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Seven soldiers and a civilian were killed in air strikes in Syria's Deir Ezzor province at dawn on Tuesday, which a Syrian military source blamed on the US, although Washington has denied involvement.
The strikes were the first to hit eastern Syria since early February and came hours after an Iranian plane reportedly carrying weapons and IRGC members landed at Deir Ezzor airport, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Syrian media said the strikes were carried out by the US and injured 32 people, including civilians.
Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said that the US "did not conduct strikes in Syria last night".
The Israeli military has not yet commented.
The attacks hit "a number of villages, towns and military sites in Deir Ezzor province and its countryside", the military source was reported by Syrian official media as saying.
The attack also caused damage to public and private property, the source added.
Earlier in the day, local sources told The National that at least six people had been killed and about 20 injured in air strikes in Deir Ezzor province.
Strikes hit sites including Deir Ezzor city and Al Suwayiyah, a town in the province. Abu Kamal, on the Iraq-Syria border, was also hit.
A Syrian source in Deir Ezzor reported that several aircraft carried out 10 strikes at about 1am.
The sources said the strikes resulted in several deaths and injuries, among them civilians.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local news service DeirEzzor24, both linked to the Syrian opposition, claimed the bombings hit the headquarters of a militia allied with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The observatory claimed some members of the IRGC, stationed in Syria to advise government forces and allied militias, were among the dead.
“Unidentified aircraft, whether Israeli or American, carried out raids on Iranian militia positions in Deir Ezzor governorate, resulting in deaths and injuries,” it said.
The strikes came hours after an Iranian plane carrying weapons and IRGC members landed at Deir Ezzor airport, it added.
DeirEzzor24 reported that the wounded included senior IRGC commander Hajj Askar.
Damascus-based Syrian analyst Kamal Al Jafa said reports that the IRGC was hit in the strikes were "inaccurate because the building had been previously evacuated".
"Although one of the air strikes targeted the former headquarters of Hajj Askar near Al Maarri School in the city, but it was empty and had been evacuated a some time ago," Mr Al Jafa said.
Mr Askar oversaw the confiscation of Syrian farmland and properties in the area, along with another IRGC commander, Hajj Mahdi, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank.
Iran has sought to maintain a strong presence in border areas with Iraq, particularly Abu Kamal and Al Qaim, towns on the Syrian and Iraqi side of the border, respectively, with the aim of controlling key overland routes for moving weapons into Syria.
Israel has struck Syria several times since the Gaza war began, hitting Iranian military positions and Tehran-backed groups across the country, including the capital, Damascus.
In January, an Israeli air strike in Damascus killed the head of Iranian intelligence in Syria, an attack that was condemned by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi as a “cowardly assassination”.
The previous month, another Israeli strike killed Razi Mousavi, a senior member of the IRGC responsible for co-ordinating Syrian and Iranian military activities.
Tuesday’s strikes were the first in this part of Syria since early February, the observatory said.
US strikes in the cities of Deir Ezzor and Al Madayeen in early February killed 29 pro-Iran fighters in response to a deadly drone attack on an American base in Jordan, which killed three soldiers.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Nancy 9 (Hassa Beek)
Nancy Ajram
(In2Musica)
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
On racial profiling at airports
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7.05pm: Handicap Dh165,000 2,200m - Winner: Heraldic, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.40pm: Conditions Dh240,000 1,600m - Winner: Walking Thunder, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash
8.15pm: Handicap Dh190,000 2,000m - Winner: Key Bid, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 1,200m - Winner: Drafted, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
9.25pm: Handicap Dh170,000 1,600m - Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap Dh190,000 1,400m - Winner: Rodaini, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
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Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
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MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
