southfront--2020-06-23--Turkish Cobra Vehicle Came Under IED Attack In Northern Syria

On June 23 , a Turkish Otokar Cobra infantry mobility vehicle came under an improvised explosive device ( IED ) @ @ @ @ @ the towns of al-Bab and al-Rae in the Syrian province of Aleppo .
While pro-government @ @ @ @ @ was operated by the Turkish military , this is yet to be confirmed .
Over @ @ @ @ @ has supplied dozens of Cobra vehicles to militant groups that it supports .
Therefore , @ @ @ @ @ been operated by some pro-Turkish militants .
Recently , Kurdish rebels affiliated with the People @ @ @ @ @ YPG ) have intensified their attacks on Turkish-backed militant groups in northeastern Syria , including @ @ @ @ @ Al-Bab .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Trump Wanted To Constantly Call Assad And @ @ @ @ @ Held By “ Syrian Regime ”

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On June 23, a Turkish Otokar Cobra infantry mobility vehicle came under an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on the road between the towns of al-Bab and al-Rae in the Syrian province of Aleppo.
While pro-government sources claim that the vehicle was operated by the Turkish military, this is yet to be confirmed. Over the past years, Turkey has supplied dozens of Cobra vehicles to militant groups that it supports. Therefore, the targeted vehicle may have been operated by some pro-Turkish militants.
Recently, Kurdish rebels affiliated with the People’s Protection Units (YPG) have intensified their attacks on Turkish-backed militant groups in northeastern Syria, including the areas of Afrin and Al-Bab.
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southfront--2020-06-23--Russia Calls For Immediate Ceasefire in Libya, Denounces Reports About ‘Russian Mercenaries’ As Base

Russia Calls For Immediate Ceasefire in Libya, Denounces Reports About ‘Russian Mercenaries’ As Based On False Data

On June 23 , Russia ’ s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for an immediate ceasefire in Libya , adding that Turkey and Egypt are also not interestsed in an forceful scenario of the conflict development .
Lavrov added that all external forces should create conditions for inclusive dialogue between the warring factions in Libya , something that Turkey and Egypt also agreed with , after Lavrov held talks by phone with the foreign ministers of those countries .
In a separate development , the head of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Foreign Ministry , Pyotr Ilyichev @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Russian mercenaries ’ in Libya .
According to him , most of these reports are based on false or misleading data .
“ A lot of information , especially concerning the Russian citizens mentioned in the report , is simply unfounded .
People who allegedly were fighting in Libya did not actually leave our country .
So-called “ wounded ” are quite healthy .
This is all available in the public space and is again verifiable , ” Ilyichev said commeting on the recent report about the supposed involvement of ‘ Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Russian side go contrary to what the US military claims .
According to it , the presence of Russin private military contractors is a destabilizing factor in Libya .
The US insists that these contractors fight on the side of the Libyan National Army .
At the same time , Washington and Ankara in fact support the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord , which is infamous for cooperation with various al-Qaeda-linked formations .
It should be noted that despite remarks by the Russian Foreign Ministry , the presence of Russian prviate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secret .
However , these forces mostly represent interests of various Russian business groups rather than the Russian state .
The scale of this presence is also exaggerated by Western diplomats and media for propaganda purposes .
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On June 23, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for an immediate ceasefire in Libya, adding that Turkey and Egypt are also not interestsed in an forceful scenario of the conflict development.
Lavrov added that all external forces should create conditions for inclusive dialogue between the warring factions in Libya, something that Turkey and Egypt also agreed with, after Lavrov held talks by phone with the foreign ministers of those countries.
In a separate development, the head of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Pyotr Ilyichev commented on reports about the presence of ‘Russian mercenaries’ in Libya. According to him, most of these reports are based on false or misleading data.
“A lot of information, especially concerning the Russian citizens mentioned in the report, is simply unfounded. People who allegedly were fighting in Libya did not actually leave our country. So-called “wounded” are quite healthy. This is all available in the public space and is again verifiable,” Ilyichev said commeting on the recent report about the supposed involvement of ‘Russian mercenaries’ in the conflict
Official comments of the Russian side go contrary to what the US military claims. According to it, the presence of Russin private military contractors is a destabilizing factor in Libya. The US insists that these contractors fight on the side of the Libyan National Army. At the same time, Washington and Ankara in fact support the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, which is infamous for cooperation with various al-Qaeda-linked formations.
It should be noted that despite remarks by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the presence of Russian prviate military contractors in Libya is an open secret. However, these forces mostly represent interests of various Russian business groups rather than the Russian state. The scale of this presence is also exaggerated by Western diplomats and media for propaganda purposes.
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southfront--2020-06-23--Philip M. Giraldi: “Victoria Nuland Alert”

Written by Philip M. Giraldi ; Originally appeared at The Unz Review It is difficult to find anything good to say about Donald Trump , but the reality is that he has not started any new wars , though he has come dangerously close in the cases of Venezuela and Iran and there would be considerable incentive in the next four months to begin something to bolster his “ strong president ” credentials and to serve as a distraction from coronavirus and black lives matter .
Be that as it may , Trump will have to run hard to catch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three predecessors Bill Clinton , George W. Bush and Barack Obama .
Bush was an out-and-out neoconservative , or at least someone who was easily led , including in his administration Donald Rumsfeld , Richard Perle , Michael Ledeen , Reuel Gerecht , Paul Wolfowitz , Doug Feith , Eliot Abrams , Dan Senor and Scooter Libby .
He also had the misfortune of having to endure Vice President Dick Cheney , who thought he was actually the man in charge .
All were hawks who believed that the United States had the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to enhance its own security , to include invading other countries , which led to Afghanistan and Iraq , where the U.S. still has forces stationed nearly twenty years later .
Clinton and Obama were so-called liberal interventionists who sought to export something called democracy to other countries in an attempt to make them more like Peoria .
Clinton bombed Afghanistan and Sudan as a diversion when the press somehow caught wind of his arrangement with Monica Lewinsky and Obama , aided by Mrs. Clinton , chose to destroy Libya .
Obama was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a regular Tuesday morning session to review a list of American citizens who would benefit from being killed by drone .
So the difference between neocons and liberal interventionists is one of style rather than substance .
And , by either yardstick all-in-all , Trump looks pretty good , but there has nevertheless been a resurgence of neocon-think in his administration .
The America the exceptional mindset is best exemplified currently by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , who personifies the belief that the United States is empowered by God to play only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other nations .
That would include following the advice that has been attributed to leading neocon Michael Ledeen , “ Every ten years or so , the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall , just to show the world we mean business .
” One of the first families within the neocon/liberal interventionist firmament is the Kagans , Robert and Frederick .
Frederick is a Senior Fellow at the neocon American Enterprise Institute and his wife Kimberly heads the bizarrely named Institute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nuland , wife of Robert , is currently the Senior Counselor at the Albright Stonebridge Group and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution .
That means that Victoria aligns primarily as a liberal interventionist , as does her husband , who is also at Brookings .
She is regarded as a protégé of Hillary Clinton and currently works with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright , who once declared that killing 500,000 Iraqi children using sanctions was “ worth it.
” Nuland also has significant neocon connections through her having been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dick Cheney .
Nuland , many will recall , was the driving force behind efforts to destabilize the Ukrainian government of President Viktor Yanukovych in 2013-2014 .
Yanukovych , an admittedly corrupt autocrat , nevertheless became Prime Minister after a free election .
Nuland , who was the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department , provided open support to the Maidan Square demonstrators opposed to Yanukovych ’ s government , to include media friendly appearances passing out cookies on the square to encourage the protesters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ by brazenly supportinggovernment opponents in spite of the fact that Washington and Kiev had ostensibly friendly relations .
It is hard to imagine that any U.S. administration would tolerate a similar attempt by a foreign nation to interfere in U.S. domestic politics , particularly if it were backed by a $ 5 billion budget , but Washington has long believed in a global double standard for evaluating its own behavior .
Nuland is most famous for her foul language when referring to the potential European role in managing the unrest that she and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ create in Ukraine .
For Nuland , the replacement of the government in Kiev was only the prelude to a sharp break and escalating conflict with the real enemy , Moscow , over Russia ’ s attempts to protect its own interests in Ukraine , most particularly in Crimea .
And make no mistake about Nuland ’ s broader intention at that time to expand the conflict and directly confront Russia .
In Senate testimony she cited how the administration was “ providing support to other frontline states like Moldova and Georgia.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” is suggestive .
Victoria Nuland was playing with fire .
Russia , as the only nation with the military capability to destroy the U.S. , was and is not a sideshow like Saddam Hussein ’ s Iraq or the Taliban ’ s Afghanistan .
Backing Moscow into a corner with no way out by using threats and sanctions is not good policy .
Washington has many excellent reasons to maintain a stable relationship with Moscow , including counter-terrorism efforts , and little to gain from moving in the opposite direction .
Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pact and there is no compelling reason to return to a Cold War footing by either arming Ukraine or permitting it to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) .
Victoria Nuland has just written a long article for July/August issue of magazine on the proper way for the United States manage what she sees as the Russian “ threat.
” It is entitled “ How a Confident America Should Deal With Russia.
” , it should be observed , is an establishment house organ produced by the Council on Foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both neocons and liberal interventionists .
Nuland ’ s view is that the United States lost confidence in its own “ ability to change the game ” against Vladimir Putin , who has been able to play “ a weak hand well because the United States and its allies have let him , allowing Russia to violate arms control treaties , international law , the sovereignty of its neighbors , and the integrity of elections in the United States and Europe… Washington and its allies have forgotten the statecraft that won the Cold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many years after .
That strategy required consistent U.S. leadership at the presidential level , unity with democratic allies and partners , and a shared resolve to deter and roll back dangerous behavior by the Kremlin .
It also included incentives for Moscow to cooperate and , at times , direct appeals to the Russian people about the benefits of a better relationship .
Yet that approach has fallen into disuse , even as Russia ’ s threat to the liberal world has grown.
” What Nuland writes would make perfect sense if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia as a rogue state threatening the “ liberal world.
” She sees Russian rearmament under Putin as a threat even though it was dwarfed by the spending of NATO and the U.S. She shares her fear that Putin might seek “ …reestablishing a Russian sphere of influence in eastern Europe and from vetoing the security arrangements of his neighbors .
Here , a chasm soon opened between liberal democracies and the still very Soviet man leading Russia , especially on the subject of NATO enlargement .
No matter how hard Washington and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NATO was a purely defensive alliance that posed no threat to Russia , it continued to serve Putin ’ s agenda to see Europe in zero-sum terms.
” Nuland ’ s view of NATO enlargement is so wide of the mark that it borders on being a fantasy .
Of course , Russia would consider a military alliance on its doorstep to be a threat , particularly as a U.S. Administration had provided assurances that expansion would not take place .
She goes on to suggest utter nonsense , that Putin ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from his having “ …always understood that a belt of increasingly democratic , prosperous states around Russia would pose a direct challenge to his leadership model and risk re-infecting his own people with democratic aspirations.
” Nuland goes on and on in a similar vein , but her central theme is that Russia must be confronted to deter Vladimir Putin , a man that she clearly hates and depicts as if he were a comic book version of evil .
Some of her analysis is ridiculous , as “ Russian troops regularly test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to try to gain access to the country ’ s oil fields and smuggling routes .
If these U.S. troops left , nothing would prevent Moscow and Tehran from financing their operations with Syrian oil or smuggled drugs and weapons.
” Like most zealots , Nuland is notably lacking in any sense of self-criticism .
She conspired to overthrow a legitimately elected democratic government in Ukraine because it was considered too friendly to Russia .
She accuses the Kremlin of having “ seized ” Crimea , but fails to see the heavy footprint @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iraq and as a regional enabler of Israeli and Saudi war crimes .
One wonders if she is aware that Russia , which she sees as expansionistic , has only one overseas military base while the United States has more than a thousand .
Nuland clearly chooses not to notice the White House ’ s threats against countries that do not toe the American line , most recently Iran and Venezuela , but increasingly also China on top of perennial enemy Russia .
None of those nations threaten the United States and all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a gentleman named Mike Pompeo , speaking from Washington , not from “ undemocratic ” leaders in the Kremlin , Tehran , Caracas or Beijing .
Victoria Nuland recommends that “ The challenge for the United States in 2021 will be to lead the democracies of the world in crafting a more effective approach to Russia—one that builds on their strengths and puts stress on Putin where he is vulnerable , including among his own citizens.
” Interestingly , that might be regarded as seeking to interfere in the workings of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case made against Russia in 2016 .
And it is precisely what Nuland did in fact do in Ukraine .
Nuland has a lot more to say in her article and those who are interested in the current state of interventionism in Washington should not ignore her .
Confronting Russia as some kind of ideological enemy is a never-ending process that leaves both sides poorer and less free .
It is appropriate for Moscow to have an interest in what goes on right on top of its border while the United States five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vastly larger economy and armed forces can , one would think , relax a bit and unload the burden of being the world ’ s self-appointed policeman .
Philip M. Giraldi , Ph.D. , is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest , a 501 ( c ) 3 tax deductible educational foundation ( Federal ID Number # 52-1739023 ) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East .
Website is https : //councilforthenationalinterest.org , address is P.O .
Box 2157 , Purcellville VA 20134 and its @ @ @ @ @ @

