Canadian Jihadist Abu Mansour Al-Muhajer, appeared in a video released by the Syria-based pro-Al-Qaeda Jihadist group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), and recounted why he had decided to move to Syria after living most of his life in Canada. Speaking in English, Al-Muhaje...
Russian former military officer Yevgeny Krutikov, columnist for Vzglyad, wrote that a conflict is brewing between the Syrian special services and the Russian military police. A situation has arisen where some localities are already free from militants but have not returned to the...
(Image source: Globalaffairs.ru, March 1, 2016)
To understand the Kremlin's policy in the Middle East, two questions seem to be imperative: Why is Russia in Syria? And why is it aligning with the "resistance camp" (i.e. Iran, Syria, Hizbullah)?
To answer these questions, ...
In view of the ongoing victories of Assad's army in Syria and the apparent defeat of the Syrian opposition forces, on the eve of the elections in Iraq and Lebanon, Lebanese journalist Hazem Al-Amin, head of investigations and features at the Dubai-based Al-Hayat daily, published ...
Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, said that Syria had achieved a "balance of terror" with Israel and the response to a future Israeli strike would be inside Israel proper. Berri, who was speaking on Russia Today TV on May 11, also said: "If a war breaks out, I don'...
Interviews with the five senior ISIS militants captured by the Iraqi military following a sting operation involving U.S. forces were broadcast by Al-Iraqiya TV on May 9. Saddam Omar Hussein Al-Jamal, a top ISIS commander in Deir Ezzor, recounted how he had pledged allegiance to I...
On April 28, 2018, the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily published an article listing bases of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and of the Iran-backed Shi'ite militias on Syrian soil. According to the daily, the information was sourced from secret reports prepar...
In his April 21, 2018 column in the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar, titled "Hizbullah Resettling in Syria," Ahmad 'Ayyash referred to the policy of transfer and forced demographic change that the Bashar Al-Assad regime has been conducting in Syria over the past several years, with the a...
In the past two months there have been increasing threats against the U.S. forces in Syria, emanating from the Syrian regime, its writers, and its supporters.[1] These threats escalated even further following the conflicting announcements made recently by the U.S. administration ...
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said that "the international policy that encourages Syrians to remain in Lebanon and raises hell whenever a small group returns to Syria" was an "international conspiracy." Speaking on Mayadeen TV on April 29, he said that "they want to tar...
Syrian poet Ali Ahmad Said Esber, widely known by his nom de plume Adonis, was interviewed on April 15 by France 24 TV, where he said that religion should be a private experience of individuals, and that "if we do not separate religion and state... we will remain trapped in a vic...
On March 2, 2018, Salman Masalha, an Israeli-Arab intellectual of Druze origin,[1]published an article in the Dubai-based Al-Hayat daily that harshly criticized the Arab leaders' response to the civil war raging in Syria, which is currently in its eighth year. Masalha claims that...
Jamal Al-Mahmoud, a professor of international relations at Damascus University, demanded an Iranian response to the recent airstrikes on Syria and said that "the Israeli and U.S. attacks in Syria cannot go unanswered." Speaking on Al-Manar TV on April 22, Al-Mahmoud recalled tha...
After the U.S.-U.K.-France strike on Syria, the Russian MFA Spokesperson accused Washington of collaborating with the extremist groups in Syria, Russian MP Aleksandr Sherin went as far as to compare U.S. President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.
Below are official reactions by R...
Iraqi Shi'ite militia leader Aws Al-Khafaji, secretary-general of the Abu Al-Fadhl Al-Abbas Brigades, said on April 7, following the U.S.-led missile strike on Syria, that the U.S. and Israel were "the cause of all the problems of the region" and that "if they attack Syria, I hav...
In light of Israel's recent military operations against Iran's military expansion in Syria, comprising strikes against strategic Iranian and Syrian targets such as Iran-controlled airfields, missile bases, and drone bases, Iran now faces a strategic question: whether to respond t...
On April 14, 2018, about a week after the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad carried out a chemical attack on the town of Douma near Damascus that killed dozens, the U.S., U.K. and France launched a joint military strike on regime bases and facilities associated with its ...
The majority of pro-Kremlin opinion makers view the strike as merely a symbolic one that demonstrated that Washington is a paper tiger, intimidated by Russia. In contrast, independent editorialists believe that while the strike was limited, military tension between Washington and...
