/leftypol/ - Leftist Politically Incorrect

Israel attacks Syria for second time in 24 hours
The attack on Wednesday consisted of a series of strikes on a former army barracks in Kiswa, southwest of Damascus, according to Syria’s state-run al-Ekhbariya TV.

Israel also attacked Kiswa on Tuesday, killing six Syrian soldiers.

We’ll have more details as soon as we get them.

https://aje.io/aijcb2?update=3911866

https://x.com/AryJeay/status/1961924322374619528
Jolani is now killing Iranian journalists according to this.

IAEA discovers traces of depleted uranium at Syrian sites bombed by Israel
Israel has repeatedly used internationally banned munitions during its wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has detected uranium traces in Syria during inspections of a site Israel destroyed in 2007, according to a confidential report circulated to member states on 1 September.

The samples, taken last year from one of three unnamed sites “allegedly functionally related” to Deir Ezzor, contained a large quantity of natural uranium particles, the report seen by Reuters said.

It explained that the particles were of anthropogenic origin, meaning, though not enriched, they had undergone chemical processing.

The report said Syrian authorities told inspectors they had “no information that might explain the presence of such uranium particles,” while confirming that the current government granted the IAEA renewed access to the site in June to collect further samples.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi met Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa the same month.

The report states that “Syria agreed to cooperate with the Agency, through full transparency, to address Syria’s past nuclear activities.”

Grossi asked for Syrian help to return to Deir Ezzor “in the next few months” to review documentation and interview those linked to earlier projects.

The nuclear watchdog said it intends to proceed with visits to Deir Ezzor and will evaluate results from other environmental samples.

“Once this process has been completed and the results evaluated, there will be an opportunity to clarify and resolve the outstanding safeguards issues related to Syria's past nuclear activities and to bring the matter to a close,” the report noted.

The government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad had maintained that the Deir Ezzor site was a conventional military base.

However, in 2011, the agency concluded the structure was “very likely” an undeclared reactor that Damascus should have declared.

The IAEA’s report comes amid wider concerns over Israel’s use of uranium-based weapons in other West Asian theaters.

Scientific studies have documented abnormal uranium residues across West Asia in the aftermath of US and Israeli bombardments.

Measurements by Green Audit in Fallujah, Lebanon, and Gaza revealed isotope ratios inconsistent with those of natural uranium. These findings were later confirmed by independent laboratories in Europe and the UK.

Tests detected enriched uranium in soil, bomb craters, air filter dust, and biological samples.

In 2021, a study published in Nature reported a marked rise in uranium enrichment levels in Gaza’s environment since 2008.

Researchers concluded that enriched uranium, a substance that does not occur in nature, must have originated from weapons deployed by the US in Iraq and Israel in Lebanon and Gaza.

Further reports reinforce these findings. In October 2024, Lebanese health official Raif Reda said Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs with uranium-based munitions and urged that samples be sent to the UN for investigation.

Lebanese outlets noted the use of BLU-109 missiles, whose casings could contain depleted uranium.

In June 2025, Fars News Agency reported that Israeli bombs dropped on Iran during the 12-day war left debris showing preliminary signs of depleted uranium.

In Gaza, a UN Human Rights Commission report documented Israeli strikes with GBU-31, GBU-32, and GBU-39 bombs between 9 October and 2 December 2023 against residential buildings, a school, refugee camps, and a market – guided munitions that can be manufactured with depleted uranium casings.

https://thecradle.co/articles-id/32924

>>491264
Remember this is the same compromised organization that manufactured consent for Israel's attack on Iran. Rafael Grossi is still Director General.

>>491271
Yeah, I read it as "the IDF used depleted uranium munitions" and the IAEA statements are trying to spin it (implicitly or explicitly) as "there was depleted uranium at these sites bombed by the IDF (for some reason)."

https://x.com/SuppressedNws/status/1965168737327480955
Israel is carrying out airstrikes on Palmyra, Syria.
^September 8th.^

Jolani is currently in NYC.

For Syrian Al Qaeda leader and current HTS leader Jolani is now flying back to Syria from NYC.

