Lima Charlie News - MENA News Brief Jan 31 2018
This week’s Middle East - North Africa report covers Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq and Iran. Read the full report: https://goo.gl/RdLgZR
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Turkey
Security forces have continued their nationwide crackdown on safe houses and individuals believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State. Several raids were carried out this past week, resulting in at least twelve individuals believed to have Islamic State affiliations having been detained, the majority of which have been described as foreigners.
The Turkish military incursion into Kurdish controlled enclaves in Syria, which began on January 19th, is still ongoing. Turkey and its backed militia groups face fierce resistance from members of various battle hardened Kurdish militias, not least of which is the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The YPG claims to have repelled a number of Turkish-backed offensives against Kurdish lines. A counter offensive by the YPG was undertaken on January 23rd, which reportedly resulted in the retaking of Qorne, located northwest of Azaz. Qorne had reportedly been captured by Turkish and Turkish-backed forces a few days earlier. The Turkish-backed militia force in turn reports that it has successfully carried out an offensive on Umar Usagi and Hemame, in the western part of the Afrin Canton, which resulted in them securing the majority of terrain in those areas. Between January 25th and January 27th, the Turkish operation appeared to have stalled with no noticeable terrain changing hands ... Read the full report: https://goo.gl/RdLgZR