Syrian fighters backed by artillery fire from a US-led coalition battled a fierce jihadist fightback Monday as they pushed to retake the last morsel of territory from the Islamic State group.

Mushrooming black clouds rose over the embattled jihadist holdout in eastern Syria, as missiles and a warplane streaked through the sky.

More than four years after the extremists declared a "caliphate" across large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, several offensives have whittled that proto-state down to a tiny holdout.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday announced the final push to expel hundreds of diehard jihadists from that patch on the Iraq border.

The US-led coalition maintained a steady beat of bombings on the last IS pocket on Monday after an early morning IS counterattack caused several SDF casualties.

"IS launched a counterattack on our forces and we are now responding with rockets, air strikes and direct clashes," SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told AFP.

The sound of bombs echoed dozens of kilometres (miles) away and columns of dark grey smoke could be seen from SDF territory.

Bali said there were "dozens of SDF hostages held by IS" inside their last foothold, but denied reports of executions.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters had pressed on Monday morning in the face of tough obstacles.

"The SDF are advancing slowly in what remains of the IS pocket" on the edges of the village of Baghouz, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

But landmines, IS snipers, and tunnels the extremists have dug out for their defence are hindering the advance, he said.

Screening for jihadists

Backed by coalition air strikes, the SDF alliance has been battling to oust the jihadists from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor since September.

Since December, tens of thousands of people, most women and children related to IS fighters, have fled to SDF territory.

US-backed forces have screened the new arrivals, weeding out potential jihadists for questioning.

On Monday, dozens of coalition and SDF fighters were stationed at a screening point for new arrivals from IS areas.

Coalition forces stood over about 20 men who were crouching on the ground.

Some 600 people were able to reach SDF territory on Sunday after fleeing the fighting, the Observatory said.

Among them, were 20 suspected IS members, including two French women, seven Turks, and three Ukrainians, said the monitor, which relies on sources inside Syria.

The SDF -- which has said it expects the final offensive to be over in days -- announced Sunday that it had taken some 40 positions from the jihadists following direct combat involving light weapons.

The alliance had earlier said that up to 600 jihadists, as well as hundreds of civilians, could remain inside a patch four square kilometres (one-mile square).

Spokesman Bali said IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the man who pronounced the cross-border "caliphate" in 2014, was not among them, and likely not in Syria.

Planned US withdrawal

At the height of their rule, the jihadists imposed their brutal interpretation of Islamic law on territory roughly the size of Britain.

But military offensives in both countries, including by the SDF, have since retaken the vast bulk of their territory.

The jihadists, however, retain a presence in Syria's vast Badia desert and have claimed a series of deadly attacks in SDF-held areas.

US President Donald Trump in December shocked Washington's allies by announcing a full withdrawal of US troops from Syria as IS had been "beaten".

But the US military warned in a report published this month that IS "could likely resurge in Syria within six to twelve months and regain limited territory" if sustained pressure is not maintained.

Trump's decision to withdraw US troops has left Syria's Kurds scrambling for safeguards.

A US departure makes them more vulnerable to a long-threatened attack by neighbouring Turkey, who considers Kurdish fighters to be "terrorists", and dashes their dreams of autonomy.

The Kurds have largely stayed out of Syria's nearly eight-year civil war, instead of building their own semi-autonomous institutions in the northeast of the country.

But the expected US pullout has seen them grappling to mend ties with the Damascus regime, which is against Kurdish self-rule.

Syria's war has killed 360,00 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. 
&nbsp;

Syrian fighters backed by artillery fire from a US-led coalition battled a fierce jihadist fightback Monday as they pushed to retake the last morsel of territory from the Islamic State group.

Syrian fighters backed by artillery fire from a US-led coalition battled a fierce jihadist fightback Monday as they pushed to retake the last morsel of territory from the Islamic State group. Mushrooming black clouds rose over the embattled jihadist holdout in eastern Syria, as missiles and a warplane streaked through the sky. More than four years after the extremists declared a "caliphate" across large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, several offensives have whittled that proto-state down to a tiny holdout. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday announced the final push to expel hundreds of diehard jihadists from that patch on the Iraq border. The US-led coalition maintained a steady beat of bombings on the last IS pocket on Monday after an early morning IS counterattack caused several SDF casualties. "IS launched a counterattack on our forces and we are now responding with rockets, air strikes and direct clashes," SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told AFP. The sound of bombs echoed dozens of kilometres (miles) away and columns of dark grey smoke could be seen from SDF territory. Bali said there were "dozens of SDF hostages held by IS" inside their last foothold, but denied reports of executions. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters had pressed on Monday morning in the face of tough obstacles. "The SDF are advancing slowly in what remains of the IS pocket" on the edges of the village of Baghouz, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. But landmines, IS snipers, and tunnels the extremists have dug out for their defence are hindering the advance, he said. Screening for jihadists Backed by coalition air strikes, the SDF alliance has been battling to oust the jihadists from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor since September. Since December, tens of thousands of people, most women and children related to IS fighters, have fled to SDF territory. US-backed forces have screened the new arrivals, weeding out potential jihadists for questioning. On Monday, dozens of coalition and SDF fighters were stationed at a screening point for new arrivals from IS areas. Coalition forces stood over about 20 men who were crouching on the ground. Some 600 people were able to reach SDF territory on Sunday after fleeing the fighting, the Observatory said. Among them, were 20 suspected IS members, including two French women, seven Turks, and three Ukrainians, said the monitor, which relies on sources inside Syria. The SDF -- which has said it expects the final offensive to be over in days -- announced Sunday that it had taken some 40 positions from the jihadists following direct combat involving light weapons. The alliance had earlier said that up to 600 jihadists, as well as hundreds of civilians, could remain inside a patch four square kilometres (one-mile square). Spokesman Bali said IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the man who pronounced the cross-border "caliphate" in 2014, was not among them, and likely not in Syria. Planned US withdrawal At the height of their rule, the jihadists imposed their brutal interpretation of Islamic law on territory roughly the size of Britain. But military offensives in both countries, including by the SDF, have since retaken the vast bulk of their territory. The jihadists, however, retain a presence in Syria's vast Badia desert and have claimed a series of deadly attacks in SDF-held areas. US President Donald Trump in December shocked Washington's allies by announcing a full withdrawal of US troops from Syria as IS had been "beaten". But the US military warned in a report published this month that IS "could likely resurge in Syria within six to twelve months and regain limited territory" if sustained pressure is not maintained. Trump's decision to withdraw US troops has left Syria's Kurds scrambling for safeguards. A US departure makes them more vulnerable to a long-threatened attack by neighbouring Turkey, who considers Kurdish fighters to be "terrorists", and dashes their dreams of autonomy. The Kurds have largely stayed out of Syria's nearly eight-year civil war, instead of building their own semi-autonomous institutions in the northeast of the country. But the expected US pullout has seen them grappling to mend ties with the Damascus regime, which is against Kurdish self-rule. Syria's war has killed 360,00 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

US-backed Syrian forces battle to take last IS pocket

As US-backed forces fight the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-backed-syrian-fighters-close-in-on-last-islamic-state-held-area-in-eastern-syria-196469">last battle against the Islamic State in Syria</a>, media reports say IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is still alive and narrowly escaped a coup by his own men.&nbsp;

Chaos and rivalry seem to reign within the terror group’s ranks as they try to negotiate a safe passage offering to free hostages. WION's West Asia bureau chief Daniele Pagani has the story.

As per a report recently published in British newspaper The Guardian, on January 10, al-Baghdadi narrowly escaped a coup attempt by some of his own foreign fighters.

This would be the most recent proof that al-Baghdadi is alive and in Syria. August 2018 was the last time the world heard his voice.&nbsp;

Despite a 25 million dollar bounty on his head, local intelligence sources say rumours and information of his whereabouts have not been heard since.

The Islamic State has put a bounty on a veteran foreign fighter, who is believed to be the coup mastermind.&nbsp;

There appears to be chaos within the ranks of the terror group. Captured ISIS fighters talk about growing rivalry between local and foreign fighters.

"I guess there's a lot of bad blood between the foreigners and the Iraqis now, and the Syrians. The foreigners feel they were left out, hung to dry, they've been used and abused and now the trust is not there at all between the foreigners and the locals,” Mohammad Ali, 28, known as Abu Turab al-Kanadi, foreign jihadist fighter of IS was quoted by news agency AFP.&nbsp;

The last Islamic State contingent is trying to play all its cards to avoid total annihilation. Kurdish sources reported that terrorists tried to negotiate safe passage in return for well-known hostages.

Negotiations for safe passage have been common in the Syrian war. It was usually offered in return for surrender.&nbsp;

But now, the Islamic State is offering to free high-profile hostages on top of that. This could be out of desperation or to protect al-Baghdad and grant him the last escape.

All named hostages were kidnapped more than five years ago, which makes it difficult to assess if they are still alive.

The Syrian democratic forces’ spokesperson has recently clarified that, regardless of any ISIS negotiation attempt, no safe passage will be given.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
After saving more than 20K civilians from IS-held area and ensuring their safety in nearby camps, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDF?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SDF</a> started to move on to the last village remaining under jihadists’ control in N. Syria. Village of Baghuz, which is the only remaining <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ISIS</a> pocket, will be cleared soon.
— Mustafa Bali (@mustefabali) <a href="https://twitter.com/mustefabali/status/1094258579354324992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The US-backed Syrian democratic forces launched the final offensive against the 500 terrorists holed-up in two villages on the border of Iraq and Syria.

There have been intensive clashes over the weekend. Civilians living in the area have been evacuated to nearby camps.

The US-backed SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) have been fighting the Islamic State since 2014, losing hundreds of men and women on the battlefield. They now, finally, see the end.

"Today, there are no more military gangs (Islamic State militants) left in Rojava. But their masterminds are still hiding. The time will come for them. We will finish them off. But as of today, it's over. We are very joyful. This was the last day. The war with Daesh gangs is over. It's good to finish them off. We avenged our martyrs' death. There is nothing left (of is militants)," Kurdish unidentified man, purported to be an SDF soldier was quoted by news agency Reuters.&nbsp;

As US-backed forces fight the last battle against the Islamic State in Syria, media reports say IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is still alive and narrowly escaped a coup by his own men.

As US-backed forces fight the last battle against the Islamic State in Syria, media reports say IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is still alive and narrowly escaped a coup by his own men. Chaos and rivalry seem to reign within the terror group’s ranks as they try to negotiate a safe passage offering to free hostages. WION's West Asia bureau chief Daniele Pagani has the story. As per a report recently published in British newspaper The Guardian, on January 10, al-Baghdadi narrowly escaped a coup attempt by some of his own foreign fighters. This would be the most recent proof that al-Baghdadi is alive and in Syria. August 2018 was the last time the world heard his voice. Despite a 25 million dollar bounty on his head, local intelligence sources say rumours and information of his whereabouts have not been heard since. The Islamic State has put a bounty on a veteran foreign fighter, who is believed to be the coup mastermind. There appears to be chaos within the ranks of the terror group. Captured ISIS fighters talk about growing rivalry between local and foreign fighters. "I guess there's a lot of bad blood between the foreigners and the Iraqis now, and the Syrians. The foreigners feel they were left out, hung to dry, they've been used and abused and now the trust is not there at all between the foreigners and the locals,” Mohammad Ali, 28, known as Abu Turab al-Kanadi, foreign jihadist fighter of IS was quoted by news agency AFP. The last Islamic State contingent is trying to play all its cards to avoid total annihilation. Kurdish sources reported that terrorists tried to negotiate safe passage in return for well-known hostages. Negotiations for safe passage have been common in the Syrian war. It was usually offered in return for surrender. But now, the Islamic State is offering to free high-profile hostages on top of that. This could be out of desperation or to protect al-Baghdad and grant him the last escape. All named hostages were kidnapped more than five years ago, which makes it difficult to assess if they are still alive. The Syrian democratic forces’ spokesperson has recently clarified that, regardless of any ISIS negotiation attempt, no safe passage will be given. After saving more than 20K civilians from IS-held area and ensuring their safety in nearby camps, #SDF started to move on to the last village remaining under jihadists’ control in N. Syria. Village of Baghuz, which is the only remaining #ISIS pocket, will be cleared soon. — Mustafa Bali (@mustefabali) February 9, 2019 × The US-backed Syrian democratic forces launched the final offensive against the 500 terrorists holed-up in two villages on the border of Iraq and Syria. There have been intensive clashes over the weekend. Civilians living in the area have been evacuated to nearby camps. The US-backed SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) have been fighting the Islamic State since 2014, losing hundreds of men and women on the battlefield. They now, finally, see the end. "Today, there are no more military gangs (Islamic State militants) left in Rojava. But their masterminds are still hiding. The time will come for them. We will finish them off. But as of today, it's over. We are very joyful. This was the last day. The war with Daesh gangs is over. It's good to finish them off. We avenged our martyrs' death. There is nothing left (of is militants)," Kurdish unidentified man, purported to be an SDF soldier was quoted by news agency Reuters.

A coup, hostages and chaos: ISIS's final days in Syria 

US-backed Syrian forces begin attack on final IS stronghold

The US-backed <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/heavy-clashes-as-us-backed-forces-battle-is-in-syria-report-196387">Syrian Democratic Forces</a> (SDF) have seized ground from<a href="http://13.232.42.114/world/us-backed-syrian-forces-launch-final-battle-against-islamic-state-enclave-196295"> Islamic State</a> in a fierce battle to capture its last enclave in eastern Syria, an SDF official said on Sunday.

The SDF, backed by a US-led coalition, began the assault on Saturday, seeking to wipe out the last remnants of the jihadist group's "caliphate" in the SDF`s area of operations in eastern and northern Syria.&nbsp;

The enclave is close to the Iraqi border and comprises two villages. Islamic State (IS) also still retains territory in the part of Syria that is mostly under the control of the Russian- and Iranian-backed Syrian government.

SDF fighters had so far seized 41 positions but had faced counter-attacks early on Sunday that had been repelled, Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office, told Reuters.

"The clashes are ferocious naturally because the terrorist group is defending its last stronghold."

President Donald Trump, who is planning to pull U.S. forces out of Syria, said on Wednesday he expected a formal announcement as early as this week that the coalition had reclaimed all the territory previously held by Islamic State.&nbsp;

Bali said 400 to 600 jihadists were estimated to be holed up in the enclave, including foreigners and other hardened fighters.

Between 500 to 1,000 civilians are also estimated to be inside, Bali said. More than 20,000 civilians were evacuated in the 10 days leading up to Saturday, he said.

"If we can, in a short time frame, get the (remaining) civilians out or isolate them, I believe that the coming few days will witness the military end of the terrorist organisation in this area," Bali said.

Senior SDF official Redur Xelil told Reuters on Saturday the force hoped to capture the area by the end of February but cautioned that IS would continue to pose "great and serious" security threats even after that.

