Daesh claimed responsibility for a deadly explosion at the Atma camp for internally displaced people in Syria’s Idlib province near the border with Turkey, media reported

According to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency, the bomb exploded during a Free Syrian Army’s (FSA) guard changes on Thursday, claiming the lives of more than 20 people. Eyewitnesses said that the blast had been staged by a suicide bomber.

People with light injuries were taken to nearby field hospitals while those severely injured were sent to hospitals in Turkey. Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition groups, as well as terrorist formations, such as Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly known as al-Nusra Front), both outlawed in Russia.

According to UN estimates, approximately 11 million Syrians have been displaced since the beginning of the conflict. At least 6.8 million Syrians are internally displaced, many of whom are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

sputniknews.com

A suicide vest detonated prematurely during a meeting held by the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq, killing 16 jihadists, including senior figures, and wounding 16 others, according to Iraqi media.

The terrorists were reportedly meeting in the village of al Mahaws, about 34 miles southwest of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, to plan an attack against U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces.

However, the assault was thwarted by the faulty explosive device before it began.

“The explosion resulted in the killing of 16 members of the Islamic State (ISIS) group, including senior leaders, as well as wounding 16 others,” reported Al Masdar News, citing the Al Sumaria Iraqi media outlet.

It added:

A number of the ISIS members were wearing explosive belts during the meeting, and the explosion took place due to a defect in one of them. The meeting was held to prepare for an attack on the positions of the security forces in Hamrin Mountains, al-Zawiya area and Ajil area in Salahuddin Province.

Daily Mail notes that the incident is not unprecedented:

It is not the first time this year that they have managed to accidentally take out their own troops, with around a dozen extremists being killed in eastern Afghanistan in March when they accidentally set off a bomb that they were trying to plant.

At least 21 other jihadists were also injured during the botched operation in Afghanistan.

ISIS often uses young people as suicide bombers.

In August, video footage emerged purporting to show Kurdish security troops removing an explosive belt from an alleged ISIS suicide bomber, believed to be 12 or 13, moments before it was to be detonated in Kirkuk.

Earlier this year, the West Point-based Combating Terrorism Center reported that ISIS is “mobilizing children and youth at an increasing and unprecedented rate [and] that the number of child and youth militants far exceeds current estimates.”

Referring to the jihadist group’s use of child suicide bombers, the report determined:

It seems plausible that, as military pressure against the Islamic State has increased in recent months, such operations […] are becoming more tactically attractive.

Of 89 cases of young people who were featured in official ISIS reports as “martyrs” between January 2015 and January 2016, the report found that “39 percent died upon detonating a vehicle-borne explosive device, 33 percent were killed as foot soldiers in unspecified battlefield operations, six percent died while working as propagandists, and four percent committed suicide in mass casualty attacks against the civilian populace,” points out Breitbart Jerusalem.

breitbart.com

Two top officials from the jihadist group fled Al-Boukamal in recent days, sparking a campaign of arrests in the town that lies near the Iraqi border

ISIS has conducted a security crackdown in Al-Boukamal after local officials in the jihadist group fled the eastern Syrian town near the border with Iraq, according to opposition media.

All4Syria reported Tuesday that ISIS launched a “wide-scale campaign of arrests” after the Wali (leader) and top health official in Al-Boukamal deserted the jihadist group last month and fled to an unknown destination.

ISIS arrested a number of Hisbah religious police members as well as other security officers on charges of “facilitating the dissident leaders’ escape” the pro-rebel rebel outlet added.

The report explained further that the arrests were authorized by the Islamic Court judge in Al-Boukamal, an Egyptian national, due to the top security posts in the city remaining vacant amid the recent shake-ups.

ISIS earlier detained its most prominent security official in Al-Boukamal, Abu al-Haytham, on suspicions of helping the city’s Wali, Mohammad al-Murshid, escape a little over a week ago, according to activists speaking to the pro-opposition Smart News Agency.

An anti-ISIS activist group, Deir Ezzor 24, for its part, said on October 2 that the extremist organization “arrested a number of security personnel” after Murshid, a Saudi national, fled for whereabouts unknown.

On September 27, the group claimed that Murshid stole an estimated $800,000 funds and left the town with his family and bodyguards.

