International Coalition Brings Military Equipment to Northeast Syria

US soldiers patrol the countryside of the oil-rich town of Rumeilan in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on June 7, 2023. (AFP)
US soldiers patrol the countryside of the oil-rich town of Rumeilan in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on June 7, 2023. (AFP)
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International Coalition Brings Military Equipment to Northeast Syria

US soldiers patrol the countryside of the oil-rich town of Rumeilan in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on June 7, 2023. (AFP)
US soldiers patrol the countryside of the oil-rich town of Rumeilan in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on June 7, 2023. (AFP)

The International Coalition forces sent new military equipment to their bases in the Hasakah countryside in northeast Syria, a war monitor revealed Monday.

The equipment included dozens of trucks, armored vehicles loaded with military equipment and vehicles likely to be missile launchers, in addition to trucks carrying logistical materials.

“The Coalition continues to strengthen its bases in Syrian territories by land and air,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.
Headquartered in London, the war monitor said the military reinforcements consist of 25 trucks carrying fuel tanks, sealed boxes and logistic equipment.

They were sent on Sunday from the Kurdistan-Iraq region, passed through Al-Waleed border crossing and then headed towards the military bases in the Hasakah countryside.

There are nine US bases in Syria: One in al-Tanf, two in Deir Ezzor's countryside, and six in Hasakah.

Meanwhile, SOHR sources said a security meeting was held at Al-Baqer Brigade villa in the suburbs of Al-Jourah neighborhood in Deir Ezzor city, within areas controlled by regime forces and Iranian militias, amid tightened security.

The meeting was attended by second-ranking leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, in addition to security and military officers in the Syrian regime forces, the commander of the Iran-backed Usud al-Uqaydat militia, Hashem al-Sattam, leaders of Liwaa Al-Baqir, Fadi Al-Afees and Nawaf Al-Bashir, and commander of the National Defense militia, Firas Al-Iraqiyah.

The meeting discussed means to enlist local affiliates from Deir Ezzor city, aged between 18 and 45, in the ranks of the Iranian-backed militias, in exchange for financial and security offers, including a monthly salary instead of a salary paid every three months.

Also, all members would be offered security cards that exempt them from arrests or probing.

The sources told SOHR that these measures aim to compensate for the shortage of members in the ranks of the militias, after a recent decision to move all Iraqi, Lebanese and Iranian militia members from Deir Ezzor to Damascus.

On July 17, the Observatory reported that Iranian militia leaders in Deir Ezzor are leaving to Damascus.
According to the sources, the leaders will conduct security meetings to assess their military situation in Deir Ezzor and their combat readiness to deal with the US bases east of the Euphrates.



Iranian Software Allowed Hamas to Collect Detailed Intel on Thousands of Israeli Soldiers, Families

Israeli soldiers close a road in the West Bank, August 2023 (dpa)
Israeli soldiers close a road in the West Bank, August 2023 (dpa)
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Iranian Software Allowed Hamas to Collect Detailed Intel on Thousands of Israeli Soldiers, Families

Israeli soldiers close a road in the West Bank, August 2023 (dpa)
Israeli soldiers close a road in the West Bank, August 2023 (dpa)

A group of cyber experts said hackers are using an Iranian software to collect massive private data available on social media accounts of soldiers and officers in the Israeli army, posing a threat to them and their family members.

Despite attempts from the Israeli military to mitigate the effect of such operation on its military intelligence, it is concerned about the magnitude of the operation and its consequences, and therefore it warned soldiers and officers of its threats.

The cyber experts described the operation as a serious war that accompanies the ongoing military war between Israel and Hamas, Hezbollah, and other militias serving the Iranian axis.

They also warned that collecting private details of Israeli soldiers does not only target Israel but other armies and countries in the region and the world.

Media reports said a well-known Iranian technology is currently using advanced Russian expertise and hackers from all over the world.

Therefore, cyber-security measures that Israel and other developed countries adopt are unable to face all cyber-attacks.

On Monday, the Israeli daily Haaretz said there are more than 2,000 Israel Air Force personnel who were the subject of detailed dossiers created by Hamas as part of intelligence-gathering operations.

It said the dossiers were leaked online this week, and with them the details of the soldiers' past and present.

According to Dana Toren, head of the Operations Division at Israel's National Cyber Authority, Israeli “databases are often hacked through the weakest link in the chain – whether through third-party storage companies, a security weakness, or in businesses that do not invest in cyber protections.”

She recommended that “citizens try to reduce the exposure of their personal information to a minimum, lock online social media profiles as private and keep the camera on mobile phones turned off and limited to personal use.”

The personal information has been leaked online, compiled by Hamas, reports Haaretz.

The files include soldiers' contact details, unit assignments, ID numbers, social media profiles, family member names, and in some cases, passwords, license plates, and banking information.

The files had been circulating online for several months and were recently made public after being shared with an international group of investigative journalists, led by Paper Trail Media in collaboration with German weekly Die Zeit and broadcaster ZDF, Austrian daily Der Standard, and Haaretz.