DAMASCUS: Syrian regime forces on Friday advanced against Daesh group militants in the south of Damascus, state media said, after more than a week of bombardment on the area.
“Army units backed by the air force and artillery have advanced on numerous axes” in southern Damascus, including the district of Hajjar Al-Aswad, “after breaking through terrorist defenses,” state news agency SANA said.
The advance “inflicted great human and material losses” on the militants, it said.
Syrian state television said the army was advancing toward Route 30 in Hajjar Al-Aswad.
Regime forces have pounded southern districts of Damascus since April 19, after IS refused an evacuation deal for the region.
The areas under regime fire include the neighborhoods of Hajjar Al-Aswad and Qadam as well as the adjacent Palestinian camp of Yarmouk.
Daesh has held parts of Hajjar Al-Aswad and Yarmouk since 2015 and seized Qadam last month.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-government forces took control of “buildings and streets in Hajjar Al-Aswad and Qadam after attacking the districts at dawn.”
Regime forces were locked in violent clashes with Daesh fighters on Friday morning, the Britain-based monitor said.
Heavy air strikes and shelling had targeted Yarmouk and the edges of Hajjar Al-Aswad and Qadam since the early morning.
At least 74 regime personnel and 59 IS fighters have been killed in eight days of fighting, the monitor said.
In that same period, at least 19 civilians have also been killed in regime bombardment of the area including in Yarmouk, it said.
Yarmouk and the surroundings are now Daesh’s largest urban redoubt in Syria or neighboring Iraq.
The militants have lost much of the territory they once controlled in both countries since they declared a cross-border caliphate there in 2014.
Yarmouk was once home to around 160,000 people, but today just a few hundred people remain, the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees has said.
President Bashar Assad’s regime set its sights on the south of the capital after reconquering a major rebel bastion east of Damascus earlier this month.
Eastern Ghouta fell after a blistering air and ground assault and Russia-backed evacuation deals that saw tens of thousands of people bussed out to northern Syria.
More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria’s war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
Syria regime advances against Daesh in south Damascus, state media says
Syria regime advances against Daesh in south Damascus, state media says

Israeli authorities destroy Palestinian homes in West Bank cities

- Israeli authorities demolish 25 structures that belonged to the Dababseh family in Khallet Al-Dabaa village
- In Ramallah, forces raze a 150 sq. meter home that housed five people
LONDON: Israeli authorities demolished several Palestinian structures, including homes, in occupied West Bank cities on Monday.
Israeli forces demolished two homes in Al-Mughayyir village, north of Ramallah. They also destroyed a 200 sq. meter home in Al-Funduq, east of Qalqilya, for building without a permit. Additionally, several structures were demolished in the Jordan Valley.
Wafa reported that Israeli authorities demolished 25 structures that belonged to the Dababseh family in Khallet Al-Dabaa village, including homes, water wells, naturally formed caves, agricultural rooms, barns, and solar panels, after forcibly evicting residents.
In Ramallah, forces demolished a 150 sq. meter home that housed five people, while a demolition notice was issued for another house.
In the northern Jordan Valley, Israeli forces destroyed homes and livestock pens belonging to residents in Khirbet Al-Deir, while in Nabi Elias village, it raided several vehicle repair garages, the Wafa news agency reported.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, associated with the Palestinian Authority, reported that Israeli forces or settlers carried out 1,693 attacks on Palestinian towns, their properties, and lands in April.
Spain probes deaths of thousands of Spaniards in Nazi camps

- Thousands of Spaniards fled to France after Franco’s Fascist-backed nationalists overthrew a republic in the 1936-1939 civil war
- They found themselves under Nazi occupation in France from 1940
MADRID: Spanish prosecutors on Monday said they were investigating whether General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II to send thousands of exiled Spaniards in France to death camps.
Thousands of Spaniards fled to France after Franco’s Fascist-backed nationalists overthrew a republic in the 1936-1939 civil war, only to find themselves under Nazi occupation in France from 1940.
The investigation will “clarify the relevant responsibilities and the existence of a possible joint strategy” between Franco’s dictatorship and Nazi Germany “in the detention and subsequent transfer of thousands of Spaniards exiled in France to different extermination camps,” the public prosecutor’s office said.
The Mauthausen camp in Austria was among the sites where the republican exiles “were subjected to forced labor, torture, disappearance and murder,” the prosecutor’s office added.
The human rights and democratic memory section of the office will lead the inquiry into the 4,435 recorded dead.
The prosecutors’ office said the probe coincided with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Mauthausen and was launched in accordance with a divisive 2022 democratic memory law.
The left-wing government passed the legislation in a bid to tackle the legacy of the civil war and honor victims of violence and persecution under Franco, who ruled with an iron fist until his death in 1975.
The right-wing opposition says the left is trying to reopen the wounds of the past with the law and has vowed to repeal it if they return to power.
Woman killed as gunmen attack Damascus nightclub: monitor, witness

