US says killed senior Qaeda operative in Syria strike

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Updated 31 January 2025
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US says killed senior Qaeda operative in Syria strike

  • “US Central Command forces conducted a precision air strike in northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah Al-Zabir,” CENTCOM said
  • The US strike came days after Hurras Al-Din announced its dissolution in line with orders from the interim president

BEIRUT: The US military said it killed a senior operative of Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch in an air strike on northwestern Syria on Thursday.
The area was the stronghold of interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group before it led the rebel offensive that toppled Bashar Assad in December.
“US Central Command forces conducted a precision air strike in northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah Al-Zabir, a senior operative in the terrorist organization Hurras Al-Din, an Al-Qaeda affiliate,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
Britain based-war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Zabir was killed when the vehicle he was traveling in on the Sarmada-Idlib road was hit by a US drone strike.
The US strike came days after Hurras Al-Din announced its dissolution in line with orders from the interim president.
The Observatory said Hurras Al-Din “announced its dissolution so as not to enter into armed conflict with HTS.”
Sharaa’s faction was Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate until it broke ties with the jihadist network in 2016.
The US-based SITE Intelligence Group said Hurras Al-Din was founded in February 2018.
It did not publicly confirm its allegiance to Al-Qaeda until its dissolution announcement on Tuesday.
The United States designated Hurras Al-Din as a “terrorist” organization in 2019 and has offered financial rewards for information on several of its members.
It carried out successive air strikes targeting the group’s leadership in northwestern Syria in August and September last year.
Washington also still blacklists HTS as a “terrorist” group, although it has lifted some of its sanctions against Sharaa’s group since it toppled Assad last year.


Japan provides $8.7 million grant for SCADA water supply system in Ma’an, Jordan

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Japan provides $8.7 million grant for SCADA water supply system in Ma’an, Jordan

AMMAN: The Jordanian and Japanese governments on Sunday signed agreements for a grant worth 1.334 billion Japanese yen (about $8.7 million) to support the establishment of a SCADA water supply system in the kingdom’s Ma’an governorate.

The funding will be provided through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, t according to a report by Petra, the Jordan News Agency.

A SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system monitors and controls water systems using sensors and devices.

The agreements were signed by Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan, and the Japanese ambassador to Amman, Asari Hideki.

A separate grant agreement was signed by JICA Jordan’s chief representative, Morihata Shingo, in the presence of Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abu Soud.

According to a statement from Jordan’s Ministry of Water, the project will improve the operational and management efficiency of water supply facilities in Ma’an, while enhancing water supply services in the southern governorate and addressing water loss reduction.

Toukan expressed appreciation for Japan’s ongoing support, highlighting its alignment with Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision. She highlighted the strong bilateral relations between Jordan and Japan and their shared commitment to expanding cooperation across various sectors, Petra reported.

Hideki reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to supporting Jordan through financial and technical programs, noting that these initiatives will help strengthen the kingdom’s water sector. He also praised Jordan as a regional model for economic and political reforms, Petra added.

Shingo underscored the significance of the project, particularly given Jordan’s status as one of the most water-scarce countries in the world.

He also noted that JICA is currently implementing a technical cooperation project to enhance water-loss management in the southern governorates, focusing on capacity building for engineers and technicians.


Syrian national dialogue to begin on February 25

Updated 23 February 2025
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Syrian national dialogue to begin on February 25

DAMASCUS: Syria’s new authorities will hold a national dialogue conference starting on February 25 to discuss a new path for the nation after the overthrow of Bashar Assad in December, two members of its preparatory committee said on Sunday.
Foreign capitals will be closely watching the conference as part of a political process in Syria that they say needs to be inclusive of its ethnically diverse and multi-religious population as they consider suspending sanctions on the country.
Holding the conference has been a key pledge of former Al Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) which took control of Damascus on December 8 in a stunning offensive that prompted then-president Assad to flee to Russia, ending more than 50 years of his family’s autocratic rule.
The preparatory committee’s seven members consulted with some 4,000 people across Syria over the last week to gather views that would help shape a constitutional declaration, a new economic framework and a plan for institutional reform, the committee told reporters on Sunday.
HTS-appointed President Ahmed Sharaa has said the conference was part of an inclusive political process to draft a constitution, which he said could take up to three years, and then hold elections, which he said could take four years.
The conference is scheduled for two days but could be extended if necessary, committee member Hassan Dugheim said, and a new government expected to be formed next month would also benefit from the conference’s recommendations.


