After early this week American forces hastily abandoned their base in Manbij amid a general US draw down from the region, and a Damascus-Syrian Kurdish deal for reunion to fight the invading Turks, hawkish CNN pundit Michael Weiss lamented that “the Russian takeover of the U.S. base in Manbij is the first instance of Moscow claiming an abandoned U.S. military installation since World War II” (though Vietnam may have actually been the last instance).
Syria has censured a recent decision by Turkish and US military forces to begin joint ground patrols in a so-called safe zone east of the Euphrates in northeastern Syria, arguing that the move constitutes a blatant violation of the international law and the Syrian sovereignty.
JERUSALEM — In an extraordinary statement, the Israeli military confirmed early Monday that it attacked Iranian military targets in Syria, hours after carrying out a rare daylight air raid near the Damascus International Airport.