President Joe Biden ordered U.S. military forces Tuesday to attack Iran-backed forces in Syria in a series of precision strikes, according to military officials.
The airstrikes were targeted at infrastructure allegedly being used by Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the city of Deir ez-Zor, U.S. Central Command said in a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/STATEMENTS/Statements-View/Article/3137354/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
&#8220;These precision strikes are intended to defend and protect U.S. forces from attacks like the ones on Aug. 15 against U.S. personnel by Iran-backed groups,&#8221; Col. Joe Buccino, communications director for CENTCOM, said in a statement. &#8220;The U.S. strikes targeted infrastructure facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.&#8221; 
Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-military-carries-out-strike-syria-iran-linked-targets-2022-08-24/">reports</a> the Aug. 15 incident involved a drone attack on a compound run by a coalition and U.S.-backed Syrian opposition fighters. 
Buccino said that such strikes were necessary to protect and defend U.S. personnel. 
&#8220;The United States took proportionate, deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation and minimize the risk of casualties,&#8221; Buccino said. &#8220;The President gave the direction for these strikes pursuant to his Article II authority to protect and defend U.S. personnel by disrupting or deterring attacks by Iran-backed groups.&#8221;
According to the statement, the U.S. does not seek conflict but takes &#8220;necessary measures&#8221; to defend its citizens.
No casualties have been reported from the strikes.   
&#8220;U.S. forces remain in Syria to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,&#8221; the statement adds. 
The Obama administration first sent troops to Syria and partnered with the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group, to fight the Islamic State, according to Reuters. The U.S. has previously struck Iran-backed forces in Iraq and Syria and hit operational and weapons storage facilities.
About 900 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Syria, with most stationed in the eastern region.
However, militia groups with Iran&#8217;s support established a foothold in Syria while fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad during Syria&#8217;s civil war, per Reuters.

President Biden Gives Remarks On A Counterterrorism Operation In Northwest Syria

Biden Orders Precision Airstrikes On Iran-Backed Forces In Syria

Biden Ordered Precision Airstrikes On Iran-Backed Forces In Syria

Biden Administration

Iran

Iraq

Joe Biden

Syria

A Canadian citizen born in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/saudi-arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his violent role working for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/isis">ISIS</a>, a role he used to personally execute two captured Syrian soldiers.
Mohammed Khalifa, 39, who was also known as Abu Ridwan Al-Kanadi and Abu Muthanna Al-Muhajir, joined the Islamic terrorist group in 2013 and was quickly given a prominent role in the Islamic State’s media arm due to his fluency in English. For his job, Khalifa translated and narrated ISIS propaganda videos that would be distributed to the English-speaking world to help radicalize and recruit fighters, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leading-isis-media-figure-and-foreign-fighter-sentenced-life-imprisonment">according</a> to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III called Khalifa “the Pied Piper who played the tune” that allowed ISIS to reach English speakers across the globe with its obscene propaganda, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/29/khalifa-life-sentence-isis-propaganda/">reported</a>.
Khalifa narrated and translated around 15 videos for ISIS that were distributed. Two of the videos were especially graphic, showing ISIS fighters killing unarmed prisoners and terrorists carrying out attacks against the U.S. In one video, Khalifa and other masked terrorists kneel on prisoners who are on the ground in front of them and then execute them.
According to prosecutors, the Saudi-born terrorist was “instrumental” during Islamic State’s war in Syria, helping ISIS recruit up to 60,000 fighters for the terrorist organization as it fought to take control of the country.
During Khalifa’s time with ISIS, the terrorists killed eight American, British, and Japanese hostages in Syria between August 2014 and February 2015, the DOJ said. Their deaths were part of a brutal ISIS hostage-taking campaign that targeted foreign journalists and humanitarian workers. Khalifa said during one broadcast that the shooter who killed 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016 was a “brother” who took out “filthy crusaders” and “sodomites,” according to prosecutors.
Khalifa was captured by Syrian Democratic Forces in 2019 after getting into a firefight, and according to prosecutors, he did not give up without trying to kill more Syrian soldiers. “When he had the opportunity to surrender to the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria in 2019, the defendant threw multiple grenades and fired his AK-47 at Syrian soldiers to continue his murderous campaign on behalf of ISIS,” the prosecution said.
Khalifa was quickly turned over to U.S. custody upon his capture. He pleaded guilty in December of supporting terrorism that led to death, and he will now live the rest of his life behind bars.

