Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

Russia says one of its air strikes in Syria has critically injured the leader of an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist alliance and 12 of his field commanders, BBC reported. 

The defence ministry cited its sources as confirming that Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani lost limbs in the attack in the north province of Idlib on Tuesday.

The Syrian authorities have confirmed that Al-Zabadani resort town, 25km from Damascus, has recently been liberated by the Syrian Army after a fierce battle with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants. Residents, who left the city more than five years ago, have started to return homes.

Syrian lands across from Turkey's Cilvegözü border gate is being controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has roots in al-Qaeda.

How did this happen?

Turkey has been taking additional measures along 150 kilometers of the Syrian border following recent developments in Idlib, control of which has passed to extremist groups, amid concerns that a military operation by Russia and the Syrian regime targeting jihadists could cause further humanitarian and security difficulties for Turkey. 

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım chaired a security meeting on Aug. 9 with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and intelligence chief Hakan Fidan.  

The United States warned a takeover of rebel-held northwestern Idlib province by Syrian jihadists linked to a former al-Qaeda affiliate would have grave consequences and make it difficult to dissuade Russia from renewing bombing that recently stopped.

Turkey’s scapegoating of US special envoy Brett McGurk over the military partnership between the United States and the Syrian Kurds grew crazier today, with one pro-government newspaper labeling him a murderer.

The Islamic State stands on the brink of a twin defeat. Mosul, the largest city under its control, has almost entirely fallen from its grasp, and Kurdish-led forces are advancing into its de facto capital of Raqqa.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis is on a Mideast tour to “continue efforts to strengthen regional security architectures.” While his meetings in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel are likely to attract most of the press coverage, his discussions in Qatar Saturday could be the most consequential.