Russian diplomat Konstantin Kosachev, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of Federation, said that he hoped that the countries allied with the U.S. would be a small minority and that "the majority should be allies with countries such as Russia, because we are...
Egyptian TV host Moataz Matar mocked "puppeteer" Trump, who, he claimed, had received billions of dollars from the Gulf "as payment for the hour-long military demonstration." "Bashar is one of those who benefit the most," said Matar, in an address on the Turkey-based Egyptian Mus...
Following the chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma, Egyptian TV host Amr Adeeb gave an address in which he said that as Arabs, "we need to take a hard look at ourselves." "We have brought shame upon the world, shame upon humanity, by what we are doing by ourselves and to o...
In recent weeks, there have been indications of a possible shift in Saudi Arabia's policy vis-à-vis Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and recognition of his regime. These indications have prompted various predictions regarding the possibility of normalization of Saudi-Syrian relat...
After the French president joined his American and British counterparts in warning that they would respond to the Syrian regime's chemical attack in Douma, Ibrahim Al-Amin, editor-in-chief of the pro-Hizbullah daily Al-Akhbar, penned a scathing article against France. Al-Amin acc...
U.S. President Donald Trump's statement that the Syrian regime will pay a "big price" for its April 7, 2018 chemical attack on Douma, which left dozens dead, as well as the American, British and French preparations for a military strike in Syria, sparked an intense debate in Saud...
Following the chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma, Egyptian TV host Amr Adeeb gave an address in which he said that as Arabs, "we need to take a hard look at ourselves." "We have brought shame upon the world, shame upon humanity, by what we are doing by ourselves and to o...
While the world awaits U.S. punitive action in Syria following charges that Assad's forces used poison gas in an attack on the city of Douma on April 7, 2018, Professor Ivan Timofeev, in an April 11, 2018 article, constructs a hypothetical escalation ladder that could start ...
Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin said in an April 11 Al-Manar TV interview that "If there is an American strike... Let me refer you to the statement by President Putin and the Russian Chief-of-Staff that the missiles will be shot down and&...
Egyptian TV host Sayyed Ali criticized U.S. President Trump's condemnation of Bashar Al-Assad following the chemical attack in Douma. Calling Trump a "lunatic," an "extortionist," and a "gallant Pasha, who behaves like a bully at a cabaret," and criticizing his use of the term "a...
El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of the British ISIS cell known as the "Beatles," which became notorious for its beheading videos of foreign hostages, gave an interview to journalist Jenan Moussa of Alaan TV from his cell. Elsheikh, who refused to answer questions regarding the charg...
Syrian businessman Ghassan Aboud, Founder of the Syrian opposition Orient TV channel and of the Orient for Human Relief Organization, said that his organization had held discussions with Israeli government officials as well as Israelis working for humanitarian organizations in an...
Riyad Naasan Agha, Syria's former minister of culture who defected to the opposition, said: "If only the regime regains control, and the Russians and Iranians leave [Syria]." Speaking on Al-Arabiya TV on April 5, he said that "all the countries of the world have a piece of the Sy...
On January 30, 2018, the Syrian Congress of National Dialogue was held in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. The conference, led by Russia, was part of that country's efforts to advance a political solution for the Syria crisis.
The week before the conference, on January 2...
Syrian journalist Ahmad Kamel said that although we have fought Israel all our lives, "Israel never did to us what was done by Hizbullah, the Iranians, and the Russians, and nor did the Mongols, the Tatars, or the French." Furthermore, the Americans "are accomplices [to the killi...
As U.S. forces settle in east of the Euphrates River in eastern Syria, with the aid of the primarily Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Syrian regime is issuing harsh warnings about the American presence in the country. Regime officials and regime-affiliated media are de...
In its March 18, 2018 editorial, the Saudi government daily Al-Riyadh wrote that, in light of the atrocities perpetrated by the Syrian regime against its people, as currently exemplified by the massacre in eastern Ghouta, and given the helplessness of the international community ...
Faced with enormous pressure from the global coalition, and following its defeats on the battlefield, recently numerous Islamic State (ISIS) fighters who operated in Syria and Iraq have deserted. Some have returned to their families in Syria and Iraq. Others, from countries outsi...