IS redrew the map of the Middle East in 2014 when it declared a caliphate across large areas of Syria and Iraq. But it steadily lost ground and its two main prizes - the Syrian city of Raqqa and Iraq`s Mosul - fell in 2017.&nbsp;

Spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, the SDF has been the main US partner in Syria.&nbsp;

A top US general said last week Islamic State would pose an enduring threat following the US withdrawal, as it still has leaders, fighters, facilitators and resources.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have seized ground from Islamic State in a fierce battle to capture its last enclave in eastern Syria, an SDF official said on Sunday.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have seized ground from Islamic State in a fierce battle to capture its last enclave in eastern Syria, an SDF official said on Sunday. The SDF, backed by a US-led coalition, began the assault on Saturday, seeking to wipe out the last remnants of the jihadist group's "caliphate" in the SDF`s area of operations in eastern and northern Syria. The enclave is close to the Iraqi border and comprises two villages. Islamic State (IS) also still retains territory in the part of Syria that is mostly under the control of the Russian- and Iranian-backed Syrian government. SDF fighters had so far seized 41 positions but had faced counter-attacks early on Sunday that had been repelled, Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office, told Reuters. "The clashes are ferocious naturally because the terrorist group is defending its last stronghold." President Donald Trump, who is planning to pull U.S. forces out of Syria, said on Wednesday he expected a formal announcement as early as this week that the coalition had reclaimed all the territory previously held by Islamic State. Bali said 400 to 600 jihadists were estimated to be holed up in the enclave, including foreigners and other hardened fighters. Between 500 to 1,000 civilians are also estimated to be inside, Bali said. More than 20,000 civilians were evacuated in the 10 days leading up to Saturday, he said. "If we can, in a short time frame, get the (remaining) civilians out or isolate them, I believe that the coming few days will witness the military end of the terrorist organisation in this area," Bali said. Senior SDF official Redur Xelil told Reuters on Saturday the force hoped to capture the area by the end of February but cautioned that IS would continue to pose "great and serious" security threats even after that. IS redrew the map of the Middle East in 2014 when it declared a caliphate across large areas of Syria and Iraq. But it steadily lost ground and its two main prizes - the Syrian city of Raqqa and Iraq`s Mosul - fell in 2017. Spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, the SDF has been the main US partner in Syria. A top US general said last week Islamic State would pose an enduring threat following the US withdrawal, as it still has leaders, fighters, facilitators and resources.

US-backed Syrian fighters close in on last Islamic State-held area in eastern Syria

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began an assault against the final Islamic State enclave in eastern Syria on Saturday, aiming to wipe out the last vestige of the jihadist group's "caliphate" in the SDF's area of operations.

President Donald Trump, who is <a href="http://www.wionews.com/opinions/syria-troop-withdrawal-is-donald-trump-burying-the-post-war-liberal-world-order-186963">planning to pull US&nbsp;forces out of Syria</a>, said on Wednesday he expected an announcement as early as next week that the US-led coalition operating in support of the SDF had reclaimed all the territory previously held by the jihadist group.

The enclave, close to 1the Iraqi border, comprises two villages. Islamic State also still has territory in the part of Syria that is mostly under the control of the Russian- and Iranian-backed Syrian government.

Mustafa Bali, the head of the SDF media office, told Reuters the aim of the assault was to "eliminate the last remnants of the terrorist organisation" and called it the "last battle". He later wrote on Twitter that the battle had started.

Bali told Reuters in the last 10 days SDF fighters had handled the battle "patiently" as more than 20,000 civilians were evacuated from the besieged enclave.

The SDF, spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, has driven Islamic State out of a swathe of territory in northern and eastern Syria over the last four years.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the group's "caliphate" in 2014 in territory stretching across Iraq and Syria. But the group lost its two main prizes - the Syrian city of Raqqa and Iraq's Mosul - in 2017.

After capturing Raqqa, the SDF advanced southwards into Deir al-Zor province, attacking the jihadists in territory on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

The remaining Islamic State territory in Syria is west of the Euphrates.

Trump announced in December he was pulling all 2,000 US&nbsp;troops out of Syria, saying the battle against Islamic State there was almost won.

But a top US&nbsp;general said on Tuesday the group would pose an enduring threat following the US&nbsp;withdrawal, as it retained leaders, fighters, facilitators and resources that would fuel a menacing insurgency.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the US&nbsp;military was preparing to withdraw from Syria by the end of April.

A US&nbsp;official confirmed that target date to Reuters, saying the withdrawal included a pull-out from the U.S. military base at Tanf, near the Syrian border with Iraq and Jordan.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began an assault against the final Islamic State enclave in eastern Syria on Saturday, aiming to wipe out the last vestige of the jihadist group's "caliphate" in the SDF's area of operations.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began an assault against the final Islamic State enclave in eastern Syria on Saturday, aiming to wipe out the last vestige of the jihadist group's "caliphate" in the SDF's area of operations. President Donald Trump, who is planning to pull US forces out of Syria, said on Wednesday he expected an announcement as early as next week that the US-led coalition operating in support of the SDF had reclaimed all the territory previously held by the jihadist group. The enclave, close to 1the Iraqi border, comprises two villages. Islamic State also still has territory in the part of Syria that is mostly under the control of the Russian- and Iranian-backed Syrian government. Mustafa Bali, the head of the SDF media office, told Reuters the aim of the assault was to "eliminate the last remnants of the terrorist organisation" and called it the "last battle". He later wrote on Twitter that the battle had started. Bali told Reuters in the last 10 days SDF fighters had handled the battle "patiently" as more than 20,000 civilians were evacuated from the besieged enclave. The SDF, spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, has driven Islamic State out of a swathe of territory in northern and eastern Syria over the last four years. Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the group's "caliphate" in 2014 in territory stretching across Iraq and Syria. But the group lost its two main prizes - the Syrian city of Raqqa and Iraq's Mosul - in 2017. After capturing Raqqa, the SDF advanced southwards into Deir al-Zor province, attacking the jihadists in territory on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. The remaining Islamic State territory in Syria is west of the Euphrates. Trump announced in December he was pulling all 2,000 US troops out of Syria, saying the battle against Islamic State there was almost won. But a top US general said on Tuesday the group would pose an enduring threat following the US withdrawal, as it retained leaders, fighters, facilitators and resources that would fuel a menacing insurgency. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the US military was preparing to withdraw from Syria by the end of April. A US official confirmed that target date to Reuters, saying the withdrawal included a pull-out from the U.S. military base at Tanf, near the Syrian border with Iraq and Jordan.

US-backed Syrian forces launch 'final battle' against Islamic State enclave

<a href="http://13.232.42.114/world/us-backed-syrian-forces-launch-final-battle-against-islamic-state-enclave-196295">US-backed forces</a> were locked in fierce fighting as they pressed the battle against the last shred of the <a href="http://13.232.42.114/world/us-backed-syrian-force-to-start-final-battle-against-is-enclave-196281">Islamic State group's "caliphate" in eastern Syria</a> on Sunday, a war monitor said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by a US-led coalition, announced a final push to retake the jihadist pocket near the Iraqi border late Saturday, after a pause of more than a week to allow civilians to flee.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes between both sides on Sunday morning, as coalition planes and artillery bombarded jihadist positions.

"The battle is ongoing. There were heavy clashes this morning, with landmines going off," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based war monitor.

The SDF launched an offensive to expel IS from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor in September.

The Kurdish-led alliance has since whittled down jihadist-held territory to a patch of just four square kilometres (one square mile) on the eastern banks of the Euphrates.

Up to 600 jihadists could still remain inside, most of them foreigners, according to SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali.

Since fighting intensified in December, more than 37,000 people, mostly wives and children of jihadist fighters, have fled out into SDF-held desert areas, the Observatory says.

That figure includes some 3,200 suspected jihadists detained by the SDF, according to the monitor, which relies on sources inside Syria for its information.

At the height of their rule, the jihadists imposed their brutal interpretation of Islamic law on a territory spanning parts of Syria and Iraq that was roughly the size of Britain.&nbsp;

But separate military offensives in both countries, including by the SDF, have since retaken the vast bulk of the cross-border "caliphate" they declared in 2014.&nbsp;

US-backed forces were locked in fierce fighting as they pressed the battle against the last shred of the Islamic State group's "caliphate" in eastern Syria on Sunday, a war monitor said.

US-backed forces were locked in fierce fighting as they pressed the battle against the last shred of the Islamic State group's "caliphate" in eastern Syria on Sunday, a war monitor said. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by a US-led coalition, announced a final push to retake the jihadist pocket near the Iraqi border late Saturday, after a pause of more than a week to allow civilians to flee. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes between both sides on Sunday morning, as coalition planes and artillery bombarded jihadist positions. "The battle is ongoing. There were heavy clashes this morning, with landmines going off," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based war monitor. The SDF launched an offensive to expel IS from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor in September. The Kurdish-led alliance has since whittled down jihadist-held territory to a patch of just four square kilometres (one square mile) on the eastern banks of the Euphrates. Up to 600 jihadists could still remain inside, most of them foreigners, according to SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali. Since fighting intensified in December, more than 37,000 people, mostly wives and children of jihadist fighters, have fled out into SDF-held desert areas, the Observatory says. That figure includes some 3,200 suspected jihadists detained by the SDF, according to the monitor, which relies on sources inside Syria for its information. At the height of their rule, the jihadists imposed their brutal interpretation of Islamic law on a territory spanning parts of Syria and Iraq that was roughly the size of Britain. But separate military offensives in both countries, including by the SDF, have since retaken the vast bulk of the cross-border "caliphate" they declared in 2014.

'Heavy clashes' as US-backed forces battle Islamic State in Syria: Report

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will start an assault on Saturday against Islamic State's last enclave in the part of Syria where a US-led coalition has been supporting operations against the group, an SDF official told Reuters.

The United States said on January&nbsp;29 that Islamic State was expected to lose the final chunk of territory within a couple of weeks.

"The battle will be launched this evening and its mission will be to eliminate the last remnants of the terrorist organisation," Mustafa Bali, the head of the SDF media office, said, describing it as the "last battle".

He said in the last 10 days SDF fighters had handled the battle "patiently" as more than 20,000 civilians were evacuated from the besieged enclave comprising two villages near the Iraqi border.

The SDF, backed by the US-led coalition, has driven Islamic State out of a swathe of territory in northern and eastern Syria.

After defeating the jihadists from their Syrian headquarters at Raqqa in October 2017, the SDF advanced southwards into Deir al-Zor province, attacking them in territory on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

Islamic State still has a territorial foothold in Syria west of the Euphrates in a part of the country otherwise held by the Syrian government and its allies.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will start an assault on Saturday against Islamic State's last enclave in the part of Syria where a US-led coalition has been supporting operations against the group, an SDF official told Reuters.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will start an assault on Saturday against Islamic State's last enclave in the part of Syria where a US-led coalition has been supporting operations against the group, an SDF official told Reuters. The United States said on January 29 that Islamic State was expected to lose the final chunk of territory within a couple of weeks. "The battle will be launched this evening and its mission will be to eliminate the last remnants of the terrorist organisation," Mustafa Bali, the head of the SDF media office, said, describing it as the "last battle". He said in the last 10 days SDF fighters had handled the battle "patiently" as more than 20,000 civilians were evacuated from the besieged enclave comprising two villages near the Iraqi border. The SDF, backed by the US-led coalition, has driven Islamic State out of a swathe of territory in northern and eastern Syria. After defeating the jihadists from their Syrian headquarters at Raqqa in October 2017, the SDF advanced southwards into Deir al-Zor province, attacking them in territory on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. Islamic State still has a territorial foothold in Syria west of the Euphrates in a part of the country otherwise held by the Syrian government and its allies.

US-backed Syrian force to start 'final battle' against IS enclave

The United States promised on Wednesday to stay focused on permanently destroying <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/get-out-of-syria-iran-tells-us-195581">the Islamic State group</a> but asked concerned allies to contribute more, as President Donald Trump boasted that the extremists will soon have lost all their territory in Syria.

Trump addressed officials from more than <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/withdrawal-risks-hard-won-gains-national-security-us-senate-resolution-on-trumps-syria-pull-out-195191">70 countries who came to Washington</a> to discuss ways ahead in the battle Islamic State, also known as Islamic State, after Trump stunned many of them in December by declaring victory and ordering all 2,000 troops out of Syria.

Speaking at the State Department, Trump said that US-led troops and their Kurdish allies had "liberated virtually all of the territory" from the jihadists who once controlled a vast stretch of Syria and Iraq in a self-styled caliphate.

"It should be formally announced sometime next week that we will have 100 per cent of the caliphate," Trump said.

"Remnants - that's all they have, remnants - but remnants can be very dangerous," Trump said.

"Rest assured, we'll do what it takes to defeat every ounce and every last person within the ISIS madness and defend our people from radical Islamic terrorism," he said.

The conference comes amid behind-the-scenes efforts to manage the unintended consequences of the US pull out, including keeping peace between Turkey and Kurdish fighters and finding a solution for hundreds of foreign jihadists jailed in Syria who Washington says should be repatriated by their home countries.

But the one-day event did not immediately produce major announcements. And US leaders were partly focused on domestic priorities, with Trump using the occasion to vow a hard line on immigration and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo taking unsubtle digs at previous president Barack Obama.

The conference did not include representatives from Syria Bashar al-Assad or Russia and Iran, which have said they are seeking to defeat the Islamic State group as they shore up his iron-fisted rule.

Opening the conference, Pompeo described Trump's troop pull out as a "tactical change" with extremists increasingly scattered around the world.

"It is not a change in the mission," Pompeo said, adding "our fight will not necessarily always be military-led."

"We are entering an era of decentralised jihad so we must be nimble in our approach as well," he said.

Officials say that the US withdrawal will happen, although at a slower pace than Trump first intended.&nbsp;

The US representative who was in charge of the coalition, Brett McGurk, resigned along with defence secretary Jim Mattis in protest over Trump's decision.

And Trump's own intelligence chief, Dan Coats, warned last week before Congress that the Islamic State group would try to stage a comeback as troops withdraw.

Hoping to avoid the worst outcomes, Pompeo asked US partners to step up intelligence-sharing and to make up a $350 million shortfall in a fund intended to bring stability to Iraq.

"Now is the time for all of us, not just America, to put our money where our mouth is," Pompeo said.

Meanwhile, German foreign minister Heiko Maas voiced approval that Trump made clear that his troop withdrawal from Syria as well as from Afghanistan "doesn't mean that the United States will no longer take on its leading role in the fight against ISIS."

"Now it is important that in the upcoming weeks that we talk about how this will be organized and who will take on which tasks," Maas told reporters.

One key item under discussion is whether to set up a buffer zone along the Syrian border with Turkey.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who were at the forefront of the battle that crushed the Islamic State, have warned that they may no longer be able to guard prisons housing jihadists from France, Britain and other foreign countries after the US withdrawal if Turkey attacks.

The United States promised on Wednesday to stay focused on permanently destroying the Islamic State group but asked concerned allies to contribute more, as President Donald Trump boasted that the extremists will soon have lost all their territory in Syria.

