American diplomats meet with the new Syrian leadership. A rocket from Yemen injures several people near Tel Aviv. All developments in the news blog.
6:42 a.m.: According to the Israeli military, a rocket from Yemen hit the Tel Aviv area. This is reported by the Reuters news agency. According to the emergency services, 14 people were injured and some had to be taken to hospital.
The Houthi rebels from Yemen claim responsibility for the shelling of Israel. According to the company’s own information, a military target in the Jaffa region was targeted.
6:16 a.m.: US diplomats met with representatives of the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) for the first time since the coup in Syria and lifted the million-dollar bounty on their leader. There were positive discussions in Damascus, said Barbara Leaf, the top diplomat responsible for the Middle East at the US State Department, afterwards. The leader of the HTS, Ahmed al-Sharaa, agreed that terrorist groups should not pose a threat either within Syria or abroad. The HTS took power in the country after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad at the beginning of December.
Syrians have the chance to “create a new, freer and inclusive society that takes its rightful place both in the region and on the world stage,” says Leaf. The US wanted to work with the Syrian people “to seize this historic opportunity.”
A few years ago, the United States offered a $10 million bounty on al-Shaara, who until recently went by his nom de guerre Mohammed al-Julani. Based on their conversation, she told him that the US would now “not pursue” the bounty on his head, Leaf said after the meeting. Al-Shaaras HTS is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
Friday, December 20, 2024
5:34 p.m.: The US military says it has killed a leader of the Islamic State terrorist militia in Syria. The US Regional Command (Centcom) said the man was killed in an attack in the province of Dair as-Saur in the east of the country. In addition to him, another member of the terrorist militia was killed, the message on X said.
The attack took place in an area that was controlled by Syrian government troops and their allies until the overthrow of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. The US will not allow IS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria, said the commander of US forces in the region, Erik Kurilla. The terrorist organization intends to free around 8,000 members who are currently being held in Syrian facilities. The military will take tough action against it, said Kurilla.
Despite the military victory over the Islamic State announced in 2019, their cells continue to be active in Syria. The USA leads an international coalition in the fight against IS in Syria. US troops are expected to remain in the country until further notice, even after Assad’s fall.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
9:39 p.m.: There are currently more US soldiers stationed in Syria than previously known. The US Department of Defense corrected its previous information and announced that there were currently around 2,000 American soldiers in the country. The ministry had previously spoken of 900 soldiers being stationed in Syria to fight the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) in the region.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said 900 troops are in Syria for a long-term deployment of about nine to 12 months at a time. The additional forces are temporary rotation troops that will only be there for one to three months at a time to meet any new requirements related to the IS mission.
When asked, Ryder explained that the higher number of American soldiers has been in Syria for “a while,” definitely since before the overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. However, it was only now that the discrepancy in the numbers was noticed internally.
