US Voices Concern over Intra-Kurdish Tension in Northeastern Syria

An American military vehicle seen in the Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, April 20, 2022. (AFP)
An American military vehicle seen in the Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, April 20, 2022. (AFP)
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US Voices Concern over Intra-Kurdish Tension in Northeastern Syria

An American military vehicle seen in the Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, April 20, 2022. (AFP)
An American military vehicle seen in the Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, April 20, 2022. (AFP)

The US Embassy in Syria voiced its concern over the recent attacks on the Kurdish National Council (KNC) offices in northeast Syria.

“The United States is deeply concerned by the recent attacks on several KNC offices in northeast Syria,” the embassy said in a statement on Friday.

“Intimidation and violence have no place in political discourse, and we urge all parties to engage peacefully in pursuit of resolutions that benefit all concerned,” it added.

In response, the General Council of the Syrian Democratic Union Party denied responsibility for the attack.

In a statement, the council said the Turkish raid on the strongholds of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Qandil Mountains of the Kurdistan region of Iraq fell within “the comprehensive attack on our people and freedom fighters by the Turkish fascism.”

It continued: “Instead of [the Kurdish Council] standing up against this policy of genocide, it accuses our party of burning its offices…”

The party also pointed to the violations committed by the pro-Turkish Syrian armed factions in the areas of Turkish influence in northern Syria.

“The [Kurdish Council] has not yet dared to make a statement against the Turkish occupation… and is still affiliated to the Syrian coalition that practices a policy of extermination against our people in Afrin and Ras al-Ain (Sarkani)…,” according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that an Iranian commander, along with other leaders and members of Iranian-backed militias, met with supporters of the state security service and elders of the Tayih tribe in Al-Qamishli city in Al-Hasakah countryside.

According to Observatory sources, the meeting discussed the establishment of a military council under the supervision of Iranian advisers in order to confront the deployment of American and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the areas east of the Euphrates.

The rights monitor noted that the meeting was held as a part of Iranian efforts to expand in Syria and lure regime affiliates to work for them, with Russia being preoccupied with its war in Ukraine.

Separately, the local Ein al-Euphrates Network said a number of fighters of the Russian Wagner militia arrived in the Abu Rasin district, located in the far north of al-Hasakah governorate, amid an escalation of Turkish attacks in the area.

The network indicated that the SDF General Command demanded that the Russian forces deployed in al-Hasakah reinforce their positions, following attacks by Turkish drones on SDF positions and military checkpoints.



Italy Arrests 7 Accused of Raising Millions for Hamas

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Italy Arrests 7 Accused of Raising Millions for Hamas

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Italian police said Saturday that they have arrested seven people suspected of raising millions of euros for Palestinian group Hamas.

Police also issued international arrests for two others outside the country, said AFP.

Three associations, officially supporting Palestinian civilians but allegedly serving as a front for funding Hamas, are implicated in the investigation, said a police statement.

The nine individuals are accused of having financed approximately seven million euros ($8 million) to "associations based in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or linked to Hamas."

While the official objective of the three associations was to collect donations "for humanitarian purposes for the Palestinian people," more than 71 percent was earmarked for the direct financing of Hamas" or entities affiliated with the movement, according to police.

Some of the money went to "family members implicated in terrorist attacks," the statement said.

Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, according to media reports.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi posted on X that the operation "lifted the veil on behavior and activities which, pretending to be initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in terrorist organizations."


Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

Türkiye held a military funeral ceremony Saturday morning for five Libyan officers, including western Libya’s military chief, who died in a plane crash earlier this week.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli, Libya’s capital, after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

Saturday's ceremony was held at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Murted Airfield base, near Ankara, and attended by the Turkish military chief and the defense minister. The five caskets, each wrapped in a Libyan national flag, were then loaded onto a plane to be returned to their home country.

Türkiye’s military chief, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, was also on the plane headed to Libya, state-run news agency TRT reported.

The bodies recovered from the crash site were kept at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute for identification. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters their DNA was compared to family members who joined a 22-person delegation that arrived from Libya after the crash.

Tunc also said Germany was asked to help examine the jet's black boxes as an impartial third party.


Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
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Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)

A source from the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the talks with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over their integration into state institutions “have not yielded tangible results.”

Discussions about merging the northeastern institutions into the state remain “hypothetical statements without execution,” it told Syria’s state news agency SANA.

Repeated assertions over Syria’s unity are being contradicted by the reality on the ground in the northeast, where the Kurds hold sway and where administrative, security and military institutions continue to be run separately from the state, it added.

The situation “consolidates the division” instead of addressing it, it warned.

It noted that despite the SDF’s continued highlighting of its dialogue with the Syrian state, these discussions have not led to tangible results.

It seems that the SDF is using this approach to absorb the political pressure on it, said the source. The truth is that there is little actual will to move from discussion to application of the March 10 agreement.

This raises doubts over the SDF’s commitment to the deal, it stressed.

Talk about rapprochement between the state and SDF remains meaningless if the agreement is not implemented on the ground within a specific timeframe, the source remarked.

Furthermore, the continued deployment of armed formations on the ground that are not affiliated with the Syrian army are evidence that progress is not being made.

The persistence of the situation undermines Syria’s sovereignty and hampers efforts to restore stability, it warned.