The United States promised on Wednesday to stay focused on permanently destroying the Islamic State group but asked concerned allies to contribute more, as President Donald Trump boasted that the extremists will soon have lost all their territory in Syria. Trump addressed officials from more than 70 countries who came to Washington to discuss ways ahead in the battle Islamic State, also known as Islamic State, after Trump stunned many of them in December by declaring victory and ordering all 2,000 troops out of Syria. Speaking at the State Department, Trump said that US-led troops and their Kurdish allies had "liberated virtually all of the territory" from the jihadists who once controlled a vast stretch of Syria and Iraq in a self-styled caliphate. "It should be formally announced sometime next week that we will have 100 per cent of the caliphate," Trump said. "Remnants - that's all they have, remnants - but remnants can be very dangerous," Trump said. "Rest assured, we'll do what it takes to defeat every ounce and every last person within the ISIS madness and defend our people from radical Islamic terrorism," he said. The conference comes amid behind-the-scenes efforts to manage the unintended consequences of the US pull out, including keeping peace between Turkey and Kurdish fighters and finding a solution for hundreds of foreign jihadists jailed in Syria who Washington says should be repatriated by their home countries. But the one-day event did not immediately produce major announcements. And US leaders were partly focused on domestic priorities, with Trump using the occasion to vow a hard line on immigration and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo taking unsubtle digs at previous president Barack Obama. The conference did not include representatives from Syria Bashar al-Assad or Russia and Iran, which have said they are seeking to defeat the Islamic State group as they shore up his iron-fisted rule. Opening the conference, Pompeo described Trump's troop pull out as a "tactical change" with extremists increasingly scattered around the world. "It is not a change in the mission," Pompeo said, adding "our fight will not necessarily always be military-led." "We are entering an era of decentralised jihad so we must be nimble in our approach as well," he said. Officials say that the US withdrawal will happen, although at a slower pace than Trump first intended. The US representative who was in charge of the coalition, Brett McGurk, resigned along with defence secretary Jim Mattis in protest over Trump's decision. And Trump's own intelligence chief, Dan Coats, warned last week before Congress that the Islamic State group would try to stage a comeback as troops withdraw. Hoping to avoid the worst outcomes, Pompeo asked US partners to step up intelligence-sharing and to make up a $350 million shortfall in a fund intended to bring stability to Iraq. "Now is the time for all of us, not just America, to put our money where our mouth is," Pompeo said. Meanwhile, German foreign minister Heiko Maas voiced approval that Trump made clear that his troop withdrawal from Syria as well as from Afghanistan "doesn't mean that the United States will no longer take on its leading role in the fight against ISIS." "Now it is important that in the upcoming weeks that we talk about how this will be organized and who will take on which tasks," Maas told reporters. One key item under discussion is whether to set up a buffer zone along the Syrian border with Turkey. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who were at the forefront of the battle that crushed the Islamic State, have warned that they may no longer be able to guard prisons housing jihadists from France, Britain and other foreign countries after the US withdrawal if Turkey attacks.

Will announce next week that we have 100% victory over Caliphate: Trump

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the United States remained committed to permanently destroying the Islamic State group despite pulling forces from Syria, as he asked concerned allies to do more.

Pompeo offered assurances as top officials from 79 countries met in Washington on how to move ahead in the fight against the Islamic State movement, also known as ISIS, after <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-says-islamic-state-defeated-us-will-pull-all-forces-out-of-syira-185369">President Donald Trump's sudden decision in December to remove all 2,000 troops from Syria</a>.

"America will continue to lead in giving those who would destroy us no quarter," Pompeo said.

"We ask each of your countries to stand with us and, through our efforts and God's help, the day will come when the permanent defeat of ISIS is a reality," he said.

Pompeo, one of Trump's most stalwart defenders, described the troop withdrawal as "essentially a tactical change" as extremists scatter around the world.

"It is not a change in the mission," Pompeo said, adding "our fight will not necessarily always be military-led."

"We are entering an era of decentralized jihad so we must be nimble in our approach as well," he said.

Trump pullout 
Trump, who will address the conference at the State Department later Wednesday, stunned many allies by ordering the troop pullout, although the US military has slowed down the pace of the exit.

In his annual State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night, Trump renewed his pledge to avoid "endless wars" and said that nearly all of the once vast territory held by the "bloodthirsty monsters" in the Islamic State group had been taken back.

But Trump's own intelligence chief has warned that the Islamic State group, whose once-mighty stronghold in Syria is down to a narrow sliver of territory, would try to stage a comeback with a troop withdrawal.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told Congress last week that the Islamic State group still commands thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria.

Hoping to avoid the worst outcomes, Pompeo asked US partners to step up intelligence-sharing and also to make up a $350 million shortfall in a fund intended to bring stability to Iraq.

"Now is the time for all of us, not just America, to put our money where our mouth is," Pompeo said.

He also renewed calls on countries to take back foreign fighters -- a sensitive issue for allies such as France and Britain which see little upside to bringing home hardened jihadists, including militants behind videotaped beheadings that has sickened viewers around the world.&nbsp;

"Members of this coalition must be willing to take back foreign terrorist fighters, prosecute them and punish them," Pompeo said.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who were at the forefront of the battle that crushed the Islamic State's self-styled "caliphate," have warned that they may no longer be able to guard prisons housing foreign jihadists after the US withdrawal if Turkey attacks.

Turkey -- whose foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, is taking part in the Washington talks -- has been one of the few countries to cheer Trump's withdrawal.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke to Trump before the pullout orders, has vowed to crush the Kurdish fighters in Syria, linking them to separatists at home.

The talks in Washington are expected to look more closely at a proposal for a buffer zone on the Syria-Turkish border aimed at averting conflict.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the United States remained committed to permanently destroying the Islamic State group despite pulling forces from Syria, as he asked concerned allies to do more.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the United States remained committed to permanently destroying the Islamic State group despite pulling forces from Syria, as he asked concerned allies to do more. Pompeo offered assurances as top officials from 79 countries met in Washington on how to move ahead in the fight against the Islamic State movement, also known as ISIS, after President Donald Trump's sudden decision in December to remove all 2,000 troops from Syria. "America will continue to lead in giving those who would destroy us no quarter," Pompeo said. "We ask each of your countries to stand with us and, through our efforts and God's help, the day will come when the permanent defeat of ISIS is a reality," he said. Pompeo, one of Trump's most stalwart defenders, described the troop withdrawal as "essentially a tactical change" as extremists scatter around the world. "It is not a change in the mission," Pompeo said, adding "our fight will not necessarily always be military-led." "We are entering an era of decentralized jihad so we must be nimble in our approach as well," he said. Trump pullout Trump, who will address the conference at the State Department later Wednesday, stunned many allies by ordering the troop pullout, although the US military has slowed down the pace of the exit. In his annual State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night, Trump renewed his pledge to avoid "endless wars" and said that nearly all of the once vast territory held by the "bloodthirsty monsters" in the Islamic State group had been taken back. But Trump's own intelligence chief has warned that the Islamic State group, whose once-mighty stronghold in Syria is down to a narrow sliver of territory, would try to stage a comeback with a troop withdrawal. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told Congress last week that the Islamic State group still commands thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria. Hoping to avoid the worst outcomes, Pompeo asked US partners to step up intelligence-sharing and also to make up a $350 million shortfall in a fund intended to bring stability to Iraq. "Now is the time for all of us, not just America, to put our money where our mouth is," Pompeo said. He also renewed calls on countries to take back foreign fighters -- a sensitive issue for allies such as France and Britain which see little upside to bringing home hardened jihadists, including militants behind videotaped beheadings that has sickened viewers around the world. "Members of this coalition must be willing to take back foreign terrorist fighters, prosecute them and punish them," Pompeo said. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who were at the forefront of the battle that crushed the Islamic State's self-styled "caliphate," have warned that they may no longer be able to guard prisons housing foreign jihadists after the US withdrawal if Turkey attacks. Turkey -- whose foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, is taking part in the Washington talks -- has been one of the few countries to cheer Trump's withdrawal. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke to Trump before the pullout orders, has vowed to crush the Kurdish fighters in Syria, linking them to separatists at home. The talks in Washington are expected to look more closely at a proposal for a buffer zone on the Syria-Turkish border aimed at averting conflict.

Pompeo says US will still lead fight against IS, asks allies to do more

Senior Iranian figures said on Wednesday that Syria was a top foreign policy priority and American troops should withdraw, as planned by US President Donald Trump.

"Whether they want to or not, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/iran-takes-us-to-icj-over-re-imposed-sanctions--152409">the Americans must leave Syria</a>," Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was reported as saying.

There are fears in the West that Trump's plan to extricate about 2,000 soldiers from Syria will cede influence to Tehran, which has backed President Bashar al-Assad in the nearly eight-year war, and also allow Islamic State militants to regroup.

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"Now 90 per cent of Syrian soil is under the control of the government and the rest will soon be freed by the Syrian army," Velayati added during a meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Tehran, according to the Tasnim news agency.

President Hassan Rouhani told Moualem that peace in Syria was a priority. "One of the important regional and foreign policy goals of the Islamic Republic is the stability and complete security of Syria," Tasnim quoted him as saying.

"And establishing normal conditions in Syria and the return of the people of this country to their normal lives."

Moualem was in Tehran for negotiations before the meeting of leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran in the Russian Black Sea resort town Sochi on Feb. 14 over Syria.

Separately, Rear-Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, a deputy commander of the regular armed forces, said on Wednesday that Iran plans to extend the range of its land-to-sea missiles beyond 300 kilometres (186 miles), according to the Fars news agency.

Iran has expanded its missile program, particularly its ballistic missiles, in defiance of opposition from the United States and expressions of concern by European countries.

Tehran says the programme is purely defensive.

The European Union said on Monday it was gravely concerned by Iran's ballistic missile launches and tests and urged it to stop activity that deepens mistrust and destabilises the region.

Senior Iranian figures said on Wednesday that Syria was a top foreign policy priority and American troops should withdraw, as planned by US President Donald Trump.

Senior Iranian figures said on Wednesday that Syria was a top foreign policy priority and American troops should withdraw, as planned by US President Donald Trump. "Whether they want to or not, the Americans must leave Syria," Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was reported as saying. There are fears in the West that Trump's plan to extricate about 2,000 soldiers from Syria will cede influence to Tehran, which has backed President Bashar al-Assad in the nearly eight-year war, and also allow Islamic State militants to regroup. 'Now 90 per cent of Syrian soil is under the control of the government and the rest will soon be freed by the Syrian army,' Velayati added × "Now 90 per cent of Syrian soil is under the control of the government and the rest will soon be freed by the Syrian army," Velayati added during a meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Tehran, according to the Tasnim news agency. President Hassan Rouhani told Moualem that peace in Syria was a priority. "One of the important regional and foreign policy goals of the Islamic Republic is the stability and complete security of Syria," Tasnim quoted him as saying. "And establishing normal conditions in Syria and the return of the people of this country to their normal lives." Moualem was in Tehran for negotiations before the meeting of leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran in the Russian Black Sea resort town Sochi on Feb. 14 over Syria. Separately, Rear-Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, a deputy commander of the regular armed forces, said on Wednesday that Iran plans to extend the range of its land-to-sea missiles beyond 300 kilometres (186 miles), according to the Fars news agency. Iran has expanded its missile program, particularly its ballistic missiles, in defiance of opposition from the United States and expressions of concern by European countries. Tehran says the programme is purely defensive. The European Union said on Monday it was gravely concerned by Iran's ballistic missile launches and tests and urged it to stop activity that deepens mistrust and destabilises the region.

'Get out of Syria,' Iran tells US

Two Afghan journalists were killed on Tuesday night when gunmen entered a radio station and opened fire, authorities said.

The presenter and reporter, both males in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini, director of Radio Hamsada.

It was not known if they were on air at the time and both police and Hussaini said they no idea of the motive for the attack in Taloqan, capital of the northern province of Takhar.

Theirs was the second killing of journalists in Afghanistan this year. Last month the Taliban kidnapped and later killed government worker and part-time journalist Javid Noori.

Jawad Hejri, spokesman for the Takhar governor, said the gunmen fled without being identified and police were investigating.

Taliban and other Islamist insurgents have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year yet for the country's media, according to Reporters Without Borders.

The Paris-based media rights group said the three most dangerous countries for journalists to work in were Afghanistan, Syria and Mexico.

Two Afghan journalists were killed on Tuesday night when gunmen entered a radio station and opened fire, authorities said. The presenter and reporter, both males in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini, director of Radio Hamsada.

Two Afghan journalists were killed on Tuesday night when gunmen entered a radio station and opened fire, authorities said. The presenter and reporter, both males in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini, director of Radio Hamsada. It was not known if they were on air at the time and both police and Hussaini said they no idea of the motive for the attack in Taloqan, capital of the northern province of Takhar. Theirs was the second killing of journalists in Afghanistan this year. Last month the Taliban kidnapped and later killed government worker and part-time journalist Javid Noori. Jawad Hejri, spokesman for the Takhar governor, said the gunmen fled without being identified and police were investigating. Taliban and other Islamist insurgents have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year yet for the country's media, according to Reporters Without Borders. The Paris-based media rights group said the three most dangerous countries for journalists to work in were Afghanistan, Syria and Mexico.

Two Afghan journalists killed as gunmen open fire in radio station

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday&nbsp;he had not yet seen an acceptable plan for the creation of a safe zone in northeastern Syria, three weeks after US President Donald Trump suggested establishing the zone.

"There is no satisfactory plan that is put before us concretely yet," Erdogan told a parliamentary meeting of his AK Party.

"Of course we are loyal to our agreements, our promise is a promise. But our patience is not limitless," he added.

Turkey wants to set up the safe zone with logistical support from allies and says it should be cleared of the US-backed Kurdish YPG militia which Ankara considers a terrorist group.

Erdogan also said that if terrorists are not removed from the northern town of Manbij in a few weeks, Turkey's waiting time will end.

The safe zone will be an issue at a meeting on Wednesday in the United States of ministers from a coalition of countries fighting the Islamic State militant group. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will attend those talks.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he had not yet seen an acceptable plan for the creation of a safe zone in northeastern Syria, three weeks after US President Donald Trump suggested establishing the zone.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he had not yet seen an acceptable plan for the creation of a safe zone in northeastern Syria, three weeks after US President Donald Trump suggested establishing the zone. "There is no satisfactory plan that is put before us concretely yet," Erdogan told a parliamentary meeting of his AK Party. "Of course we are loyal to our agreements, our promise is a promise. But our patience is not limitless," he added. Turkey wants to set up the safe zone with logistical support from allies and says it should be cleared of the US-backed Kurdish YPG militia which Ankara considers a terrorist group. Erdogan also said that if terrorists are not removed from the northern town of Manbij in a few weeks, Turkey's waiting time will end. The safe zone will be an issue at a meeting on Wednesday in the United States of ministers from a coalition of countries fighting the Islamic State militant group. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will attend those talks.

Turkey's Erdogan says no satisfactory plan with US on north Syria safe zone

Iran warned Israel on Tuesday of a "firm and appropriate" response if it continued attacking targets in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad and his forces in their nearly eight-year war against rebels and militants.

Israel, which views Iran as its biggest security threat, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets and those of allied militia in Syria. With an election looming in April, Israel has been increasingly open about carrying out its air strikes.

In a meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem in Tehran, the secretary of Iran's National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said the Israeli attacks violated Syria's territorial integrity and were "unacceptable".

"If these actions continue, we will activate some calculated measures as a deterrent and as a firm and appropriate response to teach a lesson to the criminal and lying rulers of Israel," Shamkhani was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that Israeli forces would continue to attack Iranians in Syria and warned them to "get out of there" fast.

In January, Israeli warplanes carried out an attack on what they called an Iranian arms cache in Syria.

Syria's Moalem was quoted on Tuesday by a Hezbollah-run media unit as saying: "The Syrian government considers it to be its duty to keep Iranian security forces in Syrian territory."

Iran has also repeatedly said it will keep military forces in Syria.

Iran warned Israel on Tuesday of a "firm and appropriate" response if it continued attacking targets in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad and his forces in their nearly eight-year war against rebels and militants.

