Turkish Soldier Killed in Rocket Attack During Fighting in Syria

A Turkish soldier was killed and five others wounded by rocket and mortar fire from militants in northwest Syria as Turkish forces continued to press their offensive in the Idlib area, Turkey’s military said on Tuesday. It was the second attack in a week on Turkish soldiers trying to establish a position near the frontline […]

Russian Pilot Shot Down and Killed in Syria, Identified by Defense Ministry

The Russian air force pilot that was shot down and killed in Syria on Saturday, has been identified by the Ministry of Defense. The Russians have been extremely close-mouthed about their casualties during the fighting there and this statement was interesting. The air force officer appeared quite nervous and was obviously reading off a teleprompter […]

Watch: Syrian rebels shoot down Russian Su-25, kill pilot in firefight

According to reports emerging in Russian media, a Russian fighter was shot down by Syrian rebels on Saturday while conducting air strike operations near the city of Maasran in Idlib, Syria. The pilot reportedly successfully ejected from the aircraft, but was killed in a firefight with rebels who were attempting to take him prisoner. Details […]

Secretary of Defense Mattis remains diplomatic over Turkey’s assault on Afrin.

When Secretary of Defense James Mattis was questioned about Turkey‘s offensive against the Syrian Kurdish controlled region of Afrin, he responded with, “When rockets come over a border, or insurgents come over a border — and not just in — in this Syria complex situation, but also out of northern Iraq and all — then […]

FSA defends against mutilation of YPJ fighter accusations.

The Free Syrian Army has been accused of mutilating the body of a fallen YPJ female Kurdish fighter in the contested city of Afrin. The YPJ fighter appears to have been shot in the chest and then (post-mortem) had her breasts cut off. In a public statement made by the FSA Chief of Staff, Salim […]

SSG Justin Peck, Part of Trump’s SOTU Address Everyone Can Applaud

Watching and following politics in this country at the national level is a very difficult proposition these days. If you label yourself an Independent voter it is even more difficult. Media outlets aren’t content to report the news now, those days are going, going gone. We live in the hot take era. Media members now […]

France’s Macron Questions Turkey Over Syrian Operation

French President Emmanuel Macron warned Turkey that its operation against Kurdish militias in northern Syria should not become an excuse to invade the country and said he wanted Ankara to coordinate its action with its allies. Turkey last week launched an air and ground offensive in northwest Syria, targeting the Kurdish YPG militia in the […]

Interview with an American YPG fighter: Straight Outta Raqqa

Kurt: Who are you and what’s your background besides YPG? Mitchell: Mitchell Clark — I have a pretty typical small town AmericanAmericanAmerican story. I grew up playing football and got really serious about it in high school. I was planning on going to college to play, but I had a severe shoulder injury that pretty […]

Government air raids kill 33 civilians in northwest Syria, says monitor

Government air strikes have killed 33 civilians in the past 24 hours in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib where government forces are fighting militants, a monitor said on Monday. On Monday alone, the strikes killed 16 civilians including 11 in a vegetable market in the town of Saraqeb, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights […]

Kurdish PM refuses to send Peshmerga to defend Afrin

In a recent interview, Kurdish prime minister of the KDP (Kurdish Diplomatic Party) and former president Masoud Barzani said, “The deployment of the Peshmerga to help their fellow Kurds in Afrin against Turkey’s military operation will not help solve the problem.” The conflict in Afrin has stirred up a lot of sympathy and support for […]

The US just changed course in Syria — and could now look to confront Iran

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson laid out the US’s new strategy in Syria, and he named combating Iran’sIran’sIran’s influence and its threat to US interests as a main goal. The US has just 2,000 troops in Syria while Iran has an estimated 70,000, but the US has plenty of assets — military, economic, and diplomatic […]