Russian former military officer Yevgeny Krutikov, columnist for Vzglyad, wrote that a conflict is brewing between the Syrian special services and the Russian military police. A situation has arisen where some localities are already free from militants but have not returned to the...
(Image source: Globalaffairs.ru, March 1, 2016)
To understand the Kremlin's policy in the Middle East, two questions seem to be imperative: Why is Russia in Syria? And why is it aligning with the "resistance camp" (i.e. Iran, Syria, Hizbullah)?
To answer these questions, ...
In view of the ongoing victories of Assad's army in Syria and the apparent defeat of the Syrian opposition forces, on the eve of the elections in Iraq and Lebanon, Lebanese journalist Hazem Al-Amin, head of investigations and features at the Dubai-based Al-Hayat daily, published ...
On April 28, 2018, the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily published an article listing bases of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and of the Iran-backed Shi'ite militias on Syrian soil. According to the daily, the information was sourced from secret reports prepar...
In his April 21, 2018 column in the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar, titled "Hizbullah Resettling in Syria," Ahmad 'Ayyash referred to the policy of transfer and forced demographic change that the Bashar Al-Assad regime has been conducting in Syria over the past several years, with the a...
In the past two months there have been increasing threats against the U.S. forces in Syria, emanating from the Syrian regime, its writers, and its supporters.[1] These threats escalated even further following the conflicting announcements made recently by the U.S. administration ...
On March 2, 2018, Salman Masalha, an Israeli-Arab intellectual of Druze origin,[1]published an article in the Dubai-based Al-Hayat daily that harshly criticized the Arab leaders' response to the civil war raging in Syria, which is currently in its eighth year. Masalha claims that...
After the U.S.-U.K.-France strike on Syria, the Russian MFA Spokesperson accused Washington of collaborating with the extremist groups in Syria, Russian MP Aleksandr Sherin went as far as to compare U.S. President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.
Below are official reactions by R...
On April 14, 2018, about a week after the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad carried out a chemical attack on the town of Douma near Damascus that killed dozens, the U.S., U.K. and France launched a joint military strike on regime bases and facilities associated with its ...
The majority of pro-Kremlin opinion makers view the strike as merely a symbolic one that demonstrated that Washington is a paper tiger, intimidated by Russia. In contrast, independent editorialists believe that while the strike was limited, military tension between Washington and...
Following the chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma, Egyptian TV host Amr Adeeb gave an address in which he said that as Arabs, "we need to take a hard look at ourselves." "We have brought shame upon the world, shame upon humanity, by what we are doing by ourselves and to o...
After the French president joined his American and British counterparts in warning that they would respond to the Syrian regime's chemical attack in Douma, Ibrahim Al-Amin, editor-in-chief of the pro-Hizbullah daily Al-Akhbar, penned a scathing article against France. Al-Amin acc...
U.S. President Donald Trump's statement that the Syrian regime will pay a "big price" for its April 7, 2018 chemical attack on Douma, which left dozens dead, as well as the American, British and French preparations for a military strike in Syria, sparked an intense debate in Saud...
While the world awaits U.S. punitive action in Syria following charges that Assad's forces used poison gas in an attack on the city of Douma on April 7, 2018, Professor Ivan Timofeev, in an April 11, 2018 article, constructs a hypothetical escalation ladder that could start ...
As U.S. forces settle in east of the Euphrates River in eastern Syria, with the aid of the primarily Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Syrian regime is issuing harsh warnings about the American presence in the country. Regime officials and regime-affiliated media are de...
In its March 18, 2018 editorial, the Saudi government daily Al-Riyadh wrote that, in light of the atrocities perpetrated by the Syrian regime against its people, as currently exemplified by the massacre in eastern Ghouta, and given the helplessness of the international community ...
On March 18, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad visited soldiers in the city of East Ghouta, which has suffered massive aerial bombardments in recent weeks. In the first part of the video, which was published by the Syrian News Agency, the Syrian president is seen personally drivin...
The recent weeks' massive attacks on the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta by the Assad regime and its allies, primarily Russia, which has reportedly involved chemical weapons, has sparked a flood of reactions in the Arab press. Among these reactions are cartoons published in the...
Recently, there have been signs that Saudi support for the Syrian opposition is eroding. Examples of this include Saudi Arabia's support, in 2017, for the de-escalation agreements signed under the sponsorship of the Syrian regime's main ally, Russia. Also, in November 2017, Saudi...