Iran warned Israel on Tuesday of a "firm and appropriate" response if it continued attacking targets in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad and his forces in their nearly eight-year war against rebels and militants. Israel, which views Iran as its biggest security threat, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets and those of allied militia in Syria. With an election looming in April, Israel has been increasingly open about carrying out its air strikes. In a meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem in Tehran, the secretary of Iran's National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said the Israeli attacks violated Syria's territorial integrity and were "unacceptable". "If these actions continue, we will activate some calculated measures as a deterrent and as a firm and appropriate response to teach a lesson to the criminal and lying rulers of Israel," Shamkhani was quoted as saying by Fars news agency. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that Israeli forces would continue to attack Iranians in Syria and warned them to "get out of there" fast. In January, Israeli warplanes carried out an attack on what they called an Iranian arms cache in Syria. Syria's Moalem was quoted on Tuesday by a Hezbollah-run media unit as saying: "The Syrian government considers it to be its duty to keep Iranian security forces in Syrian territory." Iran has also repeatedly said it will keep military forces in Syria.

Iran warns Israel against further air strikes in Syria

Iraqi politicians on Monday hit back at Donald Trump after the US president said he plans to keep American forces in the country to spy on Iran.

In an interview with CBS television, Trump reaffirmed his determination to pull the United States out of "endless wars" in Syria and Afghanistan but said American troops would stay on in Iraq, partly "to be looking a little bit at Iran".

"We spent a fortune on building this incredible base. <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/want-to-keep-us-military-in-iraq-to-watch-iran-says-trump-in-an-interview-with-cbs-194887">We might as well keep it</a>," he said, referring to Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq that he visited in December.

"If somebody is looking to do nuclear weapons or other things, we're going to know it before they do," he said in the interview aired on Sunday.

His comments sparked a new round of demands in Baghdad for US forces to leave the country.

"The Iraqi constitution rejects the use of Iraq as a base for hitting or attacking a neighbouring country," President Barham Saleh said.

Saleh said US forces were in the country legally under an agreement between the two countries, but that "any action taken outside this framework is unacceptable".

Iraq's government plays a delicate balancing act between its two main allies, Washington and Tehran, which are bitter enemies.&nbsp;

The US has been leading a coalition to crush the Islamic State group which grabbed swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, and multiple offensives have since ousted the jihadists from all but a sliver of territory in eastern Syria.

Baghdad's position has also been complicated by Trump's shock December decision to pull troops out of neighbouring Syria, prompting pro-Iran factions to step up calls for an accelerated US withdrawal from Iraq.

Sabah al-Saadi, a member of parliament in the bloc led by influential anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, has proposed a bill demanding a US pullout.

Trump's latest remarks had made passing such a law "a national duty".

Deputy speaker of parliament Hassan Karim al-Kaabi, also close to Sadr, said they were a "new provocation", weeks after the US president sparked outrage in Iraq by visiting US troops at Ain al-Asad without meeting a single Iraqi official.

Officially, Iraq says there are no American bases on its soil -- only instructors deployed at Iraqi bases.

Kurdish MP Sarkawt Shams tweeted that the mission of US troops in Iraq was "to help Iraqi security forces against terrorism, not 'watching' others".

"We are expecting the United States to respect Our mutual interests and avoid pushing Iraq into a regional conflict," he said.

Washington has had troops in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. At the height of its fight against insurgents, it had up to 170,000 US troops in the country, before a partial withdrawal starting in late 2011.

Iraqi politicians on Monday hit back at Donald Trump after the US president said he plans to keep American forces in the country to spy on Iran. In an interview with CBS television, Trump reaffirmed his determination to pull the United States out of "endless wars" in Syria and Afghanistan but said American troops would stay on in Iraq, partly "to be looking a little bit at Iran".

Iraqi politicians on Monday hit back at Donald Trump after the US president said he plans to keep American forces in the country to spy on Iran. In an interview with CBS television, Trump reaffirmed his determination to pull the United States out of "endless wars" in Syria and Afghanistan but said American troops would stay on in Iraq, partly "to be looking a little bit at Iran". "We spent a fortune on building this incredible base. We might as well keep it," he said, referring to Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq that he visited in December. "If somebody is looking to do nuclear weapons or other things, we're going to know it before they do," he said in the interview aired on Sunday. His comments sparked a new round of demands in Baghdad for US forces to leave the country. "The Iraqi constitution rejects the use of Iraq as a base for hitting or attacking a neighbouring country," President Barham Saleh said. Saleh said US forces were in the country legally under an agreement between the two countries, but that "any action taken outside this framework is unacceptable". Iraq's government plays a delicate balancing act between its two main allies, Washington and Tehran, which are bitter enemies. The US has been leading a coalition to crush the Islamic State group which grabbed swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, and multiple offensives have since ousted the jihadists from all but a sliver of territory in eastern Syria. Baghdad's position has also been complicated by Trump's shock December decision to pull troops out of neighbouring Syria, prompting pro-Iran factions to step up calls for an accelerated US withdrawal from Iraq. Sabah al-Saadi, a member of parliament in the bloc led by influential anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, has proposed a bill demanding a US pullout. Trump's latest remarks had made passing such a law "a national duty". Deputy speaker of parliament Hassan Karim al-Kaabi, also close to Sadr, said they were a "new provocation", weeks after the US president sparked outrage in Iraq by visiting US troops at Ain al-Asad without meeting a single Iraqi official. Officially, Iraq says there are no American bases on its soil -- only instructors deployed at Iraqi bases. Kurdish MP Sarkawt Shams tweeted that the mission of US troops in Iraq was "to help Iraqi security forces against terrorism, not 'watching' others". "We are expecting the United States to respect Our mutual interests and avoid pushing Iraq into a regional conflict," he said. Washington has had troops in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. At the height of its fight against insurgents, it had up to 170,000 US troops in the country, before a partial withdrawal starting in late 2011.

After Trump speaks, Iraqis demand US leave country

Four children were among at least 11 people killed when a war-damaged block of flats collapsed in Syria's second city Aleppo on Saturday, state media said.

One child was pulled out alive from the rubble of the five-storey block after rescue teams toiled, many of them with their bare hands, to remove the shattered breeze blocks that had buried him, AFP photographers reported.

He was the sole survivor of the collapse in the formerly rebel-held neighbourhood of Salaheddin, the official SANA news agency reported.

Saleheddin was heavily bombed before the army overran rebel districts with Russian support in late 2016.

What little reconstruction there has been among the ruins has been carried out privately. The state has limited public works to the restoration of basic infrastructure. Many of the buildings around the block that caved in still bear the scars of the ferocious four-year battle for the northern city, with several on the brink of collapse.

Washington has estimated the costs of rebuilding Syria's devastated housing and infrastructure at between $300 billion and $400 billion.

But it warned last month that, while overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad was no longer a goal of US policy, it would contribute no reconstruction funds without fundamental reform in Damascus.

Four children were among at least 11 people killed when a war-damaged block of flats collapsed in Syria's second city Aleppo on Saturday, state media said. One child was pulled out alive from the rubble of the five-storey block after rescue teams toiled, many of them with their bare hands, to remove the shattered breeze blocks that had buried him, AFP photographers reported.

Four children were among at least 11 people killed when a war-damaged block of flats collapsed in Syria's second city Aleppo on Saturday, state media said. One child was pulled out alive from the rubble of the five-storey block after rescue teams toiled, many of them with their bare hands, to remove the shattered breeze blocks that had buried him, AFP photographers reported. He was the sole survivor of the collapse in the formerly rebel-held neighbourhood of Salaheddin, the official SANA news agency reported. Saleheddin was heavily bombed before the army overran rebel districts with Russian support in late 2016. What little reconstruction there has been among the ruins has been carried out privately. The state has limited public works to the restoration of basic infrastructure. Many of the buildings around the block that caved in still bear the scars of the ferocious four-year battle for the northern city, with several on the brink of collapse. Washington has estimated the costs of rebuilding Syria's devastated housing and infrastructure at between $300 billion and $400 billion. But it warned last month that, while overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad was no longer a goal of US policy, it would contribute no reconstruction funds without fundamental reform in Damascus.

11 dead as war-damaged flats collapse in Syria's Aleppo

*By Nicolás Saldías and Charles Larratt-Smith

Canada has been at the forefront accepting asylum seekers from war-torn countries like Syria.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously tweeted, “To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength.”

In 2017 alone, Canada accepted 55,000 Syrian refugees, the largest amount outside of Europe and the Middle East. And yet Canada’s voice has been decidedly more muted regarding another humanitarian disaster closer to home: Venezuela.

Trudeau has recognised that there is “a humanitarian crisis the likes of which South America has not seen in a long time” because of “an extreme number of refugees fleeing all across South America all because of an illegitimate dictator named Maduro.”

Canada, as a member of the Lima Group of Latin American countries, has forcefully condemned the Venezuelan regime. It’s also imposed sanctions on leaders of the government.

But greater action is needed.

A stain on Canada

Disturbing reports of the Canadian government making travel more difficult for Venezuelans because of the crisis is a stain on Canada’s otherwise positive humanitarian record.

Trudeau should instead be easing entry requirements for Venezuelans seeking refuge in Canada.

Venezuela was once an economically prosperous and stable democracy. After 20 years of economic mismanagement and a gradual dismantling of democratic institutions, Venezuela is the most authoritarian and poorest country in South America.

Haphazard policy-making and corruption have caused the country’s GDP to decline by a staggering 50 per cent since 2014. Shortages of goods and the rampant printing of money has led to hyperinflation, with the International Monetary Fund estimating it will reach 10 million per cent in 2019.

To make matters worse, Venezuela currently ranks as one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

Estimates also indicate the average Venezuelan has lost 24 pounds in recent years. Poor nutrition is compounded by a collapsing health-care system, with previously eradicated diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis making reappearances, threatening public health in the broader region.

Perhaps most concerning is that over the past three years, an estimated three million people, or 10 per cent of the total population, have fled Venezuela to neighbouring countries.

Why not Canada?

Colombia accepts upwards of 10,000 Venezuelans per day, even though it struggles to provide security and basic services for its own citizens. In far-flung Argentina, Venezuelans constitute 25 per cent of all migrants or 70,000 individuals in the first seven months of 2018 alone.

Canada, in comparison, which is half the distance from Argentina for Venezuelans, has accepted a paltry 388 refugee claims in 2017, with a 70 per cent rejection rate.

The scale of migration from Venezuela has now reached a point where Canada needs to do more to help mitigate the worst humanitarian crisis in the Americas in living memory.

Even if Nicolás Maduro’s regime ultimately fails, the current economic and social damage is so extensive that it will take many years and hundreds of billions of dollars for Venezuela to merely recover. In light of these facts, the exodus is likely going to continue for quite some time.

Trudeau’s humanitarian-based approach to immigration policy has proven quite popular with the broader Canadian public, with almost three-quarters of respondents supporting this position on refugees in a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

Scholars have also emphasised that refugees and migrants overwhelmingly benefit the countries that welcome them.&nbsp;

The political and economic crisis in Venezuela can no longer by outsourced or ignored by Canada.

We must live up to our values and open our doors to the people of Venezuela.

*(Nicolás Saldías, Researcher at the Wilson Center, University of Toronto and Charles Larratt-Smith, PhD Candidate, University of Toronto)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-disturbing-indifference-to-the-plight-of-venezuelans-110544">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

*By Nicolás Saldías and Charles Larratt-Smith Canada has been at the forefront accepting asylum seekers from war-torn countries like Syria. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously tweeted, “To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith.

*By Nicolás Saldías and Charles Larratt-Smith Canada has been at the forefront accepting asylum seekers from war-torn countries like Syria. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously tweeted, “To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength.” In 2017 alone, Canada accepted 55,000 Syrian refugees, the largest amount outside of Europe and the Middle East. And yet Canada’s voice has been decidedly more muted regarding another humanitarian disaster closer to home: Venezuela. Trudeau has recognised that there is “a humanitarian crisis the likes of which South America has not seen in a long time” because of “an extreme number of refugees fleeing all across South America all because of an illegitimate dictator named Maduro.” Canada, as a member of the Lima Group of Latin American countries, has forcefully condemned the Venezuelan regime. It’s also imposed sanctions on leaders of the government. But greater action is needed. A stain on Canada Disturbing reports of the Canadian government making travel more difficult for Venezuelans because of the crisis is a stain on Canada’s otherwise positive humanitarian record. Trudeau should instead be easing entry requirements for Venezuelans seeking refuge in Canada. Venezuela was once an economically prosperous and stable democracy. After 20 years of economic mismanagement and a gradual dismantling of democratic institutions, Venezuela is the most authoritarian and poorest country in South America. Haphazard policy-making and corruption have caused the country’s GDP to decline by a staggering 50 per cent since 2014. Shortages of goods and the rampant printing of money has led to hyperinflation, with the International Monetary Fund estimating it will reach 10 million per cent in 2019. To make matters worse, Venezuela currently ranks as one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Estimates also indicate the average Venezuelan has lost 24 pounds in recent years. Poor nutrition is compounded by a collapsing health-care system, with previously eradicated diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis making reappearances, threatening public health in the broader region. Perhaps most concerning is that over the past three years, an estimated three million people, or 10 per cent of the total population, have fled Venezuela to neighbouring countries. Why not Canada? Colombia accepts upwards of 10,000 Venezuelans per day, even though it struggles to provide security and basic services for its own citizens. In far-flung Argentina, Venezuelans constitute 25 per cent of all migrants or 70,000 individuals in the first seven months of 2018 alone. Canada, in comparison, which is half the distance from Argentina for Venezuelans, has accepted a paltry 388 refugee claims in 2017, with a 70 per cent rejection rate. The scale of migration from Venezuela has now reached a point where Canada needs to do more to help mitigate the worst humanitarian crisis in the Americas in living memory. Even if Nicolás Maduro’s regime ultimately fails, the current economic and social damage is so extensive that it will take many years and hundreds of billions of dollars for Venezuela to merely recover. In light of these facts, the exodus is likely going to continue for quite some time. Trudeau’s humanitarian-based approach to immigration policy has proven quite popular with the broader Canadian public, with almost three-quarters of respondents supporting this position on refugees in a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Scholars have also emphasised that refugees and migrants overwhelmingly benefit the countries that welcome them. The political and economic crisis in Venezuela can no longer by outsourced or ignored by Canada. We must live up to our values and open our doors to the people of Venezuela. *(Nicolás Saldías, Researcher at the Wilson Center, University of Toronto and Charles Larratt-Smith, PhD Candidate, University of Toronto) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Canada's disturbing indifference to the plight of Venezuelans

In pics: Syrian children in focus at Sarajevo museum on war and childhood

Syria said on Saturday it was ready to revive a landmark security deal with Turkey that normalized ties for two decades before the 2011 conflict if Ankara pulled its troops out of the war-torn country and stopped backing rebels.

In a foreign ministry statement, Syria said it was committed to the 1998 Adana accord, which forced Damascus to stop harbouring the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state for decades.

"Syria remains committed to this accord and all the agreements relating to fighting terror in all its forms by the two countries," said a foreign ministry statement released on state media.

Damascus, however, said reviving the Adana deal, which Russian President Vladimir Putin raised during his summit meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan last week, depended on Ankara ending its backing of rebels seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar al Assad and pulling its troops out of northwestern Syria.

Turkey has carved a sphere of influence in an opposition-held enclave in northwestern Syria around Idlib province with the help of mainstream Arab rebels who it backs. Its troops monitor a buffer zone in the province under a deal with Russia and Iran.

