U.S. Strikes Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq

The U.S. and its coalition of allies targeted so-called Islamic State group strongholds in Syria and Iraq on Monday, destroying a number of the group’s fighting positions and tactical units, according to a statement from the coalition’s Combined Joint Task Force reported by Reuters.

Of the 25 airstrikes, seven hit ISIS sites near the villages of Manbij and Mar’a near Aleppo, destroying four fighting positions and three vehicles, according to a statement from the task force.

An additional 18 strikes hit ISIS targets in 10 Iraqi cities, including Falluja, Mosul, Kirkuk and Hit. The strikes were coordinated with the Iraqi government and destroyed 11 fighting positions, two tactical units and two bridges used by the militants.

The U.S. and its allies have been targeting ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria in an attempt to crush the militant group’s presence. The world powers’ efforts might be working, as Major Gen. Peter Gersten, the Pentagon’s director of operations and intelligence for the campaign against ISIS, said in a statement that the number of foreign fighters flowing into Iraq and Syria has dropped from 1,500 new fighters per month to about 200, according to a recent report by CBS News.

Date of Next Geneva Peace Talks Up to the U.N.: Opposition

George Sabra of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said on Wednesday it was up to the U.N. to decide when the peace talks on Syria would resume.

He added that his committee would not participate until its demands were met.

Sabra’s announcement came in response to a statement made Wednesday by Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov during which he said peace talks between Bashar al-Assad’s government and members of the Syrian opposition in Geneva were set to resume on May 10.

“All the while real steps aren’t taken on the ground in Syria, the participation of the delegation of the HNC will remain suspended,” Sabra told Reuters.

The opposition body announced its withdrawal from the talks last week after days of escalated violence and the Syrian government’s refusal to discuss a political transition.

On Tuesday, officials from the Syrian government said they had held a final session of talks with U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura, describing it as a “useful and productive round.”

U.N. Warns of Dire Conditions in Daraya

U.N. aid officials have said that the humanitarian situation in the government-besieged town of Daraya is dire, with acute shortages of food, medicine and clean water.

The U.N. emergency relief coordinator Stephen O’Brien warned officials in Geneva on Tuesday of a deteriorating situation in the Damascus suburb, which has been under siege for more than three years.

O’Brien highlighted the shortages of food, drinking water and medicine, saying the Syrian government ignored “countless” requests by the U.N. to deliver humanitarian aid into the area, BBC News reported.

Daraya’s electricity and communications were cut three years ago.

The statements came following a recent fact-finding mission by U.N. officials into the area to assess the residents’ needs.

The lifting of sieges and the expansion of aid deliveries were some of the conditions set by representatives of the opposition in Geneva, who walked out of talks last week following a sharp increase in cease-fire violations by the government.

“We will continue to press the Syrian authorities relentlessly for us to have that safe unimpeded access to Daraya,” O’Brien said.

Recommended Reads

• BBC News: Syria: Russia’s Continuing War
• The New York Times: He Disavowed Radical Islam. Was He Lying?
• Al Jazeera: Syria Civil War: Inside the Bomb Shelter
• Human Rights Watch: Civilian Deaths Rising as Attacks Resume
• The Daily Beast: These Syrian-American Christians Love Trump Because They Say He’s Like Assad
• The New York Times: Israel’s Vow to Keep Golan Brings ‘Deep Concern’ at Security Council