MENA BRIEF, SITREP September 17 – September 24: Middle East and Northern Africa Regional Low Intensity Conflicts.

Bahrain:

Shia government opposition groups continue to call for nationwide protests, but have so far failed to reach a critical mass with the majority of resulting public gatherings containing less than 20 people. Security forces made minor arrests relating to Shia opposition groups. The government is however reporting that 2017 has seen a noteworthy increase in Shia government opposition related violence.

• 18th September
  • Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway, Daih;

A police vehicle came under fire at around 0200 hours. The vehicle was part of a scheduled, and known, patrol route that runs along the highway. According to local media reports, the attacker used an AK47-patterned rifle, and there were no injuries, nor arrests.

Egypt:

Egyptian security forces continued their nationwide operations against safe houses and individuals believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State.

Security forces also continued their operations against safe houses and individuals believed to be affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and its various breakaway factions.

• 19th September
  • New York, USA
    • Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, met for the first time in public. The official reason is for the two countries to seek to revive the Middle East peace process. The two met as part of US President Donald Trumps first public speech in front of the United Nations General Assembly.
  • 20th September
    • Kirdasah, Giza;
      • 6 civilians were injured when a 15 year old girl threw a homemade grenade into a residential home. The girl was detained by police on the scene.

 Turkey:

Security forces have continued their nationwide crackdown on safe houses and individuals believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State. Several raids were carried out this past week, resulting in at least 40 individuals believed to have Islamic State affiliations having been detained. The majority of which have been described as foreigners.

Security forces also continued their long-standing nationwide crackdown on safe houses and on individuals believed to be affiliated with the Kurdish political and/or militant opposition. Several raids were carried out this past week, resulting in at least 10 arrests.

• 17th September
  • Southern Turkish-Syrian border area;
    • The Turkish army have deployed a further 80 military vehicles, including tanks, to the southern border area. The official reason is to reinforce the troop presence there, to secure the border.
  • 21st September (Event believed to have occurred on 17th September)
    • Uskudar neighborhood, Istanbul;
      • Two American-Syrians were found dead in their apartment. Orouba Barakat (60) and Halla Barakat (23) were found strangled and stabbed to death in their apartment in central Uskudar, on the Asian side of Istanbul. According to media reports, their bodies had been “doused in a chemical to delay decomposition.” The actual attack is believed to have happened on September 17th. Orouba Barakat was a member of the Syrian Opposition Council, an opposition group to the Damascus government as led by President Bashar al Assad. Halla Barakat was a journalist. The attack is believed to have been perpetrated by pro-Syrian government individuals. According to local media outlets, the Istanbul police have no suspects at the present time.
        The US State Department released a statement condemning the murders, also saying that the US Government is “closely following the investigation”.
    • New York City;
      • Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, stated in an interview with Reuters that Turkey is intent on deploying troops into Syria’s northern Idlib region. The troops will be deployed in support and coordination with Russia. In that same interview, Erdogan stated that Turkey is considering countermeasures against emerging Kurdish control zones in northern Iraq.

Iran:

Iran and the US have continued to publicly accuse each other for backsliding, or corrupting the spirit, of the so called “Iran Nuclear Deal”, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Iran accuses the US of not easing economical sanctions in return for Iran agreeing to restrict its nuclear program. US in turn accuses Iran of not having restricted their program accordingly. The Trump administration is still reviewing its overall policy towards Iran and the nuclear deal, with the President having stated that he is inclined to publicly state that Iran is not complying with the agreement. This, according to multiple analysts, would mean that the US might reimpose sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency has said on multiple occasions that as far as they can tell, Iran is complying with the deal.

The leaderships of both sides appear to be the using the other’s perceived difficult behavior to further domestic agendas, and by most accounts this will come to a head in October.

• 22nd September
  • Location unknown; Described in reports as “military base in the north, outside of Tehran”;
    • Iran test fired its latest long-range ballistic multi-warhead missile, named “Khorramshahr”. Its stated range is 1,800 kilometers with a warhead, which makes it capable of reaching the majority of known or suspected targets throughout the Middle East. Without a warhead, the stated range for the missile is 2,000 kilometers. This is the third time that test firings of the missile design have been mentioned in Iranian media, the first time was at the end of January when a medium-range missile configuration was tested. The third time was in late July, when the missile design was mentioned in relations to tests of Iranian satellite-carrying rocket designs.