Western diplomatic sources say the timing of Putin's proposal to revive the Adana deal signalled a move to counter US&nbsp;President Donald Trump's recent call to set up a safe zone along the border inside Syria to support the Kurds.

Syria did not mention how it would deal with the US-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara says is an extension of the PKK.

The YPG has during the conflict established a Kurdish-led authority that runs much of northern and eastern Syria and which governs millions of ethnic Arabs in former Islamic State territory where most of Syria's oil wealth lies.

The YPG have engaged in dialogue with government officials to safeguard their autonomous region when US&nbsp;troops that back them pull out.

In a speech on Friday, Erdogan, who has long called for the ousting of President Bashar al Assad and whose country hosts millions of Syrians who fled the war, did not disavow the Adana agreement, saying it gave Turkey the right to enter Syrian territory when it faces threats.

Turkey, which has a large Kurdish population, sees Kurdish-controlled territory in Syria as a threat to its national security. It has repeatedly said it would not wait indefinitely to push out the YPG and that only it can establish the safe zone along its borders with Syria.

Syria said on Saturday it was ready to revive a landmark security deal with Turkey that normalized ties for two decades before the 2011 conflict if Ankara pulled its troops out of the war-torn country and stopped backing rebels.

Syria said on Saturday it was ready to revive a landmark security deal with Turkey that normalized ties for two decades before the 2011 conflict if Ankara pulled its troops out of the war-torn country and stopped backing rebels. In a foreign ministry statement, Syria said it was committed to the 1998 Adana accord, which forced Damascus to stop harbouring the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state for decades. "Syria remains committed to this accord and all the agreements relating to fighting terror in all its forms by the two countries," said a foreign ministry statement released on state media. Damascus, however, said reviving the Adana deal, which Russian President Vladimir Putin raised during his summit meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan last week, depended on Ankara ending its backing of rebels seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar al Assad and pulling its troops out of northwestern Syria. Turkey has carved a sphere of influence in an opposition-held enclave in northwestern Syria around Idlib province with the help of mainstream Arab rebels who it backs. Its troops monitor a buffer zone in the province under a deal with Russia and Iran. Western diplomatic sources say the timing of Putin's proposal to revive the Adana deal signalled a move to counter US President Donald Trump's recent call to set up a safe zone along the border inside Syria to support the Kurds. Syria did not mention how it would deal with the US-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara says is an extension of the PKK. The YPG has during the conflict established a Kurdish-led authority that runs much of northern and eastern Syria and which governs millions of ethnic Arabs in former Islamic State territory where most of Syria's oil wealth lies. The YPG have engaged in dialogue with government officials to safeguard their autonomous region when US troops that back them pull out. In a speech on Friday, Erdogan, who has long called for the ousting of President Bashar al Assad and whose country hosts millions of Syrians who fled the war, did not disavow the Adana agreement, saying it gave Turkey the right to enter Syrian territory when it faces threats. Turkey, which has a large Kurdish population, sees Kurdish-controlled territory in Syria as a threat to its national security. It has repeatedly said it would not wait indefinitely to push out the YPG and that only it can establish the safe zone along its borders with Syria.

Syria says Turkey must pull troops to revive security pact

The chief of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on Saturday warned Israel against continuing strikes in Syria targeting mainly Iranian positions, saying it could fuel the war in the region.

Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly, Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with al-Mayadeen television: "Don't make an error of judgement and don't lead the region towards war or a major clash."

"At any moment the Syrian leadership and the axis of resistance can take a decision to deal with the Israeli aggression in a different manner," Nasrallah said, referring to the alliance between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

Israel has said the first strikes targeted mainly facilities it claimed belonged to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force.

It said they were in response to a medium-range, surface-to-surface missile the Quds Force fired from Syria at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, which Israeli air defences intercepted.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said 21 people had been killed in the strikes, the majority of them Iranians.

The Israeli army has since 2013 claimed hundreds of attacks on what it says are Iranian military targets and advanced arms deliveries to Hezbollah, with the goal of stopping its main enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in neighbouring Syria.&nbsp;

Israel has warned it will continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. 
&nbsp;

The chief of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on Saturday warned Israel against continuing strikes in Syria targeting mainly Iranian positions, saying it could fuel the war in the region.

The chief of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on Saturday warned Israel against continuing strikes in Syria targeting mainly Iranian positions, saying it could fuel the war in the region. Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly, Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with al-Mayadeen television: "Don't make an error of judgement and don't lead the region towards war or a major clash." "At any moment the Syrian leadership and the axis of resistance can take a decision to deal with the Israeli aggression in a different manner," Nasrallah said, referring to the alliance between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Israel has said the first strikes targeted mainly facilities it claimed belonged to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force. It said they were in response to a medium-range, surface-to-surface missile the Quds Force fired from Syria at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, which Israeli air defences intercepted. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said 21 people had been killed in the strikes, the majority of them Iranians. The Israeli army has since 2013 claimed hundreds of attacks on what it says are Iranian military targets and advanced arms deliveries to Hezbollah, with the goal of stopping its main enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in neighbouring Syria. Israel has warned it will continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

Hezbollah chief warns Israel against continuing strikes in Syria

The battle lines in the 21st&nbsp;century’s Great Game aimed at shaping the creation of a new Eurasia-centred world, built on the likely fusion of Europe and Asia into what former Portuguese Europe minister&nbsp;Bruno Macaes calls a “supercontinent,”&nbsp;are all but cast in cement.

For now, the Great Game pits China together with Russia, Turkey and Iran against the United States, India, Japan and Australia. The two camps compete for influence, if not dominance, in a swath of land that stretches from the China Sea to the Atlantic coast of Europe.

The flashpoints are multiple. They range from the China Sea to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Central European nations and, most recently, far beyond with&nbsp;Russia, China and Turkey supporting embattled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

The rivalry resembles&nbsp;Risk, a popular game&nbsp;of diplomacy, conflict and conquest played on a board depicting a political map of the earth, divided into forty-two territories, which are grouped into six continents. Multiple players commanding armies that seek to capture territories engage in a complex dance as they strive for advantage and seek to compensate for weaknesses. Players form opportunistic alliances that could change at any moment. Potential black swans threaten to disrupt.

The black swans in the Great Game are multiple and far more numerous than those developed in a just published report by the Paris-based European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). Nonetheless, the scenarios conceptualized in the report,&nbsp;‘What If? Scanning the horizon: 12 scenarios for 2021,”&nbsp;are grounded in recent trends and could prove to be game changers that radically rejigger the Great Game’s current line-up.

The scenarios or grey swans in the report’s terminology, if they unfold in reality, suggest that alliances in Eurasia are opportunistic and transactional and like with Risk can turn players on their erstwhile allies as interests diverge and re-converge. Analysis of five of the scenarios suggests that fragility is greatest in the efforts of China, Russia, Turkey and Iran to rebalance global power in their favour.

They suggest that strains in the United States’ relations with Russia and Turkey are not immutable. Similarly, Russia’s effort to lock in former Soviet republics with its Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) that groups Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Belarus, and Armenia could prove to be on shaky ground. Russia’s alliance with Turkey and China as well as Iran even if the report has not developed the latter possibility may be on thinner ice than meets the eye.

The same can be said for grey swans in the United States’ ties to its long-standing allies as is played out in the report’s scenario for a withdrawal of US troops from Europe as a result of President Donald Trump’s accentuation of diverging trans-Atlantic interests.

With a multi-polar world the likely outcome of the battle for Eurasia, the scenarios suggest that the perceived decline of the United States, despite Trump’s unilateralism, is not irreversible. Similarly, depending on how it plays its cards, Iran could emerge either as a winner or a loser.

The four scenarios involve a renewed round of popular protest in the Arab world following the reversal of successful revolts in 2011 in Egypt, Libya and Yemen and the embrace of brutal repression; political violence in the Caucasus that pits Turkey against Russia and could threaten key nodes along China’s Belt and Road; the dissolution of the Eurasian Economic Union in an approaching post-Vladimir Putin era; a rejiggering of the political map of south-eastern Europe and&nbsp;&nbsp;a strengthening of European cohesion with the US troop withdrawal and resolution of tension between Serbia and Kosovo.

The notion of renewed popular Arab protests, including resistance to the influence of militias in Syria and Libya, that could rewrite the political map of the Middle East&nbsp;&nbsp;is hardly far-fetched with&nbsp;mass anti-government demonstrations in Sudan&nbsp;persisting for more than a month; riots in Tunisia, the one relatively successful 2011 revolt;&nbsp;protests on the West Bankagainst a new social security law; and&nbsp;anti-government marches in Iraq.

If anything, the revolts highlight the risks that all players in the Great Game run by supporting autocratic regimes that have largely failed to sustainably deliver public goods and services and/or offer good governance and cater to the social, economic and political aspirations of young populations.

“Pressure for change across the Arab world is likely to continue to grow, keeping pace with the growth in populations, inequality and social injustice,” concluded journalist Simon Tisdall on the&nbsp;eighth anniversary of the uprising in Egypt&nbsp;that toppled president Hosni Mubarak but was ultimately defeated by a military coup two years later.

The European Union Institute’s report imagines a massive attack on the Baku Kars rail line, a vital node in the Belt and Road’s linking of China to Europe that rekindles dormant local animosities as well as competing Russian and Turkish economic and geostrategic interests, prompting both Moscow and Ankara to lobby Washington for US support.

Similarly, a scenario envisaging Kazakhstan and Belarus withdrawing from the Eurasian union because of its inability to live up to its ambition of furthering regional integration sparks fears in Moscow that the demise of the regional consortium could spark the collapse of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a military alliance that groups the five Eurasian union members as well as Tajikistan and hosts Afghanistan and Serbia as observers. The dissolution of the two organizations would significantly undermine Russia’s regional standing.

Likewise, a swap of land between Serbia and Kosovo that purifies two countries whose inter-communal relations have been poisoned by historic prejudices and recent wars opens a Pandora’s Box across south-eastern Europe but eases their accession to the European Union while a US troop withdrawal would force EU members to focus on collective security.

It would only take one of these scenarios to unfold and potentially spark a revisiting of the current line-up in the Great Game. Any one of the scenarios is a realistic possibility.

Said European Union Institute deputy director Florence Gaub in her introduction to the report: ”Grey Swans share with Black Swans a high level of strategic impact, but there is more evidence to support the idea that they are actually possible… The analogy with the 1985 film ‘Back to the Future’ is pure coincidence, of course – but just as in the film, we sometimes need to take a trip to the future to inform our decision-making today.”

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The battle lines in the 21st century’s Great Game aimed at shaping the creation of a new Eurasia-centred world, built on the likely fusion of Europe and Asia into what former Portuguese Europe minister Bruno Macaes calls a “supercontinent,” are all but cast in cement.

The battle lines in the 21st century’s Great Game aimed at shaping the creation of a new Eurasia-centred world, built on the likely fusion of Europe and Asia into what former Portuguese Europe minister Bruno Macaes calls a “supercontinent,” are all but cast in cement. For now, the Great Game pits China together with Russia, Turkey and Iran against the United States, India, Japan and Australia. The two camps compete for influence, if not dominance, in a swath of land that stretches from the China Sea to the Atlantic coast of Europe. The flashpoints are multiple. They range from the China Sea to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Central European nations and, most recently, far beyond with Russia, China and Turkey supporting embattled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. The rivalry resembles Risk, a popular game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest played on a board depicting a political map of the earth, divided into forty-two territories, which are grouped into six continents. Multiple players commanding armies that seek to capture territories engage in a complex dance as they strive for advantage and seek to compensate for weaknesses. Players form opportunistic alliances that could change at any moment. Potential black swans threaten to disrupt. The black swans in the Great Game are multiple and far more numerous than those developed in a just published report by the Paris-based European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). Nonetheless, the scenarios conceptualized in the report, ‘What If? Scanning the horizon: 12 scenarios for 2021,” are grounded in recent trends and could prove to be game changers that radically rejigger the Great Game’s current line-up. The scenarios or grey swans in the report’s terminology, if they unfold in reality, suggest that alliances in Eurasia are opportunistic and transactional and like with Risk can turn players on their erstwhile allies as interests diverge and re-converge. Analysis of five of the scenarios suggests that fragility is greatest in the efforts of China, Russia, Turkey and Iran to rebalance global power in their favour. They suggest that strains in the United States’ relations with Russia and Turkey are not immutable. Similarly, Russia’s effort to lock in former Soviet republics with its Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) that groups Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Belarus, and Armenia could prove to be on shaky ground. Russia’s alliance with Turkey and China as well as Iran even if the report has not developed the latter possibility may be on thinner ice than meets the eye. The same can be said for grey swans in the United States’ ties to its long-standing allies as is played out in the report’s scenario for a withdrawal of US troops from Europe as a result of President Donald Trump’s accentuation of diverging trans-Atlantic interests. With a multi-polar world the likely outcome of the battle for Eurasia, the scenarios suggest that the perceived decline of the United States, despite Trump’s unilateralism, is not irreversible. Similarly, depending on how it plays its cards, Iran could emerge either as a winner or a loser. The four scenarios involve a renewed round of popular protest in the Arab world following the reversal of successful revolts in 2011 in Egypt, Libya and Yemen and the embrace of brutal repression; political violence in the Caucasus that pits Turkey against Russia and could threaten key nodes along China’s Belt and Road; the dissolution of the Eurasian Economic Union in an approaching post-Vladimir Putin era; a rejiggering of the political map of south-eastern Europe and a strengthening of European cohesion with the US troop withdrawal and resolution of tension between Serbia and Kosovo. The notion of renewed popular Arab protests, including resistance to the influence of militias in Syria and Libya, that could rewrite the political map of the Middle East is hardly far-fetched with mass anti-government demonstrations in Sudan persisting for more than a month; riots in Tunisia, the one relatively successful 2011 revolt; protests on the West Bankagainst a new social security law; and anti-government marches in Iraq. If anything, the revolts highlight the risks that all players in the Great Game run by supporting autocratic regimes that have largely failed to sustainably deliver public goods and services and/or offer good governance and cater to the social, economic and political aspirations of young populations. “Pressure for change across the Arab world is likely to continue to grow, keeping pace with the growth in populations, inequality and social injustice,” concluded journalist Simon Tisdall on the eighth anniversary of the uprising in Egypt that toppled president Hosni Mubarak but was ultimately defeated by a military coup two years later. The European Union Institute’s report imagines a massive attack on the Baku Kars rail line, a vital node in the Belt and Road’s linking of China to Europe that rekindles dormant local animosities as well as competing Russian and Turkish economic and geostrategic interests, prompting both Moscow and Ankara to lobby Washington for US support. Similarly, a scenario envisaging Kazakhstan and Belarus withdrawing from the Eurasian union because of its inability to live up to its ambition of furthering regional integration sparks fears in Moscow that the demise of the regional consortium could spark the collapse of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a military alliance that groups the five Eurasian union members as well as Tajikistan and hosts Afghanistan and Serbia as observers. The dissolution of the two organizations would significantly undermine Russia’s regional standing. Likewise, a swap of land between Serbia and Kosovo that purifies two countries whose inter-communal relations have been poisoned by historic prejudices and recent wars opens a Pandora’s Box across south-eastern Europe but eases their accession to the European Union while a US troop withdrawal would force EU members to focus on collective security. It would only take one of these scenarios to unfold and potentially spark a revisiting of the current line-up in the Great Game. Any one of the scenarios is a realistic possibility. Said European Union Institute deputy director Florence Gaub in her introduction to the report: ”Grey Swans share with Black Swans a high level of strategic impact, but there is more evidence to support the idea that they are actually possible… The analogy with the 1985 film ‘Back to the Future’ is pure coincidence, of course – but just as in the film, we sometimes need to take a trip to the future to inform our decision-making today.” (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Black swans haunt Eurasia's Great Game

The Islamic State group made an aborted attempt to retake a village from US-backed forces in eastern Syria Thursday, a monitor said, leaving 50 fighters dead on both sides.

