Counterterrorism

The United States said on Tuesday that the American-led airstrikes against the Islamic State — carried out in Syria without seeking the permission of the Syrian government or the United Nations Security Council — were legal because they were done in defense of Iraq.

The al Houthis, an armed Yemeni opposition group, seized parts of the capital and pressured the Yemeni government to concede to a list of demands, including the resignation of the cabinet. Events in Yemen this weekend underscored one of the many weaknesses of the so-called “Yemen model.” The US strategy to counter Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) relies on a counterterrorism partner in the Yemeni government to combat the group, and direct military operations—targeted airstrikes—to degrade AQAP’s leadership. The model, replicated in Somalia, now also serves as a starting point for a counter-Islamic State strategy in Iraq and Syria, but its success remains limited.

26 Azerbaijani citizens were arrested as a result of search operations carried out by the Ministry of National Security, the ministry’s Public Relations Center told APA.

They are sworn enemies who insist they will never work together, but in practice, Hezbollah and the United States are already working — separately — on a common goal: to stop the extremist Islamic State from moving into Lebanon, where Hezbollah is the most powerful military and political player and currently shares with Washington an interest in stability.