# News & Current Events > World News & Affairs >  Syria Updates/Intel

## goldenequity

►*Russia: creation of US-backed administration in northeastern Syria worrisome
https://syria-republic.blogspot.com/...us-backed.html*

►*Netanyahu wants world to recognize Golan Heights as Israeli territory, Russia says go to UNSC 
https://aml.ink/PyeQI*

►*US military grounds its entire fleet of F-35 fighter jets in the wake of South Carolina crash
https://www.rt.com/usa/440992-us-military-grounds-f-35/*

Ali Özkök
The top quote of the month:
►*Pompeo: We want the whole Middle East to look like Israel
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20...k-like-israel/*


►*Pompeo: 'No aid for Syria reconstruction if Iran remains'
https://aml.ink/UjcIH #US
*(No one wants your bloody money, just get the $#@! out, cucks...)


Ali Özkök
Important!
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:
►*"Israel stopped intelligence exchanges with Turkey over Syria."
https://www.axios.com/benjamin-netan...884ced6f3.html*

Muraselon News
►*S-300 missiles tested by Israel and US in Ukraine -
https://en.muraselon.com/2018/10/s-3...srael-ukraine/*
(This is why Syria received the best S-300 variant that Ukraine doesn't have...)

*Manbij*

►*Erdogan says Manbij deal with US has been delayed 
https://aml.ink/tHFzs*

*Idlib*:

Al-Masdar News‏
►*Over 1,000 militants leave Idlib buffer zone: Russian official 
https://aml.ink/AKhHZ*
(yesterday was the deadline for 'all heavy weapon withdrawal'... 'all terrorist withdrawal' is Oct. 15)

Al-Masdar News‏
►*Turkish-backed rebels kill Syrian soldier near Idlib buffer zone 
https://aml.ink/uf3sm*

Al-Masdar News‏
High ranking Egyptian jihadist commander assassinated near Kafr Nabl, Idlib 
https://aml.ink/FWTri

Al-Masdar News
Syrian Army spy takes daring footage from behind jihadist lines in Idlib city (video) 
https://aml.ink/1p2XT #Syria


*Aleppo*:

Al-Masdar News
►*Breaking: Syrian Army gives jihadist rebels until Oct. 15 to leave west Aleppo 
https://aml.ink/YEE7u #Syria*

*Afrin*:




►*October 11, 2018: ISIS Seizes Toxic Agents Intended To Be Used For Provocations In Idlib* 



►*Russian military thwarts terrorist attempt to kidnap families of pilots in Syria 
https://aml.ink/7VIRR*

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## goldenequity

*Christian militias and Liva al Quds trained by Russian forces in Aleppo*












*Russia Says US Is Responsible For Dire Condition Of Refugees In Syria’s Rukban Camp
https://southfront.org/russia-says-u...s-rukban-camp/*
It was the US that banned entry into the 55-kilometer base around their base to Syrian government structures and humanitarian organizations,” 
“As a result, the Syrian government and the Russian reconciliation center have no possibility to organize the dispatch of humanitarian aid to the Syrian nationals in the Rukban camp.”


*Eva Bartlett*‏@EvaKBartlett
*Overview of my last visit (9th) to Syria, just over a month of interesting meetings, interviews and visits.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/22002133 https://gab.ai/EvaKareneBartlett/posts/38280851 …*
(a treasure chest of links to her recent interviews and commentary... she's an absolute warrior. love her.  )



*VanessaBeeley* slams @BBCNews report on Idlib



►full interview w/ Vanessa *tomorrow/Saturday* on RT_Underground

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## goldenequity

Ali Özkök
*"Islamic State" killed around 300 SDF/YPG fighters in the deserts of Deir Zor in the last two weeks, taking advantage from the desert storms.*

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## Swordsmyth

Israel has carried out attacks in Syria since the accidental shooting  down of a Russian surveillance plane last month, a senior Israeli  official said on Monday.

The  Israeli official did not give details of the nature of Israel's actions  since the shooting down of the IL-20 aircraft near Latakia, in which  the crew of 15 were killed, or the number of times it had attacked.
"The  IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) have attacked in Syria, including after  the downing of the Russian plane. Military coordination with the  Russians continues as before," said the senior official, who could not  be named.


Israel,  which has carried out air strikes in Syria many times during Syria's  seven-and-a-half-year-old civil war, said after the Sept. 17 incident it  would work to improve "deconfliction" of its missions with Russian  forces, but would not halt them.
But  since the Russian plane was shot down shortly after Israeli jets  attacked a nearby target, there have been no reports of Israeli air  strikes in Syria.
The  apparent pause raised speculation in the Israeli media that Israel was  either holding back at Russia's request or had paused the attacks over  concern that they would fuel further tensions with Moscow.
Netanyahu said earlier this month that he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "soon" to discuss security cooperation.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/israel-ca...163048763.html

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## goldenequity

> Israel has carried out attacks in Syria since the accidental shooting  down of a Russian surveillance plane last month, a senior Israeli  official said on Monday.
> More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/israel-ca...163048763.html


It is said the S-300 'system' is not fully operational/integrated yet... idk. I do know it is being probed/mapped every day by SIGINT aircraft.. aka Poseidon etc.

========


*Deir Ezzor*


Al-Masdar News
*Syrian FM says US Coalition allowed ISIS to advance on Iraqi border 
https://aml.ink/bizr7* 
►“If we talk about the east of Syria, since the creation of the so-called US international coalition, thousands of Syrians, including women, children, men and the elderly, have become its victims,”
►“All because of the fact that the United States is fighting anything in Syria, except for Daesh…”
►“Today, the US assistance to the Daesh group has enabled the latter to reach the Syrian-Iraqi border once again,”
(I member coalition airstrike 'mistake' murdering 100 SAA soldiers & enabling ISIS occupation in Deir Ezzor 2016.. do you??)