The failed assault came a day after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are backed by the US-led coalition, took the village of Baghouz from IS.

On Thursday, the jihadist group launched a counterattack including at least three suicide bombers wearing explosive belts against SDF fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Sixteen SDF fighters and 34 IS jihadists were killed in the assault aimed at retaking the village near the Iraqi border, the Britain-based monitor said.

A further "21 IS fighters were taken prisoner as they tried to open up a gap" in defences and make an escape towards Iraq, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The SDF have since September been whittling away at a pocket of territory on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

The latest advance by the US-backed group has left the last diehard IS fighters holed up in scattered farmhouses near the Euphrates.

Thousands of people, mostly women and children, have fled into SDF-held territory in recent days, according to the Observatory.

IS overran large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, declaring a "caliphate", but they have since lost almost all of it to various offensives.

The jihadists have however retained a presence in the vast Badia desert stretching across Syria, and have continued to claim attacks in SDF-held territory and abroad.

The Islamic State group made an aborted attempt to retake a village from US-backed forces in eastern Syria Thursday, a monitor said, leaving 50 fighters dead on both sides.

The Islamic State group made an aborted attempt to retake a village from US-backed forces in eastern Syria Thursday, a monitor said, leaving 50 fighters dead on both sides. The failed assault came a day after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are backed by the US-led coalition, took the village of Baghouz from IS. On Thursday, the jihadist group launched a counterattack including at least three suicide bombers wearing explosive belts against SDF fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Sixteen SDF fighters and 34 IS jihadists were killed in the assault aimed at retaking the village near the Iraqi border, the Britain-based monitor said. A further "21 IS fighters were taken prisoner as they tried to open up a gap" in defences and make an escape towards Iraq, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. The SDF have since September been whittling away at a pocket of territory on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. The latest advance by the US-backed group has left the last diehard IS fighters holed up in scattered farmhouses near the Euphrates. Thousands of people, mostly women and children, have fled into SDF-held territory in recent days, according to the Observatory. IS overran large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, declaring a "caliphate", but they have since lost almost all of it to various offensives. The jihadists have however retained a presence in the vast Badia desert stretching across Syria, and have continued to claim attacks in SDF-held territory and abroad.

Dozens killed in failed IS counterattack in east Syria

US-backed, Kurdish-led forces are on the verge of eliminating Islamic State militants' last remaining enclave in Syria near the border with Iraq after a four-month devastating bombing campaign that has left hundreds of civilian casualties, residents and rebels said on Wednesday.

The capture of the village of Baghous comes after a string of other villages fell in recent days to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia alliance with aerial bombing strikes by the US-led coalition.

The SDF, who launched a major offensive last September to remove the militants from their last pocket, were at first bogged down by fierce resistance, but advanced last month when they finally took the town of Hajin, the main urban stronghold in the enclave.

The SDF has now only a seven-kilometre stretch that separates them from full control of the entire east of the Euphrates River region, former residents and insurgents from the area say.

Islamic State lost nearly all the territory it once held in Syria last year in separate offensives by the US-backed SD and the Russian-backed Syrian army.

The conquest of the last pocket near the Iraqi border marks a major blow, leaving the militants scattered in sparsely populated desert areas in eastern Syria.

To compensate for the loss of territory, the ultra-hardline militants are now expanding hit-and-run assassinations of SDF fighters and commanders and attacks on checkpoints, security analysts say.

"The militants are changing tactics and adopting guerrilla methods and will be now using hundreds of their sleeper cells to wage deadly attacks," Sheikh Faisal Marashdah, a tribal leader, said.

Former residents in touch with relatives said at least 1,000 civilians left the enclave in the last 48 hours and handed themselves over to the Kurdish-led forces.

Among them were around 150 foreign fighters enlisted with the militants and their families. Kurdish sources said they were taken to an undisclosed high-security camp further north for screening.

Resistance by an estimated several thousand militants fighting to the end collapsed after weeks of aerial bombing of the area that left many of the towns and villages in their hands on the banks of the Euphrates in ruins.

Residents and local activists have accused the US-led coalition of indiscriminate bombing that they blame for killing dozens of civilians since the start of the campaign. The Pentagon says it is careful to avoid civilian casualties in its bombing raids and investigates any allegations.

US-backed, Kurdish-led forces are on the verge of eliminating Islamic State militants' last remaining enclave in Syria near the border with Iraq after a four-month devastating bombing campaign that has left hundreds of civilian casualties, residents and rebels said on Wednesday.

US-backed, Kurdish-led forces are on the verge of eliminating Islamic State militants' last remaining enclave in Syria near the border with Iraq after a four-month devastating bombing campaign that has left hundreds of civilian casualties, residents and rebels said on Wednesday. The capture of the village of Baghous comes after a string of other villages fell in recent days to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia alliance with aerial bombing strikes by the US-led coalition. The SDF, who launched a major offensive last September to remove the militants from their last pocket, were at first bogged down by fierce resistance, but advanced last month when they finally took the town of Hajin, the main urban stronghold in the enclave. The SDF has now only a seven-kilometre stretch that separates them from full control of the entire east of the Euphrates River region, former residents and insurgents from the area say. Islamic State lost nearly all the territory it once held in Syria last year in separate offensives by the US-backed SD and the Russian-backed Syrian army. The conquest of the last pocket near the Iraqi border marks a major blow, leaving the militants scattered in sparsely populated desert areas in eastern Syria. To compensate for the loss of territory, the ultra-hardline militants are now expanding hit-and-run assassinations of SDF fighters and commanders and attacks on checkpoints, security analysts say. "The militants are changing tactics and adopting guerrilla methods and will be now using hundreds of their sleeper cells to wage deadly attacks," Sheikh Faisal Marashdah, a tribal leader, said. Former residents in touch with relatives said at least 1,000 civilians left the enclave in the last 48 hours and handed themselves over to the Kurdish-led forces. Among them were around 150 foreign fighters enlisted with the militants and their families. Kurdish sources said they were taken to an undisclosed high-security camp further north for screening. Resistance by an estimated several thousand militants fighting to the end collapsed after weeks of aerial bombing of the area that left many of the towns and villages in their hands on the banks of the Euphrates in ruins. Residents and local activists have accused the US-led coalition of indiscriminate bombing that they blame for killing dozens of civilians since the start of the campaign. The Pentagon says it is careful to avoid civilian casualties in its bombing raids and investigates any allegations.

US-backed forces about to end Islamic State's last enclave in Syria

The Euphrates emerges where the Karasu and Murat rivers merge in northeastern Turkey and flows to join the Tigris near Basra in Iraq.&nbsp;

Historically, Mesopotamia the region lying between the Euphrates and Tigris, was the heartland of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires. It is today the territory of modern-day Turkey, Syria and Iraq and the centre of a conflict that has engulfed the Middle East.&nbsp;

Where it crosses Syria, a state torn in the conflict between President Assad and a plethora of anti-regime groups, the Euphrates today marks the rough dividing line between forces backed by Iran and the United States.&nbsp;

The area to the river’s east is controlled by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the United States, while pro-regime forces backed by Iran control the western banks.&nbsp;

This unstated yet clearly demarcated balance was disturbed when President Donald Trump tweeted on December 19 about the immediate and unconditional US retreat from the area east of the Euphrates river.&nbsp;

This was not significant in terms of the numbers of troops that will be withdrawn, but of the deterrence that the US provided through air power and its commitment as the global superpower.&nbsp;

Should this deterrence be removed, the SDF whose backbone is the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), would feel the pressure from multiple actors in the region, including Russia, Turkey and Iran as well as the Syrian regime that is increasingly gaining ground.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (in an opinion piece on January 7 in the New York Times) reacted to the planned withdrawal by positing Turkey as the regional alternative who could ‘get the job done’.&nbsp;

Proposing a comprehensive strategy to eliminate the root causes of extremism, President Erdogan has called for a stabilisation force featuring fighters from all parts of Syria (except those with links to terrorist organisations), adequate representation of all communities in popularly elected councils and most importantly, a willingness to shoulder the responsibility of transition to stable governance.&nbsp;

Implicit in the offer is the stipulation for the liquidation of the YPG, which is the chief US ally in Syria, but which Ankara identifies as a terrorist affiliate of the banned Turkish group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and the establishment of Turkish control in the east of Euphrates, a region covering about 27 per cent of Syrian territory.&nbsp;

This is not the first time Turkey has suggested a ‘zone of influence’ as a surrogate buffer zone. Similar offers of a ‘buffer zone’, signalling its initial intentions of a serious involvement, had been made by Turkey earlier as a measure to protect refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria. What is significant this time is President Trump’s tweet giving Turkey the green signal for actually setting up a 20-mile-wide buffer zone within Syria.

The proposed buffer zone under Turkish control has been rejected by the Syrian Kurds, who have called for the deployment of UN forces along the line separating Kurdish fighters from Turkish troops.&nbsp;

Identifying Turkey as one of the parties to the ongoing dispute, senior political leader Aldar Khalil has argued that as one of the players involved, Turkey cannot guarantee stability.&nbsp;

Complicated ethnic overlaps mean that the Kurdish population in the region now live across Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq with varying levels of autonomy.&nbsp;

While Turkey has accepted northern Iraq’s autonomous status over time, the dilemma is about the future of the Syrian Kurdish areas, adjoining southeastern Turkey, and the precedence that the autonomous status of the Kurds would create for the Kurdish population in Syria and Turkey.&nbsp;

Turkey has battled domestic Kurdish insurgency for decades and has only recently begun negotiations for conciliation. It, therefore, fears the domestic consequences of the creation of a contiguous area under Kurdish control in northern Syria.&nbsp;

When the Syrian crisis started in March 2011, Syria’s Kurds adopted an ambivalent position. However, in July 2012 they took control of several cities in the north where Kurds are in a majority.&nbsp;

The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which governs this region bordering Turkey, is affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and has clearly expressed its interest to form an autonomous zone in Syria comparable to Iraqi Kurdistan, a move Ankara opposes.&nbsp;

Turkey’s Syrian policy, in which President Erdogan had sought President Assad’s overthrow, therefore became counterproductive when it contributed to bringing Syrian Kurds into the fray.

The grandiose Turkish rhetoric faces challenges on a number of fronts. The Turkish plan outlined in the New York Times piece would test Turkish military, administrative and financial capabilities unless supported by US military commitments.&nbsp;

In that case, it would face opposition from Russia, which supports the return of the Kurdish-held regions to the Assad regime and the Astana process of which it is a part.&nbsp;

It would also affect its position in western Syria where it has made inroads into Idlib with Russian support. Syrian Kurds are reportedly in favour of allowing the Assad regime jurisdiction over their areas, rather than surrender control to the Turkish. And most significantly, the January 16 attack on a US military convoy in the northern city of Manbij has raised questions about the practicality of the withdrawal of American ground presence in Syria.&nbsp;

This was the sixth major attack by the Islamic State in less than a month and has raised questions about rhetoric centered around the ‘defeat of the Islamic State’ and reconstruction in a post-Islamic State era. Experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan show that any such premature assumptions should be avoided.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-middle-east-s-melting-pot-2710965">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The Euphrates emerges where the Karasu and Murat rivers merge in northeastern Turkey and flows to join the Tigris near Basra in Iraq. Historically, Mesopotamia the region lying between the Euphrates and Tigris, was the heartland of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires.

The Euphrates emerges where the Karasu and Murat rivers merge in northeastern Turkey and flows to join the Tigris near Basra in Iraq. Historically, Mesopotamia the region lying between the Euphrates and Tigris, was the heartland of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires. It is today the territory of modern-day Turkey, Syria and Iraq and the centre of a conflict that has engulfed the Middle East. Where it crosses Syria, a state torn in the conflict between President Assad and a plethora of anti-regime groups, the Euphrates today marks the rough dividing line between forces backed by Iran and the United States. The area to the river’s east is controlled by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the United States, while pro-regime forces backed by Iran control the western banks. This unstated yet clearly demarcated balance was disturbed when President Donald Trump tweeted on December 19 about the immediate and unconditional US retreat from the area east of the Euphrates river. This was not significant in terms of the numbers of troops that will be withdrawn, but of the deterrence that the US provided through air power and its commitment as the global superpower. Should this deterrence be removed, the SDF whose backbone is the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), would feel the pressure from multiple actors in the region, including Russia, Turkey and Iran as well as the Syrian regime that is increasingly gaining ground. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (in an opinion piece on January 7 in the New York Times) reacted to the planned withdrawal by positing Turkey as the regional alternative who could ‘get the job done’. Proposing a comprehensive strategy to eliminate the root causes of extremism, President Erdogan has called for a stabilisation force featuring fighters from all parts of Syria (except those with links to terrorist organisations), adequate representation of all communities in popularly elected councils and most importantly, a willingness to shoulder the responsibility of transition to stable governance. Implicit in the offer is the stipulation for the liquidation of the YPG, which is the chief US ally in Syria, but which Ankara identifies as a terrorist affiliate of the banned Turkish group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and the establishment of Turkish control in the east of Euphrates, a region covering about 27 per cent of Syrian territory. This is not the first time Turkey has suggested a ‘zone of influence’ as a surrogate buffer zone. Similar offers of a ‘buffer zone’, signalling its initial intentions of a serious involvement, had been made by Turkey earlier as a measure to protect refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria. What is significant this time is President Trump’s tweet giving Turkey the green signal for actually setting up a 20-mile-wide buffer zone within Syria. The proposed buffer zone under Turkish control has been rejected by the Syrian Kurds, who have called for the deployment of UN forces along the line separating Kurdish fighters from Turkish troops. Identifying Turkey as one of the parties to the ongoing dispute, senior political leader Aldar Khalil has argued that as one of the players involved, Turkey cannot guarantee stability. Complicated ethnic overlaps mean that the Kurdish population in the region now live across Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq with varying levels of autonomy. While Turkey has accepted northern Iraq’s autonomous status over time, the dilemma is about the future of the Syrian Kurdish areas, adjoining southeastern Turkey, and the precedence that the autonomous status of the Kurds would create for the Kurdish population in Syria and Turkey. Turkey has battled domestic Kurdish insurgency for decades and has only recently begun negotiations for conciliation. It, therefore, fears the domestic consequences of the creation of a contiguous area under Kurdish control in northern Syria. When the Syrian crisis started in March 2011, Syria’s Kurds adopted an ambivalent position. However, in July 2012 they took control of several cities in the north where Kurds are in a majority. The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which governs this region bordering Turkey, is affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and has clearly expressed its interest to form an autonomous zone in Syria comparable to Iraqi Kurdistan, a move Ankara opposes. Turkey’s Syrian policy, in which President Erdogan had sought President Assad’s overthrow, therefore became counterproductive when it contributed to bringing Syrian Kurds into the fray. The grandiose Turkish rhetoric faces challenges on a number of fronts. The Turkish plan outlined in the New York Times piece would test Turkish military, administrative and financial capabilities unless supported by US military commitments. In that case, it would face opposition from Russia, which supports the return of the Kurdish-held regions to the Assad regime and the Astana process of which it is a part. It would also affect its position in western Syria where it has made inroads into Idlib with Russian support. Syrian Kurds are reportedly in favour of allowing the Assad regime jurisdiction over their areas, rather than surrender control to the Turkish. And most significantly, the January 16 attack on a US military convoy in the northern city of Manbij has raised questions about the practicality of the withdrawal of American ground presence in Syria. This was the sixth major attack by the Islamic State in less than a month and has raised questions about rhetoric centered around the ‘defeat of the Islamic State’ and reconstruction in a post-Islamic State era. Experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan show that any such premature assumptions should be avoided. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Middle East’s melting pot

The Permanent Representative of the Syrian Mission to the United Nations said that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/israel-strikes-hamas-camp-after-border-unrest-aid-blocked-192093">Syria is mulling attacking Israel</a>'s Tel Aviv airport in retaliation to the recent airstrike carried out by Israel on Damascus airport.