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Written by Philip M. Giraldi; Originally appeared at The Unz Review
The foreign interventionists really hate Russia
It is difficult to find anything good to say about Donald Trump, but the reality is that he has not started any new wars, though he has come dangerously close in the cases of Venezuela and Iran and there would be considerable incentive in the next four months to begin something to bolster his “strong president” credentials and to serve as a distraction from coronavirus and black lives matter.
Be that as it may, Trump will have to run hard to catch up to the record set by his three predecessors Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Bush was an out-and-out neoconservative, or at least someone who was easily led, including in his administration Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Perle, Michael Ledeen, Reuel Gerecht, Paul Wolfowitz, Doug Feith, Eliot Abrams, Dan Senor and Scooter Libby. He also had the misfortune of having to endure Vice President Dick Cheney, who thought he was actually the man in charge. All were hawks who believed that the United States had the right to do whatever it considered necessary to enhance its own security, to include invading other countries, which led to Afghanistan and Iraq, where the U.S. still has forces stationed nearly twenty years later.
Clinton and Obama were so-called liberal interventionists who sought to export something called democracy to other countries in an attempt to make them more like Peoria. Clinton bombed Afghanistan and Sudan as a diversion when the press somehow caught wind of his arrangement with Monica Lewinsky and Obama, aided by Mrs. Clinton, chose to destroy Libya. Obama was also the first president to set up a regular Tuesday morning session to review a list of American citizens who would benefit from being killed by drone.
So the difference between neocons and liberal interventionists is one of style rather than substance. And, by either yardstick all-in-all, Trump looks pretty good, but there has nevertheless been a resurgence of neocon-think in his administration. The America the exceptional mindset is best exemplified currently by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who personifies the belief that the United States is empowered by God to play only by its own rules when dealing with other nations. That would include following the advice that has been attributed to leading neocon Michael Ledeen, “Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business.”
One of the first families within the neocon/liberal interventionist firmament is the Kagans, Robert and Frederick. Frederick is a Senior Fellow at the neocon American Enterprise Institute and his wife Kimberly heads the bizarrely named Institute for the Study of War. Victoria Nuland, wife of Robert, is currently the Senior Counselor at the Albright Stonebridge Group and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. That means that Victoria aligns primarily as a liberal interventionist, as does her husband, who is also at Brookings. She is regarded as a protégé of Hillary Clinton and currently works with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who once declared that killing 500,000 Iraqi children using sanctions was “worth it.” Nuland also has significant neocon connections through her having been a member of the staff assembled by Dick Cheney.
Nuland, many will recall, was the driving force behind efforts to destabilize the Ukrainian government of President Viktor Yanukovych in 2013-2014. Yanukovych, an admittedly corrupt autocrat, nevertheless became Prime Minister after a free election. Nuland, who was the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department, provided open support to the Maidan Square demonstrators opposed to Yanukovych’s government, to include media friendly appearances passing out cookies on the square to encourage the protesters.
Nuland openly sought regime change for Ukraine by brazenly supportinggovernment opponents in spite of the fact that Washington and Kiev had ostensibly friendly relations. It is hard to imagine that any U.S. administration would tolerate a similar attempt by a foreign nation to interfere in U.S. domestic politics, particularly if it were backed by a $5 billion budget, but Washington has long believed in a global double standard for evaluating its own behavior.
Nuland is most famous for her foul language when referring to the potential European role in managing the unrest that she and the National Endowment for Democracy had helped create in Ukraine. For Nuland, the replacement of the government in Kiev was only the prelude to a sharp break and escalating conflict with the real enemy, Moscow, over Russia’s attempts to protect its own interests in Ukraine, most particularly in Crimea.
And make no mistake about Nuland’s broader intention at that time to expand the conflict and directly confront Russia. In Senate testimony she cited how the administration was “providing support to other frontline states like Moldova and Georgia.” Her use of the word “frontline” is suggestive.
Victoria Nuland was playing with fire. Russia, as the only nation with the military capability to destroy the U.S., was and is not a sideshow like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq or the Taliban’s Afghanistan. Backing Moscow into a corner with no way out by using threats and sanctions is not good policy. Washington has many excellent reasons to maintain a stable relationship with Moscow, including counter-terrorism efforts, and little to gain from moving in the opposite direction. Russia is not about to reconstitute the Warsaw Pact and there is no compelling reason to return to a Cold War footing by either arming Ukraine or permitting it to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Victoria Nuland has just written a long article for July/August issue of Foreign Affairsmagazine on the proper way for the United States manage what she sees as the Russian “threat.” It is entitled “How a Confident America Should Deal With Russia.” Foreign Affairs, it should be observed, is an establishment house organ produced by the Council on Foreign Relations which provides a comfortable perch for both neocons and liberal interventionists.
Nuland’s view is that the United States lost confidence in its own “ability to change the game” against Vladimir Putin, who has been able to play “a weak hand well because the United States and its allies have let him, allowing Russia to violate arms control treaties, international law, the sovereignty of its neighbors, and the integrity of elections in the United States and Europe… Washington and its allies have forgotten the statecraft that won the Cold War and continued to yield results for many years after. That strategy required consistent U.S. leadership at the presidential level, unity with democratic allies and partners, and a shared resolve to deter and roll back dangerous behavior by the Kremlin. It also included incentives for Moscow to cooperate and, at times, direct appeals to the Russian people about the benefits of a better relationship. Yet that approach has fallen into disuse, even as Russia’s threat to the liberal world has grown.”
What Nuland writes would make perfect sense if one were to share her perception of Russia as a rogue state threatening the “liberal world.” She sees Russian rearmament under Putin as a threat even though it was dwarfed by the spending of NATO and the U.S. She shares her fear that Putin might seek “…reestablishing a Russian sphere of influence in eastern Europe and from vetoing the security arrangements of his neighbors. Here, a chasm soon opened between liberal democracies and the still very Soviet man leading Russia, especially on the subject of NATO enlargement. No matter how hard Washington and its allies tried to persuade Moscow that NATO was a purely defensive alliance that posed no threat to Russia, it continued to serve Putin’s agenda to see Europe in zero-sum terms.”
Nuland’s view of NATO enlargement is so wide of the mark that it borders on being a fantasy. Of course, Russia would consider a military alliance on its doorstep to be a threat, particularly as a U.S. Administration had provided assurances that expansion would not take place. She goes on to suggest utter nonsense, that Putin’s great fear over the NATO expansion derives from his having “…always understood that a belt of increasingly democratic, prosperous states around Russia would pose a direct challenge to his leadership model and risk re-infecting his own people with democratic aspirations.”
Nuland goes on and on in a similar vein, but her central theme is that Russia must be confronted to deter Vladimir Putin, a man that she clearly hates and depicts as if he were a comic book version of evil. Some of her analysis is ridiculous, as “Russian troops regularly test the few U.S. forces left in Syria to try to gain access to the country’s oil fields and smuggling routes. If these U.S. troops left, nothing would prevent Moscow and Tehran from financing their operations with Syrian oil or smuggled drugs and weapons.”
Like most zealots, Nuland is notably lacking in any sense of self-criticism. She conspired to overthrow a legitimately elected democratic government in Ukraine because it was considered too friendly to Russia. She accuses the Kremlin of having “seized” Crimea, but fails to see the heavy footprint of the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq and as a regional enabler of Israeli and Saudi war crimes. One wonders if she is aware that Russia, which she sees as expansionistic, has only one overseas military base while the United States has more than a thousand.
Nuland clearly chooses not to notice the White House’s threats against countries that do not toe the American line, most recently Iran and Venezuela, but increasingly also China on top of perennial enemy Russia. None of those nations threaten the United States and all the kinetic activity and warnings are forthcoming from a gentleman named Mike Pompeo, speaking from Washington, not from “undemocratic” leaders in the Kremlin, Tehran, Caracas or Beijing.
Victoria Nuland recommends that “The challenge for the United States in 2021 will be to lead the democracies of the world in crafting a more effective approach to Russia—one that builds on their strengths and puts stress on Putin where he is vulnerable, including among his own citizens.” Interestingly, that might be regarded as seeking to interfere in the workings of a foreign government, reminiscent of the phony case made against Russia in 2016. And it is precisely what Nuland did in fact do in Ukraine.
Nuland has a lot more to say in her article and those who are interested in the current state of interventionism in Washington should not ignore her. Confronting Russia as some kind of ideological enemy is a never-ending process that leaves both sides poorer and less free. It is appropriate for Moscow to have an interest in what goes on right on top of its border while the United States five thousand miles away and possessing both a vastly larger economy and armed forces can, one would think, relax a bit and unload the burden of being the world’s self-appointed policeman.
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is https://councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.
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southfront--2020-06-23--Dramatic Increase In Violence In Afghanistan Ahead Of Planned Intra-Afghan Peace Talks