From a September 19th speech by Richard Moore, outgoing chief of Britain's MI6:

"In my stint as Chief, we have faced many unexpected crises: the implosion of Sudan into civil war, the collapse of the Ghani government in Afghanistan, the end of 53 years of the Assads in Syria to name but a few. We pride ourselves in our ability to maintain the long-term relationships which come into their own in a crisis.

We sourced intelligence on Sudan in hours; we continue to counter terror emanating from Afghanistan, and, having forged a relationship with HTS a year or two before they toppled Bashar, we forged a path for the UK Government to return to the country within weeks.

Syria is a good example of where, if you can get ahead of events, it really helps when they suddenly, unexpectedly move at a faster pace. This nimbleness is a fundamental requirement for MI6 - and I think we remain pretty good at it. John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, while discussing a piece of joint business, said to me recently: “You guys can really hustle.”

We pride ourselves on that hustle, that tenacity, and it is a characteristic that is deeply present in my successor Blaise Metreweli. An intelligence officer to her core, with a quarter of a century of experience in this business, she understands the guts of spying. But more than that, she gets how technology can enable human espionage. She’s spent four years as ‘Q’, not just shaping our approach to fast-evolving technologies like Al, but also delivering innovative tech to the agent-runners, based on her deep understanding of human intelligence.

It’s on that topic - Human Intelligence or HUMINT - that I want to draw my remarks to a close. I come back to this subject again and again in my various speeches for a reason. We recruit and run clandestine agents. It’s what we do."

https://archive.is/xrjbL
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-by-sir-richard-moore-chief-of-sis-19-september-2025

A touching family reunion.

>>491641
This is unholy

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1971761234988220562
BREAKING | Initial reports of Israeli airstrikes on Hama Airport in central Syria.

>>491672
Why does HTS hate Assad's government but then do nothing about Israel attacking and intruding on them?

>>491740
Probably because of >>491593

Trump - "we took the sanctions off [of Syria under Jolani] at the request of Turkey, at the request of Israel, at the request of a few different countries"
https://x.com/levantupdates/status/1986985936664555621

They just fucking tweet this shit out now

ISIS at the White House!

https://x.com/upholdreality/status/1988050017282871790
Colombia President Petro: "A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy. To keep Epstein's list from coming out, they send warships to kill fishermen and threaten our neighbor with invasion for their oil. They want to turn the region into another Lybia, full of slaves."

BREAKING:

🇺🇸🇮🇱 Epstein advised Israel on how to remove Assad from power in Syria

The newly released Epstein files include multiple email exchanges between Jeffrey Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak — and they paint a far more substantial relationship than previously acknowledged.

Two examples stand out:

1. August 31, 2013 — Syria chemical weapons crisis

Epstein advises Barak on how to frame the U.S. debate over the impending strike on Assad following the Ghouta chemical attack.

He suggests Barak emphasize:
“the gassing of women and children is an expression from the 20th century… women are no longer equivalent to children”
Frame civilian casualties as “civilians vs. combatants only”
Compare the Syria crisis with Egypt, Russia, and Iran
Use the moment to shape U.S./international opinion

This was during a pivotal moment when Obama was weighing military action.

2. October 30, 2014 — A full draft political speech

- Epstein emails Barak what is essentially a complete speech, over 1,000 words, outlining:
- Israel’s strategic posture post–Arab Spring
- “Islamist Winter” framing
- Israel’s need to “respond strongly to any threat to our security”
- Iran, Assad, Hezbollah, Hamas
- U.S.–Israel relations and Barak’s vision for regional order
- Recommendations on how Israel should message the geopolitical environment

This was shortly after the 2014 Gaza war, at a moment when Barak was actively shaping Israeli defense doctrine and public messaging.

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/1989044590301573466

Rocket attack in Syria’s capital wounds one person
Explosion in the Mezzeh district of Damascus injures one woman and causes material damage, according to Syrian state media.

A woman has been injured in an explosion in the Mezzeh district of Damascus, according to Syrian state media.

Rockets were fired at a home in Syria’s capital on Friday night, causing the injury as well as material damage, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

The attack in the city’s western Mezzeh 86 neighbourhood was caused by “unknown assailants,” state media said.

A security source told state TV channel al-Ikhbariya that security forces have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident and are pursuing those responsible.