Muraselon News
*►ISIS burns bodies of US-backed fighters in east Syria (Video+18)
https://en.muraselon.com/2018/10/isis-burns-sdf-syria/*

Bosni
►*Kurdish teacher from Afrin addresses the YPG Kurds who are fighting and dying in SE DeZ*
"As long as you die outside of your land ... you are not a martyr ... but mercenaries, dying for the interests of the States."
"Your place is in Afrin and not in DeZ."

►*YPG reinforcements from Ayn al-Arab/Kobane and Qamishli CS reportedly reached al-Shaddadi.* (US base-Iraqi/Syrian border)

►Iraq air force dropped the leaflets over *Baghuz* calling IS militants to surrender themselves SE Deir Ezzor.

►SAA 11th Armored Division will launch a large-scale military operation in the E Homs Desert in order to reinforce the fixed points and break into new points. 
In addition to a new sweep of the entire line extending from the T3 towards the T2 (airbases) until reaching the Iraqi border.

►(new)*Iraqi PM Mahdi* orders ISOF supported by Armored and Mechanized forces to secure the border with Syria opposite from Baghuz.

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## RonZeplin

*Sen. Richard Black to ST: U.S. has established 17 bases in Syria without the slightest lawful justification for doing so*


Virginia State senator Richard H. Black  has made it clear that the United States makes trade between Iran and  Syria more difficult by occupying the north of the Euphrates River in  accordance with Plan B announced several years ago by Secretary of  State John Kerry . 

He told the Syriatimes e-newspaper that  The U.S. has attempted to block routes between the countries wherever  possible and it has established 17 bases in Syria without the slightest  lawful justification for doing so. 

The United States has established a  semi-autonomous region dominated by Syrian Kurds to control the region.  Since Kurds make up only 20% of the areas population, allowing them to  dominate the region creates a political unstable situation; the much  larger Arabic population is almost certain to take up arms to avoid  falling under the domination of the Kurdish minority. This creates a  situation where ethnic violence provides justification for the U.S. to  remain in the area indefinitely, since the United States has announced  its intention to prevent the resurgence of ISIS. The reemergence of  violence in the area would likely be attributed to ISIS and used as a  pretext for continued occupation, the senator said. *

U.S. refuses to publicize barbaric nature of its premier moderate rebel group* 

Asked about the US use of  internationally banned weapons in attacking areas in the north of Syria,  Sen. Black replied: There are reports that the U.S. has used cluster  bombs and white phosphorus in Syria. The U.S. has denied those  allegations. Meanwhile, the U.S. led coalition repeatedly complains  about the use of so-called barrel bombs by Syria. It is not clear what  the distinction is between a barrel containing explosives and shrapnel  and a 15,000 pound bunker-busting bomb that hurls razor-sharp shrapnel  great distances.     



 He pointed out that during his recent  visit to Syria [in September 2018] he entered a building that contained  barrel rockets that were manufactured by the terrorists who were  driven from Aleppo. 

Some people claim that barrel bombs  should be illegal because they are not precision-guided. The barrel  rockets were fired by terrorists into random civilian areas for the  sole purpose of killing innocent people. I have not heard any of Syrias  military opponents complaining about the use of barrel rockets by the  terrorists. In fact, the west has never complained about any legal  violations by terrorists that they support, the Senator stated. 

He made it clear that the United States  refuses to publicize the barbaric nature of its premier moderate  rebel group [the Free Syrian Army], and its constant cooperation with  terror forces like al Nusra and ISIS. We know, for example, that the Free  Syrian Army frequently beheads and mutilates captives. 

We know they have  cannibalized soldiers in battle. We know that they have thrown postal  workers from municipal buildings to their death. Within the last several  weeks, the Free Syrian Army distributed a video depicting one of its  soldiers carrying out an honor killing of his own sister by machine  gunning her to death, the Senator said. 

He indicated that he traveled five hours  from Damascus to Aleppo on his trip to Syria this September. Everywhere  he went, there was a feeling of joy among the people that the  terrorists were driven out and that freedom had returned to Syria. There  was tremendous gratitude for the Syrian president and the Syrian armed  forces. 

Had Western powers, Saudi Arabia,  Qatar, and Turkey overthrown Syria, an al-Qaeda-style government would  have seized power. It would have combined with ISIS-held territories to  form a massive and violent caliphate with all of the arms presently held  by the Syrian Arab Army. Surrounding nations would have collapsed as a  result, and been integrated into the savage caliphate. This terroristic  government would have annihilated millions of moderate Muslims and  religious minorities, Sen. Black asserted.
,,,,

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## goldenequity

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to RonZeplin again.

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## goldenequity



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## RonZeplin

*Russia Greenlights Retaliatory Syrian Attacks on Israeli Targets -- Report*


     Elijah J Magnier has learned that should Israeli forces launch  more missiles into Syria the latter will now, with Russian backing, lob  back missiles of its own against comparable Israeli sites


Russia has told Israel it has military personnel at virtually  every Syrian army base and that therefore Israeli strikes against them  are no longer acceptable 

        Syria will adopt a new rule of engagement with Israel now that  Russia has taken a tougher and clearer stance on the conflict between  Israel and the Axis of the Resistance. *Henceforth,  Damascus will be responding to any Israeli strike. If it damages a  specific military target it will reply with a strike against a similar  objective in Israel.* Decision makers in Damascus said*  Syria will not hesitate to hit an Israeli airport if Damascus airport  is targeted and hit by Israel. This will be with the consent of the  Russian military based in the Levant.*
*
This Syrian political decision is based on a clear position taken by Russia* in Syria following the downing of its aircrafton September 18 this year.