On February 12, 2018, two days after an Iranian drone entered Israeli airspace on February 10, 2018, the Syrian opposition website Zamanalwsl.net published an article reviewing the types of drones that Hizbullah has in its possession. The website stated that the information came ...
As the Islamic State caliphate disintegrates, and it is not known for sure whether its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi is alive, dead, or deep underground like Osama bin Laden after 9/11 – or possibly in a Syrian hospital in "critical" condition, as was widely reported this week – th...
A February 9, 2018 article on the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese website Dahiya claims that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad recently rejected an Israeli demand, relayed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, to remove some 70,000 Iranian long-range missiles that Hizbullah has deployed thr...
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On January 27, 2018, Amjad Visual Production, a media group affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), published a video on...
Turkish political commentator Hüseyin Güneş said that Turkey's military operation in Syria constituted war against America, not just against several thousand terrorists. "If we defeat it in the region, this will spell the beginning of the end for America," he said, adding that Tu...
On January 18, 2018, the pro-ISIS media outlet Al-Wafa reported that German militant Denis Cuspert, aka Abu Talha Al-Almani (former rap singer "Deso Dogg"), had been killed in battle, and posted a photo of his body. Cuspert, a convert to Islam, formally pledged allegiance to the ...
Leonid Isaev, a political analyst and a professor in the political science department of the Higher School of Economics, explained Russia's future role in the Syrian war, in an interview with the Russian media outlet Fotanka.ru. The announcement about the end of the Syrian campai...
In a December 6, 2017 lecture in the Raleigh area in North Carolina, Syrian Imam Abdullah Khadra warned that the Zionists were planning "to demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque." "If we keep sleeping, they will just destroy it and build their fictitious temple," he said. The lecture was p...
Introduction
On December 2, 2017, the Syrian opposition website Zamanalwsl.net published the findings of a study on foreign forces' military airbases in Syria, including information on their location, what countries they belong to, what they are used for, and what their capabi...
Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin's "mission accomplished" visit to Syria where he announced the partial troop withdrawal the general mood by officials and commentators has been self-congratulatory. The mood of self-satisfaction extends to Moscow's allies in Syria – the...
In a Friday, December 8, 2017 antisemitic sermon delivered in a mosque in the Raleigh, NC area, Imam Abdullah Khadra stressed: "Al-Quds [Jerusalem]... Jaffa, Acre, and Haifa... will remain our land, and will return to us sooner or later." Referring to a Hadith that states that on...
Russia This Week is a weekly review by the MEMRI Russian Media Studies Project, covering the latest Russia-related news and analysis from media in Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Front Page Of The Week– The Russians Downsize Trump
Caption: ...
Throughout the Syria war, the Syrian regime has been accused of employing chemical weapons against combatants and the civilian population; the incident that drew the world's attention to this issue was the August 2013 chemical attack on Damascus's Eastern Ghouta suburb, in which ...
The following are reactions to Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to withdraw Russian troops from Syria. The order was given during Putin's surprise visit to Syria on December 11.
During his speech in the Hmeymim base, Putin said: "Syria has been preserved as a sovereign...
The November 22, 2017 Sochi conference gave Iran a diplomatic opportunity to celebrate the triumph of the Iran-led resistance axis over the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as over the Western forces headed by the Global Arrogance – the U.S. – and over Zionism, against which Iran ha...
The November 2017 summit of the Russian, Iranian and Turkish presidents in Sochi is a contemporary Yalta Conference, but one in which Washington was relegated to the role of an extra while Moscow enjoyed top billing. That is how the Russian pro-Kremlin researchers and commentator...
On November 20, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Sochi. Two days later, on November 22, Putin met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, for а tripartite meeting, reaffirming t...
In light of Israel's recent military operations against Iran's military expansion in Syria, comprising strikes against strategic Iranian and Syrian targets such as Iran-controlled airfields, missile bases, and drone bases, Iran now faces a strategic question: whether to respond t...
In recent weeks, there have been indications of a possible shift in Saudi Arabia's policy vis-à-vis Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and recognition of his regime. These indications have prompted various predictions regarding the possibility of normalization of Saudi-Syrian relat...