His desertion came days after Abu Anas al-Iraqi, the head of ISIS health services in its Wilayat Furat (Euphrates Province), also fled Al-Boukamal.

mmedia.me

The military commander of Sultan Murad Brigade, a Syrian rebel group supported by Turkey, was killed on Tuesday during clashes with ISIS in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Ali Sheikh Saleh, aka Abu Ibrahim al-Askeri, was killed by a mine explosion near the Turkmen Barah village in ongoing clashes between ISIS and groups operating under the Euphrates Shield operation, launched with support from the Turkish army on 24 August.

The Sultan Murad Brigade confirmed the death of its commander in a statement on Tuesday.

The Turkmen Sultan Murad Brigade is heavily backed by Turkey. The commander’s two children and wife are based in Turkey’s southern city of Gaziantep, where he was buried on Tuesday, the Turkish Milliyet newspaper reported.

Other Turkish-backed groups such as Nourredin Zenki offered their condolences.

The Euphrates Shield operation, which now entered its 42^nd day, is moving towards an operation to take the symbolic town of Dabiq from ISIS, with the support of both Turkey and the United States.

“The coalition is actively supporting [Turkey-backed] Syrian opposition forces as they advance to within a few kilometers of [ISIS’] weakening stronghold Dabiq.” coalition anti-ISIS envoy Brett McGurk said on Sunday.

The village of Turkmen Barah was taken by the Turkey-backed rebels on Tuesday.

aranews.net

Saudi Arabia conducted naval war manoeuvres in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, the world’s most important oil corridor.

Exercises conducted included live fire training involving warships, speedboats and navy aircraft, while marine corps troops and special security naval units all took part, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The war games, said Rear Admiral Majed bin Hazza’a Al-Qahtani, quoted by SPA, were aimed at preparing those involved for “the protection of the marine interests of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against any possible aggression.”

The exhibition of strength comes amidst heightened tensions between Saudi Arabia and regional rival Iran.

At loggerheads over ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iran, tensions between the two states have been on the rise in 2016.

In May, Tehran banned Iranian citizens from travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj following disagreements regarding a stampede at last year’s pilgrimage which cost the lives of 2,000 pilgrims – including 464 Iranians.

This development followed on from Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr in January and the consequent ransacking of two of the kingdom’s diplomatic missions in Iran which led the two countries to break diplomatic ties.

In recent weeks Iran too has sought to show off its military might and latest hardware holding, in late September, in a series of public displays exhibiting thousands of missiles, warplanes, tanks, and troops in different areas of the country.

These included displays in the Gulf on September 21st during which 500 Iranian patrol boats and warships took place in a large maritime display, and Russian-made Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets flew over the Iranian-Gulf port of Bandar Abbas, in their first public appearance since their purchase from Moscow.

Tehran has received sharp rebukes from Washington over its activities in the Strait of Hormuz in recent months, including for one incident in September when the US Navy claimed that Iran threatened a missile strike against two US maritime patrol vehicles in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.

alaraby.co.uk

Warplanes from the US-led coalition bombed an Islamic State (ISIS) media center on Tuesday. According to local activists, the air raid occurred in central Mosul city, in Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh Governorate.

The targeted media center hosted media workers from jihadi al-Bayan Radio and the Amaq News Agency. Both outfits are major outlets for ISIS propaganda in the region.

At least 13 pro-ISIS journalists and media workers were killed in the airstrike, including Abu Ibrahim al-Tounsi, an editor at the Amaq News Agency.

Abdullah al-Malla, a media activist, told ARA News in Mosul: “The coalition struck this media office for its key role in broadcasting ISIS propaganda.” Al-Malla added that the airstrike caused significant structural damage to the building.

“A huge fire covered the building subsequent to the airstrike. Most of the staff who were inside the building lost their lives,” Al-Malla reported.

Jihadi Officials Under Fire

Over the last two months, the coalition has eliminated many senior officials in the Islamic State’s propaganda arm.

On September 16, Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, the Information Minister of the Islamic State, was reported dead after an airstrike incinerated his house in Raqqa City. Raqqa is the de facto capital of ISIS in Syria.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said: “Wa’il oversaw [ISIS’] production of terrorist propaganda videos showing torture and executions.”

Wa’il’s official position actually belied his importance with ISIS. He was a veteran jihadist and a close associate of Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, the ISIS spokesman who was killed on August 30.

“We will continue to work with our coalition partners to build momentum in the campaign to deal [ISIS] a lasting defeat,” Cook said.

Wa’il’s death came just one week after the ISIS military spokesman in Mosul, Abu Isaac, was killed. An anonymous group of gunmen perforated his car as he drove through Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh Governorate.