ISIS

ISIS Executioner Who Narrated Violent Propaganda Videos Sentenced To Life In Prison

Mohammed Khalifa, ISIS Propagandist, Sentenced To Life In Prison

Radical Islamic Terror

Saudi Arabia

Terrorism

National security experts are warning that camps in northern Syria that house the wives and children of ISIS fighters are a serious national security threat as those children are starting to turn into military-aged males who have been indoctrinated by their militant mothers and hardened by violence in the camps.
A recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/us/politics/syria-isis-women-children.html">report</a> in The New York Times on Al Hol detention camp highlighted how the camp is becoming a breeding ground for terrorism for the tens of thousands of women and children of dead or captured ISIS fighters.
Out of the women and children at the camp, which constitute more than 90% of the camp, more than half are children under the age of 12.
The report said that the children are &#8220;surrounded by hard-line, militant women&#8221; and that many of them have to be transferred to wartime prisons for ISIS fighters because of how violent and radical they become. Experts are growing increasingly concerned that the camp is turning into a networking space for adolescents who are becoming terrorists.
The network of prisons, which are controlled by Kurdish forces, house approximately 10,000 adult males, which the report states are &#8220;suspected ISIS fighters&#8221; whose countries of origin do not want to repatriate them.
The report added that a significant part of the threat presented by the camps comes from the fact that the Kurdish forces who provide security at the camps are allied with a group that Turkey considers to be a terrorist group.
Turkey has attacked the group, the Syrian Democratic Forces, which causes the area to become destabilized and could lead to ISIS fighters escaping prisons if prison guards are having to be deployed to fight against Turkish forces.
Brig. Gen. Claude K. Tudor Jr. of the Air Force, the commander of the Special Operations task force working to defeat ISIS, told the Times, “If a Turkish attack in fact comes down, we’re going to potentially have ISIS 2.0.”
The report warned that ISIS has tried to attack prisons in the area recently to try to set its fighters free.
It further warned that those who are responsible for operating and securing the camps and prisons do not have solid information about everyone in their facilities, thus further leading to a potentially destabilizing situation that could metastasize.

SYRIA-CONFLICT-IS-KURDS-CAMP

A Terrorism Ticking Time Bomb Brewing In The Middle East Could Lead To ‘ISIS 2.0’: Report

Kurds

Radical Islam

An ISIS bomb maker who was one of the group’s senior leaders in Syria was captured during a U.S.-led coalition ground raid in the northwestern part of the country Thursday morning, according to the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR).
A U.S. defense official said no American military personnel were injured during the raid, ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-military-ground-raid-syria-captures-top-isis/story?id=85425584">reported</a>.
“Coalition forces detained a senior Daesh leader during an operation in Syria June 16,” a CJTF-OIR press release <a href="https://www.inherentresolve.mil/Home/Article/3064878/coalition-forces-detain-senior-daesh-leader/">stated</a>. “The detained individual was assessed to be an experienced bomb maker and facilitator who became one of the group’s top leaders in Syria.”
The press release also stated that no civilians were harmed during the raid, and all of the coalition’s equipment made it through without any damage.
“The mission was meticulously planned to minimize the risk of collateral damage, particularly any potential harm to civilians. There were no civilians harmed during the operation nor any damage to Coalition aircraft or assets,” CJTF-OIR said.
The ISIS leader’s capture is yet another successful U.S. mission targeting leaders in the terrorist group. In February, the White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-says-top-isis-leader-killed-in-u-s-raid-in-syria">announced</a> that another top ISIS leader had been killed in Syria.
“Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in the northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place,” President Joe Biden said in the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/02/03/statement-by-president-joe-biden-3/">statement</a>.
“Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi—the leader of ISIS. All Americans have returned safely from the operation. I will deliver remarks to the American people later this morning. May God protect our troops,” Biden added.
The February <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-details-emerge-on-isis-chief-killed-in-u-s-raid-on-syria-compound">raid</a> took place at 1 a.m. when U.S. commandos landed out of a helicopter and surrounded a residential building in Atmeh. “At the beginning of the operation the terrorist target exploded a bomb that killed him and members of his own family, including women and children. While we are still assessing the results of this operation, this appears to be the same cowardly terrorist tactic we saw in the 2019 operation that eliminated [Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” a U.S. official <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-special-forces-raid-syrian-site-in-search-of-terrorist-leader-11643869402?mod=hp_lead_pos1&amp;mod=hp_lead_pos1">told</a> The Wall Street Journal.
In October 2019 under the Trump administration, Baghdadi killed himself during an elite Delta Force raid. At the time, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-military-releases-videos-from-raid-that-killed-isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi">reported</a> that Baghdadi “was a priority target for U.S. Central Command and that the raid was the culmination of an intense effort to bring him to justice.”