*********************

*The new Syrian rule of engagement  according to the source   is now as follows: an airport will be hit if Israel hits an airport,  and any attack on a barracks or command and control centre will result  in an attack on similar target in Israel.* It appears that the decision has been taken at the highest level and a clear bank of objectives has now been set in place.

  The rules of engagement are changing and situation in the Levant  theatre is becoming more dangerous; regional and international  confrontations are still possible. The Middle East will not be quiet  unless the Syrian war endsa war in which the two superpowers, Europe,  Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have played essential roles. The  final chapters have not yet been written.

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## goldenequity

> *Kurdish-led and US-backed forces seized the town of Hajin  from Islamic State group on Friday, a milestone in a massive and costly  operation to drive the jihadists out of eastern Syria.*
> The  Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the Syrian Democratic  Forces had secured Hajin, which is the last big town held by Islamic  State group in its remaining pocket of territory east of the Euphrates  River near the border with Iraq.
> “After a week of heavy fighting  and air strikes, the SDF were able to kick IS group out of Hajin,” Rami  Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based monitoring organization,  said.
> 
> 
> The operation was completed at dawn, he said, a day after SDF forces  fanned out across the large village in the Euphrates valley. 
> On Thursday, the last IS fighters were confined to a network of tunnels and the edges of Hajin. 
> SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Kobani told Reuters on Thursday  that at least 5,000 Islamic State group fighters remain holed up in the  pocket of territory including Hajin and that they had decided to fight  to the death. 
> This includes some 2,000 foreign fighters, mostly Arabs and Europeans, along with their families. 
> ...


Nidalgazaui
@Nidalgazaui
Hajjin has been liberated! But by whom?

This video exposes the lies of PKK propagandists who are claiming that PKK took over Hajjin 
while *in reality Arabs were the ones who were fighting ISIS in Hajjin* 
because *PKK terrorists failed dozens of times in taking over the town*.

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## PAF

> *Trump Is A Pied Piper For The New World Order Agenda   * 
> 
> 
> The con game is to get liberty  advocates to invest themselves fully  in Trump, to the point that we end  up owning every mistake he makes,  and every disaster that is pinned on  him. There is a concerted  propaganda campaign targeting the liberty  movement which is telling us  that Trump is playing “4D Chess;” that  Trump is planning a “coup”  against the banking elites, that Trump is  planning to bring down the  Fed as a means to save the U.S., and even  that Trump is working with  Jerome Powell to crash the globalist system  as a means to “restore the  Republic.”
> 
>  While Trump throws a bone to conservatives at times, including  promises of a border wall, or a pull-out in Syria, there is no evidence  to  support the fantasy that Trump is some kind of ingenious tactician  battling the forces of evil using his wits while inside the system.  But, there is considerable evidence as I have linked above  supporting  my position that Trump is controlled opposition working with  the  globalists to initiate a collapse that will be blamed on  conservative  ideals and limited government liberty activists. We shall see in  due  course. It is unfortunate though how many otherwise very intelligent   people within the liberty movement have bought into Trump as a hero on a   white horse.
> 
>  The activists and alternative media are the real  heroes. They are  the people that pushed liberty philosophy into the  mainstream. Trump  merely rode the wave that they created. Even if he was  a legitimate  conservative and constitutionalist (which he is not), the  movement  doesn’t need his leadership. It never did. The globalists know  this and  hope to chain us to Trump as he sinks into historical oblivion,   destroying us all in the process.


We were discussing this topic in our liberty group.

Promoting gun bans and due process later, “Stop & Frisk”, that pathetic Omnibus he promised not to sign but did, anti-Free Market “forced unionization” in the upcoming USMCA (precursor to North American Union), never mentioning a word about Common Core, NSA, Domestic TSA, or ending any of them, and this Eminent Domain across the entire state of Texas that is devastating communities, businesses/workers and Property Rights, affecting $1 Billion PER DAY between US/Mexico.

I know unemployment numbers are being flaunted at +/- 4% but anybody with a brain who looks at actual data knows that the true numbers are at least triple that.

Perhaps some jobs will be created building the prison wall, steel workers, laborers, etc. Perhaps more jobs will be created down the road for domestic TSA and other “security” apparatus. But to us that is no way to live or want to live, certainly not by expanding Fed ownership and employing more government workers.

Will he walk back pulling out of Syria after talking a good game? Will troops be transplanted to Central and South America to further the spread of this empirical cancer and the MIC “security” apparatus? He promised Biometrics for all people *(U.N. stated goal)* and it has already begun, instead of speaking directly to the American people about preserving our very Bill of Rights.

And the republicans love this guy. And the democrats hate this guy. Even though both “parties” feed off of each other behind closed doors sinking the people and this country (and other countries) further into slavery.

And not a word about Welfare. All I see out this guy is the same as his predecessors: more reliance on government and government “fixes”.

Whether Trump serves another term or not, the people have not woke enough to figure out that the other party will simply pick up where he left off. Just as he picked up from where Obama left off, and Bush before him. It is not the presidency, but rather the People.

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## RonZeplin

*Syria - Turkey Fails In Idleb, Is Unwilling To Take The Northeast*

    The neoconservatives in the Trump administration, Secretary of State  Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton and the Syria envoy  James Jeffery, are scrambling to save their plans for Syria that  President Trump disposed of when he ordered a complete retreat.

 Those plans were for a permanent U.S. occupation of northeast Syria,  the reduction of Iranian influence within the government held parts of  Syria and an eventual disposal of the Syrian government under President  Assad through negotiations. These were unicorn aims that had no chance  to ever be achieved.