United Arab Emirates (UAE):

• 23rd August (Publically announced on 21th September)
  • Al Ain, central UAE;
    • The United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed that a case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was found in the town of al Ain, in late August. The situation is described as having been detained, and under control.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:

• 20th September
  • Harad area, Saudi-Yemeni border area;
    • Saudi military forces has carried out a series of anti-Houthi operations in the border region between the two countries. The operations resulted in the death of 70 al Houthi affiliated individuals.
  • 21st September
    • Country specific
      • The Saudi Arabian government states that it has lifted its ban on calls made through online apps, such as WhatsApp and Skype. The government will however continue to monitor calls made over such mediums, and will censor them if necessary.
    • 23rd September
      • In the area of Khamis Mushait, Asir Province, near the Saudi-Yemeni border
        • A ballistic missile of the Qahir-M2 design which had been fired by al Houthi militants was intercepted over Saudi airspace. The missile is believed to have had a King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, Asir Province, as its intended target. The missile was intercepted using the Patriot surface-to-air missile shield that is in place in Saudi Arabia. Saudi forces responded to the attack by striking the indicated launch site with missiles.
          The Qahir-M2 missile has a claimed range of 400 kilometers, and is based largely on the Soviet designed S-75 Dvina missile system.
      • 24th September
        • Country specific
          • Snap Inc., the creator of SnapChat, an US social media company, announced that it will honor a request made by the Saudi Arabian government to block access to Al Jazeera News on SnapChat.
            Al Jazeera News is a Qatari news agency, and one that Saudi Arabia have singled out during its diplomatic dispute with Qatar in recent months.

Iraq:

• 17th September
  • Military Base, outside of Hawija, Northern Iraq;
    • Islamic State carried out a series of suicide bomber attacks against an US-led coalitions base in northern Iraq. According to official reports, there were no casualties from base personnel, however all the attackers were killed.
• 21st September
  • Hawijah district, Kirkuk Province;
    • The Iraqi armed forces have launched a new offensive against the Islamic State in the district of Hawijah. The area is considered to be one of two strongholds for the Islamic State remaining in Iraq. The district is located south of Mosul.

Syria:

Syrian Arab Army (SAA), with its allies, along with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with its allies, have been advancing against the Islamic State throughout the Deir Ezzor province frontline during the week. Earlier this week, Syrian troops entered the outskirts of the city. This is where the fiercest fighting is expected to take place. As such, by most accounts, the real battle for Deir Ezzor is yet to begin.

Several of the surrounding districts to the city have been captured, and are now evenly held by either the SAA or the SDF.

• 21st September
  • Undisclosed location;
    • US and Russian ground commanders met to discuss the implementation of better communication and coordination procedures between them during operations against the Islamic State in the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor. This meeting is believed to have been the first between the commanders of the US and Russian ground forces that are active in Syria. The meeting is described by the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, as having been successful.
      The meeting comes as part of the aftermath of an incident where Russian Air Force warplanes struck a position held by the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which had US military advisers present. The attack resulted in several SDF fighters injured, and was condemned by the CJTF-OIR. Russia has denied that the incident took place.
  • Washington D.C.;
    • The US State Department released a statement saying that it is intent on providing an additional $697 millions in humanitarian aid to Syria. The intent behind the additional funds is to help ease the Syrian governmental crisis, and to help reconstruction efforts in the civil war torn country. The money will also be allocated throughout the region to countries that have received Syrian refugees. Jordan will receive about $88 million, Turkey $35 million, Lebanon $29 million, Iraq $15 million, Egypt $13 million and regional organizations $2 million. The remaining $516 million will go to assistance inside Syria.

Israel:

• 19th September
  • “Site 883 Life Support Area”, Bislach Air Base, Southern Israel;
    • US broke ground to establish a permanent US Army base in Israel. It will house operational systems to identify and intercept “air threats”, and will house a “few dozen” American “air defenders”. The base, when finalized, is described as being able to function “independently”. It will however be attached to the Israeli Air Force air base Bislach.

LIMA CHARLIE, MENA Desk

Lima Charlie provides global news, insight & analysis by military veterans and service members Worldwide.

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