Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s uncle Rifaat al-Assad has returned to the country after 37 years in exile…reports Asian Lite News
The President has allowed the return of his uncle, who left Syria in 1984 after mounting a failed coup against his brother Hafez al-Assad who ruled Syria from 1971 to 2000, Xinhua news agency quoted the al-Watan newspaper report as saying late Friday.
Syrian President
Saying Rifaat arrived in Syria on Thursday and would serve no political or social position, the al-Watan report said that the his return came against the backdrop of a verdict by a French court that sentenced him to four years in prison for financial crimes.
Both sides are putting forward “intensive programs” to implement cooperation in the economic, trade, and tourism fields…reports Asian Lite News
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian is on a visit to Syria to discuss about the “comprehensive developments” in the bilateral relations between Tehran and Damascus, according to the state news agency SANA.
Addressing the media jointly with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad here upon his arrival on Saturday, Abdullahian said that over the past few weeks, Syria and Iran have reached “important agreements” for achieving comprehensive development in the relations in all fields, reports Xinhua news agency.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian
He said both sides are putting forward “intensive programs” to implement cooperation in the economic, trade, and tourism fields.
“Syria is on the path of progress and prosperity,” he said, stressing his country’s ongoing support to Damascus.
On his part, Mekdad described the visit of the Iranian official as “important”, noting that there are “important developments” that will be discussed between both sides for the interests of both peoples.
Before Damascus, Abdullahian visited Russia and Lebanon and held talks with Russian and Lebanese officials on various international and bilateral issues.
Mekdad noted that he and Abdullahian will discuss the outcome of the latter’s visits to Russia and Lebanon.
The visit of the Iranian official comes after Mekdad pointed out recently that there is a change in the international political atmosphere towards the Syrian issue, noting that during the recent UN General Assembly meetings, several countries wanted to meet with the Syrian government delegation.
Jordanian King receives the first-time call from Syrian Prez since 2011
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a phone call to Jordanian King Abdullah II for the first time since the Syrian War began in 2011…reports Asian Lite News
According to a statement issued by the Syrian presidential official, Assad and King Abdullah II discussed bilateral relations and ways to boost cooperation to achieve the interest of both peoples during their call on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.
The relations between Syria and Jordan deteriorated significantly when the latter chose to support Western-backed rebels in the Syrian civil war.
Jordanian King receives the first-time call from Syrian Prez since 2011
The phone call between the heads of the two states comes as a part of the normalisation of the bilateral relationship, which also led to the re-opening of border crossings and the resumption of commercial flights.
In addition, Syria has agreed to a plan for allowing Egyptian gas to pass through Jordan and Syria to reach Lebanon, which is in dire need of energy supplies.
The two sides also reached an agreement to jointly develop the water resource on their borders.
Last month, Syrian Defence Minister General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub visited Jordan.
The 22-member Arab League bloc had suspended Syria’s suspension in November 2011, months after the civil war was triggered by the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
The Tehran-aligned group began bringing tanker trucks carrying fuel from Iran, a move it says should ease a crippling energy crisis in Lebanon…reports Asian Lite News
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Iranian fuel shipments imported by the Hezbollah movement constitute a breach of Lebanon’s sovereignty, according to comments published by his office.
“The violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty makes me sad,” Mikati told CNN in an interview, his office said in a posting on Twitter.
He added: “But I’m not concerned that sanctions can be imposed” on Lebanon “because the operation was carried out without the involvement of the Lebanese government.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati
The Tehran-aligned group on Thursday began bringing tanker trucks carrying fuel from Iran, a move it says should ease a crippling energy crisis in Lebanon.
A tanker ship carried the fuel to Syria and from there it crossed into Lebanon. Both Syria and Iran are under US sanctions.
Meanwhile, authorities have seized 20 tons of ammonium nitrate — the same chemical behind a deadly explosion last year at Beirut’s port — in the eastern Bekaa Valley, state media said.
Ammonium nitrate is an odorless crystalline substance commonly used as a fertilizer that has been the cause of numerous industrial explosions over the decades.
The National News Agency said security forces raided a fertilizer warehouse in the eastern Bekaa Valley, considered a hub for smuggling operations between Lebanon and Syria.
Authorities seized 20 tons of the dangerous chemical stored inside a truck parked at the warehouse, the NNA said, adding the material was transported to a “safe place.”