Moreover Trump had never signed off  on these ideas. Back in April he had announced that he wanted U.S.  troops out of Syria. He gave his staff six month to achieve that. But  instead of following those orders Pompeo and Bolton tried to implement  their own plans:
Late last year, some of the presidents hawkish advisers  drafted a memo committing the United States to a longer-term presence in  Syria that included goals of an enduring defeat of the Islamic State, a  political transition and the expulsion of Iran, officials said. The  president has not signed the memo, which was presented to him weeks ago. 

In fact, Trump had warned his aides for months that he wanted out of Syria in short order.
...
Boltons  Iran plan never really took effect at the Pentagon, where officials  were not officially tasked with any new mission in addition to the  operation against the Islamic State. Military officials likewise viewed  Irans expansion into Syria as problematic, but they were skeptical  about the lack of a clear legal justification that would be required for  offensive military action against Iranian-backed forces.
Trump recognized that those plans were nonsense and ordered to end  them. In that process he came up with a likewise unicorn idea - to hand  northeast Syria to Turkey to fight the already defeated Islamic State.  Turkey does not want northeast Syria. It does not want to risk a bloody war against the Kurds that would be required to sustain such an occupation.


bigger 

The only appropriate solution is to hand control of northeast Syria  (yellow) back to the Syrian government (red). Damascus would disarm the  Kurds or integrate them within its national army. They would be under  control and no longer a threat to Turkey. Everyone could live with such  an easy solution.

Everyone but the neocons.

Today National Security Advisor Bolton is on his way to Israel to cook up new plans:A Trump administration official told reporters traveling  with Bolton that Bolton intended to discuss the pace of the drawdown, as  well as American troop levels in the region. Bolton was expected to  explain that some U.S. troops based in Syria to fight IS will shift to  Iraq with the same mission and that some American forces may remain at a  key military outpost in al-Tanf, in southern Syria, to counter growing  Iranian activity in the region. Boltons also was to convey the message that the United States will  be very supportive of Israeli strikes against Iranian targets in  Syria, ...
I bet that neither of those points was signed off by Trump. The  publication of these ideas is another attempt by Bolton to push his  personal policies to the front.
 Erdogan, asked by Trump to take northeast Syria but unwilling to do so, raised demands that the U.S. is unlikely to fulfill:Turkey is asking the U.S. to provide substantial military  support, including airstrikes, transport and logistics, to allow Turkish  forces to assume the main responsibility for fighting Islamic State  militants in Syria, senior U.S. officials say. The Turkish requests are so extensive that, if fully met, the  American military might be deepening its involvement in Syria instead of  reducing it, the officials added.
Bolton will later fly to Ankara and discuss the Turkish plans:Participants will include White House national security  adviser John Bolton; Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs;  and James Jeffrey, the State Department envoy for Syria. One U.S. official said the administration is unlikely to provide all  of the military support the Turks are seeking, especially on air  support.
Without U.S. air support Erdogan can not attack northeast Syria. The  Turkish air force is weak. Many of its experienced pilots were fired for  alleged support and involvement in the coup against Erdogan. The  airforce is unable to provide the necessary 24/7 support its soldiers  would need. There is also strife within the Turkish army command.  If he would order an attack, Erdogan would only go for the Kurdish  areas along the northern border, not for the Islamic State. That again  is something the U.S. does not want at all:
Many experts and officials also fear the Turks may target  Kurdish fighters who have long provided the U.S. with solid support in  the campaign against Islamic State militants and endured considerable  loss of life. 

To try to mitigate these risks, Mr. Jeffrey, the State Department  envoy, is seeking to forge an arrangement with the Turks that would  allow them to enter northern Syria while avoiding largely Kurdish areas,  say U.S. officials familiar with the plans.

Mr. Jeffrey and his State Department team have created a color-coded  map of northeastern Syria in an attempt to negotiate a power-sharing  plan that could avert a costly Turkish-Kurdish fight in the area.  ...  One former U.S. official described the map as Sykes-Picot on acid, ...
The idea is delusional. There are no borders between Kurds, Arabs and  other ethnicities in northwest Syria. The populations is mixed. Only  the ethnic percentages vary from town to town. Implementing the idea  would lead to ethic cleansing and an everlasting war.

The Kurds are no longer willing to follow the U.S. lead.Mr. Jeffrey has asked Gen. Mazloum Abdi, the Kurdish  commander of Syrian fighters, to hold off on making any deals with  President Bashar al-Assads government while the Trump administration  tries to develop its strategy.

*"F*ck you,"* said General Abdi, as the Kurds continue to negotiate:

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## Swordsmyth

The main U.S.-backed group in Syria says it has handed over IS fighters and civilians from Kazakhstan to their country.
The  Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement Monday that  those handed over to authorities in their country are five fighters, 11  women and 30 children.
The SDF said they were repatriated on Saturday adding that it came after discussions with security authorities in Kazakhstan.
The  SDF, that is a main force fighting extremists in Syria, has apprehended  more than 700 non-Syrian IS fighters in addition to their families over  the past years.
The group is now trying to remove extremists from the last area the control in eastern Syria near the border with Iraq.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/latest-is...153328429.html

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## Swordsmyth

Russian military police have started patrolling the surroundings of the northern Syrian Kurdish-held town of Manbij.
A  representative for the military police told reporters Tuesday that  Russia's mission is to ensure safety in the Manbij area, and monitor  moves of militant groups.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/latest-trump-...085331052.html

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## pcosmar

Finally,,

Seeing movement.. withdrawal.

some anyway..

Confusion and conflict in orders being blamed,,,

but I think they have been made aware they are in the way,, and will be treated as such.

anyway,,, some withdrawal movement is happening.

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## Swordsmyth

On Friday Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported *Turkey has deployed tanks on the border along Syria's Idlib province*. Turkey's defense minister further announced preparations for an invasion of Syrian Kurdish enclaves east of the Euphrates *"continues intensely"*. 
  "We have Manbij, and the east of Euphrates ahead. Necessary planning  was made regarding this. Our preparation continues intensely," Defense  Minister Hulusi Akar said while inspecting troops near the border with  Syria, according to Anadolu. 