On January 30, 2018, the Syrian Congress of National Dialogue was held in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. The conference, led by Russia, was part of that country's efforts to advance a political solution for the Syria crisis.
The week before the conference, on January 2...
Faced with enormous pressure from the global coalition, and following its defeats on the battlefield, recently numerous Islamic State (ISIS) fighters who operated in Syria and Iraq have deserted. Some have returned to their families in Syria and Iraq. Others, from countries outsi...
Introduction
On January 11, 2018, the Telegram channel of the jihadi organization in Syria Jaysh Al-Badiya ("The Desert Army") published a photo of some of its fighters and fighters from another jihadi organization in Syria, Jaysh Al-Malahem, en route to a battlefront in the s...
Introduction
On December 22, 2017, at the end of the eighth round of intra-Syrian talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, which focused on the topic of the ceasefire, the three countries sponsoring the talks – Iran, Russia and Turkey – announced that a national dialogue conference would ...
Recently, and especially since the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, elements in the resistance axis, including Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Iran and Hizb...
The achievements of the Syrian regime and its allies in southern Syria in recent months have sparked growing concern in Jordan about the increasing presence of pro-Iranian forces on the Syria-Jordan border. Jordan's King 'Abdallah II expressed this concern in September this year:...
Following the November 12, 2017 meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, President Trump agreed to, and legitimized Iran's expansion in Syria, including the deployment of Iranian a...
In recent months, three large international fairs were held in Damascus, by means of which the Syrian regime sought to demonstrate its victory over its enemies and stress that the rebuilding of Syria has begun. The first and largest of the two was the 59th Damascus International ...
In the recent weeks, there have been clear signs of further rapprochement between Egypt and the Syrian regime, headed by Bashar Al-Assad, although Egyptian officials repeatedly stress that Egypt is not taking sides in the Syrian crisis. Since Egyptian President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-...
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Introduction
Even as the Islamic State (ISIS) is involved in fierce battles in Iraq and Syria, its official ...
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Introduction
The Salafi-jihadi group Jaish Khalid bin Al-Walid,[1] which was founded in May 2016 basin in sou...
Introduction
In January 2015, MEMRI researched and flagged YouTube videos of support for jihadi fighters and "martyrs" and "martyrdom," to test the platform's "Promotes Terrorism" flagging feature. The test was a follow-up to MEMRI research and testing of jihad and terrorism o...
On March 7, 2017, the chiefs of staff of the U.S., Russian, and Turkish militaries met in Antalya, Turkey to discuss security problems in Syria and Iraq. Conspicuous in its absence at the meeting was any Iranian representation whatsoever. According to a Russian Defense Ministry r...
Introduction
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, which are members of the anti-terror coalition headed by the U.S., are targets for the Islamic State (ISIS), which has carried out large-scale terror attacks on their soil. Accordingly, they are waging a war on the organization wi...
Introduction
On December 20, 2016, the Russian, Iranian, and Turkish defense and foreign ministers met in Moscow to discuss potential solutions to the Syria crisis. Following the meeting, the ministers announced that they had approved the Moscow Declaration, which Russian Defe...
Introduction
After six years of war in Syria, the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad seems to have the upper hand over the rebel forces. Massive assistance from allies Iran, Russia, and Hizbullah has enabled it to almost completely crush its opponents and push them out...
Introduction
This past week, Egypt-Syria relations warmed further, as evidenced by Egyptian President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi's public statements in support of the Syrian army's war against the "terrorists," and by several articles in the Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram expr...
Introduction
Throughout the five and a half years of the war in Syria, and along with military action against the rebels, the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, together with Iran, Hizbullah, and the pro-Assad militias, have implemented various measures to change the ...
Introduction
On May 24, 2016, Elie Hanna, a
journalist for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to the
Syrian regime, published excerpts of the draft of a "Russian constitution
for Syria," which included what he called "substantial changes to the
current constitution." T...
Introduction
Since the onset of the war in Syria, refugees have flocked to Jordan.
Some have been housed in refugee camps, but the vast majority settled
throughout the country, burdening its society and economy - the latter of which
is based primarily on foreign aid. Jordan
has ...
After
nearly six years of intense fighting in Syria, the regime army forces are
severely depleted, due to the heavy losses they have suffered and also due to
increasing draft dodging.[1]
The regime has taken several measures to address this problem. In addition to
bringing in fo...