Lebanese President Michel Aoun
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi called on security forces to conduct a sweep of the area. He said: “We must do our best to move these materials to a safer place away from exposure to heat and sun” to avoid a “catastrophe.”
The company that owns the ammonium nitrate said that the fertilizer was intended for agricultural use.
US Treasury sanctions have targeted a network that spans Syria, Iran and Russia, and which is responsible for shipping oil to the Syrian regime….reports Asian Lite News
Iran and Syria on Sunday pledged to take “mighty steps” to confront sanctions imposed on them by the United States, saying their relations will strengthen under Iran’s new leadership, media reported.
The announcement was made by Iran’s new Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. He was received at the airport in Damascus by Faisal Miqdad, foreign minister in the Syrian regime, it was reported.
US Treasury sanctions have targeted a network that spans Syria, Iran and Russia, and which is responsible for shipping oil to the Syrian regime.
Sanctions on Tehran were imposed after former President Donald Trump pulled US out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2018.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has appointed Mohammad Eslami as the new chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
Eslami, the former minister of Transport and Urban Development, replaces Ali Akbar Salehi who has served as the AEOI chief since August 2013, reports Xinhua news agency.
The 65-year-old Eslami holds degrees in civil engineering and has also formerly served as the Governor of Iran’s Mazandaran province, a deputy minister of the Ministry of Defence and the CEO of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company.
The AEOI is in charge of overseeing the country’s nuclear programs and handling Tehran’s cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, namely the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Neighbours should act as facilitators
Iran has said that Afghanistan’s neighbours should act as facilitators to the establishment of an inclusive and participatory government with the presence of all internal groups in Afghanistan, a foreign ministry’s statement said.
During a meet with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said, “The role of other countries, including neighbours, should only be a facilitator to the establishment of an inclusive and participatory government with the presence of all Afghan groups.”
The statement added that Raisi also termed the US withdrawal from Afghanistan a turning point for the interaction of all Afghan groups for peace, security and stability in Afghanistan and said,
“Certainly, the US presence in Afghanistan and the region does not provide security, and countries should help different groups in Afghanistan to form an inclusive and participatory government.”
Pointing out that the policy of Iran has been to support the people of Afghanistan for the past four decades, Raisi said, “Iran hosts about four million people of Afghanistan and has always been, and will continue to support the Afghan people.”
Afghanistan’s situation deteriorating as the Taliban took control of the country on August 15 after the fall of the government. The Kabul airport is witnessing nowadays a heavy chaos due to instability in the region. (with inputs from ANI,IANS)
Damudi, key ISIS operative on cyberspace claimed to be based in Afghanistan or Pakistan was arrested from Karnataka’s Bhatkal on August 6 in connection with the ISIS ‘Voice of Hind’ module case….reports Anand Singh
Jufri Jawhar Damudi aka Abu Hajir Al Badri, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the ISIS ‘Voice of Hind’ module case was high up in the hierarchy of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and was in direct touch with its leaders in Afghanistan and Syria. He was instigating his cyber contacts to kill ‘kufars’ (disbelievers) in India.
The NIA had arrested Damudi from Karnataka’s Bhatkal on August 6 in connection with the case after the agency carried out searches at several locations.
An NIA official related to the probe told IANS, “Damudi was in the notice of the central investigative agencies since April 2020 for his active role in production and dissemination of IS propaganda monthly online magazine ‘Voice of Hind’.”
The official said that besides ISIS propaganda or media activity, Damudi was also looking after the logistical support, including procurement of arms and explosives, funding for mujahideens and recruitment.
“He was in direct contact with the IS leaders in Afghanistan’s Khorasan and Syria,” the official said.
The official said that Damudi also instigated his cyber contacts to kill ‘kufars’, police personnel, journalists, etc. and inflect damage to temples and government properties.
Islamic State
The official said, Damudi, who was high up in the hierarchy of ISKP and a key ISIS operative on cyberspace claimed to be based in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
The official said that he was taking all security precautions to evade his detection by the intelligence agencies in India.
“Despite his claim to be based in Khorasan in Afghanistan or Pakistan on social media, it was assessed that Damudi aka Badri might be based in India and not Khorasan,” the official said.
The official said that based on this assessment and the leads developed through the revelations of Qasim Khurasani aka Umar Nisar, who was arrested on July 11 this year, further intelligence investigation by the NIA in coordination with foreign agencies, the real identity of Badri was established as Bhatkal-based operative.