According to data released by security officials in Afghanistan , more Afghan soldiers were killed and injured in the past week than during any other week in the past two decades of the conflict .
The dramatic increase in casualties has occurred notwithstanding ongoing efforts to make progress in peace talks .
Although violence dropped across much of Afghanistan following the Taliban ’ s announcement of a three-day ceasefire on 24 May to respect the Muslim Eid al-Fitr celebration , officials have accused the group of stepping up attacks over the last couple of weeks in the lead up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Doha , Qatar .
In a statement on Monday 22 June the National Security Council said that the past week was the deadliest in the 19 years of war , with 291 members of Afghanistan ’ s armed forces killed in Taliban attacks in 32 provinces .
According to the statement , Taliban militants carried out 422 separate attacks in the last week .
In addition to the 291 security and defence force personnel who were killed , another 550 were injured in militant attacks , and at least 148 civilians were killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Javid Faisal , 42 civilians , including women and children , were killed and 105 others were wounded in the violence Taliban committed across 18 provinces .
The NSC statement accused the Taliban of increasing its armed attacks in violation of a promise to reduce violence and work towards peace , and despite the commitment and goodwill of Afghan government to establish conditions favourable to ongoing negotiations .
The NSC added that the ongoing violence is unacceptable for the government of Afghanistan and once again insisted on the Taliban taking meaningful steps to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It added that peace will be prevented by continual delays and challenges if there is no reduction of violence .
Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian had also reported a major increase in attacks the week before , accusing the Taliban of carrying out 222 attacks against the Afghan security forces resulting in the death and injury of 422 personnel .
National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal said the Taliban had also killed 89 civilians and wounded 150 during the first two weeks of May .
In addition to the increase in generalised violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Arian accused the Taliban of deliberately targeting religious scholars in a bid to put additional “ psychological pressure ” on the Afghan government , following bomb attacks on Kabul mosques earlier this month .
Four people , including a prayer leader , were killed when a blast ripped through a mosque in Kabul during weekly Friday prayers , a week after a separate attack attributed to ISIS against a mosque on the edge of Kabul ’ s heavily fortified Green Zone killed a prominent prayer leader .
However , the Taliban denied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ condemned them .
Meanwhile , international efforts have been stepped up to convince the Taliban to reduce their attacks as the country is nearing a crucial stage of the planned peace dialogue between the Taliban and the Afghanistan government.
, which are expected to commence the preliminary stages of intra-Afghan talks in Qatar in the coming weeks .
The scheduled talks , which have been delayed several times by disagreements over the release of prisoners , would be the first direct high level meeting between the two sides .
As part of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Special Envoy and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan ( UNAMA ) , met the head of the Taliban ’ s political office in Qatar .
The NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan , Stefano Pontecorvo , has also urged the Taliban to act seriously on the peace process for a political settlement and to an end to the Afghan conflict .
In a virtual meeting , Pontecorvo talked on the range of issues related to the Afghan peace process , including the preparations for the intra-Afghan negotiations .
@ @ @ @

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According to data released by security officials in Afghanistan, more Afghan soldiers were killed and injured in the past week than during any other week in the past two decades of the conflict. The dramatic increase in casualties has occurred notwithstanding ongoing efforts to make progress in peace talks.
Although violence dropped across much of Afghanistan following the Taliban’s announcement of a three-day ceasefire on 24 May to respect the Muslim Eid al-Fitr celebration, officials have accused the group of stepping up attacks over the last couple of weeks in the lead up to peace talks due to take place in Doha, Qatar.
In a statement on Monday 22 June the National Security Council said that the past week was the deadliest in the 19 years of war, with 291 members of Afghanistan’s armed forces killed in Taliban attacks in 32 provinces.
According to the statement, Taliban militants carried out 422 separate attacks in the last week. In addition to the 291 security and defence force personnel who were killed, another 550 were injured in militant attacks, and at least 148 civilians were killed and wounded.
According to NSC Spokesman Javid Faisal, 42 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 105 others were wounded in the violence Taliban committed across 18 provinces.
The NSC statement accused the Taliban of increasing its armed attacks in violation of a promise to reduce violence and work towards peace, and despite the commitment and goodwill of Afghan government to establish conditions favourable to ongoing negotiations.
The NSC added that the ongoing violence is unacceptable for the government of Afghanistan and once again insisted on the Taliban taking meaningful steps to demonstrate their willpower to achieve peace. It added that peace will be prevented by continual delays and challenges if there is no reduction of violence.
Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian had also reported a major increase in attacks the week before, accusing the Taliban of carrying out 222 attacks against the Afghan security forces resulting in the death and injury of 422 personnel. National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal said the Taliban had also killed 89 civilians and wounded 150 during the first two weeks of May.
In addition to the increase in generalised violence and attacks against security forces and civilians, Arian accused the Taliban of deliberately targeting religious scholars in a bid to put additional “psychological pressure” on the Afghan government, following bomb attacks on Kabul mosques earlier this month.
“This has been the goal of the Taliban to target religious scholars, especially in the past two weeks,” he said, accusing the armed fighters of being an “umbrella group for other terrorist networks”.
Four people, including a prayer leader, were killed when a blast ripped through a mosque in Kabul during weekly Friday prayers, a week after a separate attack attributed to ISIS against a mosque on the edge of Kabul’s heavily fortified Green Zone killed a prominent prayer leader.
However, the Taliban denied responsibility for the mosque attacks and also condemned them.
Meanwhile, international efforts have been stepped up to convince the Taliban to reduce their attacks as the country is nearing a crucial stage of the planned peace dialogue between the Taliban and the Afghanistan government., which are expected to commence the preliminary stages of intra-Afghan talks in Qatar in the coming weeks. The scheduled talks, which have been delayed several times by disagreements over the release of prisoners, would be the first direct high level meeting between the two sides.
As part of the international efforts, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), met the head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar.
The UNAMA stated that Deborah Lyons met with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Sunday (21 June) to emphasize the urgency of seeking a “just and inclusive” peace in Afghanistan. Suhail Shahin, Spokesman for Taliban’s Political Office, said that the meeting discussed prisoner exchange between government of Afghanistan and Taliban as well as the intra-Afghan negotiations. LINK
The NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan, Stefano Pontecorvo, has also urged the Taliban to act seriously on the peace process for a political settlement and to an end to the Afghan conflict. In a virtual meeting, Pontecorvo talked on the range of issues related to the Afghan peace process, including the preparations for the intra-Afghan negotiations.
Pontecorvo stated: “I welcome the government’s commitment to peace. Now the Taliban have to show they’re serious about peace too, cease violence and focus on the political settlement of the conflict.”
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southfront--2020-06-23--Statue Of Theodore Roosevelt Latest Casualty Of ‘Politically Correct’ US Protests

