Military & Security

COMMENTARY Turkish president Erdogan will visit Tehran on Wednesday, October 4 to hold bilateral meetings and attend a joint strategic council session. The meeting comes on the heels of Iranian FM visit to Doha, signaling ever closer cooperation and coordination between the three states, and ahead of Saudi …

OPINION Shehab Al-Makahleh • Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on September 28, 2017. The two leaders are expected to dovetail their positions over regional issues before Turkish Special Forces get the nod to intervene in Idlib, the last stronghold …

On August 31, the US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups of Jaysh Ahrar al-Ashayer and Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya released a Syrian pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Ali al-Helw and 30 Syrian soldiers. Al-Helw’s warplane, a Mig-23BN, crashed in the northern Suwayda countryside on August 15. Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya captured the …

By Shehab Al Makahleh, Special to Al Arabiya English | Friday, 25 August 2017 • Jordan and Iraq have agreed to reopen the Turaibil – al-Karamah border crossing shortly after Eid Al Adha. A Jordanian security official has told Al Arabiya English that the Karamah crossing will be opened for …

by Shehab Al-Makahleh | Published August 25th, 2017  | Foreign Policy Association • As heavy fighting in the city of Hama reminds us of the seemingly endless misery in Syria, a hopeful breakthrough has been overlooked in the media: Syrian opposition forces met in Jordan for two days to …

By Abdel Bari Atwan The surprises keep coming in Syria, one after the other. They reflect radical changes in the local, regional and international dynamics that have long governed the conflict ravaging the country. Following the Syrian Arab Army’s recovery of the town of as-Sukhna in the governorate …

US special operations forces are teaming with the Lebanese Army to coordinate a strike against Daesh from Lebanon as the paramilitary group Hezbollah is reportedly engaging Daesh from the Syrian flank, Haaretz reported Monday. A Pentagon spokesman confirmed that US Special Forces personnel were presently “providing training and …

As expected, the intra-Syrian agreement on a cessation of hostilities between the Syrian army and the armed factions in what was seen as a principled success of the deal could lead to ending the six-year war in Syria. Moscow explained that it was in contact with the American …

Philip Wen and Ben Blanchard • BEIJING (Reuters) – China loves peace but will never compromise on defending its sovereignty, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday while marking 90 years since the founding of the People’s Liberation Army. China has rattled nerves around Asia and globally with its increasingly assertive stance …