Turkey has billed its plans as a "counter terror" op, with the  defense minister noting dubiously, "We have no problems with our Kurdish  brothers, Arab brothers in Syria, Turkmens and other ethnic and  religious groups. Our only targets are terrorists Daesh and PKK/YPG."
  Turkey has for months stated plans to eradicate the presence of the  Kurdish YPG, which it considers a terror extension of the outlawed PKK,  from near Turkey's borders.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...-syrian-border

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## Swordsmyth

Syrian state media are reporting that air defense units have responded to "hostile targets" near the capital of Damascus.
State TV said in its Friday night report that explosions were clearly heard in Damascus.

Israeli drones and warplanes were heard flying Friday afternoon over Lebanon.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/latest-russia...102938572.html

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## Swordsmyth

Turkish  troops and tanks carried out military exercises on the border with  Syria on Saturday, state-run media reported, while a monitoring group  said a Turkish convoy had crossed the frontier into northern Syria.Turkey's  military sent tanks and armored vehicles to the border in the second  day of reinforcements near the province of Idlib, the last major rebel  stronghold in Syria.
On  Friday, a Turkish security source said the Turkish army had been  rotating forces in and out of the region, and declined to say whether  the latest movement was in preparation for an operation inside Syria  itself.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitoring group, said a Turkish convoy had entered Syria.
Islamist  fighters have tightened their control over the Idlib region following  more than a week of fighting with Turkey-backed Syrian rebels.
The  rise of the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al Sham has raised doubt over the  future of a deal agreed in September between Turkey - which has several  military observation posts in Idlib - and President Bashar al-Assad's  main ally Russia to avert a Syrian government army assault. The  agreement requires banned Islamist groups to be expelled from a  frontline buffer zone.
The escalation in Idlib comes as U.S. forces prepare to withdraw from a separate region of northern and eastern Syria.
Earlier  on Saturday, the Turkish defense minister, chief of general staff and  the intelligence agency head visited border military units and discussed  "measures to establish peace and stability in the region," the ministry  said in a statement.
"We  are making every effort to preserve the ceasefire and stability in  Idlib, in line with the Sochi agreement. Our close cooperation with  Russia continues," Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.
Akar's  comments came a day after Russia said it remained committed to the  agreement it had struck with Turkey to stabilize a de-escalation zone in  Idlib, but said Moscow was worried by an increase in the number of  ceasefire violations.


https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-sends-...143129750.html

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## Swordsmyth

Prime  Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged on Sunday Israel's weekend  attack on what he called an Iranian arms cache in Syria, and said it had  also completed a hunt for cross-border tunnels dug by Tehran-allied  Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.Long  wary of publicity around its operations against Iran-linked targets on  its northern front, Israel has lifted the veil in recent days -- a sign  of confidence in a campaign waged amid occasional tensions with Syria's  big-power backer, Russia.
Netanyahu  may also be playing up his security credentials as he seeks re-election  on April 9. That possibility appeared reinforced by figures he gave on  Sunday that went beyond more measured information previously provided by  other officials.
"We  have been taking action with impressive success to arrest Iran's  military entrenchment in Syria," Netanyahu told his cabinet in televised  remarks. He said this entailed "hundreds" of attacks over the past  several years of Syria's civil war, in which Iran and Hezbollah have  backed Damascus against rebels and Islamist insurgents.
Last  week, an observer in Netanyahu's security cabinet, Tzachi Hanegbi, told  a local TV station there had been "more than 220" Israeli operations  against Iranian targets in Syria.
Confirming  a Friday night sortie in Syria, Netanyahu said Israel's air force had  "struck Iran's warehouses, containing Iranian arms, in Damascus  international airport".
Syrian state media said at the time of the attack that the damage was limited to a hit on a warehouse at Damascus airport.
Netanyahu  also cited "the successful completion" of an Israeli  search-and-dismantle mission against suspected Hezbollah attack tunnels  from Lebanon that was launched in December.
The  Israeli military said a sixth and final tunnel was found on Saturday,  55 meters (yards) deep and reaching "a few tens of meters" into Israel  from 800 meters within Lebanon.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/israel-says-c...074151566.html

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## Swordsmyth

The  Syrian government hopes dialogue with Syrian Kurdish groups will  intensify, a minister said on Sunday, signaling support for talks the  Kurds hope will lead to a political deal between two of the main players  in the multi-sided war.The  Kurds have sought Russian meditation for the talks with President  Bashar al-Assad's government, part of their strategy to fill a vacuum  that will be left when U.S. forces withdraw from the country, as  instructed by President Donald Trump.
Their  aim is to guard against any invasion by neighboring Turkey, which views  the main Syrian Kurdish group - the YPG - as a national security  threat, and to preserve autonomy in northern Syria.
"We  hope for the intensification of the dialogue. Many of the Kurdish  statements were positive regarding their concern for the unity of  Syria," Assistant Syrian Foreign Minister Ayman Sousan told a small  group of journalists in Damascus.
"We  are confident that through dialogue we can deal with some of the  demands ... and this dialogue guarantees that, as long as it based on a  commitment to Syria's unity."

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/damascus-seek...140902983.html

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## Swordsmyth

For years Israel denied allegations that it had a role in funding and  weaponizing the anti-Assad insurgency in Syria, and in recent years  military officials responded "no comment" even when confronted with  overwhelming evidence of Israeli weapons documented in al-Qaeda linked  insurgents' hands, but this all changed in a new British _Sunday Times_ interview  with outgoing Israeli army commander Gadi Eisenkot, who has finally  confirmed the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) supplied weapons to rebels  across the border "for self-defense," and further perhaps more  stunningly, *has admitted to long waging an "invisible war in Syria"* that involved *"thousands of attacks"*.