Also, the Chief of Media Operations in the Islamic State, Abu Muhammad Furqan, was killed on September 9 in an attack by Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF).

Iraqi security officer Ali Daqqa told ARA News that the ISOF raided a building in the Baaj District where Furqan and other ISIS-affiliated media workers had been hiding. “At least 20 ISIS media workers and officials were hiding in that building. They were all killed in the operation.”

aranews.net/

Daesh militants are fleeing Mosul, the group’s stronghold in Iraq, since a long-awaited large-scale operation aimed at freeing the second largest city in the country is expected to be launched in the coming days, Said Mamuzini, a press secretary for the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul, told Sputnik.

“As part of the operation the Iraqi Armed Forces and Peshmerga are shelling Daesh targets in the areas close to Mosul,” he said. “Additional security measures have been taken on the border. According to our information, the militants are digging trenches around the city, as well as setting up traps using explosives and mines.”

The spokesperson added that Daesh fighters have placed booby-traps in empty houses and left trucks rigged with explosives on the outskirts of the city that the brutal group captured in a blitz offensive on June 10, 2014.

“Daesh is in a state of panic ahead of the operation in Mosul,” he detailed. “According to our sources, many fighters have left the city for Raqqa,” the group’s de facto capital. “Daesh commanders and their families have moved to Raqqa en masse.”

According to Mamuzini, the brutal group has relocated its key forces to Syria. This offers hope that the city could be liberated sooner than expected.

“Daesh’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is reportedly pursuing a new strategy with regard to Mosul. He told his fighters that if they are capable of fighting for Mosul, they should fight and if not, then they should leave booby traps and mines, destroy the city and flee,” he said.

sputniknews.com

Russia is deploying its most advanced missile defense system to Syria, likely to deter any U.S. plans to increase strikes on non-Islamic State targets.

“Nusra doesn’t have an air force do they?” one U.S. official sarcastically told Fox News when asked who the system was meant to deter. Nusra is a reference to al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate, who Russia often says they target. The official’s comment implies the U.S. believes Russia’s deployment is meant to constrain U.S. options in Syria.

The U.S. Department of State cut off all bilateral relations with Russia over Syria Monday, after Russia refused to stop indiscrimately bombing the city of Aleppo on behalf of the Assad regime. U.S. defense officials confirmed Russia will be able to thwart any potential U.S. cruise missile strikes in Syria with the new system.

When President Barack Obama considered striking the Assad regime for chemical weapons use in 2013, the U.S. military’s strike plans relied heavily on cruise missiles. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has signaled a willingness to employ a no-fly zone in Syria if elected president. Obama and military leaders frequently point out that establishing a no-fly zone requires the U.S. to wipe out Assad and Russia’s air defense capabilities in Syria, to ensure the safety of U.S. aircraft.

“For us to control all of the airspace in Syria it would require us to go to war, against Syria and Russia,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford told Congress Sept. 26. Dunford continued, “That’s a pretty fundamental decision that certainly I’m not going to make.”

Russia deployed its S-400 aerial defense system to Syria after Turkey shot down a Russian jet that strayed into its airspace in November 2015. The S-400’s range extends over several other countries in the Middle East, threatening several critical U.S and NATO allies. The purpose of the deployment was to limit the U.S. anti-ISIS coalition’s options in Syria, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed to BBC in December 2015.

dailycaller.com/

A rumored Turkish-Russian deal would give Ankara a free hand to deal with Kurdish groups in the north in exchange for cutting support to rebels in Syria’s second city

Developments on the ground in Syria indicate the possible blossoming of an agreement between Turkey and Russia over the conflict, illustrated by the changing priorities of the government in Ankara. The recent Turkish-led offensive against ISIS inside Syria was not met with any resistance by Russia or the Syrian regime, even though Turkey has been explicitly pro-opposition since the early stages of the revolution in 2011. The offensive was preceded by a Turkish-Russian rapprochement, which has been widely cited to explain Russia’s acquiescence to the military action. Similarly, the recent unprecedentedattacks by the Syrian regime and Russia to capture rebel-held eastern Aleppo has not led to an increase in the support provided to rebel groups by their backers, namely Turkey. Although the details of this possible new alliance remain largely unknown, rumors are circulating about a behind-the-scenes agreement between Russia and Turkey that would allow the latter to intervene and check the power of Syrian Kurdish groups in the north in exchange for reducing their support for rebels fighting Assad in Aleppo.

