After the assassination of Soleimani, the head of the Iran's elite Quds force, the US-led coalition tasked with holding back ISIS in Iraq paused all operations, turning itself instead on Iranian aggression directed towards America. 
In the weekly ISIS newspaper al-Naba, the extremists said that while their enemies were fighting each other, draining energy and resources, the jihadists would be able to regroup, according to the BBC.