U.S. Military

U.S. Ground Raid Captures ISIS Leader In Syria

ISIS Leader Caught By U.S.-Led Coalition In Syria

Trump Administration

An American woman from Kansas confessed to leading a battalion of all-female <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/isis-k">ISIS</a> recruits and plotting terror attacks on American soil.
Allison Fluke-Ekren, also known by the alias Umm Mohammed al-Amrik, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kansas-woman-who-led-female-isis-battalion-detained-after-allegedly-recruiting-for-attack-on-american-college-wanted-max-casualties">originally detained</a> and charged by the FBI in January, and has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61727520">pleaded guilty</a> to one count of aiding ISIS and confessed to training over 100 women and girls. She also admitted to plotting attacks on American targets, specifically a university and a shopping mall.
“To conduct the attack, Fluke-Ekren allegedly explained that she could go to a shopping mall in the United States, park a vehicle full of explosives in the basement or parking garage level of the structure, and detonate the explosives in the vehicle with a cell phone triggering device. Fluke-Ekren allegedly considered any attack that did not kill a large number of individuals to be a waste of resources,” the Department of Justice stated.
Fluke-Ekren is a former school teacher and a mother of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/us/politics/islamic-state-fluke-ekren.html">at least</a> seven children, five of whom were born on American soil, and left the United States for Egypt in 2008, before moving to Libya in 2011. According to court documents, Fluke-Ekren and “others with whom she traveled” were moved into Syria in 2012. Allegedly, Fluke-Ekren relocated because the terrorist group Ansar al-Sharia — the organization responsible for carrying out the 2012 attack on the American compound in Benghazi — had ceased conducting attacks in Libya, and Fluke-Ekren wanted to be involved in “violent jihad.” Court documents also revealed that her husband, who was killed in an airstrike in 2016, was also affiliated with Ansar al-Sharia and that the couple had drafted a report for terrorist leaders after analyzing government documents stolen during the attack.
While with ISIS, Fluke-Ekren led Khatiba Nusaybah, an all-female battalion operating in its de-facto capital of Raqqa, Syria. Her main role was providing weapons training to women and children, primarily with AK-47s, grenades, and suicide vests. Fluke-Ekren testified that she did not know that some of the trainees were underage, claiming &#8220;we didn&#8217;t intentionally train any young girls,” according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/07/politics/isis-allison-fluke-ekren-plea/index.html">CNN</a>.
According to witnesses at her trial, Fluke-Ekren’s radicalization levels were “off the charts” and “an 11 or 12” out of 10.
Fluke-Ekren will be sentenced in October and faces up to 20 years imprisonment.

