The National staff
BEIRUT // The Assad regime increased pressure on the Islamic State on Sunday, pounding the group’s Syrian headquarters and other towns with airstrikes and killing at least 31 fighters.
Raqqa city, the militants base of operations in Syria’s north, and other Islamic State controlled towns were hit by dozen of airstrikes, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
“The regime carried out 13 raids on the city of Raqqa and 11 on the town of Tabqa in Raqqa province, killing at least 31 jihadists and wounding dozens of them,” the Britain-based monitoring group said.
For more than a year, president Bashar Al Assad’s air force rarely targeted territory controlled by the Islamic State in northern Syria, instead focusing on moderate rebel groups.
But regime jets have begun hitting the extremists more regularly since the militants overran much of neighbouring northern and western Iraq in June.
There has been widespread speculation that the Assad regime is choosing to target the militants now in an attempt to portray itself as partner for the West in its fight against terror.
Observatory directory Rami Abdurrahman said six of those raids targeted a military court.
He said the raids were the regime’s “most intensive” against the Islamic State since the militants joined the more than three-year-old conflict in Syria in 2003.
Islamic State militants had on Saturday killed more than 700 tribal members in eastern Syria and were battling to seize a northern rebel bastion, sparking an appeal for an Iraq-style Western intervention.
The Observatory said the Islamic State have carried out the killings over the past two weeks in Deir Ezzor province, which the group mostly controls.
Among the members of the Shaitat tribe killed were 100 fighters, but the rest were civilians.
They were killed in Ghranij, Abu Hamam and Kashkiyeh villages.
Mr Rahman said the fate of 1,800 other members of the Sunni tribe was unknown.
Fighting between the militants and the tribe erupted after a deal between them collapsed, with the Shaitat refusing to bow to Islamic State authority.
The Islamic State has captured most of Deir Ezzor and declared it to be part of its “caliphate”.
The Observatory said the Shaitat had vowed not to oppose the Islamic State, in exchange for the militants not harassing or attacking its members.
But the Islamic State had detained three members of the tribe for “violating” the agreement.
Gains by the extremist group has jeopardised the moderate rebels’ position in Aleppo province, as well as the city of Aleppo itself, where opposition fighters are also under assault by government troops.
With the rebels’ control over half of Aleppo looking increasingly precarious, the main Western-backed opposition group called on Saturday for US airstrikes against the Islamic State to help the mainstream rebels.
The Syrian National Coalition has long appealed for more robust military support from the West to help in its fight to remove Mr Al Assad, and more recently to counter the rise of Islamic extremists.
The group’s latest appeal appeared aimed at capitalising on the recent US aerial intervention in Iraq, where American military aircraft have targeted the Islamic State.
Meanwhile, Kurdish militants from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) have trained hundreds of Yazidi volunteers at several camps inside Syria to fight Islamic State forces in Iraq, a member of an armed Kurdish group said on Sunday.
“The Yazidi civilians want to stay in Syria because it is safer but the volunteers really want to go back to Iraq to fight.”
The Islamic State has forced hundreds of thousands of Yazidis to flee for their lives and threatened Kurds.
In Syria, the Yazidi volunteers train in weapon use and fighting tactics for several days before being sent back to Iraq to fight, said a Kurdish fighter.
“There are several training camps for Yazidi men who have volunteered,” Anas Hani said from eastern Syria. “In the past ten days, hundreds have graduated. And we are training more.”
“On the top of the Singar mountains, in cooperation with locals and the YPG, the Yazidis have established what they call the Singar Resistance Units,” he said.
Thousands of Yazidis are believed to be sheltering on Iraq’s Mount Singar, having fled there after the Islamic State onslaught.
Iraqi Kurdish officials have sought to play down the role of the YPG in Iraq and spotlight the actions of their own peshmerga forces, who are already being supplied weapons by the US.
The YPG are one of the few militant groups that have been able to stem the advance of the Islamic State.
* With reporting by Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
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5pm: Watha Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
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5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m
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6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m
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Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
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Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
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A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
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4.15pm: Japan v Spain (Group A)
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Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK
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