A statue of Theodore Roosevelt , the 26th president of the United States , has become the latest casualty of demands to remove historical statues considered racist by protestors .
The statue located in front of the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City will be removed , according to a statement released byMayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday .
The statement added that the measure will taken at the request of the directors of the museum .
Museum President Ellen Futter stated that : “ As we strive to advance our institution ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our country ’ s passionate quest for racial justice , we believe that removing the Statue will be a symbol of progress and of our commitment to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable Museum community and broader society.
” In additional comments , Futter said that the decision was based on their ‘ hierarchical composition ’ of the statue and that the decision did not reflect an adverse opinion of the former president himself , who the museum considers ‘ a pioneering conservationist ’ .
The bronze statue has stood at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since 1940 , and features Roosevelt on horseback with a Native American man and an African man standing next to the horse .
In 2017 , it was coated in red paint by protesters , who called for its removal as a symbol of “ patriarchy , white supremacy and settler-colonialism.
” According to a report by the New York Times , de Blasio says the city supports the museum ’ s request , and that “ It is the right decision and the right time to remove this problematic statue.
” Theodore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rushmore , served as the governor of New York from 1899 to 1900 .
In the Spanish-American war he led the ‘ Rough Riders ’ , a volunteer cavalry force , during the US invasion of Cuba , and was considered a national hero upon his return .
As president , he expanded the Navy , began construction of the Panama Canal , and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for brokering the end of the Russo-Japanese war .
By the late 1970s he was repeatedly rated one of the top five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100 history departments .
LINK The disproportionate emphasis on statues and monuments , both by protestors and the media , claimed another casualty last week when a man was shot in New Mexico as a heavily armed militia group attempted to defend a statue from protestors , officials and media reports said .
Albuquerque city protesters were demanding the removal of a statue of the state ’ s 16th-century governor , Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate .
As they tried to pull down the sculpture , a small group of right-wing militia members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Albuquerque Journal reported .
The victim was reported to be in a critical but stable condition .
Police were investigating reports “ about vigilante groups possibly instigating this violence , ” city Police Chief Michael Geier said in a Twitter statement .
Images in US media showed police apprehending a number of men , some dressed in camouflage gear with guns .
“ The heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest , calling themselves a ‘ civil guard ’ , were there for one reason : To menace protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unregulated force , ” said New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement posted on Twitter .
“ Let me ( be ) clear : There is absolutely no space in New Mexico for any violent would-be ‘ militia ’ seeking to terrorize New Mexicans , ” she added .
Albuquerque ’ s Mayor Tim Keller said on Twitter that the statue had been temporarily removed to contain the risk to public safety .
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A statue of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, has become the latest casualty of demands to remove historical statues considered racist by protestors. The statue located in front of the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City will be removed, according to a statement released byMayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday.
The statement added that the measure will taken at the request of the directors of the museum. Museum President Ellen Futter stated that:
“As we strive to advance our institution’s, our City’s, and our country’s passionate quest for racial justice, we believe that removing the Statue will be a symbol of progress and of our commitment to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable Museum community and broader society.” In additional comments, Futter said that the decision was based on their ‘hierarchical composition’ of the statue and that the decision did not reflect an adverse opinion of the former president himself, who the museum considers ‘a pioneering conservationist’.
The bronze statue has stood at the institution’s Central Park West entrance since 1940, and features Roosevelt on horseback with a Native American man and an African man standing next to the horse. In 2017, it was coated in red paint by protesters, who called for its removal as a symbol of “patriarchy, white supremacy and settler-colonialism.”
According to a report by the New York Times, de Blasio says the city supports the museum’s request, and that “It is the right decision and the right time to remove this problematic statue.”
Theodore Roosevelt, whose face is on Mount Rushmore, served as the governor of New York from 1899 to 1900. In the Spanish-American war he led the ‘Rough Riders’, a volunteer cavalry force, during the US invasion of Cuba, and was considered a national hero upon his return.
As president, he expanded the Navy, began construction of the Panama Canal, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for brokering the end of the Russo-Japanese war. By the late 1970s he was repeatedly rated one of the top five best US presidents by the heads of 100 history departments. LINK
The disproportionate emphasis on statues and monuments, both by protestors and the media, claimed another casualty last week when a man was shot in New Mexico as a heavily armed militia group attempted to defend a statue from protestors, officials and media reports said.
Albuquerque city protesters were demanding the removal of a statue of the state’s 16th-century governor, Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate. As they tried to pull down the sculpture, a small group of right-wing militia members tried to protect it and clashes erupted, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
The victim was reported to be in a critical but stable condition. Police were investigating reports “about vigilante groups possibly instigating this violence,” city Police Chief Michael Geier said in a Twitter statement. Images in US media showed police apprehending a number of men, some dressed in camouflage gear with guns.
“The heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest, calling themselves a ‘civil guard’, were there for one reason: To menace protesters, to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force,” said New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Let me (be) clear: There is absolutely no space in New Mexico for any violent would-be ‘militia’ seeking to terrorize New Mexicans,” she added.
Albuquerque’s Mayor Tim Keller said on Twitter that the statue had been temporarily removed to contain the risk to public safety. LINK
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southfront--2020-06-23--Soldiers Mutiny In Somalia As Attacks Claim At Least Seven Lives

Soldiers in the Somali capital Mogadishu have now ended their protest over unpaid salaries .
They had taken to the streets over the weekend and blocked off several roads leading to the residence of the country ’ s president as well as several transport routes leading out of the capital .
Local television footage showed dozens of troops blocking vehicles from the African Union peacekeeping force , preventing them from passing .
Soldiers interviewed by local media said they had not received wages in over a year .
According to the statements of some of the soldiers to local media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mogadishu had recently been fighting against Al-Shabaab militants in the Shebelle region with the 27th Division as part of an offensive waged by the Somali National Army , African Union Forces and US African Command over the last few months .
Other reports claimed that the soldiers had recently deserted their posts .
LINK Last year the Somali government – under pressure from international donors – began paying soldiers directly in order to prevent commanders from appropriating part of the soldiers ’ salaries .
Officials also discovered thousands of names of ‘ ghost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not exist or were no longer in army service .
Also over the weekend , the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for one of two attacks that killed at least seven people .
In the first incident , two bombs planted in front of the home of a military official in the town of Wanlaweyn , 90km ( 56 miles ) northwest of the capital Mogadishu , exploded late on Saturday , killing four people , including soldiers and civilians .
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a car carried out a suicide bomb attack at a military checkpoint in Bacadweyn town in central Somalia ’ s Galmudug state on Sunday .
Soldiers shot at the vehicle after orders to stop were ignored but were unable to stop the vehicle .
Three soldiers died and two others were wounded , according to Major Abdullahi Ahmed , a military officer in the nearby town of Galkayo .
LINK Last month , the governor of the Mudug region in Somalia ’ s Puntland was killed along with three of his bodyguards in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The attack followed the killing of the governor of Puntland in March in similar circumstances .
LINK Al-Shabaab means The Youth in Arabic .
It emerged in Somalia as the radical youth wing of the now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts , which controlled Mogadishu in 2006 before being forced out by Ethiopian forces .
There are also reports of foreign fighters travelling to Somalia to fight with al-Shabaab , arriving from neighbouring countries as well as from the US and Europe .
The group , which claims to be linked with Al @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 7,000 and 9,000 fighters .
Al-Shabaab is reported as advocating the Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam , while most Somalis are Sufis , and the group has imposed a strict version of Sharia in areas under its control MORE ON THE TOPIC • Battles flare between Saudi-backed and UAE-backed forces to control island of Socotra • Turkey is increasing its involvement in conflict Yemen : reports

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Soldiers in the Somali capital Mogadishu have now ended their protest over unpaid salaries. They had taken to the streets over the weekend and blocked off several roads leading to the residence of the country’s president as well as several transport routes leading out of the capital.
Local television footage showed dozens of troops blocking vehicles from the African Union peacekeeping force, preventing them from passing. Soldiers interviewed by local media said they had not received wages in over a year. According to the statements of some of the soldiers to local media, the troops blocking the roads in Mogadishu had recently been fighting against Al-Shabaab militants in the Shebelle region with the 27th Division as part of an offensive waged by the Somali National Army, African Union Forces and US African Command over the last few months. Other reports claimed that the soldiers had recently deserted their posts. LINK
Last year the Somali government – under pressure from international donors – began paying soldiers directly in order to prevent commanders from appropriating part of the soldiers’ salaries. Officials also discovered thousands of names of ‘ghost’ soldiers on the payrolls who either did not exist or were no longer in army service.
Also over the weekend, the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for one of two attacks that killed at least seven people.
In the first incident, two bombs planted in front of the home of a military official in the town of Wanlaweyn, 90km (56 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu, exploded late on Saturday, killing four people, including soldiers and civilians.
“First we heard a blast at the house. Guards and residents came to find out what caused the blast and then a second blast went off,” Mohamed Nur, a police officer, told Reuters news agency from Wanlaweyn on Sunday.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
In the second incident, three fighters in a car carried out a suicide bomb attack at a military checkpoint in Bacadweyn town in central Somalia’s Galmudug state on Sunday.
Soldiers shot at the vehicle after orders to stop were ignored but were unable to stop the vehicle.
Three soldiers died and two others were wounded, according to Major Abdullahi Ahmed, a military officer in the nearby town of Galkayo. LINK
Last month, the governor of the Mudug region in Somalia’s Puntland was killed along with three of his bodyguards in a suicide car bombing claimed by Al-Shabaab. The attack followed the killing of the governor of Puntland in March in similar circumstances. LINK
Al-Shabaab means The Youth in Arabic. It emerged in Somalia as the radical youth wing of the now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts, which controlled Mogadishu in 2006 before being forced out by Ethiopian forces.
There are also reports of foreign fighters travelling to Somalia to fight with al-Shabaab, arriving from neighbouring countries as well as from the US and Europe. The group, which claims to be linked with Al Qaida, is believed to have between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters.
Al-Shabaab is reported as advocating the Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam, while most Somalis are Sufis, and the group has imposed a strict version of Sharia in areas under its control
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southfront--2020-06-23--Rocket Hits Military Section Of Baghdad International Airport (Map Update)

