Source: Fars News
Syria’s Nation Defense Forces (NDF), deployed the towns of Fua’a and Kafraya, North-East of Idlib province, fended off a heavy offensive by the terrorists on Monday, inflicting major losses on the militants.

The NDF in Fua’a and Kafraya, North-East of Idlib city, that are under the terrorist groups’ siege exchanged heavy fire with a group of terrorists that tried to break through the government forces’ positions in Brouma Farms West of Kafraya and repelled their attack, inflicting major casualties on the terrorists.

The Monday attack was the fourth offensive of the terrorist groups in the last 30 days to capture Fua’a and Kafraya.

In a similar development on Saturday, the NDF, backed up by the country’s Air Force, warded off a heavy offensive by the Al-Nusra front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board) in the besieged towns of Fua’a and Kafraya.

The NDF in Fua’a and Kafraya exchanged heavy fire with the Al-Nusra in al-Sawaqiyeh farms, and managed to fend off the Al-Nusra offensive after killing or wounding a number of militants.

Also, the army aircraft pounded the strongholds and movements of the Al-Nusra in al-Sawaqiyeh farms and other areas near the town of Taftnaz in Northeastern Idlib and in Ram Hamdan settlement North of Hamdan region.

In the meantime, other air force warplanes launched a heavy bombing on terrorists’ positions in the village of al-Arba’een in Northern Hama and in Tal (hill) al-Waset in Northwestern Hama, inflicting major casualties on the militants.

Source: FarsNews
The Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news channel’s correspondent in Moscow reported that a number of British forces have been captured during the military operations in Eastern Ghouta.

Earlier reports had disclosed last month that foreign military forces were deployed in Eastern Ghouta of Damascus to launch a ground assault against Damascus in cooperation with the US.

The US and Israel planned to launch attacks on Damascus from several fronts in collaboration with the NATO and Jordan, but the plot failed after the Syrian army scored rapid, major victories in Eastern Ghouta.

Informed sources disclosed that the US and Israel intended to support the terrorists in Eastern Ghouta by airstrikes so that they could capture vast areas of Damascus to pave the ground for the Syrian government’s collapse.

“After the plot was disclosed, the Syrian-Russian military commanders started operations in Eastern Ghouta to repel it,” the sources said.

After the failure of the plot in March, the US and Turkey sought to rescue the foreign militants trapped in Eastern Ghouta of Damascus and take them to Idlib as they were facing the Syrian army’s rapid advances in the region.

After the army’s expanding march in Eastern Ghouta and failure of the US-Israeli plot to conduct an effective offensive on Damascus, the US command center rushed to evacuate allied militants and agents operating for Israel, Jordan and NATO from the region.

Informed sources then said although the Turkish officials said they were ready to help evacuation of al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at or the Levant Liberation Board) terrorists from Eastern Ghouta to take them to Idlib, this seemed to be a cover as they really meant to rescue their special foreign forces that were among the ranks of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra in Syria.

“Therefore, the US has ordered Jeish al-Islam, Faylaq al-Rahman and other terrorist groups to allow evacuation of civilians from Eastern Ghouta to army-held regions in a bid to provide the ground for these foreign agents to also leave Ghouta in disguise and enable the Turkish intelligence service to send them to specified regions in al-Tanf and Northern Syria which are under the control of the US troops,” they said.

Yet, the US operations room in al-Tanf base ordered end of all operations by the aforementioned allied forces after the terrorists were defeated in Eastern Ghouta and the collapse of the two towns of al-Nashabiyeh and al-Mohammadiyeh on the first days of the Syrian army’s offensives in Eastern Ghouta.

Also the US CENTCOM urged withdrawal of allied forces from Eastern Ghouta to Arabayn, Zamalka and Douma before dividing Ghouta into three areas to pave the ground for their withdrawal from Ghouta region.

Militants allied to the US troops in Eastern Syria had revealed in March that the US planned to stage the attack in a different region further to the East between the provinces of Homs and Deir Ezzur.

Source: Fars
Local sources reported a series of blasts at the positions of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board) and Ahrar al-Sham in Idlib’s countryside, adding that the explosions escalated tensions and insecurity across the region.

