Syria: Freed Aleppo Major Defeat to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Serious Setback for US

Commenting on the success of the Syrian army and complete liberation of Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, Kurdish political official Rezan Hiddo explained to Sputnik why it came as a serious defeat to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, while Professor Tim Anderson explained why it is the most serious setback for the US in 15 years.

"The liberation of Syria's major strategic center, Aleppo, from the armed opposition has changed the course of the Syrian war, propelled strengthening of the Syrian army and increased its morale," Kurdish political official, member of the Syrian Democratic Council Rezan Hiddo told Sputnik Turkiye. However it came as a serious defeat to those countries which have been supporting the rebel groups operating on the Syrian territory, he added.

"I mean Saudi Arabia, Qatar and particularly Turkey," he specified.

Syrian rebels shell Aleppo after withdrawal

Syrian rebels shelled Aleppo on Friday, killing three people, state television reported, a day after insurgents finished withdrawing from their last pocket of territory in the city.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said about 10 shells had fallen in al-Hamdaniya district in southwest Aleppo.

Rebels seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have frequently shelled the areas of Aleppo that have been under government control throughout the conflict, which began in 2011.

The destruction in those parts of the city has been far less than in the eastern districts that rebels held until this month.

Don’t forget Aleppo: Russia holds memorial service for ambassador shot dead in Turkey

Dozens attend open-casket ceremony for Andrei Karlov, killed in Ankara by man shouting ‘Don’t forget Aleppo’

Russia has staged a sombre memorial ceremony for Andrei Karlov, the ambassador to Turkey shot dead in Ankara by a man shouting “Don’t forget Aleppo” and “Allahu Akbar”.

Russia and Turkey described the assassination on Monday as a failed attempt to derail a rapprochement between Moscow and Ankara, which has seen them cooperate more closely over Syria, where they have backed different sides in the conflict.

Diplomats and family members gathered at the Russian foreign ministry, a looming Stalin-era skyscraper in central Moscow, to bid farewell to Karlov, who was 62.

Strolling towards 3rd World War: Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov shot dead in Ankara

An unnamed gunman gestures after
shooting the Russian Ambassador to Turkey
, Andrei Karlov, at a photo gallery in Ankara,
Turkey, Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. Turkish
police shot and killed the gunman, Turkish
station NTV reported. Russia's ambassador
to Turkey has died after being shot in Ankara
, according to Russian Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman. #APPhoto by Burhan Ozbilici

A Turkish policeman has shot dead Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, apparently in protest at Russia's involvement in Aleppo.

Several other people were reportedly also injured in the attack, a day after protests in Turkey over Russian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The killer, who was in civilian clothes, opened fire at point blank range as Mr Karlov made a speech.

He is said to have died in a shootout with police soon afterwards.

Mr Karlov was rushed to hospital, reports said, but his death was later confirmed by the Russian foreign ministry.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone about the attack, Mr Erdogan's office said.

Counter Extremism Project: Iraqi Shiite Militias Fight for Assad in Aleppo, Accused by U.N. of Human Rights Abuses

Qais al-Khazali

Founder, leader

(New York, NY) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) today released updated resources on powerful Iraqi Shiite militias Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), trained and supported by Iran, that are fighting with Hezbollah for the Assad regime in Syria.

On December 13, 2016, the United Nations implicated AAH’s Syrian wing, known as Harakat al-Nujaba, in the slaughter of dozens of civilians in Aleppo. Although supposedly operating independently of AAH in Iraq, Harakat al-Nujaba is comprised primarily of AAH fighters and those from fellow Iranian-backed militia KH.

Iraq’s Shiite militias are referred to as Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). In a July report, Human Rights Watch documented killings, disappearances, torture, and the destruction of homes by PMF groups during the fight to retake Fallujah and other Sunni-dominated areas in Iraq from ISIS. 

Nevertheless, the Shiite militias were formally recognized by the Iraqi Parliament in November 2016.

Ibrahim Uwais, Son Of Former CJN Uwais Who Joined ISIS Is Killed In Syrian Airstrike

Ibrahim Uwais,  Son of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria has been reportedly killed in Alepo in Syria as the the United state Airstrikes aimed at the IS terrorists group in the region.

 SaharaReporters reports that young Uwais, a son of former Chief Justice Mohammed Uwais, died today near Aleppo, Syria as the United States targeted members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in fierce airstrikes.

According to the reports, a source confirmed that the late Ibrahim Uwais, who secretly traveled to Syria in February 2015 to join ISIS, was one of numerous Islamist terrorists who perished as US military aircraft bombarded known ISIS camps near the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo.

War In Syria: Airstrikes on refugee camp near Turkey kill 28, 50 injure

At least 28 civilians, including women and children, were killed Thursday in air strikes on a displaced camp in northern Syria near the Turkish border, a monitor said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the strikes which also left 50 civilians wounded targeted the camp near Sarmada in Idlib province, which is controlled by Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and rebel allies.

Mamun al-Khatib, director of the Aleppo-based pro-rebel Shahba Press news agency, accused the regime of carrying out the attacks.

International Diplomats Scramble to Re-establish Syria Truce

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with international diplomats in Geneva in an effort to end hostilities in Syria where government forces have pounded the rebel-held city of Aleppo for more than a week. The pressure is on Russia to use its influence over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop the violence.

War In Syria: Temporary partial truce comes into effect

A partial truce known as a "regime of calm" has come into effect in most parts of Syria apart from in the divided second city of Aleppo.

The truce announced by the Syrian army came into effect in two areas an hour after midnight local time on Friday.

A statement said it would last for 24 hours in Damascus and the Eastern Ghouta region outside the capital.

The truce is also due to last for 72 hours in the northern countryside of Latakia province.

There has been no explanation as to why the halt in fighting is only temporary,

War In Syria: How Airstrikes destroy Al Quds hospital in Aleppo leaving more than 50 dead

• The death toll at the Al Quds hospital, which was supported by MSF and a number of other organisations, has now risen to more than 50 from the hospital and surrounding areas where the bombs first hit, it includes patients and at least six medical staff. 

The bombing of an Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)-supported Al Quds hospital in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, has killed at least 50 people, including at least two doctors.

According to hospital staff on the ground, the hospital was destroyed by at least one airstrike which directly hit the building on Wednesday night, reducing it to rubble. Other airstrikes in the neighbourhood also hit areas close to the hospital.

"MSF categorically condemns this outrageous targeting of yet another medical facility in Syria," said Muskilda Zancada, MSF head of mission,Syria.