Furthermore, the Permanent Representative, Bashar Jaafari, called for the United Nations Security Council to take "action to stop constant Israeli attacks on Syrian territories," according to Sputnik.

Jaafari also added that Damascus was mulling over the "symmetric" strike on Tel Aviv airport as part of its right to self-defence.

The Israeli airstrikes were carried out Monday against Iranian targets in Syria,&nbsp;CNN had reported.&nbsp;

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed to have struck Iranian warehouses at the Damascus airport.&nbsp;

The Permanent Representative of the Syrian Mission to the United Nations said that Syria is mulling attacking Israel's Tel Aviv airport in retaliation to the recent airstrike carried out by Israel on Damascus airport.

The Permanent Representative of the Syrian Mission to the United Nations said that Syria is mulling attacking Israel's Tel Aviv airport in retaliation to the recent airstrike carried out by Israel on Damascus airport. Furthermore, the Permanent Representative, Bashar Jaafari, called for the United Nations Security Council to take "action to stop constant Israeli attacks on Syrian territories," according to Sputnik. Jaafari also added that Damascus was mulling over the "symmetric" strike on Tel Aviv airport as part of its right to self-defence. The Israeli airstrikes were carried out Monday against Iranian targets in Syria, CNN had reported. Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed to have struck Iranian warehouses at the Damascus airport.

Syria says it is mulling strike on Israel's Tel Aviv airport

By John Feffer

Donald Trump wants to pull US troops out of Syria as quickly as possible. Well, that’s what the president wants now. Tomorrow, who knows, maybe he’ll insist that Syria pay for the pullout. Maybe Trump will decide to hold a summit with Bashar al-Assad after deciding that the Syrian leader’s not such a bad guy after all, since he also doesn’t like the Islamic State and owes his position to Russian support. Maybe Trump will team up with Turkey to build a wall around Syria because “if we stop them over there, we won’t fight them over here.”

With Trump, all options seem to be in play, and it all depends on what Fox News covers, what the last autocrat or three-star general whispered in his ear, and whether the president’s spleen is acting up or not. The opinions of his own advisors or the foreign policy commissariat seem to matter little. If anything, Trump delights in confounding the experts. After all, he believes himself to be the expert-in-chief.

Foreign policymaking in the Trump era is a lot like curling. Trump lets loose the stone and then the other members of the team start sweeping at the ice in an attempt to alter the trajectory. Sometimes Trump throws in the general direction of the target. Sometimes his aim is so errant that there’s nothing the sweepers can do.

So, after Trump tweeted his new Syria policy, National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went into action to alter its trajectory. In an attempt to placate allies aghast at Trump’s decision, Bolton put so many conditions on the pull-out as to seem to render the announcement null and void. Pompeo similarly tried to assure Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and the Gulf States that US policy remains steady: defeat the Islamic State, shut out Iran.

This cavalcade of caveats accomplished little more than to confuse allies and mystify observers. Bolton angered Recep Tayyip Erdoğan so much with his remarks about continued US support for Syrian Kurds that the Turkish president refused to meet with the national security adviser when he visited Ankara this month. A prominent pro-government newspaper decried Bolton’s “soft coup against Trump.”

Trump has subsequently changed his mind about Syria, somewhat, but it wasn’t at the behest of Bolton or Pompeo. The president was persuaded to go slow on the withdrawal when he received a briefing in Iraq from a lieutenant general who explained that the military needed more time to wrap up operations in Syria. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had probably said the same thing to Trump. He resigned when the president ignored his advice. Mattis had disagreed one too many times with the president and thus undermined his authority. With Trump, proximity breeds contempt. 
 
Trump originally demanded that troops withdraw in 30 days. Now, the Pentagon has four months to redeploy the couple thousand troops. The rush to the exit will be more like a covert crawl. And they won’t likely be going very far. The latest reports suggest that the redeployed soldiers are heading for Iraq, to bases in Kirkuk and Anbar.

A history of ambivalence

Trump has been roundly criticised for the incoherence of his policy toward Syria. But let’s face it, Washington has never figured out how to deal with the country — its ruthless leader, its fragmented opposition, its breakaway Kurds, its covetous neighbours — since the Arab Spring protests broke out in 2011. At the very outset, the Obama administration hesitated to throw its support behind pro-democracy demonstrators and was even more ambivalent about intervening militarily when the demonstrators chose to take up arms. 
 
This was not surprising. Obama had been slow to withdraw support from Hosni Mubarak in Egypt earlier that year when crowds gathered in Tahrir Square. When civil strife broke out in Libya, Obama was equally reluctant to get involved, finally opting to “lead from behind” in the international effort to oust Muammar Gaddafi. The situation in Syria promised to be even more complicated and volatile.

Eventually, the Obama administration dipped its toe in the water with two principal programs, one run by the Pentagon, the other covertly by the CIA. The Pentagon’s program was a spectacular failure, with graduates either exiting the program to fight for radical groups the United States disdained or going on to ignominious defeat on the battlefield. This initiative ended in 2015. The CIA program, Timber Sycamore, funnelled billions of dollars of arms and equipment to fighters on the ground in Syria, thanks to Saudi financing and Turkish logistics. This program, too, encountered many difficulties. For instance, arms ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda sympathisers. The United States was also reluctant to go all in for fear of provoking Russia. In 2017, Trump cancelled the program.

Trump or no Trump, the United States faces myriad problems in Syria. Assad has consolidated his position, with the help of Russia and Iran. The Islamic State has been reduced to a beleaguered fiefdom, but religious extremism hasn’t disappeared and a pretty unsavoury group remains in control of Idlib province. The Kurds in the north have established an autonomous region, with US assistance, but the Turkish government considers them a mere extension of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) that it is fighting within its own borders.

The United States can’t expect to influence this state of play in Syria, and certainly not with only 2,000 troops. So, it makes a lot of sense to pull them out. Let the Israelis and Saudis get angry, and let the Russians, Iranians and Turks rejoice. US involvement in Syria — hesitant, misguided, quixotic — has been benighted from the beginning.

Trump recently tweeted in support of his action that the United States must “stop the endless wars.” That makes eminent sense. But don’t be fooled into thinking that Trump actually believes what he tweets. Even as he was making his withdrawal announcement, the president was directing the Pentagon to increase its air strikes on targets in Syria. 
 
More war, not less

It’s ludicrous to paint Donald Trump as a peace president. The man is only selectively anti-war. He just doesn’t like the wars that other presidents started. Trump threatened to use nuclear weapons against North Korea. He considered military options in Venezuela and discussed the potential of a coup with dissident army officers.

But it’s Iran that’s served as the focus of Trump’s most hawkish ambitions. The president hasn’t been content just to unravel the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear agreement that the Obama administration, alongside representatives of several other countries, negotiated with Iran. Nor does Trump want to stop at simply applying another round of economic sanctions against the country. In September, John Bolton asked the Pentagon for military options to strike Iran. “It definitely rattled people,” a former senior White House official said. “People were shocked. It was mind-boggling how cavalier they were about hitting Iran.”

But Trump’s confrontational approach to Iran preceded the brashness of Bolton, who has openly advocated regime change in Iran. Shortly after entering the White House, Trump began pushing for the Pentagon to blow up Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf. Mattis, who’d been fired from the Obama administration for his anti-Iranian obsession, thought the plan was ludicrous and never provided the plans Trump wanted.

Countering Iran has been an organising principle of the administration’s foreign policy, from helping the Saudis in Yemen to pressuring countries worldwide not to trade with Tehran. In his recent speech in Cairo, Secretary Pompeo made clear that even with the Syria pullout the administration remains focused on countering Iran, which “has spread its cancerous influence to Yemen, to Iraq, to Syria, and further into Lebanon.”

With Bolton and Pompeo by his side and Mattis departed, Trump may well go with his gut and attack Iran militarily. He’ll be encouraged in this delusion by Israel and Saudi Arabia. He’ll be looking for some way to distract the media and the American public from his disastrous record as president and the multiple investigations into his affairs and policies. He won’t care about the consequences. The forever war in the Middle East is far from over.

 
(John Feffer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies.)

(This article was originally published on The Fair Observer. Read the <a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/trump-us-withdrawal-syria-kurds-isis-middle-east-security-news-51621/">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

By John Feffer Donald Trump wants to pull US troops out of Syria as quickly as possible. Well, that’s what the president wants now. Tomorrow, who knows, maybe he’ll insist that Syria pay for the pullout.

By John Feffer Donald Trump wants to pull US troops out of Syria as quickly as possible. Well, that’s what the president wants now. Tomorrow, who knows, maybe he’ll insist that Syria pay for the pullout. Maybe Trump will decide to hold a summit with Bashar al-Assad after deciding that the Syrian leader’s not such a bad guy after all, since he also doesn’t like the Islamic State and owes his position to Russian support. Maybe Trump will team up with Turkey to build a wall around Syria because “if we stop them over there, we won’t fight them over here.” With Trump, all options seem to be in play, and it all depends on what Fox News covers, what the last autocrat or three-star general whispered in his ear, and whether the president’s spleen is acting up or not. The opinions of his own advisors or the foreign policy commissariat seem to matter little. If anything, Trump delights in confounding the experts. After all, he believes himself to be the expert-in-chief. Foreign policymaking in the Trump era is a lot like curling. Trump lets loose the stone and then the other members of the team start sweeping at the ice in an attempt to alter the trajectory. Sometimes Trump throws in the general direction of the target. Sometimes his aim is so errant that there’s nothing the sweepers can do. So, after Trump tweeted his new Syria policy, National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went into action to alter its trajectory. In an attempt to placate allies aghast at Trump’s decision, Bolton put so many conditions on the pull-out as to seem to render the announcement null and void. Pompeo similarly tried to assure Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and the Gulf States that US policy remains steady: defeat the Islamic State, shut out Iran. This cavalcade of caveats accomplished little more than to confuse allies and mystify observers. Bolton angered Recep Tayyip Erdoğan so much with his remarks about continued US support for Syrian Kurds that the Turkish president refused to meet with the national security adviser when he visited Ankara this month. A prominent pro-government newspaper decried Bolton’s “soft coup against Trump.” Trump has subsequently changed his mind about Syria, somewhat, but it wasn’t at the behest of Bolton or Pompeo. The president was persuaded to go slow on the withdrawal when he received a briefing in Iraq from a lieutenant general who explained that the military needed more time to wrap up operations in Syria. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had probably said the same thing to Trump. He resigned when the president ignored his advice. Mattis had disagreed one too many times with the president and thus undermined his authority. With Trump, proximity breeds contempt. Trump originally demanded that troops withdraw in 30 days. Now, the Pentagon has four months to redeploy the couple thousand troops. The rush to the exit will be more like a covert crawl. And they won’t likely be going very far. The latest reports suggest that the redeployed soldiers are heading for Iraq, to bases in Kirkuk and Anbar. A history of ambivalence Trump has been roundly criticised for the incoherence of his policy toward Syria. But let’s face it, Washington has never figured out how to deal with the country — its ruthless leader, its fragmented opposition, its breakaway Kurds, its covetous neighbours — since the Arab Spring protests broke out in 2011. At the very outset, the Obama administration hesitated to throw its support behind pro-democracy demonstrators and was even more ambivalent about intervening militarily when the demonstrators chose to take up arms. This was not surprising. Obama had been slow to withdraw support from Hosni Mubarak in Egypt earlier that year when crowds gathered in Tahrir Square. When civil strife broke out in Libya, Obama was equally reluctant to get involved, finally opting to “lead from behind” in the international effort to oust Muammar Gaddafi. The situation in Syria promised to be even more complicated and volatile. Eventually, the Obama administration dipped its toe in the water with two principal programs, one run by the Pentagon, the other covertly by the CIA. The Pentagon’s program was a spectacular failure, with graduates either exiting the program to fight for radical groups the United States disdained or going on to ignominious defeat on the battlefield. This initiative ended in 2015. The CIA program, Timber Sycamore, funnelled billions of dollars of arms and equipment to fighters on the ground in Syria, thanks to Saudi financing and Turkish logistics. This program, too, encountered many difficulties. For instance, arms ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda sympathisers. The United States was also reluctant to go all in for fear of provoking Russia. In 2017, Trump cancelled the program. Trump or no Trump, the United States faces myriad problems in Syria. Assad has consolidated his position, with the help of Russia and Iran. The Islamic State has been reduced to a beleaguered fiefdom, but religious extremism hasn’t disappeared and a pretty unsavoury group remains in control of Idlib province. The Kurds in the north have established an autonomous region, with US assistance, but the Turkish government considers them a mere extension of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) that it is fighting within its own borders. The United States can’t expect to influence this state of play in Syria, and certainly not with only 2,000 troops. So, it makes a lot of sense to pull them out. Let the Israelis and Saudis get angry, and let the Russians, Iranians and Turks rejoice. US involvement in Syria — hesitant, misguided, quixotic — has been benighted from the beginning. Trump recently tweeted in support of his action that the United States must “stop the endless wars.” That makes eminent sense. But don’t be fooled into thinking that Trump actually believes what he tweets. Even as he was making his withdrawal announcement, the president was directing the Pentagon to increase its air strikes on targets in Syria. More war, not less It’s ludicrous to paint Donald Trump as a peace president. The man is only selectively anti-war. He just doesn’t like the wars that other presidents started. Trump threatened to use nuclear weapons against North Korea. He considered military options in Venezuela and discussed the potential of a coup with dissident army officers. But it’s Iran that’s served as the focus of Trump’s most hawkish ambitions. The president hasn’t been content just to unravel the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear agreement that the Obama administration, alongside representatives of several other countries, negotiated with Iran. Nor does Trump want to stop at simply applying another round of economic sanctions against the country. In September, John Bolton asked the Pentagon for military options to strike Iran. “It definitely rattled people,” a former senior White House official said. “People were shocked. It was mind-boggling how cavalier they were about hitting Iran.” But Trump’s confrontational approach to Iran preceded the brashness of Bolton, who has openly advocated regime change in Iran. Shortly after entering the White House, Trump began pushing for the Pentagon to blow up Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf. Mattis, who’d been fired from the Obama administration for his anti-Iranian obsession, thought the plan was ludicrous and never provided the plans Trump wanted. Countering Iran has been an organising principle of the administration’s foreign policy, from helping the Saudis in Yemen to pressuring countries worldwide not to trade with Tehran. In his recent speech in Cairo, Secretary Pompeo made clear that even with the Syria pullout the administration remains focused on countering Iran, which “has spread its cancerous influence to Yemen, to Iraq, to Syria, and further into Lebanon.” With Bolton and Pompeo by his side and Mattis departed, Trump may well go with his gut and attack Iran militarily. He’ll be encouraged in this delusion by Israel and Saudi Arabia. He’ll be looking for some way to distract the media and the American public from his disastrous record as president and the multiple investigations into his affairs and policies. He won’t care about the consequences. The forever war in the Middle East is far from over. (John Feffer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies.) (This article was originally published on The Fair Observer. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The forever war in the Middle East is far from over

Syrian military air defences destroyed more than 30 cruise missiles and guided bombs during <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/israel-says-it-has-again-hit-iranian-targets-in-syria-191685">Israeli air strikes</a> on Sunday, Russia`s defence control centre was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.&nbsp;

Israeli air strikes targeting an airport in southeastern Damascus killed four Syrian soldiers and wounded six, the military centre was quoted by RIA news agency as saying on Monday.&nbsp;

Syrian military air defences destroyed more than 30 cruise missiles and guided bombs during Israeli air strikes on Sunday, Russia`s defence control centre was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.