The sources said that 15 people were killed and several more were wounded in an explosion caused by a bomb-laden car in the Central part of the town of al-Dana.

In the meantime, a bomb-laden vehicle was detonated near al-Dana chechpoint, killing and wounding several people.

Also, another bomb went off at a bazaar in al-Dana.

The sources went on to say that another bomb blast rocked the al-Zabit neighborhood West of Idlib city, while a fifth explosion caused by an explosive-laden motorbike hit the Northern countryside of Idlib.

Another road-side bomb was blown up on the main road to the town of Kafroumeh West of Ma’arat al-Nu’aman, while, another bomb blast killed a number of people in the township of Tal Hadeh in Northern countryside of Idlib.

News websites affiliated to terrorists confirmed the blasts, saying that the targeted regions are now in a state of chaos.

Terrorist groups are accusing each others starting a fresh round of blasts and insecurity.

Reports said on Tuesday that the terrorist groups intensified assassination operations in Idlib after Doha and Riyadh displayed their differences and darkened relations.

After differences between Saudi Arabia and Qatar surfaced, Abdullah Muhammad al-Muhaysini, the commander and Mufti (religious leader) of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board), called on other terrorist groups to merge with al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board) under this pretext that Riyadh wants to withdraw support for the militants and will surrender all of them to the US at the end.

He also asked Yasser Abdolrahim, one of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) commanders, to join al-Nusra but he didn’t comply with the demand.

Abdolrahim escaped an assassination attempt after rejecting al-Muhaysini’s proposal and threatened him of revenge.
Field sources also underlined that the terrorist groups in Idlib are facing a deplorable situation as assassinations have increased, adding that al-Nusra is using the darkened ties between Doha and Riyadh and wants to persuade other terrorist groups, including the FSA, to merge with al-Nusra by annihilation of opposition groups.

According to reports, Muhaysini has himself escaped death in two attempted assassinations in recent days, as the assassination operations against terrorist commanders has intensified in Idlib.
News websites affiliated to the opposition groups reported earlier this month that the car carrying al-Muhaysini came under attack near Ma’arat al-Nu’aman in Idlib on June 7 and he received a bullet in his foot.

Ten days later, al-Muhaysini narrowly escaped death in an assassination attempt which resulted in death of one of his bodyguards.

In an attempt to assassinate al-Muhaysini, a suicide bomber blew up himself beside his car near Abuzar Qaffari Mosque in Idlib city center, but the mufti of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at escaped death while his bodyguard was killed.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, and suspended air and sea communication one week after the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.
Later, Libya, Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania joined that list of nation to break off diplomatic relations with Doha.

Jordan and Djibouti have also announced that Amman and Djibouti decided to reduce their diplomatic status after studying reasons behind the tension between Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama with Qatar.

Source: Fars News
The Syrian army continued operations in the Eastern parts of Homs province, and extended the range of its advances in regions near the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur).

The Syrian army units engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL terrorists in Badiyeh (deserts) of Palmyra South of the city and regained control over vast areas near al-Abtar mountain after killing several ISIL members.

Meantime, the Syrian air force pounded ISIL’s positions and moves in areas near the wheat silos and al-Sukhneh region, destroying a number of military vehicles and inflicting losses on the terrorists.

Also, the army’s artillery units targeted the ISIL bases in al-Sawame’ (wheat silos) region, smashing 3 military vehicles.

Earlier today, the Syrian army’s artillery and missile units along with the country’s Air Force hit hard the positions of ISIL in Eastern Homs and Al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board) in Northern and Northwestern parts of the province, inflicting tens of casualties on the terrorists.

The warplanes carried out several combat flights over ISIL’s positions and movements in the regions of Um al-Raman, Fat’hat al-Mahasah, Ibn Arsan mount, East of the city of Palmyra (Tadmur), al-Bardeh and East of the town of al-Quaryatayn in Eastern, Southeastern and Southern Homs, killing a number of terrorists, including several non-Syrians.

A large volume of ISIL’s arms, ammunition and military hardware were damaged in the air raids.

