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Central Syria Campaign (July 2017–present)
The Central Syria campaign, known as "Operation Khuzam," or "Lavender," was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Army (SAA) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Syrian Civil War. Its goal was to capture the strategic oil town of Al-Sukhnah, and besiege and capture 11,000 square kilometers of ISIL territory in central Syria, after which the Syrian Army would advance towards Deir ez-Zor, and lift the three-year ISIL siege of the government's enclave in the city. Afterwards, the Syrian Army advanced towards the Islamic State's then-capital of Mayadin. The campaign was concurrent with the Raqqa campaign conducted by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State's former capital city and stronghold in Syria, Raqqa. In addition, the SDF launched their own offensive in mid-September south along the Euphrates River, after Syrian government forces reached Deir ez-Zor city. The campaign Syrian Army push into southern of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Popular Mobilization Forces
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) ( ar, الحشد الشعبي ''al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī''), also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization composed of approximately 67 different armed factions, with around 128,000 fighters that are mostly Shia Muslim groups, but also include Sunni Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi groups. However, an investigation led by Former Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider al-Abadi revealed that approximately 60,000 are real soldiers, while the others 70,000 are " Ghost soldiers". The Popular Mobilization Units as a group was formed in 2014 and have fought in nearly every major battle against ISIL. It has been called the new Iraqi Republican Guard after it was fully reorganized in early 2018 by its then–Commander in Chief Haider al-Abadi, Prime Minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2018, who issued "regulations to adapt the situation of the Popular Mobilization fig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abu Muhammad Al-Shimali
Tarad Mohammad al-Jarba ( ar, طراد محمد آل الجربا), better known by his kunya Abu Muhammad al-Shimali ( ar, أبو محمد الشمالي), was an Iraqi-born citizen of Saudi Arabia and a senior leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). History Abu Muhammad al-Shimali joined Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2005, continuing his association with the group when it became ISIL. He was from the al-Jarba branch of the Shammar tribe. Militant activity According to the United States Department of State Rewards for Justice Program, he served "as a key leader in ISIL’s Immigration and Logistics Committee" and helped foreigners travel to fight in Syria, usually via Gaziantep, Turkey, and the Syrian border town of Jarabulus, which at the time was ISIL controlled. Al-Shimali and his logistics teams also controlled smuggling, financial transfers and movement of supplies into Syria and Iraq from Europe, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. On September 29, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle East Eye
Middle East Eye (MEE) is a London-based news website covering events in the Middle East and North Africa. MEE describes itself as an "independently funded online news organization that was founded in April 2014." MEE seeks to be the primary portal of Middle East news, and describes its target audience as "all those communities of readers living in and around the region that care deeply for its fate". Organisation MEE is edited by David Hearst, a former foreign leader writer for the British daily, ''The Guardian''. MEE is owned by Middle East Eye Ltd, a UK company incorporated in 2013 under the sole name of Jamal Awn Jamal Bessasso. It employs about 20 full-time staff in its London office. MEE has been accused of being backed by Qatar. The governments of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain accuse MEE of pro-Muslim Brotherhood bias and receiving Qatari funding. As a consequence, they demanded MEE to be shut down following the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar. MEE has denied the accusa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulmurod Khalimov
Gulmurod Salimovich Khalimov ( tg, Гулмурод Салимович Ҳалимов) (1975–2017) was a Tajik and Islamist military commander. He was a lieutenant-colonel and commander of the police special forces of the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan until 2015, when he defected to the Islamic State. In September 2016, he was reported to have been appointed as the minister of war of IS in place of Abu Omar al-Shishani; his appointment had not been announced by IS for fears that he might be targeted in airstrikes by the anti-IS coalition. On 8 September 2017, Khalimov was allegedly killed during a Russian airstrike near Deir ez-Zor, Syria. However, the Tajik government, United Nations, and the United States believed that he was still alive by 2019, though his exact fate remained disputed. By 2020, Islamist militants claimed he had died at some point; this source was considered unreliable by the Tajik government. Regardless, the United States had removed Khalimov from their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long War Journal
''FDD's Long War Journal'' (LWJ) is an American news website, also described as a blog, which reports on the War on terror. The site is operated by Public Multimedia Incorporated (PMI), a non-profit media organization established in 2007. PMI is run by Paul Hanusz and Bill Roggio. Roggio is the managing editor of the journal and Thomas Joscelyn is senior editor. The site is a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where both Roggio and Joscelyn are senior fellows. The journal evolved from Roggio's personal blog with which he reported on conflicts involving terrorism and Islamic insurgencies around the world. PMI states that its journal seeks to provide news on conflicts without promoting a political agenda and with a goal of providing in-depth, contextual, detailed reporting. The site's staff, led by Roggio, use international media sources plus contacts in the United States intelligence community for information for their reports. The organization is funded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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