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Tag: bashar assad

al-Assad International Airport

Russian Drones Take to the Skies of Syria

Russia’s military buildup in Syria continues at a rapid clip, with dozens of attack planes and helicopters already in position, along with two new bases appearing on the Mediterranean coast. On Tuesday, it was reported that Russian drone aircraft have taken to the skies over Syria.

GOP Debate (Kevork Djansezian / Getty)

2016 GOP Presidential Contenders Weigh In on Syrian Refugee Crisis

The immense migration wave pushing out of the Middle East will not stop in Europe. It is already coming ashore in the United States, as the number of Syrian refugees to be resettled in America has increased dramatically over the past year. Where do the presidential candidates stand on this issue?

AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN

Syrian Rebel Leader Kidnapped by Al-Qaeda, Along with 7 of His 54 Troops

A matter of days after 54 American-trained moderate Syrian Rebel Army fighters reported for duty, the New York Times reports that the commander of the unit plus seven of his fighters—including his second-in-command—have been kidnapped by the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda franchise, while they were returning from a meeting in Turkey.

Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/AP

Dem Rep Grills John Kerry About Iran’s Support for International Terrorism

Republican members of the House made headlines for grilling Secretary of State John Kerry on the Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday, but Democrat Rep. Ted Deutch landed a solid punch by noting the Administration is absurdly downplaying how much damage Iran can do with all the money Obama wants to give them, long before they detonate a nuclear bomb.

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Syrian President Assad Admits Military Manpower Running Low

Australia’s ABC News reports on dictator Bashar al-Assad’s “remarkably frank assessment of the strains affecting the Syrian military.” Assad used his first public address in a year to admit he has lost control of a good deal of his country, and is digging in to defend what his regime has left.

Umit Bektas/Reuters

Turkish Planes Bomb ISIS in Syria for First Time

The Turkish government has faced strong criticism, including criticism from its own Kurdish citizens, for not doing enough to fight ISIS and help Kurds in Syria. A massive suicide bombing attributed to ISIS earlier this week greatly exacerbated these tensions.

Ahmet Sik/Getty images

Shocker: ‘Summer in Syria’ Tourism Campaign Flops

Al-Jazeera reports that a brainstorm by the Syrian state news agency, SANA, to boost the image of that war-torn nation—and its dictatorship—did not pan out. SANA’s English-language division asked its Twitter following to contribute photos to a #SummerInSyria hashtag.

AP Photo/Nasser Nasser

Jihad On Two Fronts: ISIS Attacks Syria’s Palmyra

The Islamic State was supposedly in a defensive crouch after its defeat in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, but in fact it’s lashed out aggressively on both Iraqi and Syrian fronts, with disastrous consequences in the fallen city of Ramadi.

AP Photo

Syrian Christians Look To Assad Regime For Protection From Jihadis

Al-Monitor delivers one of the most sobering assessments of the bloody mess in Syria to date, as author Edward Dark returns to his hometown of Aleppo for a look at the plight of the dwindling Christian community, and finds them turning to dictator Bashar al-Assad for protection from the jihadis fighting to overthrow him.

AP Photo/Militant Website, File

ISIS Loses Control of Over 20 Syrian Villages to Kurds–and Assad

File this report from the Daily Star of Lebanon under the category of “Yay … I Guess,” or perhaps “Two and a Half Cheers.” It’s good news that Islamic State (ISIS) forces have been pushed out of over 20 Syrian villages. The bad news is that Bashar al-Assad’s regime did most of the pushing, with an assist from Kurdish militia units.

REUTERS/HAMID KHATIB

U.S.-Backed ‘Moderate’ Syrian Rebel Group Dissolves

The long and lonely search for a white hat posse of “moderate” Syrian rebels that could be armed by the United States and turned into a weapon against both the Assad regime and its most effective military adversaries—namely, ISIS and al-Qaeda—suffered another grievous setback over the weekend, as the first Syrian rebel force, armed with American weapons, threw in the towel and pronounced itself kaput.