The interview constitutes the first time that any current top Israeli  military or government official has fully acknowledged sending anything  beyond "humanitarian supplies," such as medical aid to Syrian militants  seeking to topple the Assad government; and yet it still appears the  country's military chief is slow playing the confirmation, only  acknowledging the IDF provided "light weapons" _—_ even after years of reporting has definitively uncovered an expansive Israeli program to arm *dozens of insurgent groups and pay their salaries, including* *known affiliates of al-Qaeda in Syria*.
  This comes after the Syrian government has for years accused Israel  of partnering with the west and gulf countries, such as the US, UK,  Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey of funding and weaponizing an  al-Qaeda/ISIS insurgency as part of covert regime change operations  aimed at Damascus and its allies Iran and Hezbollah. Since then,  countries like Qatar have come forward to reveal* just how vast their covert role in fueling the Syrian war really was*, which we covered in our story, _In Shocking, Viral Interview, Qatar Confesses Secrets Behind Syrian War_.
  The _Sunday Times_ relates a key confession that comes out of Lt.-Gen Gadi Eisenkot's explosive interview as follows: 
 Eisenkot acknowledged for the first time, however, that *Israel had supplied rebel groups in the border area with light weapons “for self-defence”*.
  Israel was *a hidden player on a crowded Syrian battlefield*. Eisenkot positively boasted in the interview that “We operated in an area controlled by the Russians, *sometimes attacking targets a kilometre or two from Russian positions*,” in order to strike at Iranian assets in Syria. 


The rare "confession" of sorts comes at a moment the White House says  it's moving forward on President Trump's previously announced US troop  pullout from Syria, something which has rattled Israel's leadership,  which has argued that Iran will become entrenched near Israel's border  as a result. Eisenkot's words appear a warning to Iran that Tel Aviv  aims to maintain operational capability inside Syria. 
  On this point the IDF chief admitted to "thousands" of attacks inside Syria: 
 *“We carried out thousands of attacks [in recent years] without taking responsibility and without asking for credit,”* he told the Sunday Times.Given that prior military officials have typically put this number at  "hundreds", often from 200 to 400, this is an astounding admission that  confirms Israel and Syria have been in a de facto state of open war  since the first acknowledged Israeli airstrikes began in 2013. 

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...-invisible-war

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## goldenequity



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## Swordsmyth

Islamic  State on Thursday denied being behind a suicide blast that hit the  governing council of insurgent-held Idlib in northwest Syria on Tuesday,  its Amaq news service said.The  explosion, which targeted the "Salvation Government" building of the  Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militia in Idlib this Tuesday was not connected to  fighters of the Islamic State," Amaq said, citing a security source.
Islamic State only rarely denies carrying out attacks.

No other group has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blast.

A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on Tuesday  the blast had killed one person and injured three others, and that  Islamic State was suspected.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/islamic-s...160300489.html

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## RonZeplin

*Syria Sitrep - Trump Says U.S. Will Leave But Pentagon Keeps Adding Forces*

    The U.S. retreat from northeast Syria is still not happening. In  yesterdays interview with CBS President Trump again said the troops  would leave, but the the Pentagon is doing the opposite of retreating.


(not current) bigger 

The Islamic State forces north of the Euphrates are left to holding  some 4 square kilometer of ground near the border to Iraq. The few  hundred ISIS fighters still alive could be killed in a day or two which  would then be the right time for the U.S. to leave as President Trump  announced two month ago.

But the U.S. military keeps increasing its troop numbers and supplies  in the area. During the last two month the number of U.S. soldiers in  northeast Syria rose by nearly 50%. Instead of the officially  acknowledged 2,000 there are now at least 3,000 U.S. soldiers in  northeast Syria. New weapons and equipment arrive every day.  Additionally, the Syrian Observatory reports,  the U.S. is bringing in a significant number of TOW anti-tank missiles  and heavy machine guns even though there is no longer an apparent use  for these:

[T]he International Coalition Forces brought quantities of  anti-armor thermal missiles during the recent period, to their bases  east of Euphrates area, in conjunction with bringing quantities of  machineguns known as “DShK”, and the reliable sources confirmed to the  Syrian Observatory that the range of the missiles reaches about 6 km,  but the reasons for bringing these weapons was not known, especially as  the “Islamic State” Organization in its last pocket at the east bank of  Euphrates River is almost ended, ..
...
[T]he Syrian Observatory  has documented since the US president’s decision to withdraw until the  3rd of February 2018, the entry of 1130 trucks at least, carrying  equipment, ammunition, weapons, military, and logistic equipment to  bases of the International Coalition east of Euphrates, ..
...
The  process of entering the trucks also comes in conjunction with the  arrival of hundreds of soldiers of the US Special Forces to the Syrian  territory in a specific and special operation, the goal of which is to  arrest the remaining leaders and members of the “Islamic State”  Organization who are trapped in the remaining 4 kilometers for it east  of Euphrates, ..
Today the _New York Times_ finally confirms the increased troop numbers the Observatory reported weeks ago:

The American military has started withdrawing some  equipment, but not yet troops, officials said on Sunday. The number of  American troops in Syria has actually increased in recent weeks to more  than 3,000 — a standard practice to bring in additional security and  logistics troops temporarily to help protect and carry out the process  of pulling out — three Defense Department officials said.
The explanation makes little sense. One does not need 1,000  additional troops to secure and remove the stocks of a 2,000 strong  force deployment in mostly friendly territory.

