This is a very Halloween-shortened edition; I wouldn't have even bothered except that there are a couple of developments worth noting. Syria The Syrian government is saying that 84 people have been killed in three days since the rebels began attacking western Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which may have some sympathies toward … Continue reading Conflict update, October 31

Syria Rebel forces assaulting western Aleppo to try to break the government siege of eastern Aleppo are giving Bashar al-Assad a run for his money in the human carnage department. Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, said today that "scores of civilians" have been killed by rebel artillery and suicide bombers since … Continue reading Conflict update: October 30

Iraq It took a few days, but the predominantly-Shiʿa Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have now joined the Mosul offensive. With regular Iraqi forces pushing toward Mosul from the south and Kurdish Peshmerga advancing from the east and north, the PMU are being deployed to the west to capture surrounding towns and fully encircle the city. … Continue reading Conflict update, October 29

I haven't done one of these in a couple of days because there wasn't much happening to warrant it and I didn't want to just get into a pointless daily routine. Nobody needs that. Still, here are some updates: Syria Rebel forces led by, that's right, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham launched an assault against the western … Continue reading MENA conflict update, October 28

Syria A day after informing the world that there would be no more humanitarian ceasefires in Aleppo unless the US somehow made al-Qaeda surrender, today the Russians let everybody know that their aircraft haven't come within six miles of the city in a week and that they plan to continue this hold on airstrikes indefinitely. … Continue reading MENA conflict update, October 25

  Mosul ISIS's two largest diversionary attacks have continued apace. In Kirkuk, it seems the heaviest fighting is over for the most part, with over 160 people dead on both sides, but it's very likely that some ISIS operatives still remain in the city and could be capable of launching attacks, including suicide bombings. This … Continue reading Mosul/Aleppo update, October 24

Aleppo The Aleppo ceasefire, such as it was, is over: Mortar fire from regime forces struck the al-Mashhad neighborhood of eastern Aleppo on Saturday evening as a three-day Russian-backed ceasefire came to an end at 7 p.m. (noon ET), according to the activist Aleppo Media Center. The Russian Defense Ministry had called for the ceasefire … Continue reading Mosul/Aleppo/Yemen update, October 22

Mosul The biggest development in Mosul today didn't happen in Mosul. ISIS fighters managed to launch a substantial attack on the Kurdish-controlled (since 2014, anyway) city of Kirkuk that has killed at least 18 people and appears to be ongoing. The attack on Kirkuk was staged from Hawija, an ISIS-controlled city south of Mosul, and … Continue reading Aleppo/Mosul Update, October 21