_123071959_is.png

Kansas Woman Confesses To Leading All Female ISIS Battalion

Crime

Criminal Justice

Kansas

More details have emerged on the raid by U.S. commandos resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi on Thursday in northwestern Syria.
The Pentagon announced the successful mission in a short <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2921368/dod-statement-on-feb-2-2022-counterterrorism-operation-in-northwest-syria/">statement</a> Thursday morning. “U.S. Special Operations forces under the control of U.S. Central Command conducted a counterterrorism mission this evening in northwest Syria. The mission was successful. There were no U.S. casualties,” press secretary John Kirby said.
The statement was followed up by one from President Joe Biden: “Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in the northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place. Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the leader of ISIS. All Americans have returned safely from the operation.”
The raid took place around 1 a.m. in Syria when two or three helicopters landed and U.S. commandos surrounded a residential building in the area of Atmeh, the Middle East Institute’s Syria specialist Charles Lister told WSJ. U.S. troops used a loudspeaker to order women and children to leave the area.
The White Helmets, a Syrian civil-defense group, said that at least 13 people, including four women and six children, died in the raid. A U.S. official familiar with the events of the raid told <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-special-forces-raid-syrian-site-in-search-of-terrorist-leader-11643869402?mod=hp_lead_pos1&amp;mod=hp_lead_pos1">The Wall Street Journal</a> that the deaths were a result of al-Qurayshi detonating a suicide vest shortly after the raid began.
“At the beginning of the operation the terrorist target exploded a bomb that killed him and members of his own family, including women and children. While we are still assessing the results of this operation, this appears to be the same cowardly terrorist tactic we saw in the 2019 operation that eliminated [Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi],” the official said.
Al-Baghdadi died in 2019 during a U.S.-led raid after the Islamic State chief detonated a suicide vest.
“Both these terrorist leaders murdered their own families,” an official told <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/03/1077825951/the-u-s-has-conducted-a-counterterrorism-operation-in-syria">NPR</a>. “In this case, the blast was so large on the third floor that it blew bodies outside of the house and into the surrounding areas.”
“All casualties at the site were due to the acts of ISIS terrorists,” the official added.
The U.S. military has faced scrutiny and condemnation recently over 10 civilian deaths that resulted from a botched strike on a purported ISIS terrorist during the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. had actually carried out an airstrike on an Afghan aid worker, killing the aid worker and at least seven children. The Pentagon admitted to the botched strike in September. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-pentagon-confirms-children-killed-in-drone-strike-in-afghanistan">The Daily Wire</a> reported:
<blockquote>In a shocking admission Friday, the Pentagon confirmed that a drone strike in Afghanistan, meant to target members of ISIS-K who planned a deadly attack on the United States military in the waning days of the Afghanistan War, killed 10 civilians in a “tragic mistake.”
“The Pentagon acknowledged on Friday that a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan on Aug. 29 that officials said was necessary to prevent an attack on American troops was a tragic mistake that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, an American military official familiar with the investigation,” told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/us/politics/pentagon-drone-strike-afghanistan.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur">The New York Times</a>.</blockquote>

U.S. Army soldiers

More Details Emerge On ISIS Chief Killed In U.S. Raid On Syria Compound

ISIS terrorists are reportedly rapidly regaining territory in Iraq and Syria, their so-called &#8220;caliphate,&#8221; after former President Donald Trump effectively wiped them out in those areas.
&#8220;The evidence of a resurgence of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is mounting by the day, nearly three years after the militants lost the last patch of territory of their so-called caliphate, which once stretched across vast parts of the two countries,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/world/middleeast/isis-syria.html">reported</a>. &#8220;The fact that ISIS was able to mount these coordinated and sophisticated attacks in recent days shows that what had been believed to be disparate sleeper cells are re-emerging as a more serious threat.&#8221;
The Times cited several recent incidents that have happened in the region, including a massive attack attempting to free ISIS prisoners in Syria, attacks on military forces in Iraq, and a reemergence of gruesome beheading videos.
“It’s a wake-up call for regional players, for national players, that ISIS is not over, that the fight is not over,” said Kawa Hassan, Middle East and North Africa director at the Stimson Center. “It shows the resilience of ISIS to strike back at the time and place of their choosing.”
The report noted that the U.S. military and its allies engaged ISIS at the largest level in three years this week after the terrorists attacked the prison in Syria and tried to free other ISIS terrorists. The report said that while ISIS was making other attacks in Syria, it also launched a major attack against an Iraqi Army base late at night, killing 10 soldiers.
&#8220;The attack raised fears that some of the same conditions in Iraq that allowed for ISIS’s rise in 2014 were now making room for it to reconstitute,&#8221; the report added. &#8220;The attacks in Iraq, conducted by ISIS sleeper cells in remote mountain and desert areas, have highlighted a lack of coordination between Iraqi government forces and the Peshmerga, Kurdish forces of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Many of the attacks take place in disputed territory claimed by both the Iraqi Kurdish government and the central government.&#8221;
An expert told The Times that many of the ISIS terrorists carrying out the attacks appeared to be younger than many of the group&#8217;s previous terrorists and that they might be from families that have ties to the Islamic terrorist group.
Experts worry that one of ISIS&#8217;s offshoots, ISIS-K, along with al-Qaeda, are regrouping in Afghanistan following Democrat President Joe Biden&#8217;s disastrous pullout from the country back in August.
The Associated Press <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-commander-al-qaeda-numbers-afghanistan-up">reported</a>:
<blockquote>Speaking at the Pentagon, McKenzie said it’s clear that al-Qaeda is attempting to rebuild its presence inside Afghanistan, which was the base from which it planned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against the United States. He said some militants are coming into the country through its porous borders, but it is hard for the U.S. to track numbers. …
McKenzie and other senior U.S. military and national security officials had said before the U.S. withdrawal that it would complicate efforts to keep a lid on the al-Qaeda threat, in part because of the loss of on-the-ground intelligence information and the absence of a U.S.-friendly government in Kabul. The U.S. says it will rely on airstrikes from drones and other aircraft based beyond Afghanistan’s borders to respond to any extremist threats against the U.S. homeland.</blockquote>
“We’re probably at about 1 or 2% of the capabilities we once had to look into Afghanistan,” he said. The AP said that McKenzie warned that this meant that it was “very hard” to make sure that major terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS cannot use Afghanistan to launch attacks against the U.S.
McKenzie said that ISIS was “reinvigorated” after the Taliban released numerous ISIS terrorists from Afghan prisons that were abandoned under Biden’s leadership. The ISIS terrorist who murdered 13 U.S. service members during a suicide attack at the airport in Kabul was reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/isis-suicide-bomber-who-murdered-13-u-s-troops-was-freed-from-bagram-prison-after-biden-withdrawal-indian-media-claims">released</a> from prison.
Related:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-isis-leader-killed-in-trump-authorized-military-raid">ISIS Leader Killed In Trump-Authorized Military Raid</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-pentagon-official-warns-isis-k-could-be-ready-to-attack-west-in-6-months">Top Pentagon Official Warns: ISIS-K Could Be Ready To Attack West In 6 Months</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/general-on-bidens-afghanistan-disaster-u-s-lost-98-99-of-its-capability-to-track-terrorists-in-area">General On Biden’s Afghanistan Disaster: U.S. Lost 98-99% Of Its Capability To Track Terrorists In Area</a></li>
</ul>