According to a recent report by Mohammad Ballout, a journalist for the pro-regime Lebanese newspaper Assafir, the alleged security deal between Turkey and Russia allowed Turkish troops to enter Syria to prevent Syrian Kurds from establishing an autonomous administration along the Turkish border. The Assad regime would also cut support for Syrian Kurdish military units affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. In exchange, Turkey would stop arming rebels fighting the Syrian regime in Aleppo, Syria’s second city, and agree with Russian proposals to designate certain rebel groups as terrorists. Ballout added that the details of this trade-off were reached after a series of meetings between security officials from Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. More meetings are reportedly scheduled in Damascus, Moscow and possibly Istanbul to finalize the parameters of the deal. He also referred to the Turkish-led military operations, with the diversion of thousands of rebel fighters from fronts in Aleppo and Idlib to the north, as a first step in “…a Turkish initiative to separate the factions it directly mentors from the extremist groups.”

In a similar vein, Elijah Magnier, chief international correspondent at the Kuwaiti Al-Rai newspaper, recently mentioned Turkey’s expressed willingness to collaborate with international powers to keep allied Syrian rebel groups from merging with Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the rebranded name of former Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. Turkey also reportedly agreed to distance itself from jihadists groups in northern Syria and avoid supporting any hostile activities against the Syrian army, mainly around Aleppo.

These reports indicate that some kind of behind-the-scenes agreement may have been reached between Russia and Turkey. It is telling that troops participating in the Turkish-led intervention in Syria have not been targeted by Russian or Syrian airstrikes, though both parties have long labelled the rebel groups participating in the Turkish offensive as ‘terrorists’. This has been coupled with the significant shift in Turkey’s policy towards Assad after a statement by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım in which floated the idea that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could be a partner in a “transitional phase.” This sudden shift followed the rapprochement with Russia after an eight-month rift triggered by Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet in late 2015.

Sources on the ground also confirmed a recent cutback in military aid to rebel groups in Aleppo. “Any large scale attack by the Syrian regime to capture Aleppo usually leads to an immediate increase in the support we receive from our allies in order to halt the offensive. But it seems that something has changed. Although the regime and Russia are launching the worst attack so far to capture Aleppo, we still have not received any significant support to counter them,” said Ahmed Hussein, a media activist in Aleppo affiliated with Ahrar al-Sham. Commentingonto the recent escalation in the city, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan only provided vague statements on the need for foreign powers to “continue our discussions.” Coupled with Turkey’s lack of a response to the targeting of an aid convoy outside Aleppo during the now-dead ceasefire, the government in Ankara has markedly changed its previous belligerent tone toward the actions of the regime and Moscow in the country.

Moreover, a well informed western diplomat based in Beirut, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also confirmed the existence of such a deal. “Different officials allied with the Syrian regime confirmed on several occasions the existence of a trade-off deal with Turkey,” the envoy claimed. “None of them revealed the details of the deal; however, they all mentioned that Turkey gave up on Aleppo in exchange for its operations against the Syrian Kurds along the Turkish border in northern Syria. They also mentioned that Turkey asked for a few months in order to distance itself from some rebel groups that are considered radical.”

The mystery that is surrounding the details of the rumored agreement between Turkey and Russia could be due to the fact that secrecy is essential for the success of the deal. However, the prevailing mystery may also be related to the inability of the actors to finalize the details of such a complicated agreement. However, if such a deal comes to fruition, it will very likely increase the complexity of the Syrian conflict, with more killing and displacement of civilians in Aleppo, radical groups increasing their influence on the ground and renewed ethnic tensions between Syrian Arabs and Kurds.

mmedia.me

Iraq launched a radio station on Tuesday to help Mosul residents stay safe during the upcoming military offensive to dislodge Islamic State from the largest city under its control, state TV said.

The radio will give instructions on possible safe exit routes, places to avoid, where to find assistance and emergency numbers to call during the offensive.

The Radio of the Republic of Iraq in Mosul is based in the town of Qayyara, 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of Mosul and home to an airbase which will serve as a hub for the U.S.-led coalition supporting Iraqi military units.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi wants to capture Mosul this year and the push on the city could start as soon as this month, according to local military commanders.

Humanitarian planning is running in parallel to the military preparations, with the U.N. predicting up to one million people could flee the city in all directions.

Mosul, with a pre-war population of 2 million, is the last major city under control of Islamic State in Iraq and its capture would signal the group’s defeat in this country.

It was from Mosul’s Grand Mosque that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed two years ago a “caliphate” over parts of Iraq and Syria.

reuters.com