US forces “were attacked by multiple rockets” in eastern Syria, but there were no casualties and personnel “conducted counter-battery artillery fire at rocket launching positions”, said coalition spokesman Wayne Marotto on Twitter.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported shell fire by Iran-backed militias against the US base in eastern Syria’s Al-Omar oil field, and said the coalition fired heavy artillery at the militia-controlled town of Al-Mayadeen in response.

The exchange of fire came just hours after Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that US air strikes on pro-Iran fighters in Iraq and Syria on Sunday night sent a “strong message” not to keep attacking US forces in Iraq.

The US air strikes were the second such deadly raid on pro-Iran targets since US President Joe Biden took office, and have sparked fears of a new US-Iran escalation amid faltering efforts to revive Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

“This action in self-defence… sends a very important and strong message,” Blinken told reporters on a visit to Rome.

“I would hope that the message… will be heard and deter future action,” he added, referring to repeated attacks against US interests in Iraq that Washington blames on pro-Iran groups.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi decried the strikes as an “unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and Iraqi national security”, while Damascus condemned a violation against both nations.

The Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary alliance that includes several Iranian proxies and has become the main power broker in Baghdad, said the strikes killed four of its fighters in the Qaim region, near the border with Syria.

The fighters were stationed there to prevent jihadists infiltrating Iraq, the group said, denying that they had taken part in any attacks against US interests or personnel and warning they had “the legal right to respond… and hold the perpetrators accountable on Iraqi soil”.

The Pentagon said the strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one in Iraq, all near the common border, used by militias engaged in drone attacks against US interests in Iraq.

‘Flagrant violation’ 

Kataeb Hezbollah and Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada, two Iraqi Shiite armed factions, were among the “several Iran-backed militia groups” that had used the facilities, the Pentagon said.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, said seven fighters were killed in the strikes and at least six more were wounded.

The targets included an arms depot near Albu Kamal, a Syrian border town on the Euphrates River, the Observatory said.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said one child was killed, while its foreign ministry condemned the raid as “a flagrant violation of the sanctity of Syrian and Iraqi territory”.

US interests in Iraq, where 2,500 American troops are deployed as part of an international coalition to fight the jihadist Islamic State group, have been targeted in more than 40 attacks this year.

The vast majority have been bombs against logistics convoys, but rocket fire and drones packed with explosive have also been used.

Some attacks have been claimed by pro-Iran factions hoping to press Washington into a full withdrawal, leaving Baghdad — which counts both Washington and Tehran as allies — caught in the middle.

Iraq’s foreign ministry said that the government was proceeding with investigations to “prevent any escalation”, while Kadhemi re-emphasised his country’s “refusal to be an arena for settling scores”.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reaffirmed “France’s support for the stability and sovereignty of Iraq”, but deplored the “unacceptable attacks… against the interests” of the anti-IS coalition.

Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah “strongly” condemned the air strikes.

“What the US warplanes have done is a blatant attack on sovereignty… the region will not enjoy stability… until US forces are expelled” from Iraq and Syria, the pro-Iran group said.

Nuclear talks wobble 

Some of the militia groups that form the Hashed al-Shaabi have been deployed in war-torn Syria over the years to support regime forces and to further Iran’s interests in the country.

In February, US strikes on facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran-backed militia groups left more than 20 fighters dead, according to the Observatory.

The latest US strikes come days after the US and France warned Iran that time was running out to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, voicing fears that Tehran’s sensitive atomic activities could advance if talks in Vienna drag on.

A return to that accord has been a key focus for Biden after the nuclear deal was trashed by his predecessor Donald Trump, who also imposed devastating new sanctions on Iran.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog said Friday it had received no reply from Tehran over the possible extension of a temporary agreement covering inspections at Iranian nuclear facilities, which expired a day earlier.

(AFP)

Source: https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20210629-pro-iran-militias-launch-rockets-at-us-base-in-eastern-syria-after-air-strikes

The post Pro-Iran militias launch rockets at US base in eastern Syria after air strikes first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The premier, who was indicted on corruption charges on Thursday and is seen to be battling for his political life, made his remarks on a visit to an army base near the border with conflict-ravaged Syria.

“Iran’s aggression in our region, and against us, continues,” Netanyahu said.

He was speaking on the day US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in the country to meet his Israeli counterpart Aviv Kohavi.

The two generals discussed “operational questions and regional developments”, an army statement said.

Speaking on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Netanyahu said: “We are taking all necessary actions to prevent Iran from entrenching here in our region.”

“This includes the activity necessary to thwart the transfer of lethal weaponry from Iran to Syria, whether by air or overland.

“We will also take action to thwart Iran’s effort to turn Iraq and Yemen into bases for launching rockets and missiles” at Israel, he added.

On Wednesday, in a rare confirmation of such operations, Israel said its warplanes carried out a “very intense” attack against Iranian forces and Syrian army targets in Syria.

Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 23 people were killed in the strikes — 21 fighters and two civilians.

The previous day, Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system had intercepted four rockets fired from Syria, with the army blaming an “Iranian force”.

Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit announced Thursday he had charged Netanyahu with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, prompting speculation that the end of the premier’s decade-long tenure was nigh.

Source: https://news.yahoo.com/iran-planning-attacks-israel-netanyahu-205141362.html

The post Iran planning attacks on Israel: Netanyahu first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Journalists from the Associated Press reported witnessing shelling and said they could see smoke billowing around the town, which sits along the border with Turkey. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported intermittent clashes in Ras al-Ayn, but calm elsewhere.

Reuters also reported machine-gun fire and shelling that could be heard from a border town in Turkey near Ra al-Ayn.

Oct. 17: In this photo taken from the Turkish side of the border between Turkey and Syria, in Ceylanpinar, Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, flames and smoke billow from a fire on a target in Ras al-Ayn, Syria, caused by shelling by Turkish forces. (Associated Press)

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,  who is in Jerusalem, did not respond to repeated questions on whether or not the agreement was violated, the New York Times reported. 

Trump had praised the cease-fire agreement as “a great day for civilization.” He pointed to it as a victory after being criticized for his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from the region. At a rally on Thursday, he said it was his “unconventional” approach that led to the deal.

The agreement requires the Kurdish fighters to vacate a swath of territory in Syria along the Turkish border, largely solidifying Turkey’s position.

A senior military official — who worked on designing the U.S. anti-ISIS strategy with both the Kurds and the Turks — told Fox News earlier that the 120-hour cease-fire had little chance of success.

“There is no way the Kurds can leave that security zone,” the source said. “There are thousands of Kurds who live in what the Turks want as a buffer zone. That’s what these fighters’ families live. That is where they are from.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News in an exclusive interview that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan knows Trump “says what he means” when he talks about slapping new sanctions on Turkey if its military defies the terms of the agreement.

Pence acknowledged the Trump administration was grateful to the Kurds that “helped us defeat ISIS,” but point out that Turkey “had very real issues of terrorism and ISIS and the PKK organization, a Kurdish terrorist group the United States recognized as a terrorist organization many years ago.”

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, Melissa Leon, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/fighting-breaks-out-in-syrian-town-despite-cease-fire-reporters-say

The post Syria cease-fire in question after fighting, shelling reported first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured another diplomatic victory for Israel with the dramatic announcement that Chad and the Jewish State would be reestablishing diplomatic relations. The Muslim majority nation had severed ties in 1972 following intense pressure from Libya, its menacing neighbor to the north, which at the time was led by the dictator, Col. Muammar Qaddafi. But following a visit by Chad’s President Idriss Déby to Jerusalem and a reciprocating visit by PM Netanyahu to N’Djamena, forty-seven years of animosity instantly vanished.

Israel’s historic diplomatic achievement occurred despite intense efforts by the Palestinian Authority and Iran to torpedo the initiative, and reflects a rise in Israel’s standing on the African continent and in the Muslim world at large. Indeed, Israel has much to offer in terms of military expertise, cyber technology, water technology and agricultural technology, commodities that are in high demand in parched, battle-plagued Africa.

Upon Netanyahu’s return flight to Israel, Sudan granted permission for Netanyahu’s plane to fly in airspace controlled by Khartoum. This may seem to be insignificant but considering that Sudan was once firmly in Iran’s camp and served as an Iranian transit point for arms shipments to Gaza, the gesture was remarkable.

Following the breakthrough with Chad, Jerusalem announced that it is preparing to host Mali’s Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga in the “coming weeks.” The West African Muslim majority nation severed diplomatic relations with Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War but is now set to restore full diplomatic ties.

Muslim nations from the Near East to Africa are coming to terms with the fact that the source Mideast’s instability is not Israel and its conflict with the so-called “Palestinians” but rather Islamic fundamentalism. Shia Iran is recognized as a malign regional influence while ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood represent bad actors of the Sunni persuasion. In this context, moderate Muslim nations like Oman, which recently hosted Netanyahu in a well-publicized visit, see Israel as an ally rather than a foe.

Palestinian efforts to isolate Israel have failed miserably and this is a reflection of a rejectionist, maximalist political policy rife with short-sighted, unrealistic goals. In the arena of diplomacy, Israel, led by its savvy statesman Netanyahu, has completely outmaneuvered and outclassed the PA’s crusty octogenarian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

The post A week of military and diplomatic success for Israel; failure and humiliation for Iran and the PA first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Germany’s Welthungerhilfe (World Hunger Relief) aid organization published the Global Hunger Index (GHI) in Berlin Thursday, warning that gains made since 2000 have gone into reverse, with 821 million people, many of them children, undernourished.

