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Islamic State in Syria abducts at least 150 Christians

AMMAN (Reuters) – Islamic State militants have abducted at least 150 people from Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria they had raided, Christian Syrian activists said on Tuesday. A Syrian Christian group representing several NGOs inside and outside the country said it had verified at least 150 people missing, including women and the elderly, who had been kidnapped by the militants. "We have verified at least 150 people who have been adducted from sources on the ground," Bassam Ishak, president of the Syriac National Council of Syria, whose family itself is from Hasaka, told Reuters from Amman. Earlier the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 90 were abducted when the militants carried out dawn raids on rural villages inhabited by the ancient Christian minority west of Hasaka, a city mainly held by the Kurds. The United States condemned the attacks in Hasaka and called for the immediate and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The Entire Oil Collapse Is All About Crushing Russian Control Over Syria

While the markets are still debating whether the price of oil is more impacted by the excess pumping of crude here, or the lack of demand there, or if it is all just a mechanical squeeze by momentum-chasing HFT algos who also know to buy in the milliseconds before 2:30pm, we bring readers’ attention back to what several months ago was debunked as a deep conspiracy theory. Back then we wrote about a certain visit by John Kerry to Saudi Arabia, on September 11 of all days, to negotiate a secret deal with the now late King Abdullah so as to get a “green light” in order “to launch its airstrikes against ISIS, or rather, parts of Iraq and Syria. And, not surprising, it is once again Assad whose fate was the bargaining chip to get the Saudis on the US’ side, because in order to launch the incursion […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Suicide bombers attack Syria gas facilities

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A Syrian official says two suicide attackers have targeted separate natural gas facilities in the central province of Homs, killing eight people. The state news agency SANA also reported the attacks, saying guards opened fire at the attackers as they drove toward the plants, forcing them to detonate their payloads before reaching their targets. It said the facilities are operating as usual. The local official in Homs told The Associated Press that the attacks killed eight people and wounded 12. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. There was no claim of responsibility, but opposition fighters and jihadis have frequently targeted the country’s oil and gas infrastructure during the nearly four-year conflict.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Exclusive: Iran’s support for Syria tested by oil price drop

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian businessmen and trade officials say they are worried the economic lifeline provided by Iran is under strain from plunging oil prices, despite public messages of support from Syria’s strongest regional ally. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has relied on oil-producing Iran to help him fight a nearly four-year-old civil war and also prop under a currency under pressure. “If it had not been for Iranian support we could not have survived the crisis," a senior Syrian trade official said from Damascus, requesting anonymity. "It was Iranian support that has been the most important. In return, we are promising them more and more, and opening more and more doors for them to invest in Syria," he said. Oil production in Syria, which is under U.S. and European sanctions, has dropped sharply since the start of the conflict and as insurgents have taken over energy installations. In July […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Jihadis capture army base in northwestern Syria

BEIRUT (AP) — Jihadi fighters captured a Syrian army base Monday in the northwestern province of Idlib after two days of intense fighting that killed at least two dozen gunmen, activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and an Idlib-based activist who goes by the name of Mohammed al-Sayid said members of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and other rebel factions captured the Wadi Deif base Monday morning. A Twitter account run by the Nusra Front in Idlib province said fighters are now removing mines from the area after the "Wadi Deif camp was liberated." The capture of Wadi Deif is a blow to the Syrian government that has managed to hold the besieged post for more than two years and repelled repeated attacks by opposition fighters. Rebels and the Nusra Front control much of the countryside of Idlib province while government forces dominate the provincial capital city […]

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Syria, Iran condemn Israeli airstrikes

BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian and Iranian foreign ministers have condemned Israeli airstrikes on two areas near Damascus, calling it an act of aggression that proves Israel was "in the same trench" with extremist groups fighting the Syrian government. Israeli warplanes bombed the two areas Sunday, striking near Damascus’ international airport as well as outside a town close to the Lebanese border. The Syrian government said the attacks caused material damage. Israel has not commented on the strikes. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem claimed Israel was trying to compensate for losses incurred by Islamic extremist groups in Syria at the hands of the Syrian army. He did not elaborate. He spoke Monday at a joint news conference in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

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Israel strikes near the Syrian capital: Syrian TV

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian state television said on Sunday that Israeli jets had bombed areas near Damascus international airport and in the town of Dimas, near the border with Lebanon. An Israeli army spokesman said he would not comment on the "foreign reports". Israel has struck Syria several times since the start of the three-year conflict, mostly destroying weaponry such as missiles that Israeli officials said were destined for their long-time foe Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon. "The Israeli enemy committed aggression against Syria by targeting two safe areas in Damascus province, in all of Dimas and near the Damascus International Airport," state television said, adding that there were no casualties. Residents in Damascus said they heard loud explosions and opposition activists posted photos online of jet streams in the evening sky and fiery explosions. Syria’s army general command said on state television that there were "material losses in some […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Islamic State: Kerry says group ‘significantly’ damaged

Analysts said Al Jazeera footage showed an Iranian F4 Phantom jet over Iraq (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera) Air strikes carried out by the US-led collation on Islamic State (IS) have inflicted "significant" damage on the group’s capabilities, US Secretary of State John Kerry says. Mr Kerry said the campaign against the militant group could take years, but that the coalition would remain engaged "as long as it takes". The US said earlier that Iran, not a coalition member, had carried out air strikes against IS in Iraq. However, Iran has denied this. The US said there had been no coordination with the Iranians on any air strikes. IS controls large areas of Syria and Iraq, imposing a rigid version of Sunni Islam and persecuting or killing non-believers. Analysis: Jonathan Marcus, BBC News The reported Iranian air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq underscore that while Iran and […]

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Control of Syrian Oil Fuels War Between Kurds and Islamic State

A man from the Syrian village of Ali Agha near the border with Iraq digs… ENLARGE A man from the Syrian village of Ali Agha near the border with Iraq digs a hole for a new kiln to refine crude oil. Residents have pledged to support Kurdish forces in exchange for discounted crude oil that they refine into fuels sold to black-market traders. Sam Dagher/The Wall Street Journal AL-YAROUBIYAH, Syria—Plumes of black smoke billow on the horizon of this border town in northeast Syria, a thumb-shaped corner of the country that pokes into neighboring Turkey and Iraq. The smoke isn’t from war, but it rises from the deadly fight over resources between Islamic State and Kurdish fighters. Men, women and children operate thousands of primitive metal kilns to refine crude oil distributed by the warring sides to buy loyalty. Residents sell the fuel they make to black-market traders. With […]

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Report: Islamic State seizes natural gas field in Syria

The Islamic State has seized control of Syrian natural gas facilities. Michael Wick/Shutterstock DAMASCUS, Syria, Nov. 3 (UPI) — A group monitoring terrorist activity in the Middle East says Islamic State militants have seized control of a natural gas field in Homs province in Syria. The Long War Journal reported Sunday that it has viewed photographic evidence suggesting IS has captured parts of the al-Shaer natural gas field in Syria and several caches of weapons taken from defeated Syrian military forces. "Pictures show that the Islamic State has taken control of the Hayan gas plant," Sunday’s report stated. The U.S. Defense Department and its coalition counterparts have hit oil installations controlled by the Sunni-led terrorist group to cut off a source of revenue and deplete fuel supplies used to make territorial gains. At the height of its campaign, IS controlled as many as seven oil fields and was said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple