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MECRA RESEARCH BLOG
The MECRA research blog is composed of short articles and may include outside contributions. The views expressed in these blogs and articles are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis editorial stance.
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The Fall of the Caliphate
No new beginnings in sight for ravaged Syria. The Jerusalem Post (8/3) The Islamic State proclaimed by the Iraqi jihadist Abu Bakr...
MECRA
Mar 9, 20195 min read
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The location of the last SDF battle against the Baghuz ISIS stronghold on the Euphrates
Video showing the map and location of the battle against ISIS in Baghuz on the Euphrates river has been released. The battle against the...
MECRA
Mar 2, 20191 min read
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“They are starving”: ISIS fighters and families flee last ISIS pocket
Interview with Mahmoud Sheikh Ibrahim In an exclusive interview with Ibrahim, who has been on the front line near Hajin several times in...
MECRA
Jan 21, 20195 min read
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Syrian Democratic Council: Eastern Syria fears Turkish invasion
Eastern Syria fears Turkish incursion By MECRA STAFF Interview with Amjad Othman, spokesman of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) MECRA:...
MECRA
Dec 23, 20184 min read
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Who are the Rojava Peshmerga, the group that US thinks may help with Syria crisis?
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN The long, lonely road from Dohuk in the Kurdistan region to Sinjar, the site of the ISIS genocide of Yazidis, is...
MECRA
Dec 18, 20187 min read
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From 1.6 airstrikes a day to 39 a day: How the US-led Coalition's air campaign helped take Hajin
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN An examination conducted by the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis (MECRA) of the US-led Coalition's...
MECRA
Dec 16, 20183 min read
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Are these the first images of UK Special Forces vehicles near Hajin?
Images and a short video obtained from near Hajin appear to show UK Special Forces vehicles that are part of the Coalition's effort to...
MECRA
Nov 27, 20183 min read
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Photos, video and interview on the frontline against ISIS last stronghold
The battle to defeat ISIS in its last stronghold, an interview from the frontline By SETH J. FRANTZMAN and MAHMOUD SHEIKH IBRAHIM Over...
MECRA
Nov 16, 20185 min read
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Hezbollah Recruitment in Eastern Deraa?
By AYMENN JAWAD AL-TAMIMI One of the main concerns regarding the Syrian government’s campaign to recapture the rebel-held parts of Deraa...
MECRA
Nov 13, 20187 min read
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US Embassy in Syria tweets about Jarabulus amid Turkey's role in northern Syria
In a tweet on November 8 the US Embassy in Syria highlighted a new video about northern Syria. "Watch local people in Jarablus describing...
MECRA
Nov 9, 20187 min read
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Turkey shells Kobani and Tel Abyad in eastern Syria. What are its next moves?
By JONATHAN SPYER Turkish forces in Syria on 1/11 carried out a sixth round of shelling of areas east of the Euphrates River held by the...
MECRA
Nov 2, 20183 min read
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Exclusive photo essay: Heavy weapons withdrawn from DMZ in Idlib
According to the Idlib Agreement signed on September 17, all heavy weapons were expected to be withdrawn from the demilitarized zone by...
MECRA
Oct 14, 20181 min read
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Russia, Idlib and the agreement: Moscow's long-term goals
In an interview with Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis fellow Alex Grinberg, we discussed the Idlib Agreement and what...
MECRA
Oct 14, 20184 min read
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How Iran's Defense Minister in Damascus sent a message to Washington
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Three days after US National Security Advisor John Bolton met his Russian counterpart in Geneva, the Iranian Defense...
MECRA
Aug 26, 20185 min read
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'Islamic State' in south Syria: An inside look at at its internal security apparatus
Translator’s introduction (Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi) Readers familiar with my work will know that I closely tracked the Islamic State...
MECRA
Aug 20, 201812 min read
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Oil politics: How Syrian Kurds use oil for political leverage
By SIRWAN KAJJO RIMELAN, SYRIA - “Where does all our oil go to?” my Kurdish driver asked as we drove past more than a dozen hefty trucks...
MECRA
Aug 14, 20183 min read
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Jonathan Spyer: New photos from Raqqa
Jonathan Spyer's new photos from Raqqa in July 2018 show the city struggling to cope with reconstruction and cleaning up destruction...
MECRA
Jul 30, 20181 min read
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New details of ISIS attack on Suwayda, the hundreds killed, 14 Druze women kidnapped
Details emerging from the July 25, 2018 ISIS attack on Suwayda now reveal the attack to have been more well orchestrated, deadly, and...
MECRA
Jul 27, 20183 min read
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US Senator Lindsey Graham in Manbij and Syria
South Carolina US Senator Lindsey Graham visited Manbij in eastern Syria according to video and images posted online. There he met with...
MECRA
Jul 2, 20183 min read
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Thousands reported stranded after fleeing Afrin conflict
By LAURA KELLY Hundreds of thousands of civilians who fled the Turkish-offensive on the Syrian city of Afrin in the last few days are now...
MECRA
Mar 21, 20183 min read
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