Last night , a rocket landed in near the military section of Baghdad International Airport without causing any casualties .
@ @ @ @ @ airport is mostly operated by the US-led coalition .
According to the Iraqi military , @ @ @ @ @ a village west of the capital near the Abu Ghraib district .
This incident became @ @ @ @ @ long series of rocket attacks targeting US forces and facilities since the start of the @ @ @ @ @ since the US and Iraq started talks on the possible US troop withdrawwal from the @ @ @ @ @ In January 2020 , the U.S. assassinated Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization @ @ @ @ @ al-Muhandis in a drone strike outside of Baghdad airport .
This turned US forces into @ @ @ @ @ attacks by pro-Iranian and even Iranian forces .

Last night, a rocket landed in near the military section of Baghdad International Airport without causing any casualties.
The military section of the airport is mostly operated by the US-led coalition. According to the Iraqi military, the rocket was launched from a village west of the capital near the Abu Ghraib district.
This incident became the most recent in a long series of rocket attacks targeting US forces and facilities since the start of the year and the fourth attack since the US and Iraq started talks on the possible US troop withdrawwal from the country on June 11.
In January 2020, the U.S. assassinated Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces Deputy Chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike outside of Baghdad airport. This turned US forces into a permanent target for various attacks by pro-Iranian and even Iranian forces.


southfront--2020-06-23--Trump Wanted To Constantly Call Assad And Demand Release Of US Hostages Held By “Syrian Regime”

Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton ’ s book “ The Room Where It Happened , ” is stirring some controversy , regarding US President Donald Trump ’ s views and conduct in regard to Syria .
In the book , Bolton describes himself as a sort of “ fireman ” who puts out fires caused by an erratic and irrational president in the lead up to the withdrawal of US troops from northeast Syria in October 2019 .
In Bolton ’ s own story , he is the architect of a policy strategy that tried , and ultimately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a key player in Syria .
Bolton , for his own part , also viewed the US alliance with the SDF as a “ strategic partnership ” and little more .
“ Why we were affiliated with one terrorist group in order to destroy another stemmed from Obama ’ s failure to see Iran was a much more serious threat , now and in the future .
Many parties to this conflict opposed ISIS [ … ] Tehran , however , unlike Obama , was also focusing on the next way , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wrote .
“ It was complicated , but what was not complicated was the strong sense of loyalty to Kurds who had fought with us against ISIS , and fear that abandoning them was not only disloyal but would have severely adverse consequences for any future effort to recruit allies who might later be seen as expendable , ” Bolton added .
Notably , Bolton explained that former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis , a “ warrior-scholar ” was quite poor at debates , and in negotiations between Trump and his aides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US President Donald Trump was told this by Pompeo , he angrily retorted : “ You tell [ them ] he will get hit hard if they don ’ t give us our hostages back , so fucking hard .
You tell him that .
We want them back within one week of today , or they will never forget how hard we ’ ll hit them.
” That , fortunately , according to Bolton took the Trump-Assad call off the table , but no actions on striking Syria regarding these hostages were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very little information about US hostages in Syria , some of them were being held by ISIS , back around 2014 .
The 2014 rescue mission in Syria was an American led effort to locate and rescue hostages being held by ISIS forces .
Plans to rescue the hostages were accelerated after the execution of journalist James Foley , Steven Sotloff , and Kayla Mueller by ISIS militants .
A total of 14 hostages were held hostage by the ISIS at an undisclosed location .
No soldiers were killed , and none of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as of May 2020 , the CIA pledged to ramp up efforts to learn where Austin Tice , a former Marine is located , allegedly somewhere in Syria .
Back in 2019 , the Washington Post also reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must release all US hostages .
“ There are “ around half a dozen ” American citizens missing in Syria and suspected to be held by the Assad regime , according to a senior administration official , who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters .
One is journalist Austin Tice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government has said publicly it believes the Assad regime is holding Tice .
The other known cases are Syrian Americans , none of whom the regime has acknowledged detaining , the official said.
” “ There are a number of Syrian American dual citizens that went missing in regime-held areas that the U.S. government is tracking and we are engaging with diplomatic partners in an effort to secure their safe return from Syria , ” the official said.
” MORE ON THE TOPIC : • U.S. Trade Adviser Says China Trade Deal “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • It Would Be “ Cool ” To Invade Venezuela , And Other Excerpts From John Bolton ’ s Book On Trump

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Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton’s book “The Room Where It Happened,” is stirring some controversy, regarding US President Donald Trump’s views and conduct in regard to Syria.
In the book, Bolton describes himself as a sort of “fireman” who puts out fires caused by an erratic and irrational president in the lead up to the withdrawal of US troops from northeast Syria in October 2019.
“It is difﬁcult beyond description to pursue a complex policy in a contentious part of the world when the policy is subject to instant modiﬁcation based on the boss’s perception of how inaccurate and often-already-outdated information is reported by writers who don’t have the Administration’s best interests at heart in the ﬁrst place,” Bolton describes in chapter seven. “It was like making and executing policy inside a pinball machine, not the West Wing of the White House.”
In Bolton’s own story, he is the architect of a policy strategy that tried, and ultimately failed, to maintain the US as a key player in Syria.
Bolton, for his own part, also viewed the US alliance with the SDF as a “strategic partnership” and little more.
“Why we were affiliated with one terrorist group in order to destroy another stemmed from Obama’s failure to see Iran was a much more serious threat, now and in the future. Many parties to this conflict opposed ISIS […] Tehran, however, unlike Obama, was also focusing on the next way, the one after ISIS was defeated,” he wrote. “It was complicated, but what was not complicated was the strong sense of loyalty to Kurds who had fought with us against ISIS, and fear that abandoning them was not only disloyal but would have severely adverse consequences for any future effort to recruit allies who might later be seen as expendable,” Bolton added.
Notably, Bolton explained that former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, a “warrior-scholar” was quite poor at debates, and in negotiations between Trump and his aides he had little success.
“All these negotiations about our role in Syria were complicated by Trump’s constant desire to call Assad on US hostages, which Pompeo and I thought undesirable. Fortunately, Syria saved Trump from himself, refusing even to talk to Pompeo about them.”
And when US President Donald Trump was told this by Pompeo, he angrily retorted:
“You tell [them] he will get hit hard if they don’t give us our hostages back, so fucking hard. You tell him that. We want them back within one week of today, or they will never forget how hard we’ll hit them.”
That, fortunately, according to Bolton took the Trump-Assad call off the table, but no actions on striking Syria regarding these hostages were ever carried out.
There’s very little information about US hostages in Syria, some of them were being held by ISIS, back around 2014.
The 2014 rescue mission in Syria was an American led effort to locate and rescue hostages being held by ISIS forces.
Plans to rescue the hostages were accelerated after the execution of journalist James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and Kayla Mueller by ISIS militants. A total of 14 hostages were held hostage by the ISIS at an undisclosed location. No soldiers were killed, and none of the hostages were found.
Currently, as of May 2020, the CIA pledged to ramp up efforts to learn where Austin Tice, a former Marine is located, allegedly somewhere in Syria.
Back in 2019, the Washington Post also reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must release all US hostages.
“There are “around half a dozen” American citizens missing in Syria and suspected to be held by the Assad regime, according to a senior administration official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. One is journalist Austin Tice, missing since 2012; the U.S. government has said publicly it believes the Assad regime is holding Tice. The other known cases are Syrian Americans, none of whom the regime has acknowledged detaining, the official said.” “There are a number of Syrian American dual citizens that went missing in regime-held areas that the U.S. government is tracking and we are engaging with diplomatic partners in an effort to secure their safe return from Syria,” the official said.”
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southfront--2020-06-23--Ansar Allah Launches Massive Drone & Missile Strike On Riyadh, Positions Of Saudi-led Coalition

On June 23 , Yemen ’ s Ansar Allah ( the Houthis ) announced that its forces conducted a large-scale missile and drone attack on the King Salman Air Force Base and other military targets in Saudi Arabia ’ s Riyadh , Jizan and Najran .
The operation was codenamed the 4th Balanced Deterrence Operation .
Asnar Allah announced that they employed Quds and Zulfiqar missiles as well as suicide drones .
Ansar Allah claimed that all the missiles and drones hit their targets .
On the same day , the Saudi military reported that its forces had intercepted and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including one fired towards the capital Riyadh .
“ The joint coalition forces managed … to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia from Sanaa towards Riyadh in a deliberate hostile operation , ” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on state media .
The Saudi military said it also brought down “ eight booby-trapped unmanned aircraft to target civilian objects and civilians in the kingdom ” , as well as “ three ballistic missiles from Saada governorate towards the kingdom ” .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Forces To Control Island Of Socotra