In the meantime, the artillery and missile units shelled the positons of Al-Nusra in the towns and villages of Talbiseh, East of al-Rastan, al-Za’afaraneh, Taldou, al-Tibeh al-Qarbi, Kafr Laha and Aqrab in Northern and Northwestern Homs, destroying terrorists’ positions and command posts and killing several militant commanders.

Source: RT
Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has called on the US to put an end to the “illegal war” she believes it wages in Syria after visiting Damascus and Aleppo. During her trip, she spoke with civilians, religious leaders, opposition leaders, and President Assad.

Gabbard described her privately-funded seven-day trip to Lebanon and Syria as a “fact-finding mission” to learn the truth about the war by speaking directly to the Syrian people. The itinerary was kept secret until Gabbard’s return to the US for security reasons.

Gabbard travelled to Beirut, and then to Damascus and Aleppo, where she spoke with Syrian students, entrepreneurs, academics, and aid workers. She also received firsthand accounts of the conflict from refugees displaced by the war.

She met with a number of religious leaders, including The Grand Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun and Archbishop Denys Antoine Chahda, who heads the Syrian Catholic Church of Aleppo.

Gabbard also met with several leaders of the Syrian opposition who spearheaded anti-government protests in 2011. She says some of them believe that the originally peaceful uprising was hijacked by jihadists “funded and supported by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, the United States.”

Contrary to the official US narrative that terrorist groups such as Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL) and Al-Nusra Front could be “separated” from the moderate opposition which fights by their side, Gabbard said that the Syrian people she talked with do not distinguish between the various militant groups.

“Their message to the American people was powerful and consistent: There is no difference between ‘moderate’ rebels and al-Qaeda (al-Nusra) or ISIS — they are all the same,” Gabbard said, describing the essence of the Syrian conflict as “a war between terrorists under the command of groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda and the Syrian government.”

Gabbard confessed she lacked any plausible explanations to offer the Syrian people about the role of the US in the lingering conflict, as she was asked questions like: “Why is the United States and its allies helping al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups try to take over Syria? Syria did not attack the United States. Al-Qaeda did.”

The Syrian people caught in this war “cry out for the U.S. and other countries to stop supporting those who are destroying Syria and her people,” Gabbard wrote in a blog post, adding that it is the message they asked her to convey to the world, as it has been constantly muted by “one-sided biased reports pushing a narrative that supports this regime change war at the expense of Syrian lives.”

The Congresswoman revealed upon her return that she had also met with Syrian President Bashar Assad, noting that she was not originally planning to meet him, but could not pass up the opportunity in hopes of making a difference. She did not elaborate on the details of the meeting.

“If we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we’ve got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we can achieve peace,” Gabbard told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Brushing off criticism over the perceived ethical issues that might arise from the meeting, Gabbard said that dialogue is an indispensable prerequisite on the road to any peaceful settlement.

“Whatever you think about President Assad, the fact is that he is the president of Syria,” Gabbard said, stressing that “in order for any possibility of a viable peace agreement to occur there has to be a conversation with him.”

An Iraq War veteran and member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, Gabbard is known for her sharp criticism of former US President Barack Obama’s interventionist policy in the Middle East.

Her Syria trip became a talking point within the US establishment immediately after it was announced, with some pundits alleging she intends to cozy up to the Syrian government.

In December, Gabbard introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists Act, designed to prevent the US government from providing direct assistance to terrorist groups and to “prohibit the Federal government from funding assistance to countries that are directly or indirectly supporting those terrorist groups.

“We must stop directly and indirectly supporting terrorists—directly by providing weapons, training and logistical support to rebel groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS; and indirectly through Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and Turkey, who, in turn, support these terrorist groups”, Gabbard wrote.

Gabbard believes Washington should shift its approach from attempting to overthrow the Syrian government to actually combating terrorist groups. She says the US has been repeating the same foreign policy pattern “from Iraq to Libya and now in Syria,” with its pursuit of regime change which, she argues, has only brought about “unimaginable suffering, devastating loss of life” and contributed to “the strengthening of groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS.”

“I return to Washington, DC with even greater resolve to end our illegal war to overthrow the Syrian government,” Gabbard wrote in her blog post.