Introduction
In recent months there have been
increasing reports, particularly on Syrian oppositionist websites and also
anti-Syrian regime Qatari and Saudi websites, on draft dodging in Syria. According to Syria's 2007 Service of the Flag law,
anyone over the age of 18 but unde...
On March 14, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin
announced that the following day Russia would begin withdrawing most its forces
from Syria, stating that they had accomplished most of their objectives there.
He added that some Russian forces would remain at the Hmeymim airbase...
IntroductionFor the past seven months, the
Syrian town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, has been besieged by Hizbullah
and forces of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The town's
plight has made headlines lately because of numerous media reports that its
residents a...
Introduction
In late November 2015, the
"Upcoming Syria" movement was established in Istanbul. This is the
first 'Alawi movement that opposes the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria. The
movement's founders claim that for years, Assad tied the fate of the 'Alawi
sect with his own in...
Introduction
On January 29, 2016, some two
years after the failure of the Geneva II conference, another round of indirect talks
will take place in Geneva between the Assad regime and the Syrian opposition,
in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which outlined a
...
IntroductionOn
December 18, 2015, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2254, which
included a "road map for a peace process in Syria, setting a timetable"
for talks between the parties. This resolution, which stemmed from a Russian
initiative, granted de-facto le...
Introduction
Russia's increasing military involvement in Syria, which constitutes another lifeline for the Bashar Al-Assad regime, is of great concern to Saudi Arabia, which together with Turkey and Qatar is leading the battle against this regime. However, Saudi Arabia is taki...
Introduction
Since the Arab Spring of 2011, Turkey's foreign policy has been focused on Syria and on the ousting of its 'Alawite President Bashar Assad, who Turkey hoped would be replaced by a like-minded Sunni ruler from the Muslim Brotherhood. During the 13 years of its rule, T...
Introduction
One serious result of the war that has been raging in Syria for over four years is the exploitation of underage girls, including being married off by their families. While such marriages were taking place in Syria before the war - in 2010, the Syrian parliament had e...
Introduction
In the past three weeks, there have been numerous media reports in the non-Arabic media stating that Russia, the Syria regime's main ally alongside Iran, has decided to step up its military involvement in Syria and participate in fighting alongside the forces of the...
Introduction
Following the June 15, 2015 capture by Kurdish forces, with U.S. and coalition assistance, of the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad from the Islamic State (ISIS), ISIS fighters fled the area. The loss of Tel Abyad was a serious blow to ISIS, because the town has, since...
Introduction
Since it burst on the scene as Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the organization now known as the Islamic State, or ISIS, has cut a wide and bloody swath through the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq. Many of its most notorious, high-profile actions involve ethnic and reli...
Introduction
As the fighting in Syria enters the fifth year, it is evident to all that what is happening is not a local civil rebellion against a tyrannical regime, but a war in which both the Syrian regime and the Syrian opposition are being actively supported by numerous regio...
Canadian Jihadist Abu Mansour Al-Muhajer, appeared in a video released by the Syria-based pro-Al-Qaeda Jihadist group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), and recounted why he had decided to move to Syria after living most of his life in Canada. Speaking in English, Al-Muhaje...
Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, said that Syria had achieved a "balance of terror" with Israel and the response to a future Israeli strike would be inside Israel proper. Berri, who was speaking on Russia Today TV on May 11, also said: "If a war breaks out, I don'...
Interviews with the five senior ISIS militants captured by the Iraqi military following a sting operation involving U.S. forces were broadcast by Al-Iraqiya TV on May 9. Saddam Omar Hussein Al-Jamal, a top ISIS commander in Deir Ezzor, recounted how he had pledged allegiance to I...
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said that "the international policy that encourages Syrians to remain in Lebanon and raises hell whenever a small group returns to Syria" was an "international conspiracy." Speaking on Mayadeen TV on April 29, he said that "they want to tar...
Syrian poet Ali Ahmad Said Esber, widely known by his nom de plume Adonis, was interviewed on April 15 by France 24 TV, where he said that religion should be a private experience of individuals, and that "if we do not separate religion and state... we will remain trapped in a vic...