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On June 23, Yemen’s Ansar Allah (the Houthis) announced that its forces conducted a large-scale missile and drone attack on the King Salman Air Force Base and other military targets in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, Jizan and Najran. The operation was codenamed the 4th Balanced Deterrence Operation. Asnar Allah announced that they employed Quds and Zulfiqar missiles as well as suicide drones.
Ansar Allah claimed that all the missiles and drones hit their targets.
On the same day, the Saudi military reported that its forces had intercepted and destroyed drones and missiles launched the kingdom, including one fired towards the capital Riyadh.
“The joint coalition forces managed … to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia from Sanaa towards Riyadh in a deliberate hostile operation,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on state media. The Saudi military said it also brought down “eight booby-trapped unmanned aircraft to target civilian objects and civilians in the kingdom”, as well as “three ballistic missiles from Saada governorate towards the kingdom”.
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southfront--2020-06-23--U.S. Trade Adviser Says China Trade Deal “Over” As White House Immediately Denies

On June 22nd , White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro said that the US-China trade deal was “ over ” in an interview with Fox News .
Navarro told Fox News the “ turning point ” came when the US learned about the coronavirus only after a Chinese delegation had left Washington following the signing of the phase one deal on January 15th .
“ It was at a time when they had already sent hundreds of thousands of people to this country to spread that virus , and it was just minutes after wheels up when that plane took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this pandemic , ” said Navarro .
Shortly after the interview , US President Donald Trump tweeted that the trade was “ fully intact.
” Navarro said his comments had been taken out of context .
Despite that , markets went down immediately after his comment .
Trump , in an exclusive interview with Axios , said that no sanctions were imposed on China in regard to the alleged camps to contain Uighurs and other Muslim minorities by Chinese authorities , he said that it was because Washington and Beijing on the verge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I made a great deal , $ 250 billion potentially worth of purchases .
And by the way , they ’ re buying a lot , you probably have seen.
” Trump continued : “ And when you ’ re in the middle of a negotiation and then all of a sudden you start throwing additional sanctions on — we ’ ve done a lot .
I put tariffs on China , which are far worse than any sanction you can think of.
” China hawks in Congress , such as Republican Sen. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump administration to sanction Chinese officials connected to the Xinjiang mass detention camps .
“ When you say the Magnitsky Act , just so you know , nobody ’ s mentioned it specifically to me with regard to China.
” “ If somebody asked me , I would take a look at it , ” he continued .
“ But nobody ’ s asked me .
I have not been spoken to about the Magnitsky Act .
So if somebody asks me about it , I ’ d study it .
But at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me about it.
” In his book , John Bolton writes that Trump gave President Xi a green light to continue with the Xinjiang camps .
Trump categorically rejected the allegations by former US National Security Adviser .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Prospects For China-U .
S. Relations After the Phase 1 Trade Deal

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On June 22nd, White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro said that the US-China trade deal was “over” in an interview with Fox News.
Navarro told Fox News the “turning point” came when the US learned about the coronavirus only after a Chinese delegation had left Washington following the signing of the phase one deal on January 15th.
“It was at a time when they had already sent hundreds of thousands of people to this country to spread that virus, and it was just minutes after wheels up when that plane took off that we began to hear about this pandemic,” said Navarro. “It’s over,” he said.
Shortly after the interview, US President Donald Trump tweeted that the trade was “fully intact.”
The China Trade Deal is fully intact. Hopefully they will continue to live up to the terms of the Agreement! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020
Navarro said his comments had been taken out of context.
“They had nothing at all to do with the phase one trade deal, which continues in place,” he said, and instead referred to “the lack of trust we now have in the Chinese Communist party”.
Despite that, markets went down immediately after his comment.
Markets confused. Peter Navarro now saying his comments (that the trade deal was over) were taken wildly out of context pic.twitter.com/mFKZEWGUZl — David Ingles (@DavidInglesTV) June 23, 2020
Trump, in an exclusive interview with Axios, said that no sanctions were imposed on China in regard to the alleged camps to contain Uighurs and other Muslim minorities by Chinese authorities, he said that it was because Washington and Beijing on the verge of a trade deal.
“And I made a great deal, $250 billion potentially worth of purchases. And by the way, they’re buying a lot, you probably have seen.”
Trump continued: “And when you’re in the middle of a negotiation and then all of a sudden you start throwing additional sanctions on — we’ve done a lot. I put tariffs on China, which are far worse than any sanction you can think of.”
China hawks in Congress, such as Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, have repeatedly urged the Trump administration to sanction Chinese officials connected to the Xinjiang mass detention camps.
“When you say the Magnitsky Act, just so you know, nobody’s mentioned it specifically to me with regard to China.” “If somebody asked me, I would take a look at it,” he continued. “But nobody’s asked me. I have not been spoken to about the Magnitsky Act. So if somebody asks me about it, I’d study it. But at this moment, they have not asked me about it.”
In his book, John Bolton writes that Trump gave President Xi a green light to continue with the Xinjiang camps. Trump categorically rejected the allegations by former US National Security Adviser.
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southfront--2020-06-23--Street Violence Goes Out Of Control As Protests Rage Across United States

The death of African American George Floyd during his detention by Police triggered a wave of large-scale protests across the @ @ @ @ @ media outlets seek to paint the protests mostly peaceful , videos and photos regularly appearing @ @ @ @ @ apparent growth of street violence .
As multiple players seek to exploit the current crisis @ @ @ @ @ goals , it is important to not fall into the trap of the predesigned narrative @ @ @ @ @ the ground speak for themselves .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Chaos Amid Violent @ @ @ @ @ Homeless Man Attacked With Explosive In Horrifying Video

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The death of African American George Floyd during his detention by Police triggered a wave of large-scale protests across the United States. While mainstream media outlets seek to paint the protests mostly peaceful, videos and photos regularly appearing in social media demonstrate the apparent growth of street violence.
As multiple players seek to exploit the current crisis to push their own political goals, it is important to not fall into the trap of the predesigned narrative. Facts and evidence from the ground speak for themselves.
SHOCK VIDEO: Thugs are seen throwing fireworks at what appears to be a sleeping homeless man on Malcolm X Blvd in #Harlem. #DeBlasiosNYC @NYCMayor @NYPDNews pic.twitter.com/UiPfE8aTSR — NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) June 22, 2020
White woman at a #BlackLivesMatter event in Fargo says "ALL Lives Matter" The mob goes after her and then a leader of #BLM in Fargo says the woman does not know what she is talking about and "she is hate." What say you? pic.twitter.com/mnev7w5wcN — Chris Berg (@chrisbergpov) June 23, 2020
White Cop responds to shooting in Atlanta: Mob surrounds him, “No White cops”, “Get the F out of here”, “Get your White face out of here”… #BLM pic.twitter.com/9wJWYBDzMO — Digital Forests (@DigitalForests) June 22, 2020
A women beaten by US Police Bruatality of US Police Is this not a Taliban
This is A Great America where all things are happening Please watch complete video pic.twitter.com/dOUXxQx6PE — Safoora Zargar (@socialtoworker) June 7, 2020
Systemic racism? Elderly Black Man gets knocked out by black protester for being a Trump supporter! pic.twitter.com/LHpgsqClyx — Eddie Donovan ?? (@EddieDonovan) June 6, 2020
This wasn’t a clash between police & protesters. It was an excessive use of force rained down upon demonstrators by CPD officers. The violence they perpetuate is overwhelmingly excessive compared to any minimal perceived threat they faced. #BLM #ColumbusOhio pic.twitter.com/sigUQzHZzv — Amelia E (@amelia_loved) June 22, 2020
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southfront--2020-06-23--Israeli Air Force Strikes Targets In Central And Southern Syria. Casualties Reported

Turkey was found guilty by the European Commission of Human Rights for displacement of persons , deprivation of liberty , ill treatment , deprivation of life and deprivation of possessions .
The Turkish policy of violently forcing a third of the island ’ s Greek population from their homes in the occupied North , preventing their return and settling Turks from the mainland there is considered an example of ethnic cleansing .
In 1976 and again in 1983 , the European Commission of Human Rights found Turkey guilty of repeated violations of the European Convention of Human Rights .
Turkey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Greek Cypriot refugees to their properties .
The European Commission of Human Rights reports of 1976 and 1983 state the following : Having found violations of a number of Articles of the Convention , the Commission notes that the acts violating the Convention were exclusively directed against members of one of two communities in Cyprus , namely the Greek Cypriot community .
It concludes by eleven votes to three that Turkey has thus failed to secure the rights and freedoms set forth in these Articles without discrimination on the grounds of ethnic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Article 14 of the Convention .
Enclaved Greek Cypriots in the Karpass Peninsula in 1975 were subjected by the Turks to violations of their human rights so that by 2001 when the European Court of Human Rights found Turkey guilty of the violation of 14 articles of the European Convention of Human Rights in its judgement of Cyprus v. Turkey ( application no .
25781/94 ) , less than 600 still remained .
In the same judgement , Turkey was found guilty of violating the rights of the Turkish Cypriots by authorising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court .
The European commission of Human Rights with 12 votes against 1 , accepted evidence from the Republic of Cyprus , concerning the rapes of various Greek-Cypriot women by Turkish soldiers and the torture of many Greek-Cypriot prisoners during the invasion of the island .
The high rate of rape resulted in the temporary permission of abortion in Cyprus by the conservative Cypriot Orthodox Church .
According to Paul Sant Cassia , rape was used systematically to “ soften ” resistance and clear civilian areas through fear .
Many of the atrocities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Turkish Cypriots in 1963–64 and the massacres during the first invasion .
It has been suggested that many of the atrocities were revenge killings , committed by Turkish Cypriot fighters in military uniform who might have been mistaken for Turkish soldiers .
In the Karpass Peninsula , a group of Turkish Cypriots , called a “ death squad ” , reportedly chose young girls to rape and impregnated teenage girls .
There were cases of rapes , which included gang rapes , of teenage girls by Turkish soldiers and Turkish Cypriot men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involved the rape of an old Greek Cypriot man by a Turkish Cypriot .
The man was reportedly identified by the victim and two other rapists were also arrested .
Raped women were sometimes outcast from society .

