A surgical airstrike by Russian fighter jets has knocked out the battle headquarters of a jihadist group near Raqqa, according to Russian Defense Ministry. Operating from the Khmeimim airbase, the Russian Air Force continues to inflict pinpoint strikes on Islamic State installations. “Over the past 24 hours, Sukhoi Su-34 and Su-24M fighter jets have performed 20 sorties and hit nine Islamic State... 

Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian parliament’s international affairs committee, took to Twitter on Friday and said the United States is not bombing ISIS. “McCain accused us of striking out at US-trained insurgents… However, since they have either run away or joined al-Qaeda, hitting them is a mission impossible,” Pushkov wrote on his Twitter account. “The US-led coalition spent... 

A senior member of Russia’s parliament says an ongoing air campaign by Moscow against militants operating in Syria is going to intensify. Alexei Pushkov, who serves as the chairman of the Committee for International Affairs at the Russian State Duma (the lower house of the parliament), said Friday that Moscow will be intensifying its attacks against the militants in Syria while studying the risks... 

A rock-shaped Israeli-made espionage device was found in the southern Lebanese town of Bani Hayan on September 30, 2015. A highly camouflaged Israeli espionage device has been discovered in southern Lebanon, the country’s army says. “An army force discovered an Israeli spy device in a rock connected to an electric cable. A military expert arrived at the scene and dismantled the device,” the Lebanese... 

Iran has dispatched hundreds of ground troops to Syria to fight alongside the forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. A full scale war is unfolding in Syria, with a ground offensive being planned to coincide with Russian air strikes, according to Lebanese sources. “The (Russian) air strikes will in the near future be accompanied by ground advances by the Syrian army and its allies,” one of... 

A new Ministry of Defense (MoD) report circulating in the Kremlin today states that yesterday’s decree signed by President Putin for the autumn conscription campaign of an additional 150,000 troops will ensure the continued combat viability of Federation Military Forces as it faces not only Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorists, but the growing threat of war between Russia and the West. According... 

Israeli Likud Minister Yuval Steinitz will tell the United States, Russia and other world powers Israel will not tolerate Iranian forces near its border, the Jerusalem Times reported on Tuesday. Steinitz made the remark as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, flew to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday. “In all of our discussions, first and foremost with... 

Fighters from Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front drive in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. A spokesman for the Pentagon has confirmed that Syrian rebel fighters trained by the United States provided ammunition and equipment to an al-Qaeda-linked group. Syrian rebel fighters trained by the United States provided ammunition and equipment to an al-Qaeda-linked group this week, a spokesman... 

The United States plans to undermine Russia’s military buildup in Syria, which is designed to defeat the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group and help stabilize the country, a US military analyst in California says. Russia’s military buildup in Syria to stop advances by Daesh and boost the government of President Bashar al-Assad is an “enormously positive move,” said Scott Bennett, a former US Army... 

Syria’s civil war has prompted the first withdrawal of crop seeds from a “doomsday” vault built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global food supplies. The seeds, including samples of wheat, barley and grasses suited to dry regions, have been requested by researchers in the Middle East to replace a collection in the Syrian city of Aleppo that has been damaged by the war. “Protecting the... 

At least 453 people have been killed and nearly 720 others injured in a crush during Hajj pilgrimage rituals outside Mecca. According to Saudi disaster officials, the incident occurred in Mina, near Mecca, at 9 am local time (0600 GMT) after two large masses of pilgrims coming down streets 204 and 223 fused together. The incident took place as people were heading to participate in the symbolic stoning... 

With each passing day, The Kremlin seems less and less interested in observing any niceties with regard to how it describes Russia’s military involvement in Syria. Initially, it seemed likely that Moscow would go the Ukraine route by providing logistical support and lurking behind the scenes while officially denying – or at least downplaying – its role in the conflict. Over the course of the... 

Russian marines clashed with ISIS near Latakia, Syria, on Sunday, according to Russian media. During the fight the marines allegedly killed several militants and captured others after ISIS attempted to attack an airbase operated by Russian military, reported the Russian newspaper Segodnya. Interestingly, the newspaper also reported the ISIS militants “possessed a detailed plan of the air base and... 

Washington has signaled its readiness to cooperate with Russia in the intelligence sphere in order to fight the Islamic State militant group in Syria, according to the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. The United States has announced plans to develop intelligence cooperation with Russia in a bid to destroy the so-called Islamic State (ISIL), the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported, citing sources... 

US threatens to expand the international isolation of the Russian Federation for the support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to White House spokesman Josh Ernest, if Russia does not join the US-led international coalition that conducts a counter-terrorist operation in Iraq and Syria and will support Assad instead, the move with isolate Moscow from the international community even more. Josh...