Fierce clashes have erupted between Syrian Islamist groups and Kurdish fighters in Aleppo province, northern Syria.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights over a dozen extremists, mostly from al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, have been killed in a fight with Syrian Kurdish forces.

The confrontation took place in the A’zaz district, and eight Kurdish fighters have also been reported dead.

Al-Nusra and allied groups first attacked the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the violence spread out to the northern Syrian town of Afrin and surrounding villages, Kurdish journalist Arin Sheikh Mous told AFP.

He added that the clashes have been taking place since last Thursday.

BasNews has learned that People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters are playing a key role in the fight.

basnews.com

US special forces are actively engaged in fighting against the Islamic State group in Iraq, according to Kurdish peshmerga fighters, despite official US policy that says its soldiers are only training and advising local militias, the Guardian reported on Monday.

Kurdish fighters showed the Guardian video clips in which Western-looking men were seen firing various weapons at IS militants in different firefights in northern Iraq.

“They fight and they even fight ahead of the peshmerga,” a Kurdish fighter named Karwan Hama Tata said. “They won’t allow anyone to take photos of them, but they take photos of everyone.”

The peshmerga fighters refused to allow the videos be published, the report said.

According to the Kurdish fighters, US special forces have been involved in the fighting for several months including in a battle on April 20 to retake Dawus al Aloka village. Attempts to retake the villages of Wastana and Saddam on June 11 and August 26 also saw US personnel in combat against the jihadists, although IS maintained control of the towns.

More recently, on September 11, special forces allegedly helped in the successful recapture of Wastana, the Kurds claimed. All of the actions took place in areas south-west of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

In a statement, the US Central Command in Iraq denied the claims that US troops were fighting on the ground in any of the operations listed by the Kurds.

“No US or coalition SOF [special operations forces] were engaged in any of these events you listed,” the army said. “The coalition continues to support local partners through our advise and assistance role, but we have no reports of any coalition advise and assist teams becoming engaged during the actions you referenced.”

“As US senior leaders have repeatedly stated, the US is not conducting a combat mission. We continue to conduct an advise and assist mission.”

Despite the denial, US special forces were known to be involved in a rescue mission last month in which they assisted Kurdish troops as they stormed an IS prison freeing 70 prisoners who were facing execution. Master Seargent Joshua Wheeler, 39, died during the operation becoming the first US serviceman to die in the fight against IS.

In June 2014 US President Barack Obama announced that 300 special forces were going to Iraq as military advisers but vowed “American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again.”

Following the recent Paris terror attacks — claimed by IS and which killed 130 people — the US administration has come under pressure to take a more active role in fighting the jihadists who have carved a large swath of land in Iraq and Syria for a self-proclaimed caliphate. The US is currently leading an international coalition of countries carrying out airstrikes against IS.

In a recent piece published in the Wall Street Journal, it was claimed that the US urged Turkey to seal its border with Syria with some additional 30.000 troops. In the piece, the daily claimed that the Obama administration requested Turkish authorities to block 98-kilometer stretch of frontier allegedly used by Daesh to move militants in and out of the country.

syriahr.com

At least 23 fighters have been killed in clashes between Syrian Islamist forces including Al-Qaeda’s local affiliate and an alliance led by Kurdish forces, a monitor said on Monday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 fighters from Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and allied groups had been killed Sunday in fighting that began last week in northern Aleppo province.

The clashes also killed at least eight members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Kurdish journalist Arin Shekhmos said the clashes began on Thursday, when Al-Nusra and allied fighters attacked posts belonging to Jaish al-Thuwwar, an Arab rebel group allied with Kurdish forces.

The attack, near the border region of Azaz, prompted sporadic clashes that drew in the SDF and have also seen Al-Nusra and its allies fire rockets at a Kurdish district of Aleppo city.

In addition, the Observatory said, Al-Nusra on Sunday beheaded two men it accused of working with Jaish al-Thuwwar.

