TEL AVIV—Israel targeted Syria’s naval and other military assets overnight as part of its campaign to destroy weapons left behind by the country’s military following the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad.

IDF takes control of buffer zone along border, including Syrian side of Mount Hermon, said to bomb missile research facilities, and chemical weapons stores around Damascus

Tuesday, the Kurdish SDF launched an offensive against a number of villages in eastern Syria. The US backed the offensive with military action, and al-Mayadeen even suggests that the offensive itself came at the behest of the US military. Today we’re getting some more details, and the US is trying to re-frame the narrative of what actually happened.

By then, secular dictator Bashar al-Assad regained control over a majority of the country and its major cities, and had even begun the process of normalizing relations with his neighbors and reintroducing himself into the international community. The remnants of the Islamist opposition were isolated in the northwest Idlib province, protected by Turkey, their most significant benefactor.

The US is looking to exert more pressure on Assad as more countries are normalizing relations with Syria

The Biden administration slammed Turkey’s collaborators for anti-Kurdish crimes in Syria — including raping and torturing civilians.