Thereafter, through deft fieldwork, the agencies managed to identify Damudi and it was also established that he is the younger brother of Adnan Hassan Damudi, who was arrested by NIA in 2017 in ISIS related cases, the official said.
The official said that Damudi also accepted his association with Afghanistan-Pakistan-based IS operatives and involvement in production and dissemination of IS propaganda magazine ‘Voice of Hind’.
An NIA source related to the IS related cases in India said, “Along with the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the agency has been working to identify over 5,000 members of the IS who are active on social media platforms.”
The source said that the agency has started taking action after a year-long research and investigation against the IS operatives, who are working against India.
The source said that the NIA has identified the ‘Chronicle Foundation’ page being run on several social media platforms, which is being used as a school for the new IS recruits.
The source said that while investigating the page on social media, it has been found that most of the members there have created their IDs with fake names.
Srinagar: Terror funding case NIA raids 56 locations of banned J&K Jamaat in Srinagar on Sunday, August 08, 2021.(Photo: Nisar Malik /IANS)
The source said that while going through the page of the Chronicle Foundation, the speeches of their leaders indicate for the targeted killings of the Hindu leaders across the country.
The source further said that the agency is currently questioning several IS operatives who have been arrested by the anti-terror probe agency in the recent days to get hold of the IS operatives planning attack on security establishments in Jammu and Kashmir and to stop the targeted killings by them.
In the last one month, the NIA has carried out searches at 21 locations spread across Anantnag, Srinagar, Bandipore, Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir and Mangalore, Bengaluru and Bhatkal districts in Karnataka which resulted in the arrest of 10 operatives in three separate modules of ISIS in India.
The official said that the pan-India crackdown and back to back arrests of two prominent Islamic State (ISIS) operatives — Khurasani and Damudi — is a major blow to IS in India.
The artillery fire late Saturday hit a residential area in the south of the militia-dominated bastion of Idlib…reports Asian Lite News
Regime shelling has killed four children in Syria’s last major rebel bastion in the northwest of the country, a Britain-based war monitor said Sunday.
The artillery fire late Saturday hit a residential area in the south of the militia-dominated bastion of Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The victims in the village of Qastoun in the Hama province were from the same family, it said.
The Idlib region is home to nearly three million people, two-thirds of them displaced from other parts of the country during the decade-long civil war.
It is dominated by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, but rebels and other militants are also present.
A cease-fire deal brokered by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey has largely protected the region from a new government offensive since March 2020.
But regime forces have stepped up their shelling on the south of the bastion since June.
Syrian President Bashar Assad took the oath of office for a new term last month, vowing to make “liberating those parts of the homeland that still need to be” one of his top priorities.
Syria’s war has killed around half a million people since starting in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
The decade-long violence and terror have caused a devastating impact on the lives of Syrians..reports Asian Lite News
India at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday (local time) supported Syrian engagement with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Talking about the Indian stand on chemical weapons convention, P Mathur, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of India to UN, said, “Syria to continue engagement with OPCW, reiterated high importance we attach to Chemical Weapons Convention & cautioned against the possibility of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) falling into hands of terrorists.”
The decade-long violence and terror have caused a devastating impact on the lives of Syrians. Syria, which was the fulcrum of Arab culture and a leading voice of the region, is now facing a precarious situation.
India has been calling for enhanced and effective humanitarian assistance to all Syrians throughout the country without discrimination, politicization, and preconditions.
More than 13 million people across Syria need humanitarian assistance in one form or another. Syrian women, children, elderly have been severely impacted in disproportionate ways.
Earlier, India, while joining the consensus on United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Syrian Humanitarian Resolution on Friday (local time), reaffirmed its commitment to Syrian-led, Syrian-owned UN-facilitated political process.
While explaining India’s vote on Syria, Permanent Representative/Ambassador of India to United Nations TS Tirumurti said, “India firmly believes that long-term security and stability of this region can only be achieved by preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. We are deeply concerned with the involvement of external actors in Syria which is making the situation worse.”
“We also remain convinced that there can be no military solution to the Syrian conflict and reaffirm our commitment to advancing a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned UN-facilitated political process in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254,” added Tirumurti.
Resolution 2254 calls for a ceasefire and political settlement in Syria.