Zero hunger by 2030 is one of 17 UN-agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Data from 119 countries, including child stunting, was used to calculate the placing of each nation on the GHI scale.

“Without political solutions the battle [against hunger] will not be won,” Welthungerhilfe President Bärbel Dieckmann said, adding that the African Union, the UN and the EU were primarily responsible, not non-governmental organizations.

Read more: Land losses threaten indigenous communities

Data on undernourishment, child wasting, stunting and mortality, which last decade showed average improvements, began receding early last year, she said.

“And this is mainly due to war zones: where there are armed conflicts and some areas that are suffering massively from the consequences of climate change,” Dieckmann told DW, referring to Yemen and Syria as examples of war-induced food shortages and refuge exodus.

Hunger double in war zones

Hunger was twice as prevalent in war-torn countries, she concluded. Drought in eastern Africa, once at 10-yearly intervals, now struck every two years. Corruption and poor governance were also factors.

Worst-placed on the GHI hunger severity indexwas the Central African Republic – where inter-militia conflict lingers despite a French-led UN intervention – followed by Madagascar, Chad, Zambia and war-torn Yemen.

Sixteen nations exhibiting no improvements and even regressive trends were identified in the data sets from 2016 and 2017 analyzed by the International Food Policy Research Institute, the Irish entity Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, which is based in Bonn alongside numerous UN agencies including its climate secretariat.

Strong improvements in tackling hunger were, however, recorded in Angola, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Myanmar, said the authors of the GHI report.

Child mortality and undernourishment due to insufficient calorific intake prevailed in Africa south of the Sahara. South Asia exhibited stunting and wasting among children under five, in part due to lack of essential vitamins and minerals, the report concluded.

Planet prolific enough, says minister

Gerd Müller, federal development aid minister and Bavarian conservative in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet, the resurgence in world hunger was a “scandal because our planet has the potential to feed all people.”

Opposition parties in Germany’s Bundestag parliament – the Greens, the ex-communist Left, and the FDP liberals – asserted that Merkel’s government shared blame for hunger severity worldwide.

Example Rukban

Thursday’s report coincided with mounting hunger – and two child deaths due to lacking medical care – among 40,000 people stranded in a camp at Rukban in southeastern Syria near Jordan and close to a border triangle with Iraq.

Besieging Syrian government forces had recently cut off all roads used for aid deliveries to Rukban, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that a rebel group had failed to leave the camp under a previous deal.

Relief workers said UN agencies were pressing Jordan – already burdened by past refugee influxes – to allow aid deliveries across its border to stave off suffering.

Real starvation “could explode,” said the camp’s civic affairs spokesman, Abu Abdullah in a phone call to Reuters.

UNICEF regional director Geert Cappelaera said the lives of thousands of children at Rukban were at risk “especially when temperatures dip below freezing point in the harsh desert conditions.”

ipj/ng (dpa, AFP, KNA, epd, Reuters)

Source: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3550530

The post Global hunger relief back-tracking, especially in war zones first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

A full-scale Syrian regime attack on Idlib would lead to a flow of refugees to Europe and “serious humanitarian and security risks” to the continent, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned.

The Turkish leader has been mounting a public campaign to focus the world’s attention on the dangers of an attack on the rebel-held province, where around three million people are bracing themselves for an assault by Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Mr Erdogan said the international community “must understand their responsibilities as the assault on Idlib looms”.

“A regime assault would also create serious humanitarian and security risks for Turkey, the rest of Europe and beyond,” he said.

Turkey is already sheltering more than three million Syrian refugees within its borders and has repeatedly said that it cannot take any more.

Ankara has warned the EU it would not stop the new refugees from heading towards Europe, raising the prospect of a repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis.

In an apparent effort to underscore Mr Erdogan’s warnings and threats, a pro-government newspaper published a map in Arabic showing how Syrian refugees might pass through Turkey and into Europe.

The map, published by The Daily Sabah, seemed meant to encourage Syrians to head to Europe and to focus the attention of the EU on a potential new wave of arrivals.

The post Erdogan warns attack on Idlib will send Syrian refugees heading to Europe first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Russian Forces Flood Into The Med Ahead Of Syrian Offensive, Here’s Everything You Need To Know first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

A Syrian rebel and a war monitor said Russian air strikes had resumed against insurgents in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province on Tuesday after several weeks.

U.S. President Donald Trump late on Monday warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Iran and Russia not to “recklessly attack” Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province, warning that hundreds of thousands of people could be killed.

“The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don’t let that happen!” Trump wrote in a tweet.

Jennifer Cafarella @JennyCafarella

Reports of Russian #RuAF strikes near Jisr al Shughour #Syria

Gemma Fox@gemmafoxTDS

#Syria: Affiliated site of #HTS – the most dominant forces in SW #Idlib – releases photos of #Russia‘n airstrikes on areas near strategic #JisrShoghur in Idlib.