The _NYT_ also reveals that the U.S. wants to led the Kurdish PKK keep the arms it received:

A meeting in late January of the National Security Council’s  “deputies committee” — the No. 2 leaders of national security  departments and agencies — recommended allowing the Syrian Democratic  Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, to keep the equipment  the Pentagon has provided them and for an American-led air campaign to  continue airstrikes to defend them against the Islamic State, according  to two senior American officials.
This breaks a promise the U.S. repeatedly made to Turkey and gives Ankara more reasons to threaten the Kurds.

On Saturday a U.S. air attack targeted a Syrian army position south of the Euphrates near the border town al-Bukamal:

A military source told SANA that the U.S.-led coalition  warplanes carried out an air strike overnight Saturday on Syrian  artillery position in Sokkariyeh village, west of al-Bukamal city. The source added that the attack resulted in destroying the artillery and injuring two soldiers.
 SANA reporter said that, in parallel with the coalition’s aggression,  Daesh terrorists attacked military points in the area, but the army  units repelled the attack and killed and wounded most of the attacking  terrorists.
This is one of several incidents that lets one assume that the U.S.  intentionally lets some ISIS fighters escape to bother the Syrian  government.

The U.S. military says it fears the ISIS would regrow should U.S.  troops retreat. But that argument only holds when no other troops would  replace them. The only viable solution to handle northeast Syria after  the territorial defeat of the Islamic State is obviously to ask the  Syrian government to retake control of its land. It could defeat  remaining Islamic State sleeper cells, handle the prisoners the Kurds  have taken,  and keep the YPK/PKK and Turkey apart. But the U.S. foreign  policy borg is still unwilling to concede that.

James Jeffrey, the neoconservative U.S. special envoy to the  anti-ISIS coalition, thought up an elaborate scheme to 'protect the  Kurds' and to secure the borders to Turkey with the help of allied  troops.

Aaron Stein @Aaronstein1 - 17:33 utc - 24 Jan 2019 The Jeffrey plan being carried to Ankara/Rojava is very complex,  requires open-ended commitments from UK-France, Turkish patrols in rural  areas, SDF acquiescence, 3rd party forces, and US top cover, perhaps  including a US enforced NFZ (unclear if POTUS is on board with this bit)
A week after that tweet the _Wall Street Journal_ reported that the crazy scheme failed  to win support from any of the relevant parties. The Kurds rejected it  and Britain and France declined to send troops on a never ending mission  between the waring Turkish and Kurdish sides.
 No news has been released of any different scheme. The YPK/PKK Kurds  the U.S. used as proxy force against the Islamic State recently lobbied in Washington to 
keep some U.S. troops in the area:

The group’s message to Washington policymakers has centered  around slowing the US withdrawal, and stopping Turkish plans to police a  safe zone on the border of northern Syria, which the SDC sees as a  potentially deadly repeat of the 2018 incursion into the Kurdish-held  city of Afrin.
The lobbying effort is likely to fail.

The Kurds still demand a substantial autonomy in exchange for letting  the Syrian army retake the control of the northeast. Damascus rejects  any local autonomy that goes beyond cultural rights. The teaching of a  Kurdish language in local schools will be allowed, but there will be no  separate Kurdish administration. As the alternatives fail to evolve the  Kurds will soon have to choose between agreeing to Damascus' conditions  or getting slaughtered by a Turkish invasion force.

Meanwhile Russia is working to reestablish the Adana Memorandum of  1998 between Turkey and Syria. In it Syria promised to hinder all  Kurdish attacks from Syria on Turkey, while Turkey promised to refrained  from anti-Kurdish engagements on Syrian grounds. The reviving of the  agreement would require that Turkey gives up on the parts of Syria its  forces and currently occupy and continue to turkify. There are already low level contacts  between Turkey and Syria on the ground, but the Turkish President  Erdogan is not yet willing to go further. A new meeting in the Astana  format between Turkey, Russia and Iran is supposed to take place on  February 14. It might come up with a new solution.

In his Sunday interview with CBS President Trump again explained  his position on the retreat. Asked about concern that the defeated ISIS  might rise again should the U.S. move out he responded:

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And you know what we'll do? We'll  come back if we have to. We have very fast airplanes. We have very good  cargo planes. We can come back very quickly, and I'm not leaving. We  have a base in Iraq and the base is a fantastic edifice. I mean, I was  there recently. And I couldn't believe the money that was spent on these  massive runways. And these-- I've-- I've rarely seen anything like it.  And it's there. And we'll be there. And, frankly, we're hitting the  caliphate from Iraq and as we slowly withdraw from Syria. Now the other  thing after this-- MARGARET BRENNAN: How many troops are still in Syria? When are they coming home?
 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Two thousand troops.
 MARGARET BRENNAN: When are they coming home?
 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They are starting to, as we gain the  remainder, the final remainder of the caliphate of the area, they'll be  going to our base in Iraq. And, ultimately, some will be coming home.  But we're going to be there and we're going to be staying--
 MARGARET BRENNAN: So that's a matter of months?
 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We have to protect Israel. We have to protect  other things that we have. But we're-- yeah, they will be coming back  in a matter of time. ...
Trump's claim that there are only 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria shows  that he apparently does not know what Pentagon is doing behind his back.  He also has no idea of any real timeline for the retreat even as he  continues to promote it.

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/0...mmunition.html

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## Swordsmyth

Russian forces blew up bridges on the Euphrates river held by Iranian  militias several days ago, according to a report. This is the first time  the Russians attacked Iranian targets in Syria.

The information  came from a senior Syrian official who refused to be identified, and was  reported in Bas News, a Kurdish news website.

