Group items tagged

The US and Russia have announced that a cease fire will take place on February 27 at midnight, excluding IS and other terrorist organizations. Because the first cease fire was a failure, there is a lot of skepticism surrounding this second effort. 

A BBC article talking about the US and Russia brokered truce that is supposed to start this weekend. The article also includes a fantastic map created by the BBC to show the zones of control and where various airstrikes have been taking place. While this doesn't have anything to do with the arms involved in Syrian conflict I think this is too significant to ignore this week and therefore I have dedicated my tags to it.

The loss of the intelligence networks, in addition to the escalating conflict, contributed to the Obama administration's decision to halt drone strikes in Yemen for two months, to vacate the U.S. Embassy in Sana last month and to evacuate U.S. special operations and intelligence teams from a Yemeni air base over the weekend.

Syrian Rebel groups are skeptical of the truce that is supposed to take place this weekend. They worry that Syrian and Russian government will continue to attack rebels, but under the cover of attacking "terrorist groups" like IS.

A Reuters article discussing the possible cease fire/truce that is supposed to occur over the weekend. The article does a good job of highlighting the uncertainty amongst various groups as to what the terms of the deal will be.

Another New York Times article about the weekend truce. Unfortunately according to the article it seems that Russia used the clause that allows airstrikes against ISIS, as an opportunity to also bomb some opposition fighters positions.

The U.S. is supposedly behind the attack this past weekend that killed a prominent al Nusra leader. This could suggest that the U.S. is increasing their military presence in Syria. 

Britain has launched its first drone strike against Islamic State (Isis) fighters in Iraq. An RAF Reaper drone fired a Hellfire missile at Isis forces laying improvised explosive devices near Bayji, the site of Iraq's biggest oil refinery, north of Baghdad, over the weekend, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.

Irbil, Iraq (CNN) -- Shortly after ISIS claimed to have carried out attacks within miles of Baghdad, police officials confirmed Tuesday that the ISIS militants had struck Iraqi military checkpoints on the southern outskirts of the capital during the weekend.

(CNN) -- He runs his terror group like a CEO -- with spreadsheets on missions, assassinations and captured assets. And reports from Iraq's government suggest ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been hit in airstrikes over the weekend -- though it's not clear whether he was wounded, whose strikes he may have been hit by and in what part of the country he may have been struck.

Strategic Retreat The self-proclaimed Islamic State has lost at least three Syrian cities and towns in the past six weeks, including one over the weekend, each time by walking away from the fight. And yet the Pentagon is not sure whether to celebrate ISIS's losses or brace for even bigger fights against the group than it already anticipated for key ISIS cities like Mosul and Raqqa. Isis has learned over the course of their history in Syria that they must choose their battles, and defend key properties that they must have to survive.