SANA reported that the party behind the attack and the exact weapons “remain unknown so far.”

However it added that the rockets were fired from a mobile launcher.

Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent in Damascus said that the area targeted was entirely civilian, explaining that the targeted area included buildings and diplomatic headquarters.

The reporter added that the attack comes at a time when the Syrian Interior Ministry is continuing its security campaigns.

An Associated Press journalist at the scene meanwhile said that security forces cordoned off the area and prevented anyone from getting close to the building that was struck.

Explosions aren’t uncommon in the Syrian capital, but have decreased in recent months.

Since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in December last year by insurgents who took over his seat of power in the capital, there have been several explosions in Damascus.

Israel has also carried out hundreds of airstrikes around the country since the end of the 54-year Assad dynasty, mainly targeting assets of the Syrian army.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/14/rocket-attack-in-syrias-capital-wounds-one-person

Galloway monologue on Jolani's most recent visit to the US.

MintPress News -
A recent report has revealed that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, established a secret backchannel between British intelligence and a proscribed Syrian terror group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), in 2023.

In 2023, while running his mediation charity, Inter Mediate, Powell was tasked with creating contact between MI6 and HTS.

This information adds to existing controversy around Jonathan Powell's appointment as National Security Adviser. He has previously advocated for Western negotiation with adversaries, including suggesting in 2014 that the West should negotiate with ISIS extremists, which was met with significant criticism. The recent revelation intensifies scrutiny of his position and the government's national security strategy.

https://x.com/s_m_marandi/status/1992607597099389113
Marandi - "This is what the alliance of the US, Netanyahu, Erdogan, and Qatar has done to Syria. Al-Qaeda and ISIS thugs are murdering minorities and looting their shops in Homs today."
[Video]

Five killed in huge ammunition dump blast in Syrian town of Kafr Takharim
A massive explosion has rocked the town of Kafr Takharim in Syria’s Idlib province, killing at least five people

A huge explosion rocked the town of Kafr Takharim in Idlib province in northwestern Syria on Wednesday, killing five people and injuring nine others, The New Arab's affiliate Syria TV reported.

Activists shared videos on the X showing a massive smoke cloud rising from Kafr Takharim with initial reports of tens injuries.

Syria TV said the explosion that was due to an ammunition depot exploding, after initial reports speculated that it could have been the result of an airstrike by the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State group.

Many olive trees in the surrounding area were also destroyed, according to Syria TV, and the casualties included workers working in olive tree fields.

Arms and ammunition depot explosions are common in Syria, which has been the scene of brutal conflict for 14 years and where weapons are often not properly secured, while bombs have also detonated as they are stripped down for scrap metal.

Last July, an arms depot belonging to the Turkistan Islamic Party - an armed group made up of Uyghurs who fled to Syria from China - exploded in the town of Maaret Misrin killing 12 people and injuring over 100.

There was widespread outrage in Syria after this incident. Syrian emergency response minister Raed al-Saleh at the time stressed "the need to unite the efforts of ministries, institutions and local bodies to limit the risks of unexploded ordnance and war remnants".

https://www.newarab.com/news/five-killed-huge-blast-syrian-town-kafr-takharim

A Case for Baʿathist Syria as the Most Successful Socialist State in History

To argue that Baʿathist Syria represented the most successful form of socialism, one can claim that Syria achieved something rare among socialist-oriented states: durable national cohesion, economic stability under siege, social development gains, and an independent geopolitical posture without collapsing into internal famine, economic implosion, or wholesale dependency on a superpower.

This argument can be framed in several pillars:

1. Long-Term Stability and Sovereignty

Where many socialist projects collapsed (e.g., USSR, Yugoslavia, most Arab socialist regimes), Syria’s Baʿathist state:

Survived from 1963 onward, maintaining state continuity for decades.

Withstood intense regional pressures: war with Israel, isolation by the West, sanctions, and the Iran–Iraq War spillover.

Never became a satellite of either Cold War bloc.
It partnered with the USSR yet maintained strategic autonomy, foreign policy independence, and nonalignment.

Case point:
Syria accomplished what many socialist states could not: durable sovereignty under conditions designed to break it.

