Regime Strikes Turkish Positions in Northern Syria

Regime forces struck on Monday positions of the Turkish army and allied Syrian factions in the northern Hasakah. (AFP file photo)
Regime forces struck on Monday positions of the Turkish army and allied Syrian factions in the northern Hasakah. (AFP file photo)
TT

Regime Strikes Turkish Positions in Northern Syria

Regime forces struck on Monday positions of the Turkish army and allied Syrian factions in the northern Hasakah. (AFP file photo)
Regime forces struck on Monday positions of the Turkish army and allied Syrian factions in the northern Hasakah. (AFP file photo)

Regime forces struck on Monday positions of the Turkish army and allied Syrian factions in the northern Hasakah countryside that falls within the areas of Ankara’s Operation Peace Spring.

The strike took place after the Turkish forces and Syrian factions attacked a Russian fighter helicopter that had flown over the village of al-Dardara in Hasakah. The aircraft, which was flying at low altitude, managed to avoid being hit.

The attack coincided with intense missile strikes carried out by the opposition factions deployed in areas where Turkey had carried out the Operation Peace Spring against Kurdish forces.

The regime forces consequently launched missile attacks against the positions of the Turkish army and loyalist factions in al-Qasimiyah and al-Dardara and other villages in the Tal Tamr countryside.

According to a senior military source, the command of the Russian forces ordered the regime forces to carry out the attack.

This incident is the first since Turkey launched its Operation Peace Spring in October 2019.

Commander of the Tal Tamr Military Council said the countryside has witnessed frequent attacks since mid-August.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have expanded their base in the vicinity of Qamishli Airport and began constructing an airstrip for warplanes and a coordination center in the old French barracks square.



Al-Sudani to Bring ‘Black Box’ to Tehran

A handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office on January 2, 2025, shows Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during the inauguration ceremony of the fourth and fifth units at the oil refinery of Baiji. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office on January 2, 2025, shows Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during the inauguration ceremony of the fourth and fifth units at the oil refinery of Baiji. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
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Al-Sudani to Bring ‘Black Box’ to Tehran

A handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office on January 2, 2025, shows Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during the inauguration ceremony of the fourth and fifth units at the oil refinery of Baiji. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office on January 2, 2025, shows Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during the inauguration ceremony of the fourth and fifth units at the oil refinery of Baiji. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has postponed his visit to Iran until next week.

Sources say he will discuss key regional and internal issues, including the disbanding of Iran-backed militias in Iraq, and may deliver “strong warnings” from the US about restricting weapons to state control.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said the visit aims to strengthen ties and discuss regional developments. Al-Sudani will hold talks with top Iranian officials during his trip.

The Iraqi government has not confirmed or denied the reports, but concerns are rising in both Iraq and Iran.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has recently addressed issues related to the “Axis of Resistance” following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Unconfirmed reports in Baghdad say Iraq received a “warning” from US President-elect Donald Trump.

Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the National Wisdom Movement, revealed some details on Thursday. The message, which marked a shift in US policy, may have been delivered by a secret envoy or through a phone call from Trump.

Al-Hakim, a prominent figure in the Shiite Coordination Framework, confirmed that the US administration is targeting certain Iraqi armed factions.

However, he stressed that the incoming Trump administration has no intention of overthrowing the Iranian regime or destabilizing the political system in Iraq.

“A decision will be made against the factions... This is what we’ve heard from the US and some groups in the Coordination Framework with armed factions,” said al-Hakim at a gathering in Najaf, south of Baghdad.

“This is not aimed at the Coordination Framework as a political force but at Iran-backed armed factions like Kataib Hezbollah and al-Nujaba,” he clarified.

On rumors of a political change in Iraq, al-Hakim said: “This is circulating on social media, but I haven’t heard it from international or regional politicians or in talks with official delegations after the events in Syria.”

Al-Hakim also reassured that there is an “international will” to avoid targeting Iraq’s political system.

“The goal is to maintain Iraq’s stability because chaos there would disrupt regional security, which neighboring countries reject. The current system is expected to remain,” he affirmed.

With al-Hakim’s reassurance about the political system staying intact but without armed factions, all eyes are on al-Sudani’s upcoming visit to Tehran.

He is expected to carry a “black box” discussing the disbanding of militias. While the decision to limit weapons to the state is Iraqi, many militias are ideologically tied to Iran, which calls for direct talks with Tehran.