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Late on June 23, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes on alleged Iranian-linked targets near al-Sukhna and Kabajab in central Syria and near Tel Al-Sahn in the countryside of as-Suwayda in southern Syria.
According to state-run news agency SANA, 2 Syrian soldiers were killed and 4 others were injured.
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southfront--2020-06-23--Fighting Between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham And Other Radicals Erupted In Idlib Countryside (Videos)

On June 23 , an intense fighting between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ( formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda ) and the recently formed coalition of al-Qaeda-linked groups , Fa Ithbatu , erupted in the countryside of the Syrian city of Idlib .
The village of Arab Said and the area near Idlib central prisons reportedly became the main hot points of the fighting .
According to pro-militant sources , the fighting broke because of the recent tensions between the sides caused by arrests of some members of Fa Ithabatu by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham security forces .
Some sources claim that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a prominent pro-militant journalist , Bilal Abdul Kareem , who is known for his radical views .
Fa Ithabatu demands to release all its prisoners and , according to its supporters , already captured the Idlib prison .
Tensions between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and one more al-Qaeda-linked group , the Turksitan Islamic Party , were also reported in the town of Jisr al-Shughur in southern Idlib .
Fa Ithabatu and the Turksitan Islamic Party may have been unhappy with the recent actions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham , which indirectly supported the implementation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that includes joint Russian-Turkish patrols along the M4 highway there .
While the close cooperation with Turkey allows Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to increase its military and financial capabilities , the impelementation of the de-escalation deal first of all poses a threat to interests of smaller radical grroups such ones from Fa Ithabatu .
Therefore , there is a clear conflict of interests that may turn into a full-scale military confrontation .
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On June 23, an intense fighting between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and the recently formed coalition of al-Qaeda-linked groups, Fa Ithbatu, erupted in the countryside of the Syrian city of Idlib. The village of Arab Said and the area near Idlib central prisons reportedly became the main hot points of the fighting.
According to pro-militant sources, the fighting broke because of the recent tensions between the sides caused by arrests of some members of Fa Ithabatu by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham security forces.
Some sources claim that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham even limited the movement a prominent pro-militant journalist, Bilal Abdul Kareem, who is known for his radical views.
هيئة تحرير الشام تعتقل الإعلامي الأمريكي بلال عبد الكريم. pic.twitter.com/KEMlJSErhd — Fadi Hussein | فادي (@fadihussein8) June 23, 2020
Fa Ithabatu demands to release all its prisoners and, according to its supporters, already captured the Idlib prison.
Tensions between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and one more al-Qaeda-linked group, the Turksitan Islamic Party, were also reported in the town of Jisr al-Shughur in southern Idlib.
Fa Ithabatu and the Turksitan Islamic Party may have been unhappy with the recent actions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which indirectly supported the implementation of the Turkish-Russian de-escalation agreement on southern Idlib that includes joint Russian-Turkish patrols along the M4 highway there.
While the close cooperation with Turkey allows Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to increase its military and financial capabilities, the implementation of the de-escalation deal poses a direct threat to interests of smaller radical groups such ones from Fa Ithabatu. Therefore, there is a clear conflict of interests that may turn into a full-scale military confrontation.
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southfront--2020-06-24--Russian Special Forces Neutralize Seven Turkish-Backed Militants In Southern Idlib (Video)

On June 24 , a unit of the Russian Special Forces attacked a position of Turkish-backed Suqur al-Sham in southern Idlib , according to opposition sources .
Russian forces raided the position , which is located in the outskirt of the town of Benin , in the early hours of the morning .
Suqur al-Sham claimed that its militants fought back .
However , the results of the attack say otherwise .
Sources in Suqur al-Sham , a part of the so-called National Front for Liberation , revealed that four militants of the group were killed and three others were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ militants were identified as Mohamad Ghandoura , Mahmoud Ghandoura , Abdu al-Qadir Ghandoura and Omar al-Na ’ is .
Opposition sources claimed that the Turkish military responded to the attack by shelling Syrian Arab Army positions in the outskirt of the city of Ma ` arat al-Nu ` man .
However , these claims are yet to be verified .
This was the first operation by the Russian Special Forces since the signing of the March 5 agreement with Turkey .
The attack was likely a response to recent violations by militants .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to target the Hmeimim Air Base in Lattakia with drones .
MORE ON THIS TOPIC : • HTS Raids Ansar al-Din Headquarters In Sarmada , As Crisis With ‘ Fa Ithbatu ’ Factions Intensifies

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On June 24, a unit of the Russian Special Forces attacked a position of Turkish-backed Suqur al-Sham in southern Idlib, according to opposition sources.
Russian forces raided the position, which is located in the outskirt of the town of Benin, in the early hours of the morning. Suqur al-Sham claimed that its militants fought back. However, the results of the attack say otherwise.
Sources in Suqur al-Sham, a part of the so-called National Front for Liberation, revealed that four militants of the group were killed and three others were injured in the raid.
The slain militants were identified as Mohamad Ghandoura, Mahmoud Ghandoura, Abdu al-Qadir Ghandoura and Omar al-Na’is.
مقتل عدد من الارهابيين من ما يسمى صقور الشام على محور بلدة بينين بريف #ادلب pic.twitter.com/RIlBf4zQUq — حسين مرتضى (@HoseinMortada) June 24, 2020
Opposition sources claimed that the Turkish military responded to the attack by shelling Syrian Arab Army positions in the outskirt of the city of Ma`arat al-Nu`man. However, these claims are yet to be verified.
This was the first operation by the Russian Special Forces since the signing of the March 5 agreement with Turkey. The attack was likely a response to recent violations by militants. Earlier this week, the militants attempted to target the Hmeimim Air Base in Lattakia with drones.
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southfront--2020-06-24--Japan Allegedly Detected Chinese Submarine Near Its Coast

On June 23rd , Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono said that a foreign submarine that had been detected near southwestern Japanese islands in the previous week is suspected to be Chinese .
Japan rarely makes statements such as this , and especially for a submarine that didn ’ t intrude into territorial waters .
Kono said that Japan has confirmed the submerged submarine was traveling from the northeast of Kagoshima Prefecture ’ s Amami-Oshima Island to the west of Yokoate Island , moving “ in the direction of China ” between June 18th and 21st .
“ Taking into total @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obtained thus far , we assumed that the submarine belongs to China , ” Kono said , adding the vessel did not violate Japanese territorial waters .
According to Kono , his decision to disclose the information was related to the Japan-controlled , but contested by China Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea .
“ In addition to conditions in the East and South China seas , we ’ ve seen various events ( regarding China ) , including its rapid military budget increase , rising tensions with India and pressure on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , two systems , ’ so we need to infer clearly the intention of the Chinese Communist Party amid these situations , ” Kono said .
The Defense Ministry said it continues to analyze the case as an abnormal action of navigating through such a narrow contiguous zone between the two islands just about 60 kilometers apart , sandwiched by their territorial waters each stretching around 22 kilometers .
A Japanese “ destroyer ” — the helicopter-carrier Kaga—along with a P-1 patrol plane reportedly detected the submarine within 24 miles of Amami-Oshima island @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For two days Kaga and patrol planes tailed the submarine until it finally left Japanese waters .
The submarine “ may have tested Japanese and U.S. anti-submarine warfare capabilities , ” an SDF source said .
In January 2018 , Tokyo announced it had detected a Chinese nuclear-powered attack submarine near the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands .
The uninhabited islands in the East China Sea are also claimed by Beijing , which calls them Diaoyu , and Taiwan , which calls them Tiaoyutai .
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On June 23rd, Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono said that a foreign submarine that had been detected near southwestern Japanese islands in the previous week is suspected to be Chinese.
Japan rarely makes statements such as this, and especially for a submarine that didn’t intrude into territorial waters.
Kono said that Japan has confirmed the submerged submarine was traveling from the northeast of Kagoshima Prefecture’s Amami-Oshima Island to the west of Yokoate Island, moving “in the direction of China” between June 18th and 21st.
“Taking into total consideration the various information we’ve obtained thus far, we assumed that the submarine belongs to China,” Kono said, adding the vessel did not violate Japanese territorial waters.
According to Kono, his decision to disclose the information was related to the Japan-controlled, but contested by China Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
“In addition to conditions in the East and South China seas, we’ve seen various events (regarding China), including its rapid military budget increase, rising tensions with India and pressure on Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems,’ so we need to infer clearly the intention of the Chinese Communist Party amid these situations,” Kono said.
The Defense Ministry said it continues to analyze the case as an abnormal action of navigating through such a narrow contiguous zone between the two islands just about 60 kilometers apart, sandwiched by their territorial waters each stretching around 22 kilometers.
A Japanese “destroyer”— the helicopter-carrier Kaga—along with a P-1 patrol plane reportedly detected the submarine within 24 miles of Amami-Oshima island, near Okinawa in southern Japan. For two days Kaga and patrol planes tailed the submarine until it finally left Japanese waters.
The submarine “may have tested Japanese and U.S. anti-submarine warfare capabilities,” an SDF source said.
In January 2018, Tokyo announced it had detected a Chinese nuclear-powered attack submarine near the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands. The uninhabited islands in the East China Sea are also claimed by Beijing, which calls them Diaoyu, and Taiwan, which calls them Tiaoyutai.
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southfront--2020-06-24--HTS Raids Ansar al-Din Headquarters In Sarmada, As Crisis With ‘Fa Ithbatu’ Factions Intensifies

