‘Murphy’s Law’: The time I got smuggled into Syria

The following is an excerpt from the new book, “Murphy’s Law: My Journey from Ranger and Green Beret to Investigative Journalist.” That night we were driven out to the border crossing. On the side of the road, we picked up a Canadian named Peter Douglass, which had been prearranged with the driver. He was a […]

Hezbollah leader claims that United States will ‘sell out’ Syrian Kurds

Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has claimed that the United States intends to use the Kurds of Rojava before hanging them out to dry. Nasrallah addressed Kurdish officials staying the U.S. will “sell you out,” he claimed that their best option was to uphold negotiations with the Syrian regime and President Bashar al-Assad. On Sunday Nasrallah said that, “You do not know […]

Syrian Democratic Forces offer Druze villagers assistance in the face of Islamic State attack

As a prominent Druze spiritual leader, Hikmat Salman al-Hijri expressed his gratitude towards the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for offering an exchange of SDF-held Islamic State prisoners for ISIS-held Druze hostages. The Druze are an ethnoreligious group that resides primarily in Syria; their faith is centered on the teachings of Greek philosophers paired with Islamic teachings of […]

Syrian Kurds are ready for peace talks with Assad regime

The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) stated that they were prepared to engage in peace talks between themselves and the Syrian regime. The SDC is a political branch of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that is composed of Kurds and Arabs. The SDF and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime have been clashing in the southern reaches […]

Control of Manbij is being discussed by the US and Turkey

The Manbij Military Council (MMC) will not be withdrawing its forces from the city of Manbij anytime soon according to its representatives. Presently,  the MMC are standing shoulder to shoulder with U.S. led coalition troops as the Turkish military continues to threaten an advance. However, the U.S. and Turkey are also pursuing a diplomatic solution […]

Syrian Democratic Forces capture Turkish militant sleeper cells

The Manbij Military Council (MMC) announced that they have captured several “sleeper cells” composed of pro-Turkish militants this week. The captured men were supposedly part of the Turkish military’s Operation Euphrates Shield and were attempting to “destabilize” the region. The MMC’s commander, Mohammed Abu Adel told local media that, “The Euphrates Shield forces wanted to […]

Syrian Kurds attempt to stimulate their economy through oil trade

In northern Syria the economy is struggling in the wake of the Islamic State war, the Kurds of Rojava have resorted to the oil trade to stimulate it. You would think it is doing well by appearances, oil tanker trucks line the highways there. Their haul of oil has been gathered from the oil fields […]

SDF now fighting Syrian regime in southern Rojava

The Syrian Democratic Forces stationed near Deir ez-Zor, a city on the border of Syrian regime territory and not far from the Iraqi border, have been engaged by President Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime government forces along with supporting militia elements. Based on conflict monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, findings so far 6 SDF soldiers […]

French Special Forces begin new deployments to Syria

United States led coalition forces were put on an operational pause after Syrian Democratic Forces reallocated nearly 1,300 fighters to combating Turkey’s military aggression in northern Syria. Now operations have continued with a deployment of French Special Forces being sent to reinforce the SDF combating the remaining pockets of Islamic State resistance. U.S. Secretary of […]

Manbij prepares for the Turkish military’s attack

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now begun threatening to conquer the Kurdish city of Manbij in northern Syria. Manbij is the staging area for a large portion of the Syrian Democratic Forces as well as the United States military. Two coalition service members (a Delta Force and SAS soldier) were recently killed there by […]

The SDF releases a statement in the wake of losing Afrin to Turkish forces

The Kurdish-Syrian city of Afrin has fallen to the Turkish army’s barrage of artillery and airstrikes paired with its FSA (Free Syrian Army) proxies and ground forces. The SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) and YPG (People’s protection Units) have been forced to pull back their conventional forces but are acknowledging an stage of the conflict is […]

British YPJ fighter killed in Afrin

A British citizen who was fighting on behalf of the Syrian Democratic Forces, under the YPJ, has been confirmed killed in Afrin by Turkish military forces. Anna Campbell was part of the all female YPJ militia and one of several foreign volunteer fighters to be killed during Operation Olive Branch since it’s start in January. […]