Syrian military air defences destroyed more than 30 cruise missiles and guided bombs during Israeli air strikes on Sunday, Russia`s defence control centre was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. Israeli air strikes targeting an airport in southeastern Damascus killed four Syrian soldiers and wounded six, the military centre was quoted by RIA news agency as saying on Monday.

Syria shot down over 30 cruise missiles, guided bombs fired by Israel: Ifax

Gravitas: Israeli military strikes Iranian targets in Syria

Israel's military said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets in Syria early Monday after it intercepted a rocket fired from Syrian territory hours before.

It said in a statement it was "<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/will-keep-military-forces-in-syria-despite-israeli-threats-says-iran-190763">currently striking</a>" the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force in Syria and warned Syria's military against "attempting to harm Israeli territory or forces".

It provided no further details on the raids.

Israel's military said on Sunday its air defence systems intercepted a rocket fired from Syria, after Damascus accused Israel of carrying out air raids in the country's south.

As Israel announced its strikes early Monday, Syrian state news agency SANA said its country's air-defence systems had targeted "enemy" fire.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported Israeli missile strikes in the area of the Damascus airport and areas around the capital.

It said the missiles hit apparent Iranian and Hezbollah arms depots.

Israel has pledged to stop its main enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in neighbouring Syria.

It has carried out hundreds of air strikes there against what it says are Iranian military targets and advanced arms deliveries to Tehran-backed Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia.

Israel rarely publicly confirms its strikes in Syria.

Its fighter planes have faced anti-aircraft fire during such raids, but Israeli media reported that Sunday's response included a surface-to-surface missile from Syria.

Israel's military said only that it had intercepted a rocket fired at the northern Golan Heights.

'Permanent policy' 
On Sunday, SANA quoted a military source saying Syria's air defences went into action after Israel earlier in the day launched air strikes on the south of the country.

The Russian army said Syrian air defences destroyed seven Israeli projectiles, after four of the Jewish state's F-16 military planes "fired rockets into Syrian territory".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Sunday that "we have a permanent policy: to strike at the Iranian entrenchment in Syria and hurt whoever tries to hurt us."

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have been speaking more openly about the Syria strikes in recent days, with some analysts saying the premier seems to want to further burnish his security credentials ahead of April 9 elections.

But Israel also risks an escalation with Syria and Iran, as well as possibly further angering Russia.

Military coordination between Israel and Russia took a hit after a friendly fire incident in September that led to a Russian plane being downed by Syrian air defences during an Israeli strike.

The incident angered Russia and complicated Israel's operations in Syria, particularly after Moscow's delivery of the advanced S-300 air defence system there in response.

Israel has sought to keep its coordination with Russia on track and maintain its ability to strike in Syria.

On Thursday, Israeli military officials concluded a series of talks with their Russian counterparts aimed at improving coordination in the war-torn country.

Both Russia and Iran are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in his country's civil war.

Israel's military said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets in Syria early Monday after it intercepted a rocket fired from Syrian territory hours before. It said in a statement it was "currently striking" the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force in Syria and warned Syria's military against "attempting to harm Israeli territory or forces".

Israel's military said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets in Syria early Monday after it intercepted a rocket fired from Syrian territory hours before. It said in a statement it was "currently striking" the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force in Syria and warned Syria's military against "attempting to harm Israeli territory or forces". It provided no further details on the raids. Israel's military said on Sunday its air defence systems intercepted a rocket fired from Syria, after Damascus accused Israel of carrying out air raids in the country's south. As Israel announced its strikes early Monday, Syrian state news agency SANA said its country's air-defence systems had targeted "enemy" fire. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported Israeli missile strikes in the area of the Damascus airport and areas around the capital. It said the missiles hit apparent Iranian and Hezbollah arms depots. Israel has pledged to stop its main enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in neighbouring Syria. It has carried out hundreds of air strikes there against what it says are Iranian military targets and advanced arms deliveries to Tehran-backed Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia. Israel rarely publicly confirms its strikes in Syria. Its fighter planes have faced anti-aircraft fire during such raids, but Israeli media reported that Sunday's response included a surface-to-surface missile from Syria. Israel's military said only that it had intercepted a rocket fired at the northern Golan Heights. 'Permanent policy' On Sunday, SANA quoted a military source saying Syria's air defences went into action after Israel earlier in the day launched air strikes on the south of the country. The Russian army said Syrian air defences destroyed seven Israeli projectiles, after four of the Jewish state's F-16 military planes "fired rockets into Syrian territory". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Sunday that "we have a permanent policy: to strike at the Iranian entrenchment in Syria and hurt whoever tries to hurt us." Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have been speaking more openly about the Syria strikes in recent days, with some analysts saying the premier seems to want to further burnish his security credentials ahead of April 9 elections. But Israel also risks an escalation with Syria and Iran, as well as possibly further angering Russia. Military coordination between Israel and Russia took a hit after a friendly fire incident in September that led to a Russian plane being downed by Syrian air defences during an Israeli strike. The incident angered Russia and complicated Israel's operations in Syria, particularly after Moscow's delivery of the advanced S-300 air defence system there in response. Israel has sought to keep its coordination with Russia on track and maintain its ability to strike in Syria. On Thursday, Israeli military officials concluded a series of talks with their Russian counterparts aimed at improving coordination in the war-torn country. Both Russia and Iran are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in his country's civil war.

Israel says it has again hit Iranian targets in Syria

The United States has <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/syria-is-sand-and-death-trump-says-187966">no plan for Syria</a> as it proceeds with President Donald Trump's order to pull American troops out of the country, a top official who quit in protest at the policy said on Sunday.

Brett McGurk, who was America's envoy to the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State group, said "there's no plan for what's coming next" and this is increasing the risk to US forces.

He spoke in an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation," after a suicide bomber on Wednesday killed four Americans and 15 others in the northern Syrian town of Manbij. It was the deadliest attack to hit US troops since they deployed to Syria in 2014 to assist local forces against the Islamic State group.&nbsp;

The bombing came after Trump's announcement last month that he was ordering a full withdrawal of the 2,000 US troops from Syria, shocking allies and leading to the resignations of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as well as McGurk.

Senior US officials have since given contradictory statements about US intentions, but the Pentagon said it had begun the withdrawal, although how long it would take remained uncertain.

"The president has made that clear -- we are leaving. And that means our force should be really with one mission: to get out and get out safely," McGurk told "Face the Nation."

But he added: "Right now we do not have a plan. It increases a vulnerability of our force... It is increasing the risk to our people on the ground in Syria and will open up space for ISIS," another acronym for IS.

Most importantly, said McGurk, the US cannot expect "a partner" such as NATO-ally Turkey to take the place of the United States.

"That is not realistic. And if our forces are under order to withdraw, as at the same time they are trying to find some formula for another coalition partner to come in, that is not workable. That is not a viable plan."

Trump announced the US withdrawal because, he said, IS had been defeated -- something McGurk and other experts dispute.

McGurk has previously warned that the US pullout would shore up Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and lessen America's leverage with Russia and Iran.

The United States has no plan for Syria as it proceeds with President Donald Trump's order to pull American troops out of the country, a top official who quit in protest at the policy said on Sunday.

The United States has no plan for Syria as it proceeds with President Donald Trump's order to pull American troops out of the country, a top official who quit in protest at the policy said on Sunday. Brett McGurk, who was America's envoy to the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State group, said "there's no plan for what's coming next" and this is increasing the risk to US forces. He spoke in an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation," after a suicide bomber on Wednesday killed four Americans and 15 others in the northern Syrian town of Manbij. It was the deadliest attack to hit US troops since they deployed to Syria in 2014 to assist local forces against the Islamic State group. The bombing came after Trump's announcement last month that he was ordering a full withdrawal of the 2,000 US troops from Syria, shocking allies and leading to the resignations of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as well as McGurk. Senior US officials have since given contradictory statements about US intentions, but the Pentagon said it had begun the withdrawal, although how long it would take remained uncertain. "The president has made that clear -- we are leaving. And that means our force should be really with one mission: to get out and get out safely," McGurk told "Face the Nation." But he added: "Right now we do not have a plan. It increases a vulnerability of our force... It is increasing the risk to our people on the ground in Syria and will open up space for ISIS," another acronym for IS. Most importantly, said McGurk, the US cannot expect "a partner" such as NATO-ally Turkey to take the place of the United States. "That is not realistic. And if our forces are under order to withdraw, as at the same time they are trying to find some formula for another coalition partner to come in, that is not workable. That is not a viable plan." Trump announced the US withdrawal because, he said, IS had been defeated -- something McGurk and other experts dispute. McGurk has previously warned that the US pullout would shore up Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and lessen America's leverage with Russia and Iran.

America has 'no plan' as it pulls out of Syria: Ex-US envoy

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have captured two Islamic State militants of American nationality, according to a statement dated earlier this month that was sent to media on Saturday.

In the statement dated January 6, 2019, the US-backed SDF alliance, led by the Kurdish YPG militia, said the pair were captured during operations against Islamic State in Deir al-Zor province along with two Pakistanis and an Irish citizen.

On Thursday, the SDF vowed to ramp up attacks on Islamic State remnants and cells, a day after a bomb attack killed four Americans in northern Syria.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have captured two Islamic State militants of American nationality, according to a statement dated earlier this month that was sent to media on Saturday.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have captured two Islamic State militants of American nationality, according to a statement dated earlier this month that was sent to media on Saturday. In the statement dated January 6, 2019, the US-backed SDF alliance, led by the Kurdish YPG militia, said the pair were captured during operations against Islamic State in Deir al-Zor province along with two Pakistanis and an Irish citizen. On Thursday, the SDF vowed to ramp up attacks on Islamic State remnants and cells, a day after a bomb attack killed four Americans in northern Syria.

Syria's SDF says it captured two Islamic State militants of American nationality

President Donald Trump's decision to pull US troops from Syria was made without deliberation, left allies "bewildered" and has rejuvenated the Islamic State group, the official formerly in charge of fighting the jihadists said Friday.

Brett McGurk, who quit as America's envoy to the anti-IS coalition after Trump declared victory over the group last month, warned a US withdrawal would shore up President Bashar al-Assad and lessen America's leverage with Russia and Iran.

And "the Islamic State and other extremist groups will fill the void opened by our departure, regenerating their capacity to threaten our friends in Europe —- as they did throughout 2016 —- and ultimately our own homeland," McGurk wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post.

McGurk, a Barack Obama-era appointee whom Trump kept on, said he was in the US embassy in Baghdad on December 17 when he got an urgent call from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informing him of Trump's decision.

Two days later, Trump tweeted, "We have defeated ISIS in Syria."

"But that was not true, and we have continued to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State," McGurk said.

The decision came just days after National Security Advisor John Bolton had suggested an indefinite US troop presence in Syria, and as McGurk and then defense secretary Jim Mattis met coalition partners to confirm commitments for at least the next year.

"My counterparts in coalition capitals were bewildered," McGurk said.&nbsp;

"The president's decision to leave Syria was made without deliberation, consultation with allies or Congress, assessment of risk, or appreciation of facts."

Mattis quit after Trump's decision.

Female sailor killed

McGurk said Trump had made his decision after a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had said Istanbul would lead the fight against IS remnants in Syria.&nbsp;

But Turkey has also vowed to take action against US-backed Syrian Kurds who have conducted the fight against IS and lost thousands of troops as they slowly wrested territory from the jihadists.&nbsp;

"The irony is that defeating the Islamic State is what the president said from the beginning was his goal," McGurk said.&nbsp;

"His recent choices, unfortunately, are already giving the Islamic State -- and other American adversaries -- new life."

Just one month after Trump declared victory over IS, the jihadists claimed responsibility for a brutal attack in Syria this week.

Four Americans, including two services personnel, were among those killed when a suicide bomber hit a restaurant in the key city of Manbij in Syria's north -- the deadliest attack against US forces since they first deployed in the war-torn nation four years ago.

The Pentagon on Friday identified three of those killed.&nbsp;

Among them was Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician Shannon Kent of New York. Her death marked the first time a female US service member was killed in Syria.

President Donald Trump's decision to pull US troops from Syria was made without deliberation, left allies "bewildered" and has rejuvenated the Islamic State group, the official formerly in charge of fighting the jihadists said Friday.

President Donald Trump's decision to pull US troops from Syria was made without deliberation, left allies "bewildered" and has rejuvenated the Islamic State group, the official formerly in charge of fighting the jihadists said Friday. Brett McGurk, who quit as America's envoy to the anti-IS coalition after Trump declared victory over the group last month, warned a US withdrawal would shore up President Bashar al-Assad and lessen America's leverage with Russia and Iran. And "the Islamic State and other extremist groups will fill the void opened by our departure, regenerating their capacity to threaten our friends in Europe —- as they did throughout 2016 —- and ultimately our own homeland," McGurk wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post. McGurk, a Barack Obama-era appointee whom Trump kept on, said he was in the US embassy in Baghdad on December 17 when he got an urgent call from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informing him of Trump's decision. Two days later, Trump tweeted, "We have defeated ISIS in Syria." "But that was not true, and we have continued to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State," McGurk said. The decision came just days after National Security Advisor John Bolton had suggested an indefinite US troop presence in Syria, and as McGurk and then defense secretary Jim Mattis met coalition partners to confirm commitments for at least the next year. "My counterparts in coalition capitals were bewildered," McGurk said. "The president's decision to leave Syria was made without deliberation, consultation with allies or Congress, assessment of risk, or appreciation of facts." Mattis quit after Trump's decision. Female sailor killed McGurk said Trump had made his decision after a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had said Istanbul would lead the fight against IS remnants in Syria. But Turkey has also vowed to take action against US-backed Syrian Kurds who have conducted the fight against IS and lost thousands of troops as they slowly wrested territory from the jihadists. "The irony is that defeating the Islamic State is what the president said from the beginning was his goal," McGurk said. "His recent choices, unfortunately, are already giving the Islamic State -- and other American adversaries -- new life." Just one month after Trump declared victory over IS, the jihadists claimed responsibility for a brutal attack in Syria this week. Four Americans, including two services personnel, were among those killed when a suicide bomber hit a restaurant in the key city of Manbij in Syria's north -- the deadliest attack against US forces since they first deployed in the war-torn nation four years ago. The Pentagon on Friday identified three of those killed. Among them was Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician Shannon Kent of New York. Her death marked the first time a female US service member was killed in Syria.

Trump giving 'new life' to IS, former envoy says

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