- A witness, requesting anonymity for security reasons, said he “heard gunfire at dawn” as he was near the nightclub
- “I saw a woman’s body, blood stains on the ground, and chaos after the shooting,” he said
DAMASCUS: Armed men opened fire inside a club in Damascus on Monday, killing a woman, according to a witness and a war monitor, the second attack in a week targeting the Syrian capital’s nightlife.
The perpetrators or their motives were unknown. Some Syrians have expressed fears that the country’s new authorities would seek to impose restrictions on public behavior but it was unclear whether the attackers were linked to them.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported that “unidentified gunmen attacked the Al-Karawan nightclub in the Hijaz area with automatic weapons and opened fire, killing a woman and wounding others.”
A witness, requesting anonymity for security reasons, said he “heard gunfire at dawn” as he was near the nightclub.
He told AFP that he “did not dare to enter the club until some time after the firing stopped.”
Inside the club, “I saw a woman’s body, blood stains on the ground, and chaos after the shooting,” he said.
Contacted by AFP, the interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the deadly attack.
The club is located in a commercial area in the heart of Damascus, where many licensed nightclubs and bars have been operating for decades.
A resident of the same street said security forces had been monitoring the venue from a vehicle for days.
A local vendor said “there has never been any problem with the nightclub” in the five years he has worked in the area.
Hours before the shooting, a video circulated on social media showing security camera footage from a previous attack on a nightclub in the same area.
The footage, verified by AFP, shows gunmen entering the venue before beating fleeing men and women with their weapons.
Authorities said on Sunday that the gunmen involved in the first incident had been arrested.
“After initial investigations and reviewing the recordings, the individuals involved in the assault were identified, arrested and transferred to the judiciary,” the interior ministry said in a statement carried by Alekhbariah television.
“Any transgression or assault affecting citizens or public facilities will be met with strict legal measures,” it added.
Since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December, the intentional community has been pressing Syria’s new rulers to respect personal freedoms, protect minorities and include all components of society in the transitional period.
PFL MENA season 2 opens with world-class talent in Jeddah on Friday

- Reigning lightweight champion, Iran’s Mohsen Mohammadseifi, battles rising contender Ahmed El-Sisy from Egypt
- Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz bin Moammar makes his debut against Morocco’s Fares Hamdani in catchweight bout
JEDDAH: The second season of PFL MENA begins this Friday at the Onyx Arena in Jeddah, featuring world-class talent from the Middle East North Africa region.
Headlining the card is a high-stakes lightweight showdown between reigning champion Mohsen Mohammadseifi from Iran and rising contender Ahmed El-Sisy from Egypt.
The division also features a trio of compelling matchups, with Algeria’s Souhil Tahiri taking on Kuwait’s Abdullah Saleem, and Bahrain’s Abbas Khan squaring off against Moroccan striker Salah Eddine Hamli.
The featherweight division promises equal intensity.
Jordan’s Abdelrahman Alhyasat, riding the momentum of a five-fight win streak, faces a formidable challenge in undefeated Moroccan Taha Bendaoud.
In other featured featherweight contests, Jordan’s Izzeddine Al-Derbani meets Algerian standout Mohamed Amine, while Iraq’s Hussein Salem takes on Egypt’s Assem Ghanem.
Adding to the excitement are several exhibition bouts, including Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz bin Moammar making his debut against Morocco’s Fares Hamdani in a catchweight fight.
The flyweight division will see local favorite Malik Basahel clash with Algeria’s Mountassir Boutouta.
The evening will also spotlight women’s MMA, with undefeated Kuwaiti talent Eman Almudhaf going toe-to-toe with Brazil’s Shamara Braga in a featherweight contest that promises fireworks.
Stacked with world-class talent, the PFL’s return to Jeddah sets the stage for a thrilling 2025 season.
‘We are not afraid’: Pakistanis at India-Pakistan border ceremony amid Kashmir tensions

- Soldiers from both nations perform aggressive marches, avoid traditional handshake as emotions run high over standoff
- Border crossing closed after attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blames on Pakistan, which denies charge
At the Wagah-Attari border, which marks the final boundary between the nuclear-armed nations of India and Pakistan, the atmosphere is charged with patriotism. The sound of drums can be heard as soldiers perform a choreographed, ceremonial march, showcasing both countries’ pride.
However, the usual symbol of cooperation — a handshake between the two countries’ soldiers — is missing, and the iron gates that separate the two sides remain locked. This is in the context of tense relations between India and Pakistan, heightened by a deadly attack in Kashmir.
Despite the tension, people gather to express their feelings, celebrate their national identities, and watch the dramatic flag-lowering ceremony that has become a symbolic ritual at the border. Visitors on the Pakistani side say they are not afraid of the soaring tensions and for them, it is business as usual.
“We don’t feel any such tension. We feel that we are as safe as we used to be before,” Muhammad Luqman, a Pakistani teacher who was visiting the Wagah border, told AFP.
“The reason for this is that we feel our country’s defense is in strong hands. We don’t have any sort of doubt or fear.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “full operational freedom” to respond to the attack as public anger swelled in his country after New Delhi accused Pakistan of involvement in the April 22 attack that killed 26 tourists. Islamabad has denied the allegations and called for a credible international probe into it.
On Monday, Pakistan carried out a second missile test in three days after saying it was preparing for an incursion by India.
The two nuclear-armed countries have exchanged gunfire along their de facto border in Kashmir, and there have been fears that the latest crisis between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, could spiral into a military conflict.
“Pakistan is a brave nation. We live near the Wagah border. If there is any danger, we will be first picked up from the village, then it will be the turn of the people of the city, because we live in the [border] village,” said Muhammad Abu Bakar, a student.
“The villagers should be afraid, but the villagers are not afraid.”
The flare-up between India and Pakistan has once again alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint and urged the two neighbors to resolve the crisis through dialogue.