WP: The hasty U.S. pullback from Syria is a searing moment in America’s withdrawal from the Middle East

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[China]

U.S. has 'no right' to Syrian oil, adviser to President Assad says

 

DAMASCUS, Syria — A top adviser to Syria’s president says the United States has no right to Syria’s oil and has warned of “operations” against American troops guarding the oil fields.

 

Bouthaina Shaaban, who is a political and media adviser to Bashar al-Assad, recently told NBC News that the U.S. has “absolutely no right; it is our oil.”

 

“He’s talking about stealing it,” she added in her office at Syria's presidential palace in Damascus, referring to President Donald Trump’s declaration earlier this year that the U.S. would “keep” Syrian oil.

 

In October, the Trump administration announced plans to withdraw some 1,000 troops from Syria, amounting to most of the U.S. military presence in the country. But he later reversed course, approving an expanded military mission to secure an expanse of oil fields across eastern Syria.

 

Shaaban went on to warn of “popular opposition and operations against the American occupiers of our oil.”

 

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[Larry]

So, who are they running from?  (I can't keep track of who's abusing which civilians, where, in there.)

[China]

US bombs facilities in Syria used by Iran-backed militia

 

The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.

 

The airstrike was the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration, which in its first weeks has emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China, even as Mideast threats persist. Biden’s decision to attack in Syria did not appear to signal an intention to widen U.S. military involvement in the region but rather to demonstrate a will to defend U.S. troops in Iraq.

 

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[China]

 

[China]

ISIL leader killed in US raid in Syria, Biden says

 

United States President Joe Biden has said the leader of ISIL (ISIS) has been “taken off the battlefield” following an overnight raid in Syria that also killed children and women.

 

A senior US administration official told reporters on Thursday that ISIL leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed in the raid.

 

Later on Thursday, Biden confirmed al-Qurayshi’s death and lauded the operation in a brief speech. He blamed the civilian deaths on the ISIL leader, whom he said blew himself up in an “act of desperate cowardice” as US forces approached.

 

“He chose to blow himself up – not just with a vest, but to blow up that third floor – rather than face justice for the crimes he has committed, taking several members of his family with him,” Biden said.

 

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[China]

Russia ‘sends a message’ with first missile attack on Israeli jets in Syrian war, expert says

 

A Russian counter-attack on Israeli forces in Syria has raised fears of a potential escalation to the conflict, with experts fearing a similar provocation “within days”.

 

This week, Russia launched missiles on Israeli jets that had flown over Syria and struck targets north of Damascus. Several casualties were reported and the Syrian army returned fire from anti-aircraft systems.

 

Israel has launched hundreds of similar missions since the beginning of Syria’s civil war in 2011, often targeting adversaries Iran and Hezbollah which have established a presence in the country and facing down Syrian air defences.

 

However on this occasion, the retreating Israeli pilots were targeted by missiles from a Russian S-300 anti-aircraft system under the operational control of Russian officers, Israel’s Channel 13 reported. None of the missiles hit their targets.

 

Israel’s military maintains a policy of ambiguity over its operations in Syria, and would not comment on the report. But it was corroborated by defence correspondents at several leading Israeli outlets with close ties to the military establishment. Russia’s Ministry of Defence did not comment on the reports.

 

The incident marks the first known occasion that an Israeli strike has met with a response from Russian anti-aircraft systems – raising fears Russia could assert a more aggressive stance in Syria – even as it remains militarily bogged down in Ukraine.

 

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[Larry]

First thought that occurs to me is:

 

Israel "sends a message":  "Stick to losing against Ukraine". 

[China]

American airman arrested in connection with April attack on US base in Syria

 

Military law enforcement on June 16 arrested an American airman as part of an ongoing investigation into an insider attack on a small U.S. base in northern Syria that injured four service members in April, CNN reported Tuesday.

 

“An airman was taken into custody stateside in conjunction with the attack in Green Village, Syria,” Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek told CNN. “After reviewing the information in the investigation, the airman’s commander made the decision to place him in pretrial confinement.”

 

Stefanek did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Air Force Times Tuesday evening.

 

She declined to disclose the airman’s name unless he is charged in military court, which could come in the next few weeks, according to CNN. Stefanek has not provided the man’s unit, career field or whether he was an active duty member, or where he is being held.

 

U.S. Central Command has described Green Village in northeast Syria as a “Syrian Democratic Forces base with a small coalition advisory presence.” It’s unclear which airmen work out of that post.

 

On April 14, one week after the attack, Operation Inherent Resolve officials announced that the explosions were not caused by indirect fire on the installation, but “the deliberate placement of explosive charges … at an ammunition holding area and shower facility.”

 

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[China]

US kills ‘senior leader’ of al-Qaeda-linked group in Syria

 

The United States military says it carried out a raid in Syria’s Idlib province that targeted a senior leader of an al-Qaeda-aligned group.

 

The attack on Monday targeted Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, a “senior leader” of al-Qaeda-aligned Hurras al-Din, while he was travelling alone on a motorcycle, the US Central Command said in a statement.

 

It added that an initial review did not indicate civilian casualties.

 

“The removal of this senior leader will disrupt al-Qaeda’s ability to carry out attacks against US citizens, our partners and innocent civilians around the world,” the statement added.

 

The Syrian Civil Defence, a humanitarian organisation, said in a tweet that a man was killed shortly before midnight after his motorcycle was targeted with two rockets, adding it has transferred the body to the forensic department in Idlib city.

 

Huras al-Din was founded in 2018 by al-Qaeda supporters.

 

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[China]

Turkey's Erdogan says Syrian airstrikes just 'the beginning'

 

Ankara is on the verge of launching a full-scale ground offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But Russia is keen on finding "other ways of resolving the problem."

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday suggested the campaign of airstrikes in Syria involving planes, artillery and drones was just "the beginning."

 

Turkey launched the operation, which is also taking place in Iraq, as an initial response to a bombing that occurred in Istanbul earlier this month, which Ankara blames on Syrian militants. The Kurdish groups deny any responsibility.

 

"Our determination to secure all our southern border... with a safe zone is stronger today than ever before," Erdogan told lawmakers in parliament. "While we press ahead with air raids uninterrupted, we will crack down on terrorists also by land at the most convenient time for us."

 

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