“India calls for enhanced and effective humanitarian assistance to all Syrians without discrimination, politicization or preconditions, and consistent with sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria,” tweeted Tirumurti. (ANI)
On July 7, the same facility was targeted by explosives-laden drones….reports Asian Lite News
Rocket fire targeted the largest US base in eastern Syria, marking the latest in a string of recent attacks targeting the facility, according to the state news agency SANA.
The shelling on Sunday targeted the base located in the al-Omar oil field in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour. The base has been targeted repeatedly by pro-Iran militias in the region.
On July 7, the same facility was targeted by explosives-laden drones.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack on Sunday is believed to have been carried out by the pro-Iran militia in the western Euphrates River region in Deir al-Zour.
The UK-based watchdog group said there is no report on casualties yet.
A day earlier, an explosion targeted the Koniko gas factory where another US base is located in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour with no reports on losses, according to the Observatory.
Last week, US diplomats and troops in Iraq and Syria were targeted in three rocket and drone attacks, including at least 14 rockets hitting an Iraqi air base hosting US forces, wounding two American service members.
Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran vowed to retaliate after U.S. strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border killed four of their members last month.
Two people were slightly wounded in the rocket attack on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, said coalition spokesman U.S. Army Colonel Wayne Marotto. The rockets landed on the base and its perimeter. He said earlier that three people were wounded.
Two rockets were fired at the U.S. Embassy inside Baghdad’s Green Zone early on Thursday, Iraqi security sources said.
Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran vowed to retaliate after U.S. strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border killed four of their members last month….reports Asian Lite News
US diplomats and troops in Iraq and Syria were targeted in three rocket and drone attacks in the past 24 hours, US and Iraq officials said on Wednesday, including at least 14 rockets hitting an Iraqi air base hosting US forces, wounding two American service members.
While there were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks – part of a wave targeting U.S. troops or areas where they are based in Iraq and Syria – analysts believed they were part of a campaign by Iranian-backed militias.
Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran vowed to retaliate after U.S. strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border killed four of their members last month.
Two people were slightly wounded in the rocket attack on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, said coalition spokesman U.S. Army Colonel Wayne Marotto. The rockets landed on the base and its perimeter. He said earlier that three people were wounded.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two personnel injured were U.S. service members. One suffered a concussion and the other had minor cuts, one of the officials added.
Two rockets were fired at the U.S. Embassy inside Baghdad’s Green Zone early on Thursday, Iraqi security sources told Reuters.
The embassy’s anti-rocket system diverted one of the rockets, said one of the sources – a security official whose office is inside the Green Zone. The second rocket fell near the zone’s perimeter, security officials said.
Sirens blared from the embassy compound inside the zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions, the sources said.
In Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said no damage was done by a drone attack on the Al Omar oil field in an eastern area bordering Iraq where U.S. forces came under rocket fire but escaped injury on June 28.
The Pentagon said a drone had been brought down in eastern Syria and that no U.S. service members had been injured and there had not been any damage.
Iraqi army officials said the pace of recent attacks against bases hosting U.S. forces with rockets and explosive-laden drones was unprecedented.
Iraqi military sources said a rocket launcher fixed on the back of a truck was used in Wednesday’s attack and was found on nearby farmland set on fire.
On Tuesday, a drone attacked Erbil airport in northern Iraq, targeting a U.S. base on the airport grounds, Kurdish security sources said.
Three rockets also landed on Ain al-Asad on Monday without causing casualties.
The United States has been holding indirect talks with Iran aimed at bringing both nations back into compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was abandoned by then-President Donald Trump. No date has been set for a next round of the talks, which adjourned on June 20.
Hamdi Malik, an associate fellow at the Washington Institute and a specialist on Iraq’s Shi’ite militias, said the attacks were part of a coordinated escalation by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
The attempt to strike in eastern Syria appeared to be the first example of operations being carried out simultaneously in both countries.
“It seems to me they have the green light from Iran to escalate, especially given that the nuclear negotiations are not going well. But at the same time, they do not want to escalate beyond a certain point – they are more vulnerable to U.S. air strikes than they used to be – and they don’t want to overcomplicate the negotiations Iran is holding with the West.”
The United States told the U.N. Security Council last week that it targeted Iranian-backed militia in Syria and Iraq with air strikes to deter them and Tehran from conducting or supporting further attacks on U.S. personnel or facilities.
Iran denied supporting attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and condemned U.S. air strikes on Iranian-backed groups.