Russia’s top diplomat to visit Turkiye Monday: sources

Updated 23 February 2025
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Russia’s top diplomat to visit Turkiye Monday: sources

  • Sergei Lavrov will hold talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan
  • Turkiye wants to play a leading role in bringing an end to Russia-Ukraine hostilities

ISTANBUL: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Turkiye on Monday, which marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkish diplomatic sources said Sunday.
Lavrov will hold talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, the source said, adding that the men will discuss the war in Ukraine, among other things.
Turkiye, a member of NATO, wants to play a leading role in bringing an end to hostilities, as it tried to do in March 2022 by twice hosting direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
Receiving his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted that his country would be an “ideal host” for talks on Ukraine involving Moscow, Kyiv and Washington.
Moscow and Washington have already begun a direct dialogue in recent weeks, against a backdrop of rapprochement between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Russian and American officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to begin rebuilding their relations, a meeting denounced by Zelensky, who fears an agreement on Ukraine reached without him at the table.
Lavrov, who last visited Turkiye in October, is also expected to visit Russian ally Iran.


Hamas says Israel’s claim on hostages’ handover ceremony is pretext to evade Gaza truce obligations

Updated 23 February 2025
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Hamas says Israel’s claim on hostages’ handover ceremony is pretext to evade Gaza truce obligations

  • Israeli says waiting to deliver Palestinian prisoners "until release of next hostages has been assured"
  • Hamas has made hostages appear on stage, sometimes speak before handing them over to Israel 

DUBAI: Hamas on Sunday condemned Israel’s decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, saying its claim that the hostages’ handover ceremonies are “humiliating” was false and a pretext to evade Israel’s obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement, represents a clear violation of its terms, and shows the occupation’s lack of reliability in implementing its obligations,” Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.

Israel said earlier it was delaying the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners it had planned to free the day before until Hamas met its conditions, underscoring the fragility of the Gaza ceasefire accord.

Netanyahu’s office released a statement in the early hours of Sunday saying that Israel was waiting to deliver the 620 Palestinian prisoners and detainees “until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies.”

Hamas’ El Rashq said the ceremonies do not include any insult to the hostages, “but rather reflect the humane and dignified treatment of them,” adding that the “real insult” is what the Palestinian prisoners are subjected to during the release process.

The Palestinian militant group official cited the hands’ tying of the Palestinian prisoners and detainees and their blindfolding and threatening them not to hold any celebrations for their release as examples of their humiliation at the hands of Israeli authorities.

Hamas has made hostages appear on stage in front of crowds and sometimes speak before they were handed over. Coffins with hostage remains have also been carried through crowds.

Israel’s announcement, which also accused Hamas of repeatedly violating the month-old ceasefire, came after the Palestinian militant group on Saturday handed over six hostages from Gaza as part of an exchange arranged under the truce.

The six hostages freed on Saturday were the last living Israeli captives due to be handed over during the first phase of the ceasefire. The bodies of four dead Israeli hostages were to be released next week.

 

 


Israel army says deploying tank division in West Bank city of Jenin

Updated 23 February 2025
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Israel army says deploying tank division in West Bank city of Jenin

  • Israel’s army on Sunday announced the expansion of operations in the occupied West Bank including the deployment of a tank division in the city of Jenin

JERUSALEM: Israel’s army on Sunday announced the expansion of operations in the occupied West Bank including the deployment of a tank division in the city of Jenin, the first time tanks have operated in the Palestinian territory since the end of the second intifada, or uprising, in 2005.
“IDF (military), Shin Bet (security agency), and border police forces continue their counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria (West Bank) and are expanding offensive activities in the area,” a military statement said, adding that “a tank division will operate in Jenin as part of the offensive effort.”