Atif Shamim Syed

On February 14, 2019, a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a convoy of 78 buses carrying 3,000 Indian paramilitaries on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway in the Pulwama district of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The suicide bomber's car was laden with 300 Kilograms of highly explosive RDX and ammonium nitrate. The impact resulted in a vast explosion which killed 40 personnel of the Central … [Read more...] about Will there be another Balakot?

On Wednesday December 19, 2018, the president of America ordered a complete withdrawal of all US troops from Syria. The announcement provoked an immediate outcry from within Trump’s own camp as well as his opponents. The rest of the world was left wondering exactly what is America’s short to medium term strategy in the Middle East?The president declared his country’s victory over the terrorist … [Read more...] about America withdraws troops from Syria

The myth of India's incumbent prime minister Narendra Modi's absolute political strength was seriously damaged recently when his party lost the assembly election in three states. Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh collectively comprise of 65 seats in the parliament. The BJP previously held 62 out of those 65 seats. The recent defeat has not only left the ruling BJP humiliated, it has also … [Read more...] about Modi’s diminishing political strength

Russia and Syria have started carrying out air raids on the rebels entrenched within the northern province of Idlib. These aerial attacks are a precursor to the imminent ground assault by Syrian troops and its allied militias against the last remaining stronghold of the insurgents. Despite protests from the United Nations and various Western governments, Damascus and its allies -- Tehran and … [Read more...] about The looming catastrophe in Idlib

Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war in the year 2015 when the regime of President Bashar Al Assad seemed to be at the verge of collapse.Russian air power coupled with the firepower of the foreign militias assembled by the Iranian revolutionary guards and spearheaded by the Lebanese Hezbollah helped turn the tide in Assad’s favour. Posing as Assad’s staunchest ally, Russia blocked every … [Read more...] about Putin’s growing problems in Syria

Trump and his reckless foreign policy were dealt a major blow at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last Thursday. The vote stood at 128 to 9 against Trump’s decision to recognise the highly contested city of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Apart from Israel and the US, seven countries voted in favour of Trump’s decision. This included five tiny Island nations in the Pacific who took … [Read more...] about Guatemala’s pro Israel vote

It is almost certain that very few Yeminis will be able to forget the date of 4 December, 2017 for many years to come. This was the day when Ali Abdullah Saleh — the man who had ruled over them for 33 years — was taken out by a Houthi sniper during a firefight in Sanaa.Saleh had conceived and consummated a marriage of convenience with the Houthis in 2014. This union between Saleh and his … [Read more...] about Saleh’s departure and peace in Yemen