Middle East

Amidst the chaos of the Syrian Civil War, elements affiliated with the Free Syrian Army strike a Russian Gazelle helicopter with a TOW missile in Hama, Syria.

Four 500lb bombs were dropped upon the targets, killing 16 insurgents… Overall, bad day to be an insurgent!

For many members of the special forces community, opposing the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton is about more than just policy. It’s personal.

The Russians have consistently denied that their troops are involved in any ground fighting in Syria, and if their special forces troops were involved in the recapture of the ‘Aleppo artillery base’ then on the face of it that would contradict this.

Brennan said that compared to al Qaeda, Daesh is a lot less “deliberate” in its planning and more “free-wheeling,” willing to carry out attacks on shorter notice.
“You look at 9/11 and other major attacks, and it was very deliberate, methodical, a lot of planning went into it. I think ISIL tries to move from idea to bang within months or within weeks,” Brennan said, using the administration’s preferred acronym for Daesh .

The probe began in September last year after an Italian was arrested in Hungary “while driving in a vehicle with several illegal migrants”, Eurojust said in a separate statement. Italian police said the smuggling ring picked up migrants who had reached Hungary, and from there they were moved on toward Germany, Austria, and more rarely to France and Italy.

Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), announced on Monday that a mass grave containing more than 80 bodies of the so-called Islamic State (IS), or Daesh terrorists from different nationalities has been found in the city of Fallujah in Anbar Province, Iraq.

The military says it holds the Syrian government accountable for the “blatant breach of Israeli sovereignty.” Israel has taken pains to stay on the sidelines of neighboring Syria’s war, but has carried out similar reprisals on Syrian positions when errant fire has previously landed in Israeli-controlled territory.

Joining the Iraqi Army in their fight to liberate the historical city of Mosul, the Nineveh Protection Units have proven to be a formidable force against Daesh terrorists.
For the Assyrians, this fight to liberate Mosul is a personal one: Daesh not only occupies their ancestral lands, but the aforementioned terrorist group has attempted to destroy much of their history.

“This is exactly what Daesh wants,” said Hamid Majeed, an Iraqi political analyst. “They want to show people that their lives would be even more miserable after they [Daesh] no longer control their territories.”

Col. Gulmurod Khalimov, a former Tajik special operations officer, police commander, and military sniper, received American counterterrorism training before joining ranks of jihadi group in May • State Department says Khalimov is a “key” ISIS leader.

Security concerns increased this week after it emerged a rescue boat operating in the southern Mediterranean had been shot at and boarded by armed men.