US-POLITICS-BIDEN

‘Mounting By The Day’: ISIS Rapidly Regaining Territory In Areas Where Trump Wiped Them Out, Report Says

A Tennessee woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to “concealing material support and resources”  which were supposed to aid a Syrian Islamic terrorist organization after an undercover investigation by the feds.
Georgianna A.M. Giampietro, of Sparta, Tennessee, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdtn/pr/sparta-woman-pleads-guilty-concealing-material-support-intended-foreign-terrorist">admitted</a> her guilt at a U.S. District Court in Middle Tennessee and could face up to a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison. The 36-year old was indicted for attempting to help a Foreign Terrorist Organization back in August 2019.
“I commend our law enforcement partners and our prosecutors who have worked diligently to investigate this case and bring this individual to justice,” U.S. Attorney Mark Wildasin said in a statement. “All attempts to provide support to terrorist organizations will receive the full attention and resources of our office and law enforcement to ensure that those who engage in such activity are held accountable.  The safety and security of the American public demands no less.”
Back in September 2018, Giampietro attempted to aid an undercover agent who was trying to go overseas to become part of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in Syria. HTS, a militant Sunni Islamic group that has had ties to al-Qaeda, was <a href="https://www.csis.org/programs/transnational-threats-project/past-projects/terrorism-backgrounders/hayat-tahrir-al-sham">designated</a> as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department in May 2018. The group has been embroiled in the Syrian Civil War. 
“Today’s actions notify the U.S. public and the international community that HTS is an alias of al-Nusrah Front,” the State Department <a href="https://2017-2021.state.gov/amendments-to-the-terrorist-designations-of-al-nusrah-front/index.html">said</a> at the time. “Terrorism designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system.”
According to authorities, Giampietro provided the agent with the procedure about how to join HTS. It involved advising the agent (alongside the agent’s “husband” who was going to fight for HTS) to cut ties with other people in the six to eight months before going to Syria, purchasing new phones, and evading law enforcement. Giampietro suggested making it to Syria via Turkey. 
Giampietro also communicated with contacts who she said could help the agent make it to Syria. She suggested that the agent and her husband travel to Afghanistan instead as she was reportedly told by a contact that there really wasn’t any jihad going on in Syria. 
The feds claim that Giampietro knew that HTS was a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and yet still intended to aid it. She gave information to the agent about how to get in touch with her contact who was supposed to aid the couple in their trip to Syria. 
She used an encrypted messaging system, where the messages would sometimes delete so that they could not be read. 
&#8220;Protecting the United States from terrorist attacks is the FBI’s number one priority,” Special Agent Douglas M. Korneski stated. &#8220;This case once again demonstrates the FBI&#8217;s dedication to vigorously pursue those who provide material support to terrorist organizations, and hold them accountable for their conspiratorial actions.”