2. A Mixed Socialist Economy That Actually Worked

Many socialist economies failed due to over-centralization. Syria developed a hybrid model:

State-owned commanding heights (oil, utilities, heavy industry, banks).

Private market activity allowed in agriculture, retail, construction, and small commerce.

Guaranteed public-sector jobs created a middle class with stable income and low unemployment.

Food self-sufficiency was largely achieved, uncommon in the Arab world.

Syria avoided the disastrous supply shortages that marked many socialist economies.

The result:
A system where the state controlled enough to prevent inequality from exploding, yet not so much that innovation or small enterprise died.

3. Exceptional Social Development Indicators for the Region

Baʿathist Syria invested heavily in:

Universal education (one of the highest literacy rates in the Arab world pre-2011).

Free healthcare with wide rural penetration.

Women's education and workforce participation increasing significantly under Baʿathist rule.

Massive expansion of infrastructure: electrification, water systems, roads, and rural schools.

From the 1970s to early 2000s, Syria achieved:

Life expectancy higher than many wealthier regional states.

Infant mortality reduced dramatically.

Near-universal basic education.

All achieved while under sanctions and without oil wealth comparable to Gulf states.

4. A Strong Secular State in a Sectarian Region

The Baʿathist model created:

A multiethnic, multi-sect state where sectarian identity was suppressed in favor of national identity.

Protection for minorities (Christians, Druze, Alawites, Ismailis, Armenians).

Strict secularism that prevented the rise of sectarian militias common elsewhere.

This stands out because many neighboring states fractured along sectarian lines.
Syria, by contrast, maintained a cohesive national identity for decades.

5. Resistance Economy Under Siege

From 1979 onward, Syria lived under layers of sanctions and economic warfare.

Yet it remained functional:

No large-scale famine or humanitarian collapse occurred prior to 2011.

The state provided subsidized food, fuel, transportation, and education.

Public-sector employment cushioned families from global market shocks.

Syria developed domestic industries to avoid dependency.

The “resistance economy” showcased resilience unmatched by many other socialist or anti-imperialist states, which often collapsed under similar pressure.

6. The Most Enduring Arab Socialist Ideology

While other Arab socialist regimes fell—Nasser’s Egypt, Qaddafi’s Jamahiriya, Saddam’s Iraq—Syria’s Baʿathist government:

Survived coups, wars, sanctions, and internal conflict.

Maintained its ideological framework even as others abandoned socialism for neoliberalism.

Showed longevity and institutional cohesion unmatched in the region.

From an ideological standpoint, Baʿathist Syria was the last surviving coherent Arab socialist state.

Conclusion: A “Success Story” Defined by Durability, Stability, and Social Gains

The argument is essentially that:

Unlike the USSR, it didn’t collapse.

Unlike Cuba, it maintained a more diversified and less fragile economy.

Unlike China or Vietnam, it didn’t shift into full-blown capitalism.

Unlike other Arab socialist states, it didn’t implode into sectarian fragmentation until external pressures sparked the 2011 conflict.

And compared to all socialist experiments, it balanced state socialism with limited markets, national sovereignty with international alliances, secularism with pluralism, and social welfare with stability.

Thus, the claim would be:

Baʿathist Syria succeeded because it built a socialist-oriented state that was durable, sovereign, socially developmental, economically resilient, and uniquely stable under extraordinary external pressures — more so than any comparable socialist project in the 20th or 21st centuries.

>>492476
Is this LLM generated?

German–Syrian activist urges Berlin to keep asylum as Syria’s new rulers face abuse claims
——
Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Syrians no longer need asylum after Assad’s fall, but Tareq Alaow of Pro Asyl warns Syria is still unsafe.

He says hopes after Assad’s ouster collapsed once Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly Mohammad al-Julani, took power, accusing the new authorities of targeting minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and women. UN figures report about 1,400 civilians killed in March clashes with Alawite communities, alongside torture and sectarian killings. Similar abuses were later documented against Druze areas.

Sharaa, once under a $10 million US bounty, is now internationally recognized. Tareq says world powers are “legitimizing jihadists,” warning this could spark a new refugee wave.