The ongoing conflict between Hay ’ at Tahrir al-Sham ( HTS ) and the so-called Fa Ithbatu operations room in Greater Idlib is escalating .
Early on June 24 , HTS ’ security forces besieged and then raided the main headquarters of Ansar al-Din , a key member group of Fa Ithbatu , in the town of Saramada in northern Idlib .
Ansar al-Din said in a statement that HTS allowed its militants to leave the headquarters only after an intervention from a mediator called Abu Abdullah al-Iraqi .
Following the withdrawal of Ansar al-Din ’ s militants , HTS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equipment and documents , which were inside the headquarters .
Meanwhile , clashes are still ongoing between HTS and Fa Ithbatu west of Idlib ’ s city center .
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that both sides have sustained casualties without providing any specific numbers .
Some opposition activist claimed that Fa Ithbatu militants captured a number of checkpoints and Idlib ’ s central prison from HTS .
However , this is yet to be confirmed .
Fa Ithbatu was established earlier this month by al-Qaeda-affiliated Horas al-Din , Ansar al-Din @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Tansiqiyat al-Jihad .
The arrest of Ansar al-Din ’ s commander , Abu Salah al-Uzbeki , and Liwa al-Muqatlin al-Ansar ’ s commander , Abu Malek al-Tali , by HTS was seen as a declaration of war by Fa Ithbatu .
The conflict will likely escalate into a full-on military confrontation soon .
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The ongoing conflict between Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the so-called Fa Ithbatu operations room in Greater Idlib is escalating.
Early on June 24, HTS’ security forces besieged and then raided the main headquarters of Ansar al-Din, a key member group of Fa Ithbatu, in the town of Saramada in northern Idlib.
Ansar al-Din said in a statement that HTS allowed its militants to leave the headquarters only after an intervention from a mediator called Abu Abdullah al-Iraqi. Following the withdrawal of Ansar al-Din’s militants, HTS security forces seized all the weapons, equipment and documents, which were inside the headquarters.
Meanwhile, clashes are still ongoing between HTS and Fa Ithbatu west of Idlib’s city center. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that both sides have sustained casualties without providing any specific numbers.
Some opposition activist claimed that Fa Ithbatu militants captured a number of checkpoints and Idlib’s central prison from HTS. However, this is yet to be confirmed.
Fa Ithbatu was established earlier this month by al-Qaeda-affiliated Horas al-Din, Ansar al-Din, Ansar al-Islam, Liwa al-Muqatlin al-Ansar and Tansiqiyat al-Jihad.
The arrest of Ansar al-Din’s commander, Abu Salah al-Uzbeki, and Liwa al-Muqatlin al-Ansar’s commander, Abu Malek al-Tali, by HTS was seen as a declaration of war by Fa Ithbatu. The conflict will likely escalate into a full-on military confrontation soon.
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southfront--2020-06-24--US Sails Warship Near Venezuelan Coast In “Freedom Of Navigation Exercise”

On June 23rd , the USS Nitze , Arleigh Burke-class destroyer , navigated near the Venezuelan coast in a freedom of navigation exercise , aimed at challenging an area that the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ’ s “ regime falsely claims control over.
” The move comes after the Trump administration in April said it was deploying more US military assets to the Caribbean , in part to disrupt alleged narcotics shipments by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro .
A spokesman told AFP that a similar operation had taken place in January .
On June 22nd , an Iranian-flagged cargo ship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Guaira carrying what the Tehran embassy in Caracas said was food to supply the first Iranian supermarket in the South American nation .
Ties between Venezuela and Iran have been improving in recent months , in light of both countries struggling heavily under US sanctions .
On June 22nd , Nicolas Maduro said that he was willing to meet with US President Donald Trump , similarly to how he met with Vice President Joe Biden back in 2015 .
This came as US President Donald Trump said in an interview on June 21st @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counterpart Nicolas Maduro after losing faith in Washington-backed Juan Guaido .
However , on June 22nd , Trump backtracked on his comments and assured that he would meet Maduro “ only to discuss one thing : a peaceful exit from power.
” US-proclaimed Venezuelan President Juan Guaido appears to have entirely run out of steam and is a non-factor in the Venezuelan situation .
On June 18th , Venezuela ’ s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez howed strong evidence against opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido and Jose Ignacio Hernandez , both of whom sought to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with U.S. government ’ s complicity .
It is a scheme designed to “ undermine Venezuela ’ s interests .
It seeks to take over the country ’ s financial assets abroad , mainly the oil companies ’ resources , ” she added .
Rodriguez also provided a group of documents and audios that demonstrate the link between the false prosecutor and World Bank Director David Malpass , who was a U.S. Treasury Department official between 2017 and 2019 .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Another Crack Appears In US Sanctions : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Venezuela • US Claims To Have Captured Major Money Launderer Of ‘ The Venezuelan Regime ’ • The Venezuela–Iran Axis of Unity And Resistance Stands The Test of Time

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On June 23rd, the USS Nitze, Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, navigated near the Venezuelan coast in a freedom of navigation exercise, aimed at challenging an area that the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s “regime falsely claims control over.”
“The United States will continue to fly, sail & operate wherever international law allows, preserving the rights, freedoms & lawful use of the sea & airspace guaranteed to all nations,” said #SOUTHCOM Commander Adm Craig Faller. #USSNitze @USNavy @DeptofDefense @StateDept 3 of 3 — U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 23, 2020
BREAKING: #USSNitze conducts a freedom of navigation operation, contesting an excessive maritime claim by #Venezuela. The @USNavy ship lawfully navigated an area the illegitimate #Maduro regime falsely claims control over. @StateDept @DeptofDefense 1 of 3 https://t.co/mf9Hbfpdhs — U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 23, 2020
The move comes after the Trump administration in April said it was deploying more US military assets to the Caribbean, in part to disrupt alleged narcotics shipments by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
A spokesman told AFP that a similar operation had taken place in January.
On June 22nd, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship Golsan docked at the port of La Guaira carrying what the Tehran embassy in Caracas said was food to supply the first Iranian supermarket in the South American nation.
Ties between Venezuela and Iran have been improving in recent months, in light of both countries struggling heavily under US sanctions.
On June 22nd, Nicolas Maduro said that he was willing to meet with US President Donald Trump, similarly to how he met with Vice President Joe Biden back in 2015.
“Just as I met (Joe) Biden and we talked at length and in a respectful way, which was recorded at the time, also when necessary I am willing to speak respectfully with President Donald Trump,” the Venezuelan president said.
This came as US President Donald Trump said in an interview on June 21st that he would consider meeting his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro after losing faith in Washington-backed Juan Guaido.
However, on June 22nd, Trump backtracked on his comments and assured that he would meet Maduro “only to discuss one thing: a peaceful exit from power.”
US-proclaimed Venezuelan President Juan Guaido appears to have entirely run out of steam and is a non-factor in the Venezuelan situation.
On June 18th, Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez howed strong evidence against opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido and Jose Ignacio Hernandez, both of whom sought to plunder Venezuela’s oil wealth abroad with U.S. government’s complicity.
“The facade that lawmaker Juan Guaido and false prosecutor Jose Ignacio Hernandez have tried to present as a political project is, in reality, a criminal corporation,” Rodriguez explained.
It is a scheme designed to “undermine Venezuela’s interests. It seeks to take over the country’s financial assets abroad, mainly the oil companies’ resources,” she added.
Rodriguez also provided a group of documents and audios that demonstrate the link between the false prosecutor and World Bank Director David Malpass, who was a U.S. Treasury Department official between 2017 and 2019.
“With Malpass’s support, the usurper intended on behalf of Venezuela to benefit U.S. companies,” Rodriguez denounced.
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southfront--2020-06-24--Military Situation In Syria On June 24, 2020 (Map Update)

Click to see the full-size image A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria : • A Turkish Otokar @ @ @ @ @ under an IED attack on the road between the towns of al-Bab and al-Rae ; @ @ @ @ @ positions near the towns of al-Sukhna , Kabajab and Tel Al-Sahn .
2 SAA soldiers @ @ @ @ @ were wounded ; • Israeli warplanes allegedly targeted the SAA ammo depot near the city @ @ @ @ @ ; • 3 people were killed and others wounded in a car bomb attack in @ @ @ @ @ in al-Hasakah Governorate ; MORE ON THE TOPIC :

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A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria:
A Turkish Otokar Cobra infantry mobility vehicle came under an IED attack on the road between the towns of al-Bab and al-Rae;
Israeli warplanes targeted SAA positions near the towns of al-Sukhna, Kabajab and Tel Al-Sahn. 2 SAA soldiers were killed and 4 others were wounded;
Israeli warplanes allegedly targeted the SAA ammo depot near the city of Salamiyah in Hama Governorate;
3 people were killed and others wounded in a car bomb attack in the city of Tal Half in al-Hasakah Governorate;
Turkish UAVs targeted the Ain Issa area in northern Raqqa.
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southfront--2020-06-24--6 Days Left To Keep SouthFront Alive Next Month

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