SYRIA-CONFLICT-AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN

Tennessee Woman Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Aid Syrian Islamic Terrorist Organization

The U.S. military on Tuesday conducted strikes on rocket sites in Syria after &#8220;indirect fire posed what a U.S.-led coalition official called &#8216;an imminent threat&#8217; to American troops,&#8221; according to a new report.
&#8220;Indirect fire attacks pose a serious threat to innocent civilians because of their lack of discrimination,&#8221; the Operation Inherent Resolve official said in a statement, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/04/politics/us-strikes-syria/index.html">according</a> to CNN. The U.S. troops are stationed at Green Village, a base in the east of the country near the Iraqi border.
The report said &#8220;the U.S. is not officially confirming it conducted the strikes,&#8221; but added that &#8220;a defense official with direct knowledge noted that only US forces in that area have weapons capable of carrying out these kinds of strikes.&#8221; The strikes destroyed the seven Katyusha rocket sites that were targeted, CNN said.
The Associated Press also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-middle-east-syria-john-kirby-6a62001de643296bb3eefda14ed81c92">said</a> the strikes &#8220;apparently were conducted by U.S. forces, but a statement issued by the coalition did not specify who carried them out. The statement offered few details beyond saying the sites &#8216;posed an imminent threat in the vicinity of Green Village, Syria,&#8217; and were struck in self defense.&#8221;
U.S. troops in the region have been seeing threats from Iranian-backed militias, according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. &#8220;In just the last few days, there have been acts perpetrated by some of these groups that validate the consistent concerns that we&#8217;ve had over the safety and security of our people,&#8221; Kirby said at a press briefing Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. military shot down two &#8220;suicide&#8221; drones as they approached Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, according to the Iraqi Prime Minister&#8217;s Office. The attack came just days after the anniversary of the U.S. assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qasem Soleimani at the same base targeted by Iranian missiles two years ago .
And on Sunday, a region near Baghdad airport where U.S. troops had been was targeted in a failed attack.
Syria, where the U.S. has nearly 1,000 troops, has also been targeted. &#8220;In October, a &#8216;deliberate and coordinated&#8217; attack using multiple drones targeted US forces at the At-Tanf base in Syria near the borders with Iraq and Jordan,&#8221; CNN reported.
President Joe Biden last year pulled U.S. troops out of Afghanistan in a disastrous move that drew scorn from members of both major political parties. The long-running mission in Iraq was also pared back, which Kirby said is necessary.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t stay at this mission &#8230; this new mission &#8230; with any illusions that our people are under any less threat by these militia groups,&#8221; Kirby said. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to stay focused on that threat as we stay focused on the mission at hand and make sure that we&#8217;re doing everything we can to protect our people.&#8221;
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com.

TOPSHOT-US-Afghanistan-conflict-politics-army

War President? U.S. Conducts Strikes On Syria, Targeting Seven Rocket Sites: Reports