Syria’s Kurds have long had tense relations with parts of the armed opposition, particularly its hardline elements.

The minority community never officially joined the armed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, despite having been oppressed by his regime, although there have been occasional deadly clashes between Kurdish and pro-regime forces.

It has refused to allow rebel forces to stage operations from Kurdish-majority regions, from which the regime withdrew in 2012, and has focused instead on building political and security autonomy.

The Kurds accuse Turkey of backing some of Syria’s Islamist rebels and Ankara has often warned it will not allow the establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region on its border.

However, the YPG, the main Syrian Kurdish armed group, has played a key role in fighting the Islamic State jihadist group (ISIS) in northern and northeastern Syria.

It has also allied with small Arab rebel groups, like Jaish al-Thuwwar, and recently announced the Syrian Democratic Forces coalition, which groups the YPG with Christian and Arab Sunni Muslim forces.

The US-backed alliance has so far mostly been active in the northeastern province of Hasakeh, where it has captured some 200 villages from ISIS in recent weeks.

inn.com

The Iranian forces drilled operations to cut communication routes at Hag missile base and confrontation against possible cruise missile attacks using the intelligence received from the Islamic Republic of Iran Army’s Command Center for Intelligence and Identification.

After the exercises, General Esmayeeli appreciated his forces’ preparedness, and said, “Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base prepares itself against current threats and it should continuously exercise, train and grow ready 100% to safeguard the country’s air borders.”

In relevant remarks earlier this month, Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Ground Force Brigadier General Kioumars Heidari said his forces have been equipped with state-of-the-art anti-armor and Air Defense weapons and equipment.

“The Ground Force’s Rapid Reaction Force is now equipped with the most modern anti-armor and Air Defense military hardware,” General Heidari told reporters.

He said that the Ground Force’s Rapid Reaction Force has been formed for any possible threat in future, and added, “It is a unique unit in terms of both manpower, defense technologies, fire power and movement capabilities and mobility; these forces can be dispatched to the most remote regions of the country in the shortest period of time, that is within four hours, and immediately act and engage in battles.”

General Heidari pointed to the equipment supplied to the Ground Force’s Rapid Reaction Force, and said, “These weapons and equipment are unique and supplied to no other Army unit; the RPG-29 weapon system which enjoys mobility is one of such equipment.”

He referred to the heliborne and parachuting operations training of the Rapid Reaction Force, and said, “This unit can carry out missions under any kind of condition and in any place… .”

farsnews.com

ap.org

British military sources revealed that London sent Special Forces into Syria to target a list of 20 most prominent leaders in “ISIS”.

“Express” British Newspaper reported 10 leaders of “ISIS” are Britons.

The newspaper added that British troops are a part of the efforts that target eliminating the leaders of ISIS organization .

The newspaper pointed out that the task of the forces is targeting key British extremists, including Sally Jones from Chatham, who converted to Islam and use the name Sukania Hussein , and is considered among the important elements in attracting recruits to “ISIS“.

shafaaq.com

Officials in the joint war room of Russia, Syria, Iran and Hezbollah in Damascus said that Russia will send an intelligence brigade to help troops in the field and increase the number of aircraft operating in the region to more than 100 according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai.

According to the officials, as part of Russia’s reaction to Turkey, Russian forces are focusing on preventing the entry of Turkish trucks through the Aazaz and Bab al-Salamah checkpoints into Syria and are stepping up air and ground attacks in the region.

Iranian police have recruited 30,000 women to ensure monitoring and check-ups at the country’s border checkpoints.

The recruitment of new women police officers comes with regard to the increasing number of pilgrims traveling from Iran to Iraq, IRNA quoted Lotfali Pakbaz, border guard commander in Iran’s Ilam province, as saying Nov. 27.

Pakbaz, saying most of the problems at border checkpoints have been solved, noted that some 100,000 people are expected to daily travel from Iran to Iraq for pilgrimage.

trend.az

euronews.com