Jamal Al-Mahmoud, a professor of international relations at Damascus University, demanded an Iranian response to the recent airstrikes on Syria and said that "the Israeli and U.S. attacks in Syria cannot go unanswered." Speaking on Al-Manar TV on April 22, Al-Mahmoud recalled tha...
Iraqi Shi'ite militia leader Aws Al-Khafaji, secretary-general of the Abu Al-Fadhl Al-Abbas Brigades, said on April 7, following the U.S.-led missile strike on Syria, that the U.S. and Israel were "the cause of all the problems of the region" and that "if they attack Syria, I hav...
Russian diplomat Konstantin Kosachev, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of Federation, said that he hoped that the countries allied with the U.S. would be a small minority and that "the majority should be allies with countries such as Russia, because we are...
Egyptian TV host Moataz Matar mocked "puppeteer" Trump, who, he claimed, had received billions of dollars from the Gulf "as payment for the hour-long military demonstration." "Bashar is one of those who benefit the most," said Matar, in an address on the Turkey-based Egyptian Mus...
Following the chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma, Egyptian TV host Amr Adeeb gave an address in which he said that as Arabs, "we need to take a hard look at ourselves." "We have brought shame upon the world, shame upon humanity, by what we are doing by ourselves and to o...
Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin said in an April 11 Al-Manar TV interview that "If there is an American strike... Let me refer you to the statement by President Putin and the Russian Chief-of-Staff that the missiles will be shot down and&...
Egyptian TV host Sayyed Ali criticized U.S. President Trump's condemnation of Bashar Al-Assad following the chemical attack in Douma. Calling Trump a "lunatic," an "extortionist," and a "gallant Pasha, who behaves like a bully at a cabaret," and criticizing his use of the term "a...
El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of the British ISIS cell known as the "Beatles," which became notorious for its beheading videos of foreign hostages, gave an interview to journalist Jenan Moussa of Alaan TV from his cell. Elsheikh, who refused to answer questions regarding the charg...
Syrian businessman Ghassan Aboud, Founder of the Syrian opposition Orient TV channel and of the Orient for Human Relief Organization, said that his organization had held discussions with Israeli government officials as well as Israelis working for humanitarian organizations in an...
Riyad Naasan Agha, Syria's former minister of culture who defected to the opposition, said: "If only the regime regains control, and the Russians and Iranians leave [Syria]." Speaking on Al-Arabiya TV on April 5, he said that "all the countries of the world have a piece of the Sy...
Syrian journalist Ahmad Kamel said that although we have fought Israel all our lives, "Israel never did to us what was done by Hizbullah, the Iranians, and the Russians, and nor did the Mongols, the Tatars, or the French." Furthermore, the Americans "are accomplices [to the killi...
The ISIS-affiliated group Jaysh Khalid Bin Al-Walid, which is active in the Yarmouk Basin in southern Syria, released an Arabic-language video featuring a boys' school operating in one of the villages in the area under its control. The footage shows members of the group's hisbah ...
On March 18, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad visited soldiers in the city of East Ghouta, which has suffered massive aerial bombardments in recent weeks. In the first part of the video, which was published by the Syrian News Agency, the Syrian president is seen personally drivin...
Ambulance driver and paramedic Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel built a shelter for cats and other animals in Aleppo, at one point caring for 170 animals. After being evacuated from the heavily shelled city, taking a few of the cats with him, Aljaleel rebuilt his cat sanctuary in the count...
Al-Manar TV reported on a new 3D computer game launched by Hizbullah called "Holy Defense," aimed at "simulating the heroic acts of the mujahideen of the Islamic resistance against the takfiri movement in Lebanon and Syria. Jawwad, a boy whose father was "martyred," told the TV r...
When asked on a Lebanese MTV show which historical leader impressed him, Syrian actor Owiss Mokhallati at first declined to say, but then relented and said: "It's Hitler." Following the audience's applause and laughter, he added: "Regardless of the violence he employed, Hitler wa...
Haitham Al-Maleh, Head of the legal department of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, said in a recent TV interview that the 9/11 terror attack had nothing to do with Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda and that it was carried out "by the Israeli Mossad and the...
On February 15, the Islamic State in Al-Barakah Province released a video warning its fighters not to flee the battlefield and stressing the severe punishments that Allah has prepared for deserters in the hereafter. In the video, titled "And Remind [Them] 4" and posted on multipl...
