Earlier today, we took a closer look at Vladimir Putin’s seemingly abrupt decision to partially withdraw the Russian military from Syria.
The prevailing view seems to be that Moscow somehow intended to put more pressure on Assad to be amenable to a negotiated, political solution and indeed that may be a part of the plan. However, as we noted, it’s not exactly as if The Kremlin is leaving the Syrian leader high and dry.
Syrian Democratic Forces move in closer to the gates of Raqqa, the de-facto ISIS capital in Syria. The armed groups, made up mostly of Kurds from the YPG and YPJ fighting units, along with Arabs and Christians, are now just 20 miles from Raqqa Times of India reports: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been celebrating a string of victories as they reclaim villages from ISIS control. In the hopes of retaking communities from Isis those suspected of being Isis militants are arrested and men are often taken aside for questioning.
The Russian Air Force tracked and targeted a column of terrorists crossing the Turkish border into Syria on Monday. The terrorists who were mostly Turkmen were caught by the Russian reconnaissance planes as they attempted to enter the Lattakia province from one of the Turkish border-crossings near Yayladagi. Fars News Agency reports: Upon the entry of Jeish al-Turkmen and al-Nusra Front into Syria, the Russian air fleet struck their convoy of vehicles in the Furniluk Forests, ending in the rebel fighters scattering around the border in order to evade the powerful aerial assault.
Hillary Clinton appeared to forget the killing of four US citizens during an attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi when she insisted that “we did not lose a single person in Libya”. Clinton made the comment while defending her push for regime change in the war-torn North African nation at an Illinois town hall event on Monday. Talk about having a selective memory….. Could this be an early sign of dementia or has Mrs Clinton spent so much of her life lying that she now finds it hard to distinguish what is real from what is fantasy?
Turkish police attacked protesters in Istanbul on Monday who were demonstrating against the government’s failure in preventing terrorist assaults in the country. Anti-government protesters gathered at Istanbul’s Taksim Square, chanting slogans and holding banners denouncing Ankara’s mismanagement, which they blame for the terror attacks, including the car bomb explosion k that killed 37 people on Sunday. Press TV reports: However, the gathering turned violent after security forces intervened, firing water cannon and rubber bullets at the demonstrators.