Afghanistan

John Kirby

U.S. officials reportedly believe that Iran was &#8220;behind the drone attack&#8221; on a U.S. base in Syria last week, which comes as the Biden administration continues to try to negotiate with Iran about returning to the Iran nuclear deal.
&#8220;Officials said Monday the U.S. believes that Iran resourced and encouraged the attack, but that the drones were not launched from Iran. They were Iranian drones, and Iran appears to have facilitated their use, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public,&#8221; The Associated Press reported. &#8220;Officials said they believe the attacks involved as many as five drones laden with explosive charges, and that they hit both the U.S. side of al-Tanf garrison and the side where Syrian opposition forces stay.&#8221;
U.S. forces are at the base to train Syrian forces to fight against Islamic extremists.
Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said that the attack was “complex, coordinated and deliberate.”
“The protection and security of our troops overseas remains a paramount concern for the secretary,” Kirby said, referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, “and that if there is to be a response, it will be at a time and a place and a manner of our choosing, and we certainly won’t get ahead of those kinds of decisions.”
&#8220;U.S. military tipped off to attack on base housing American troops in Syria last week and moved them prior to the drone strike,&#8221; Fox News reporter Lucas Tomlinson tweeted. &#8220;Bomb fragments later found where U.S. troops sleep. U.S. officials blame Iran for launching 5 drones. No U.S. troops killed or injured.&#8221;
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U.S. military tipped off to attack on base housing American troops in Syria last week and moved them prior to the drone strike: U.S. officials. Bomb fragments later found where U.S. troops sleep. U.S. officials blame Iran for launching 5 drones. No U.S. troops killed or injured.
&mdash; Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/LucasFoxNews/status/1452737381149335560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The attack on the base comes as the Biden administration has tried to get Iran to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal. Iran is now on the brink of having enough nuclear material to create a nuclear weapon.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israeli-pm-naftali-bennett-warns-world-that-imminent-action-coming-against-iranian-nuclear-program">signaled</a> to the world in late September that Israel is preparing to take action to stop Iran from being able to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“Iran’s nuclear weapon program is at a critical point. All red lines have been crossed. Inspections — ignored. All wishful-thinking — proven false,” he said. “Iran is currently violating the IAEAs safeguard agreements — and it’s getting away with it. They harass inspectors and sabotage their investigations — and they’re getting away with it. They enrich Uranium to the level of 60 percent, which is only one step short of weapons-grade material — and they’re getting away with it.”
“Evidence which clearly proves Iran’s intentions for nuclear weapons in secret sites in Turquzabad, Teheran &amp; Marivan — is ignored,” he continued. “Iran’s nuclear program has hit a watershed moment. And so has our tolerance.”
“Words do not stop centrifuges from spinning. There are those in the world who seem to view Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons as an inevitable reality, as a done deal, or they’ve just become tired of hearing about it,” Bennett added. “Israel doesn’t have that privilege. We cannot tire. We will not tire. Israel will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.

UAV drill begins in Iran

Iran Behind Drone Attack On U.S. Base In Syria, U.S. Officials Say

Drones

Human rights activists across the world were shocked, Saturday, when Syria was selected to serve on the board of the World Health Organization despite President Bashar Assad&#8217;s record of human rights abuses, including unleashing deadly bombing raids on his own citizens.
The decision sparked protests in Syria&#8217;s independent regions, where health care workers are targeted by Assad&#8217;s government.
&#8220;Dozens of medical workers in rebel-held northwest Syria on Monday protested a decision to grant President Bashar Assad s government a seat on the executive board of the World Health Organization They said Assad is responsible for bombing hospitals and clinics across the war-ravaged country,&#8221; <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/protesters-slam-choice-of-syria-for-board-of-un-health-body-syria-world-health-organization-bashar-assad-idlib-un-watch-b1857120.html">reported The Independent</a>.
&#8220;The decision to give Syria a seat came a decade into the country’s devastating civil war that has left untold numbers of civilians — including many health care workers — dead and injured,&#8221; the outlet added.
The change to the WHO&#8217;s executive board came during a &#8220;little-noticed session&#8221; of the group&#8217;s assembly on Saturday. &#8220;Syria was among 12 WHO member states that were chosen to appoint new members for the 34-member board in an assembly vote that faced no debate or opposition,&#8221; according to The Independent.
Syria will serve on the body&#8217;s executive board beginning Wednesday, where it will become a key decision-maker for the international health organization, which is slated to take up the issue of whether to further investigate the Chinese government over allegations that the COVID-19 virus &#8220;escaped&#8221; from a virus research laboratory in Wuhan, where the global COVID-19 pandemic was thought to originate.
The WHO previously sent a team to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 virus. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-56054468">According to a report from the BBC</a>, however, that team told the global health body that China refused to turn over key data necessary to understand how the pandemic was able to take root so quickly. China would not give investigators any raw patient data from Wuhan&#8217;s affected, and researchers &#8220;only received a summary&#8221; of critical data points.
Syria has its own troubles. A report from <a href="https://phr.org/our-work/resources/medical-personnel-are-targeted-in-syria/" rel="external noopener noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Physicians For Human Rights</a> noted that &#8220;over the past 10 years in Syria, there were 598 attacks on health care facilities and personnel, 350 health care facilities were targeted, and 930 medical professionals were killed,&#8221; leaving their commitment to global health in question.
“Syria’s election is a travesty,” Hillel Neuer, the executive director of UN Watch, said in a statement. “It’s like appointing a pyromaniac to be the town fire chief.”
“Syria’s Assad regime, with the help of its allies Russia and Iran, systematically bombs hospitals and clinics, killing doctors, nurses, and others as they care for the sick and injured,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Health professionals have also been arrested, disappeared, imprisoned, tortured, and executed. Electing this murderous regime to govern the world’s top health body is an insult to Assad’s millions of victims, and sends a terrible message.&#8221;
Syria&#8217;s own civil defense workers, known as &#8220;white hats,&#8221; also condemned the decision.
&#8220;We are appalled by the WHO’s decision to reward the Assad regime for destroying hospitals and killing doctors and refusing to provide medical assistance to Syrians by electing it as a member of its executive board,&#8221; the group said.

