Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Israel Expands Scope of Attacks in Syria

An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim Israeli Air Force base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, on December 27, 2017. JACK GUEZ / AFP
An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim Israeli Air Force base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, on December 27, 2017. JACK GUEZ / AFP
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Israel Expands Scope of Attacks in Syria

An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim Israeli Air Force base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, on December 27, 2017. JACK GUEZ / AFP
An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim Israeli Air Force base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, on December 27, 2017. JACK GUEZ / AFP

Western diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that Tel Aviv has informed Moscow about its decision to “expand the scope of its red lines” in Syria by preventing Iran from consolidation its military presence and that of its militias, including “Hezbollah,” across all Syrian territories, and not just in the south.

The “red lines” previously aimed to prevent Iran from transferring missiles to its militias and to “Hezbollah,” and to halt the establishment of permanent Iranian bases or missile factories.

“Israeli missiles targeted on Thursday al-Dabaa Military Airbase and its vicinity in the western countryside of Homs, where the Lebanese Hezbollah and militiamen loyal to Syrian regime forces and non-Syrian nationalities are located,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday.

While no official statement was made by Israel concerning the attack, several media outlets confirmed the Observatory’s report.

Meanwhile, the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in St. Petersburg Friday produced a deal to launch a “joint mechanism” capable of finding “common ideas that could push towards a comprehensive deal in Syria.”

They both agreed that further assistance to the long-term political settlement in Syria is required.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Turkish and US officials have outlined a roadmap for cooperation on Manbij, northern Syria.

“The Turkish-US Working Group on Syria met today in Ankara to continue ongoing talks regarding Syria and other issues of mutual interest and cooperation,” the statement said.

It added that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would meet on June 4 to consider the recommendations of the working group.



Kurdish PKK Militants Burn Weapons in Iraq to Launch Disarmament

 Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, July 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS
Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, July 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS
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Kurdish PKK Militants Burn Weapons in Iraq to Launch Disarmament

 Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, July 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS
Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, July 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS

Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Türkiye.

Footage from the ceremony showed the fighters, half of them women, queuing to place AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers and other guns into a large grey cauldron. Flames later engulfed the black gun shafts pointed to the sky, as Kurdish, Iraqi and Turkish officials watched nearby, Reuters reported.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its separatist struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Türkiye and the wider region.

President Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped the PKK's dissolution would bolster Turkish security and regional stability. "May God grant us success in achieving our goals on this path we walk for the security of our country, the peace of our nation, and the establishment of lasting peace in our region," he said on X.

Friday's ceremony was held at the entrance of the Jasana cave in the town of Dukan, 60 km (37 miles) northwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq's north.

The fighters, in beige military fatigues, were flanked by four commanders including senior PKK figure Bese Hozat, who read a statement in Turkish declaring the group's decision to disarm.

"We voluntarily destroy our weapons, in your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination," she said, before another commander read the same statement in Kurdish.

Helicopters hovered overhead, with dozens of Iraqi Kurdish security forces surrounding the mountainous area, a Reuters witness said.

The ceremony was attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government and senior members of Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role this year facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

It was unclear when further handovers would take place.

A senior Turkish official said the arms handover marked an "irreversible turning point" in the peace process, while another government source said ensuing steps would include the legal reintegration of PKK members into society in Türkiye and efforts to heal communities and promote reconciliation.

The PKK has been based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Türkiye's southeastern frontier in recent years. Türkiye's military carries out regular strikes on PKK bases in the region and established several military outposts there.

The end of NATO member Türkiye's conflict with the PKK could have consequences across the region, including in neighboring Syria where the United States is allied with Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara deems a PKK offshoot.

Washington and Ankara want those Kurds to quickly integrate with Syria's security structure, which has been undergoing reconfiguration since the fall in December of autocratic President Bashar al-Assad. PKK disarmament could add to this pressure, analysts say.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Erdogan's government to address Kurdish demands for more rights in regions where Kurds form a majority, particularly Türkiye's southeast where the insurgency was concentrated.

In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan - whose large image was shown at the weapons ceremony - also urged Türkiye's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the ceremony marked a first step toward full disarmament and a "terror-free Türkiye", adding this must be completed "in a short time".

Erdogan has said the disarmament will enable the rebuilding of Türkiye's southeast.

Türkiye spent nearly $1.8 trillion over the past five decades combating terrorism, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has said.