IRAQ Iraqi forces are moving against Rawa, the last town of any size in Iraq still under ISIS's control. Initially I have to admit I thought the Iraqis would take Rawa before Qaim and work their way west to the Syrian border, but instead they opted to go around Rawa, take Qaim and close off … Continue reading Middle East update: November 11-12 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN At least one police officer was killed on Friday by a Taliban (most likely) suicide bomber in Helmand province. In an interview with Al Jazeera, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the US allowed ISIS to gain a foothold in Afghanistan: "In my view under the full presence, surveillance, military, political, intelligence, Daesh … Continue reading World update: November 10 2017

Best wishes to any readers who are commemorating Arbaʿeen. and/or Veteran's Day (which is actually tomorrow, I know, but Saturday is typically attwiw's rest day so I most likely won't be here). SYRIA Well, it's happening. With al-Bukamal now in Syrian hands, Bashar al-Assad's army and its allies have turned their attention toward the Syrian … Continue reading Middle East update: November 10 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN One man was killed and two others injured by a suicide bomber in Balkh province on Thursday. The dead man was Abdul Ghani, described as a former militant turned businessman. Meanwhile, the UN says it believes at least 10 civilians were killed in an American airstrike in Kunduz province on Saturday, which is … Continue reading World update: November 9 2017

SYRIA The Syrian army made it official on Thursday: it (with some help from its allies) has taken al-Bukamal from ISIS. This occasioned a dramatic declaration of victory from Damascus, but ISIS still controls enough Syrian countryside to disappear and go underground if that's what its leaders want to do. That's not really a clear victory. … Continue reading Middle East update: November 9 2017

EUROPE RUSSIA/UKRAINE Ukraine is apparently thinking about cutting all diplomatic ties with Russia, a move that the Kremlin told reporters on Wednesday would not be in either country's interests. LITHUANIA Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis expects NATO to agree to permanently station anti-aircraft defenses in the Baltics and/or Poland at its 2018 summit. HUNGARY Viktor Orbán's fixation … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: November 7-8 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN Gunmen affiliated with ISIS attacked the Shamshad TV station in Kabul on Tuesday, killing at least one person and triggering a three hour battle with Afghan police. The station, to its credit, went back on the air within minutes after police had secured the building. KASHMIR Indian forces pursuing Jaish-e-Mohammad leader Maulana Masood Azhar … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: November 7-8 2017

SYRIA There's been no official confirmation as I write this, but "pro-government sources" are saying that the Syrian army and its allied militias (including at least one--Kataib Hezbollah--that has crossed into Syria from Iraq) have captured al-Bukamal, the last ISIS position of any significance in eastern Syria and along the Syria-Iraq border. If true, this means … Continue reading Middle East update: November 8 2017

This is going to be our only update tonight. I'll double up on the rest of the world tomorrow. IRAQ Per Musings on Iraq, Turkmen forces responsible for looting and violence in Tuz Kharmato during the Iraqi advance on Kirkuk last month are trying to claim that it was the retreating Kurds who damaged and … Continue reading Middle East update: November 7 2017

Just a short one tonight. I am genuinely exhausted. ASIA AFGHANISTAN An American investigation has found that US airstrikes thankfully killed no civilians in Kunduz last week. Whew, I was a little worried that it might. I guess those civilians who reported dozens of people killed in those airstrikes were, uh, hallucinating? On an Ambien … Continue reading World update: November 6 2017