Israeli Air Force attacks on Syria

Syria

The Syrian news agency ‘SANA’ reported about a repelled Israeli Air Force attack. Some material damage was inflicted on the military installations in south of Syria. The missile strike was launched near the village of Al-Quneitra. The Syrian air defenses opened fire. It wasn’t specified how many missiles reached their targets. There is also no information about the losses among the Syrian servicemen. The IDF press service reported that on Monday, the Israeli UAVs, jet fighters and helicopters attacked the Syrian military targets in the south of Syria. This attack was a response to an attempt by some unknown terrorists to plant explosives at the border fence. The IDF press service stated that «The IDF holds the Syrian government responsible for any activity on the Syrian soil, and will continue to act accordingly against any violation of the Israeli sovereignty». Our military reporter Alexander Kharchenko comments on the situation.

2 Syria

The Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the Warring Parties reported that over the past 24 hours, the terrorists from the ‘Jebhat al-Nusra’ group have launched several attacks on the positions of the Syrian government forces in the southern regions of the Idlib DMZ. All their attacks were repelled. «The terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra made several attacks on the Syrian Army near the settlement of Hamrat. All their attacks were repelled. They suffered significant losses in manpower and equipment. The Syrian military had losses as well» — the Center reported. It was underlined that the situation in Idlib got worse over the past month. The head of the Center, Rear-Admiral Alexander Shcherbitsky, reported that back in July, Russia noticed over 140 ceasefire violations in the Idlib DMZ. «At the same time, those illegal armed groups that hide behind an agreement on the ceasefire, are building up their combat potential» — Shcherbitsky added. The terrorists also continue to shell the villages in the provinces of Latakia and Aleppo. The Russian high command reminded that the on-going situation once again underlines the need for the joint actions by Russia and Turkey, aimed to eliminate the terrorists in the Idlib DMZ.

3 The USA — Afghanistan

During an interview to the ‘Axios’ news website, Donald Trump revealed that the USA intend to reduce the number of the US forces in Afghanistan down to 4,000 servicemen. «We will reduce the number to 8,000 in a very short period of time. Then we will reduce it to 4,000. We are negotiating about it right now» — Donald Trump explained. The US president declined to specify a specific date. While answering the question on how many US servicemen will be in Afghanistan on the day of the US elections on 3rd of November — he replied that the number will be from 4,000 to 5,000.

4 The DPRK

The ‘Reuters’ reports while citing a confidential UN report that the DPRK, according to several countries, continues to develop their nuclear weapons. The DPRK could also develop new nuclear devices for their ballistic missiles. Several countries believe that the recent 6 nuclear tests may have helped the DPRK to develop «small nuclear devices that could be placed in ballistic missile warheads» — the Reuters reported. «The DPRK continues their nuclear program, including the production of highly enriched uranium, and the construction of an experimental light-water reactor. One UN country believes that the DPRK continues to produce nuclear weapons» — the Reuters quoted the report. It was noted that one of the UN countries believes that North Korea «may seek to further develop the miniaturization» of these technologies in order to develop several new warhead systems. The Reuters noted that the report didn’t specify the UN country that made such statements.

5 Belarus

The ‘TASS’ news agency reported with a reference to the Central Election Commission of Belarus that early voting in the presidential elections in Belarus has begun at more than 5,500 polling stations. The early voting will take place until 8th of August. The voting will be carried out in the presence of at least two members of the election commission. Confirmation of the reasons for the inability to come to the polling station on the main voting day is not required. The elections will take place on 9th of August.