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/...n-Syria-579924

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## goldenequity



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## goldenequity

> Eva Bartlett‏@EvaKBartlett
> Some of us went to *Douma*, interviewed residents, medical staff, who said no signs of CW attack. We were called Russian propagandists, other _ists...
> But now: *OPCW report "fails to link any of the alleged 43 deaths to apparent chlorine found at the scene..."*
> 
> *SYRIA: New OPCW Report Further Weakens West’s Shaky ‘Chemical Attack’ Narrative
> https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/03/...ack-narrative/*




The United Nations’ Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently released their report ( https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/f...019%28e%29.pdf ) into the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, in the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR.) Despite having the mandate to apportion blame, the OPCW did not. Which is understandable given the evidence uncovered by their investigation. You can read a full précis of the report at the end of this article. I suggest those interested check the précis against the full report to verify my interpretation of the various OPCW statements.

https://in-this-together.com/the-opc...a-findings/#PR

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## goldenequity

Al-Masdar News
*[Graphic 18+] Huge Iraq Army attack results in scores of ISIS terrorists killed
https://aml.ink/yLFnW*

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## Swordsmyth

Syrian  rebels backed by Turkey said on Monday that Moscow and its Syrian  government ally were trying to wrest control of two major highways in  their last enclave in the northwest of the country in a bid to shore up  Syria's sanction-hit economy.The  sixth day of the campaign by government forces saw heavy aerial attacks  targeting the city of Jisr al-Shughour and the al-Ghab plain, as well  as the towns of al-Latamenah and Maarat al-Numan in the south of Idlib  province, the rebels said.
Taking  those areas would bring President Bashar al-Assad close to regaining  control over the strategic M5 and M4 highways from Aleppo to Hama and  Latakia on the Mediterranean coast, two of Syria's most important  pre-war arteries.


Russia  says Turkey has not done enough to evict jihadists from the buffer zone  or to open the M5 and M4 highways that link cities held by the  government and run from Syria's southern tip near the border with Jordan  to the northern border with Turkey.
Opening  the commercial and passenger routes through Idlib province would  reassert the state's control over a fragmented economy that sprung up  during eight years of conflict and now facing U.S. and EU sanctions,  economic experts say.
Russian  President Vladimir Putin said last week that he did not rule out a  full-scale assault on militants in Idlib province, after Russian  officials publicly questioned how far they would continue to tolerate  jihadist control. 

The  loss of opposition control over the highways would mean the loss of a  financial asset for the rebels, as well as be a sign of their weakening  hold on their last enclave.
It would also undermine a sphere of influence that Turkey has carved out in recent years in Syria.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels...010815287.html

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## goldenequity



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## Swordsmyth

Syrian government forces have unilaterally ceased fire in the northern  Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold, Russia said Sunday,  while opposition activists reported continued shelling and airstrikes.

In  a brief statement on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for  Reconciliation of the Warring Sides in Syria said government forces had  ceased fire as of midnight. It described the move as unilateral, but did  not give details.
The  pro-government Syrian Central Military Media said government forces  responded to shelling by militants Sunday on the edge of Idlib. It gave  no further details.
The  Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war  monitoring group, reported an airstrike on the town of Khan Sheikhoun,  saying it inflicted casualties.
The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense also reported shelling near the town of Jisr al-Shughour without reporting any casualties.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/russia-says-s...114336760.html

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## goldenequity

above 'ceasefire' is not holding. ^^^^^^

Turk jihaddis (TSFA) r leaving North (Kurd front) to join HTS counter attack on SAA/Tiger gains in Hama/Idlib south.

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## goldenequity



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## Swordsmyth

Early Sunday Syrian state media reported that a major gas pipeline  running across the country's center has been knocked offline due to a  terror attack. The pipeline carries about 2.5 million cubic meters of  gas to a processing plant and onward to other power stations. 
  The pipeline specifically links al-Shaer gas field with Ebla Gas  Factory in eastern Homs countryside, according to reports. Syria's  official SANA reported that *“Terrorists  vandalized the gas pipeline which extends from al-Shaer field to Ebla  Gas Factory as the pipeline went out of service.”*


The report indicated further that “technical workshops affiliated to the  Petroleum Ministry started to work on fixing the gas pipeline in order  to pump gas through it again over the coming hours,” and strongly  suggested that *"remnants of ISIS terrorists"* conducted the attack. 

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...yria-militants

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## Swordsmyth

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that if a  planned safe zone in northern Syria is not established, and if threats  continue against Turkey, Ankara would launch a military operation east  of the Euphrates river.Turkey has been in talks with the United  States over the establishment of a safe zone across its border in  northeast Syria, where the United States supports the Kurdish YPG  militia. Ankara sees the YPG as a terrorist organization.
In an  interview with broadcaster TGRT Haber, Cavusoglu also said he hoped an  agreement would be reached after talks later on Monday with the U.S.  special envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, who is visiting Turkey.
Cavusoglu said talks with the United States on the safe zone had recently slowed.
He  said Turkey had told Washington that it should not use the fighting in  Syria's northwestern Idlib province as a pretext for disregarding the  proposed safe zone further east.
He repeated Turkish frustration  that a deal with the United States for a YPG withdrawal from the town of  Manbij had still not been implemented, more than a year after it was  agreed.
"If the safe zone is not established and threats toward  our country continue, we will launch the operation in the east of the  Euphrates," he told TGRT Haber.
"The Americans sent Jeffrey and  said there were new proposals in the talks that will start today. We  hope an agreement can be reached on this. Concrete steps are needed on  this now."
Following talks with Jeffrey later on Monday, the  Foreign Ministry said the safe zone, the political process, the  formation of a constitutional committee and developments in Syria's  northwestern Idlib region were discussed.
Defence Minister Hulusi  Akar also had talks with Jeffrey and expressed the "unease" felt over  high-ranking U.S. officials meeting with leaders of the YPG in Syria,  according to the Turkish Defence Ministry.
It said the establishment of the safe zone was discussed and it was agreed to continue working on the issue on Tuesday.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-launch...090316547.html

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