First case of Russian strikes in 22 days – had been low level clashes between #Assad forces + rebels on the borders.

A source has told Reuters that Assad is preparing a phased offensive to regain Idlib.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Prsident Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don’t let that happen!

The Kremlin dismissed Trump’s warning to Syria, saying on Tuesday the area was a “nest of terrorists”.

Trump on Monday warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Iran and Russia not to “recklessly attack” the area, saying hundreds of thousands of people could be killed.

“Just to speak out with some warnings, without taking into account the very dangerous, negative potential for the whole situation in Syria, is probably not a full, comprehensive approach,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Explained: Syria, Turkey, Russia and U.S. to Square Off in Idlib With Millions of Civilians in the Crosshairs

Fearing a chemical attack

Russia, last week, again accused Syrian rebels of preparing a chemical attack which Moscow says will be used to justify a Western strike against Syrian troops.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last Tuesday that the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee is preparing the attack in the northern Idlib province, and that it would be filmed by first-responders known as the White Helmets, who Russia has accused of fabricating past attacks.

Also last Tuesday, senior U.S. officials warned the Russian and Syrian governments against chemical weapons use in Syria as forces allied with its President Bashar Assad prepare for an offensive on a rebel stronghold.

The battle for Idlib

The northern province and surrounding areas are the last major enclave held by insurgents fighting Assad, who has been backed by both Russian and Iranian forces in Syria’s seven-year-old civil war. They are home to some three million civilians.

Trump has sought better relations with Russia since taking office in 2017 but the United States has been unable to rein in Moscow’s military and diplomatic support for Assad.

Assad has sworn to recapture every inch of Syria and has made big gains against rebels since Russia joined his war effort in 2015.

Last week, a source close to Damascus said the government was preparing a phased offensive to recover Idlib province, but Turkey, whose army has a string of observation posts around the edge of the rebel area, has warned against such an assault.

Russian air raids ceased in and around Idlib on August 15, but pro-Syrian government forces have maintained an aerial bombardment and shelling against rebels there, the war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.

The rebel source and the Observatory both said the air strikes were in the countryside near Jisr al-Shughour on the western edge of the rebels’ northwestern territory.

Russian, Turkish and Iranian leaders are due to meet on Sept. 7 in Iran and are expected to discuss the situation in northwestern Syria.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Source: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/hours-after-trump-tweet-russia-renews-airstrikes-on-syria-s-idlib-1.6449439

[Disclaimer]

The post Defying Trump, Russia Pounds Idlib in Syrian War’s Last Major Battle first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post ‘Israel Strikes Iranian, Assad Regime Targets’ in Syria first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

• Israel struck target near Damascus airport, Syrian media says

• Israel is lying about Iranian presence in Syria, Assad’s foreign minister says

• Does Iran really want to nuke Israel? Is Israel stronger than Iran? A top security expert explains

Reports in Syria say an airstrike hit the site of a known Iranian airbase in Syria‘s Homs region. Reports on Syrian television attributed the attack to Israel.

According to the official Syrian news agency SANA, Syrian air defense systems were fired as warplanes, purportedly coming into the country from Jordan, approached the T4 base near Tiyas. The planes, which reports said were flying low to avoid detection, passed through the al-Tanaf area where U.S. forces have a base.

Syrian military air defences thwarted the act of “aggression”, state media said. An army officer in the southern Syrian desert said the air defense system shot down missiles coming from south of the Tanaf region towards the Homs air base. Reports said that around six missiles hit near the air base and that damage was caused by the attack but that no one was hurt or killed.

Amichai Stein @AmichaiStein1

#BREAKING: Reports: Israeli air strike on T4 base in Homs, Syria; Syria TV reports several air defense missiles in response

The T4 airbase, also known as the Tiyas Military Airbase, has been reported to have been used by Iranian forces. This April, a senior Israeli official confirmed to the New York Times that Israel had hit the base.

“It was the first time we attacked live Iranian targets — both facilities and people,” said the Israeli military official.

The official said that the armed Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace a few days prior “opened a new period,” and that “this is the first time we saw Iran do something against Israel — not by proxy.” During the attack, Israel killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force members, including Colonel Mehdi Dehghan, who led the drone unit operating out of T4, east of Homs.

Photos of Iranian drones and control center, released by Israel after it struck T-4 air base in Feb.IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

Two weeks ago, two Israeli missiles struck a target near Damascus International Airport, Syrian state-run media said overnight on Monday, adding that no casualties or damage were reported.

The target was an arms depot belonging to the Lebanese Shi’ite movement Hezbollah, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. According to the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV, a source said Syrian air defense systems had intercepted two missiles in addition to the ones fired at the airport.

The post Syria: Israel Behind Attack on Iranian Air Force Base Near Homs first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.