He insists deportations “won’t work,” saying Syrians flee violence, not Europe’s policies. Real returns require safety and accountability, conditions he says do not exist in a country awash with weapons and renewed persecution.

https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1996530992299823197

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1998165702315032806
STREET CLASHES IN LEBANON

Unrest unfolds in Lebanon as supporters of the Syrian government hold demonstrations marking one year since Assad's fall, blocking roads and clashing with residents, prompting Lebanese Army deployment, while counter-rallies by Hezbollah and Amal are held in Beirut's southern suburbs.

>>492554
hehe

>>492613
yikes

YPG Rojava Kurdish LGBT gay queer trans refugee

MintPress News: "Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel will not withdraw from the Syrian territories it recently seized following the fall of Assad in December 2024, and intends to maintain control over them.

Speaking at a conference for Israeli diplomats on Sunday, December 7, 2025, Netanyahu said that Israel's forces would remain in the areas they have occupied in southern Syria, including the strategic Mount Hermon and the UN-patrolled buffer zone adjacent to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights."

From Ibrahim Majed, via Twitter: A convoy of Syrian government (HTS) forces passed directly in front of an Israeli patrol as it was setting up a checkpoint on the Khan Arnabeh–al-Koum road in the Quneitra countryside, southern Syria.

Ironically, the convoy itself was part of a self-styled “celebration of liberation”, fighters parading to mark what they claim is Syria’s return to freedom and sovereignty.
Yet even in their moment of triumph, they found themselves slowing down to pass an Israeli checkpoint on Syrian territory.

For a group that claims to have “liberated” the country, the image is hard to ignore: armed men asserting their authority while quietly yielding to an Israeli checkpoint on Syrian soil.
It’s a scene that says more than any political statement.
Israel today operates in southern Syria with a level of comfort and freedom unmatched at any point in the conflict.

In this new landscape, Abu Mohammad al-Joulani increasingly resembles a modern-day Eli Cohen, only this time, the project didn’t end in failure.
It ended with him being presented as Syria’s new president.

https://x.com/ibrahimtmajed/status/1998403926027067834

Shells hit near Damascus airport with no reported damage
——
Shells of unknown origin landed near Damascus’s Mezzeh military airport on Tuesday, according to state-run Al-Ekhbariya TV. SANA later confirmed that three shells hit the airport area but caused no injuries or property damage.

Four missile launchers were discovered, SANA said, though it did not specify who was behind the attack or where the launchers were located.

Yesterday, SANA reported hearing an explosion around Damascus, noting that the incident was being examined.

https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1998690852835602883

https://x.com/ME_Observer_/status/2001633831552716882
Syria:
Militants raise ISIS flags on the Aleppo-Damascus international highway in southern Idlib countryside.

Masked militants raise ISIS flags and set up mobile checkpoints on the Aleppo-Damascus international highway at several locations in southern Idlib countryside.

Trump says US launched large-scale attacks on ISIL in Syria
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says attacks are ‘a declaration of vengeance’, and ‘lots’ of fighters have been killed.

The United States military is “striking very seriously against ISIS [ISIL] strongholds in Syria”, President Donald Trump said, a week after two US soldiers and an interpreter were killed in Syria’s Palmyra city.

“Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria… I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

Details on the number of people injured or killed in the barrage of strikes were not immediately available.

Trump said that Syria’s government, which was formed after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, was “fully in support” of the US military operation.

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also repeated its commitment to combating ISIL and said it “invites the United States and member states of the international coalition to support these efforts”.

“The Syrian Arab Republic reiterates its steadfast commitment to fighting ISIS and ensuring that it has no safe havens on Syrian territory, and will continue to intensify military operations against it wherever it poses a threat,” the ministry said in the statement shared on X early on Saturday.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said earlier that US forces had targeted “ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites”, adding that the attack was named Operation Hawkeye Strike.

“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said in a post on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.”

A US official described it as “a large-scale” strike that hit 70 targets in areas across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons. Another US official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, told The Associated Press news agency more strikes should be expected.

Two US officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters news agency that the air strikes were against dozens of ISIL targets across central Syria.

…

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for operations in the Middle East, said it deployed “fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery” to launch “more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites”. But it did not provide further details on the locations or casualties.