In this photo illustration the World Health Organization

Syria Elected To World Health Organization Executive Board Despite Human Rights Abuses

World Health Organization

Militants in Gaza fired more than 30 rockets into Israel late Saturday and early Sunday morning, escalating a crisis that began with the exchange of missiles between Israel and Syria.
Israel immediately hit back, striking Hamas military targets that included rocket launchers, Israel’s military said Saturday.
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&#8220;Two militant groups in Gaza, Fatah’s Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s Abu Ali Brigades, claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. Israel says it holds Gaza ruler Hamas responsible for any violence coming from the Gaza Strip,&#8221; The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/gaza-militants-fire-rockets-at-israel-amid-jerusalem-clashes-11619273996">reported</a>.
&#8220;In a statement, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Israel’s bombing of Hamas targets in Gaza as well as the recent clashes in Jerusalem are &#8216;part of its comprehensive aggressive policies against our people.&#8217; Hamas did claim the rocket fire but said &#8216;what the Palestinian resistance is doing in response to this aggression is within the framework of carrying out its national duty to protect and defend the interests of our people,'&#8221; the Journal said.
The strife follows violent protests in Jerusalem after Palestinians claimed Israeli police have sought to shut down gatherings at the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Israel on Thursday retaliated against Syria, which had launched an advanced surface-to-air missile that hit in the Negev Desert. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that in response, it attacked several missile batteries in Syria, including the one that fired the missile at Israel.
&#8220;A surface-to-air missile was fired from Syria to Israel’s southern Negev,” the Israel Defense Forces tweeted. “In response, we struck the battery from which the missile was launched and additional surface-to-air batteries in Syria.”
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BREAKING: A surface-to-air missile was fired from Syria to Israel’s southern Negev.
In response, we struck the battery from which the missile was launched and additional surface-to-air batteries in Syria.
&mdash; Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) <a href="https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1385020649224249345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Syria&#8217;s state news agency said Syrian air defenses intercepted the Israeli attack that had targeted areas in the Damascus suburbs,&#8221; The Jerusalem Post <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/alarms-sound-in-south-of-israel-665953">reported</a>. &#8220;Air defenses intercepted the rockets and downed most of them,&#8221; the agency said. But four Syrian soldiers were reportedly injured in the attack and there was damage to facilities, it said.
Syria claimed it fired the missile in retaliation for what it claims was an Israeli Air Force bombing near Damascus. Israel&#8217;s attempt to intercept the missile failed. &#8220;The IDF activated its air defense systems in an attempt to intercept the missile, but the attempt failed,&#8221; the Post reported. &#8220;The military is investigating why its air defenses failed to intercept the SA-5 and did not intercept the large warhead. &#8221;
&#8220;Early reports indicated that the explosion was the result of a Patriot missile defense system battery responding to the firing of the missile into Israel. The IDF later confirmed the reports and on Thursday morning, missile parts were located in the swimming pool of the Negev community of Ashalim,&#8221; the paper stated.
The Associated <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-israel-middle-east-79c9f6465155c8856fd7a077adc5978c">Press</a> later said the Syrian missile was fired by accident and not aimed at Israel&#8217;s top-secret nuclear reactor.
&#8220;The Israeli military said Thursday that a Syrian missile that reached deep into Israeli territory and set off air raid sirens near the country’s top-secret nuclear reactor was the result of a misfire and not a deliberate attack,&#8221; the AP wrote. &#8220;The missile landed in southern Israel early Thursday, prompting Israel to respond with airstrikes on the missile launcher and other targets in Syria.&#8221;
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