Egyptian TV Host Gaber Al-Karmoty marked the occasion of the downing of the Israeli fighter jet by the Syrian army by bringing a box of chocolates to the TV studio. "Israel was, remains, and forever will be the No. 1 enemy of Egypt and the Arab world," he decl...
In an Al-Jazeera TV interview on February 10, Russian political analyst and former diplomat Viacheslav Matuzov said: "I believe that Russia gave the Syrian army the green light (to down the Israeli F-16)." While in the past, Russia encouraged Syria to "avoid opening a second fron...
In a recent TV interview, IRGC Deputy Commander Hossein Salami described Iran's defense capabilities, saying: "We have begun to develop highly precise ballistic missiles, which will be able to identify targets moving at sea" and hit them "with 100% precision." With regard to its ...
A video showing at least one woman fighting alongside men was released on February 7 by Al-Hayat, one of the leading media organs of ISIS. It documents several "martyrdom" operations by its "Avenging The Chaste Women" campaign of coordinated attacks against PKK forces. The video ...
In a video posted on YouTube following the downing of a Russian fighter jet in the Idlib province of Syria on February 3, Saudi Jihadi cleric Sheikh 'Abdallah Al-Muhaysini of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) is seen celebrating the attack. "With the help of Allah, we shall restore the...
Hussein Snoussi, a Dutch Muslim of Moroccan origin, recounted that his daughter Maryam had left for Al-Raqqa, Syria, to join ISIS without telling the family, and that a few years later, her mother had joined her, taking their son Elias, then 14, with her. He talked of his devasta...
In a video released by Amjad Visual Production, a media group affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), HTS leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani is shown speaking words of encouragement to a few dozen fighters in the field. In the six-minute video, titled "Confident Of Allah's Victo...
On December 27, 2017, Al-Hayat, a media arm of the Islamic State (ISIS), released the sixth issue of its "Inside" video series featuring a fighter, who the video says is "From America," vowing to the raise the group's flag "over the White House," urges Muslims to carry out attack...
IRGC Deputy Commander Hossein Salami said at an inspection of Basij troops in Qom, following the defeat of ISIS in Syria and Iraq: "This was God's promise, and it has come true this way. Ultimately, you have seen that it is the enemies of Islam who have suffered defeat." His addr...
On December 17, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released a six-minute video featuring a motivational message to ISIS members delivered by a fighter identified as Abu Al-Abbas Al-Shami. Al-Shami also conveyed a defiant message to the forces supporting the Assa...
Following U.S. President Trump's Jerusalem declaration, Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada Al-Sadr issued a statement threatening Israel, which was posted by his office on YouTube on December 7. Al-Sadr said that the U.S. president had declared enmity toward Islam and the Muslims. He ca...
Sheikh Bassam Al-Amoush, former Jordanian ambassador to Iran, said that missiles fired by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia were Iranian missiles. Warning about the role of Hizbullah in the region, he said: "Hassan Nasrallah is mightier than the Lebanese president, mightier than t...
On November 29, the ISIS media outlet Al-Hayat Media Center released a new video titled "Flames of War II – Until the Final Hour." The scenario of the video is similar to that of "Flames of War – Fighting Has Just Begun," which was released in 2014 and provided an overview of the...
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![Sermon In Raleigh, North Carolina-Area Mosque: 'Al-Quds [Jerusalem]... Jaffa, Acre, And Haifa... It Is Our Land... And Will Return To Us'; 'We Will Fight Those Jews Until The Rocks And The Trees' Say 'Oh Muslim, This Is A Jew Behind Me'; 'Those Occupiers Made Some Legends' About The 'Wall Of Buraq' And 'Made It Their Own Wall' And 'Distorted The Facts'](/sites/default/files/new_images/org/SD_7271_thumb.jpg)
![Sermon In Raleigh, North Carolina-Area Mosque: 'Al-Quds [Jerusalem]... Jaffa, Acre, And Haifa... It Is Our Land... And Will Return To Us'; 'We Will Fight Those Jews Until The Rocks And The Trees' Say 'Oh Muslim, This Is A Jew Behind Me'; 'Those Occupiers Made Some Legends' About The 'Wall Of Buraq' And 'Made It Their Own Wall' And 'Distorted The Facts'](/sites/default/files/wide/org/wide_thumb_sd_7271.jpg)
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