CENTCOM said that “the Jordanian Armed Forces also supported with fighter aircraft”.

Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting earlier from Washington, DC, said the Syrian government appeared to have “signed off” on the US operation.

…

Three Americans – two US National Guard members and a civilian interpreter – were killed last weekend in the central Syrian town of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of US and Syrian forces before being shot dead, according to the US military.

Three US soldiers were also wounded in the attack. The US blamed that attack on ISIL and promised to retaliate.

About 1,000 US troops are stationed in Syria.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/20/trump-says-us-launched-large-scale-attacks-on-isil-in-syria

>>492832
Haven't heard about "ISIL" in a while. I thought they'd given up on all these other phony English acronyms at the end of the Obama administration.

https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/2002369080011919869
yria's self-appointed President Ahmad al-Sharaa, on his new official X account, released a video yesterday:

"Great Syrian people, peace be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings.

From Mount Qasioun, I congratulate you on the lifting of sanctions on Syria. Today marks the first day of a Syria free from sanctions, thanks to God and to your patience and sacrifices over 14 years.

Deep gratitude to all who endured hardship, displacement, and loss, and to the martyrs whose sacrifices led us to this moment. This victory is crowned by the complete removal of restrictions on Syria.

I extend sincere thanks to President Donald Trump, members of the US Congress, and to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and all Arab, Islamic, and European countries that supported the Syrian people.

Great Syrian people, today is your day. The time of pain has ended, and the time of rebuilding has begun. Together, we will build Syria."

>>492833
All that was old is new again.
All that was fake is gay again.

>>492841
>I extend sincere thanks to President Donald Trump, members of the US Congress, and to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Called it, he looks like a grifter.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry under Jolani has published a map of Syria which is missing the parts occupied by Israel and Turkiye.

>>492847
Cucklani

>>492847
Does it include the areas occupied by the United States?

>>492849
Not sure.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/22/clashes-between-syrian-army-kurdish-led-sdf-break-out-in-aleppo

Clashes between Kurds and Syrian Army in Aleppo.
Aren't you glad the Syrian Civil War is over and the country is finally in stable hands?

BreakThrough News | Syria After Assad: Minorities Massacred as Israel Occupies the South w/ Elijah Magnier
A new, pro-Western regime led by former ISIS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is now in power in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, Israel conducts raids at will, occupies parts of the south, and pro-government forces conduct massacres against the Alawite population. And the country, now weakened and fragmented, has become a battleground for influence between Turkey and Israel.

Veteran war correspondent and geopolitical analyst Elijah Magnier joins Rania Khalek and Zoe Alexandra to break down what the events of the past year mean for the region, Palestine and the Axis of Resistance, and the people of Syria.

https://x.com/ShaykhSulaiman/status/2004525682412658693
JUST IN: EXPLOSION AT IMAM ALI MOSQUE, HOMS, SYRIA

>>492931
per AJ:

At least eight people ‍have been killed and more than 18 injured when an explosion ⁠struck an Alawite mosque ​in Syria’s Homs province, according to local officials.

The attack targeted the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood of Homs during Friday prayers, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed people fleeing the mosque in panic, placing some victims on stretchers and carrying others, wrapped in cloaks, to ambulances.

The blast appeared to have taken place in the corner of the mosque’s main prayer hall, leaving a small crater in the wall and scorching the surrounding area, with prayer carpets ripped and strewn with debris, and books and fragments scattered across the floor.

Local officials told the Reuters news agency the blast ‌may have been ‌caused by ⁠a suicide bomber or explosives placed there.

…

A group that calls itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna has claimed responsibility for the attack, warning that its attacks will “continue and escalate”.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/26/explosion-at-mosque-in-syrias-homs-kills-three-report

"Saraya Ansar al-Sunna" was founded on February 1st of this year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraya_Ansar_al-Sunnah
"a Sunni Islamist militant organization operating in Syria and Lebanon, described as anti-Shia, anti-Alawite, anti-Druze, and anti-Christian. Its stated goal is to establish an Islamic State in Syria that excludes Alawites, Druze, Christians, and Shia."

Wow, they sure hate a lot of Abrahamic religious groups. Did they leave any big ones out?