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Syrian Army Soon to Take Full Control of Terrorists' Key Bastion in Southern Idlib

© Fort Russ News

The Syrian Army kicked off an offensive to impose full control over the terrorists' strategic base in the town of al-Hobait in Southern Idlib. Army units conducted artillery and missile attacks on terrorists' military positions in al-Hobait in southern Idlib, inflicting heavy losses and casualties on the militants.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Army troops engaged in heavy clashes with the terrorists in Um al-Khalakhil and al-Zarzour region in the Southeastern outskirts of Idlib. A battlefield source pointed to the Syrian Army's efforts to liberate al-Hobait town in southern Idlib, and said once the Syrian army completes control over this region which is the gate to Idlib, it will be able to take control of the city of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib and the international Damascus-Aleppo road.

He also referred to the Syrian Army's plan to lay siege to the remaining areas controlled by terrorists in northern Hama, and said that the Syrian army troops will manage to take full control of Sahl al-Ghab region in northwestern Hama once they liberate the town of al-Hobait.

In a relevant development on Friday, the Syrian Army continued its military operations in northern Hama, and laid siege on the main stronghold of Tahrir al-Sham al-Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) from two different directions in southern Idlib.

The Syrian Army units continued their clashes with Tahrir al-Sham terrorists after taking full control of the town of Jisat in northern Hama. The Damascus Army regained control over Savameh Jisat and Damion Farms after inflicting heavy losses on the terrorists.

The Arabic-language website of the Russian Sputnik News Agency, meantime, reported that the Syrian Army, in its recent advances in northern Hama, has laid siege on the town of al-Hobait, one of the main bastions of Tahrir al-Sham in southern Idlib, from the southern and western directions.

A battlefield source also noted that the strategic town of al-Hobait is considered the intersection of eastern, northern and northwestern parts of Hama. Al-Hobait is also the supply line and a passage for logistical aid to the terrorists in Khan Sheikoun. The terrorist groups have built complex underground tunnel networks in Khan Sheikhoun and its surrounding farms in recent years.

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According to court documents unsealed a day before his death, another alleged victim claims that Epstein trafficked her and other girls to some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful men, including British Prince Andrew, billionaire investor Glenn Dublin, and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. The victim's list also includes "another prince," a "foreign president," a "well-known prime minister," and the owner of a French "large hotel chain."

Attorney General Bill Barr said Saturday he was "appalled" to learn of Jeffrey Epstein's apparent suicide and promised an investigation into the circumstances of Epstein's death.

The convicted sex offender and financier was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell Friday night at the age of 66.

"I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody," Barr said in a statement. "Mr. Epstein's death raises serious questions that must be answered."

The attorney general added that the FBI was investigating Epstein's death, and that the inspector general would open a separate investigation as well.

"In addition to the FBI's investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein's death," Barr said.

Barr's statements echo the sentiments of several politicians and pundits who have expressed exasperation that Epstein was able to commit suicide just weeks after being placed on a suicide watch list following a failed attempt.

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said "We need answers. Lots of them," to which Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz agreed, calling on House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler to prioritize an investigation into Epstein's death over investigations into Russia and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Meanwhile, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough called the apparent suicide "bullsh*t" and "predictably Russian," while left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore said "I guess they think a country dumb enough to elect Trump is stupid enough to believe Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide."

Paramedics frantically tried to revive convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein early Saturday morning after he was found unresponsive in his cell in downtown Manhattan, exclusive photos shot by The Post reveal.

© William FarringtonEMTs attempt to revive Jeffrey Epstein as he's wheeled into New York Downtown Hospital.

The 66-year-old disgraced financier hanged himself in his cell in 9 South at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, according to multiple sources.

A call was placed to first responders around 6:30 a.m. as MCC staff tried to revive him, said the FDNY and Bureau of Prisons.

© William FarringtonJeffrey Epstein is wheeled into New York Downtown Hospital.

Photos of Epstein taken around 7:30 a.m. show the convicted pedophile still wearing his orange prison jumpsuit as he's wheeled on a gurney into New York Downtown Hospital.

The images show a drawn, ashen face with closed eyes, and EMTs using a breathing apparatus in an attempt to revive the multi-millionaire convicted pedophile.

Epstein was later declared dead at the hospital.

Sex offender and accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was not on suicide watch at the time of his death, according to several reports.

Prison officials found the disgraced billionaire dead in his jail cell early Saturday morning. Multiple reports are calling his death an apparent suicide via hanging, although it has come with suspicion, as Epstein was believed to be on suicide watch. However, officials told the New York Post that Epstein was not on suicide watch at the time of his death.

According to the New York Post:

Department of Justice spokesman Lee Plourde told The Post that Epstein, 66, was not "currently" on watch in his cell at the Manhattan Correctional Facility while he awaited trial on child sex-trafficking charges.

Plourde refused to say whether that meant Epstein had been taken off additional monitoring or whether he had never been getting special attention to make sure he did not kill himself.

"I'm not going to discuss his previous medical status," he said.

The Associated Press also reported that the billionaire was taken off suicide watch:

A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Epstein had been taken off suicide watch. The person wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. It wasn't immediately clear when he was taken off suicide watch.

NBC News had a similar report:

Epstein, 66, was in his federal jail cell in downtown Manhattan but was not on suicide watch at the time of his death, multiple people familiar with the investigation told NBC News. He had apparently hanged himself, and was found unresponsive at around 6:30 a.m. ET.

The files were unsealed on Friday as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre against the businessman's ex-girlfriend and so-called "madam," Ghislaine Maxwell. Giuffre alleges Epstein and Maxwell forced her into sex, and trafficked her to other wealthy and powerful men.

In a deposition included in the unsealed records, Giuffre said she was ordered by Epstein and Maxwell to give erotic massages and have sex with men, ranging from Prince Andrew, billionaire investor Glenn Dubin - whose wife claimed to be "100% comfortable" with having Epstein around her children - and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has admitted to meeting with Epstein on his Zorro Ranch once in 2002, but denies Giuffre's charge.

Also on the list is modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, whose MC2 agency was allegedly used to recruit and traffic girls as young as 12 to Epstein and other wealthy men. Giuffre mentions "another prince," a "foreign president," a "well-known prime minister," and the owner of a French "large hotel chain," but seems frustrated she can't "recall all of the people," largely because there were so many of them. "I was told to do something by these people constantly," she testifies, explaining, "my whole life revolved around just pleasing these men."

Their whole entire lives revolved around sex.

Epstein allegedly told another of his accusers that he required "three orgasms a day" - that "it was biological, like eating." Another claimed his anatomy was deformed - "egg-shaped," to be exact. The unsealed documents also included photographs, including nude snapshots of prepubescent girls. Giuffre said she was made to watch as Epstein and Maxwell indulged in "illegal sexual acts with dozens of underage girls."

In perhaps the most disturbing disclosure, the documents also contain a receipt indicating Epstein bought books pertaining to sadomasochism and sexual slavery, including the titles SM 101: A Realistic Introduction,SlaveCraft: Roadmaps for Erotic Servitude and Training with Miss Abernathy: A Workbook for Erotic Slaves and Their Owners. Giuffre's attorneys say the purchases support her account of sexual exploitation at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell.

While the documents reveal that both President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton had dealings with Epstein - whether on his private jet or on one of his luxurious properties - Giuffre noted in the deposition that Clinton had no involvement in the sex-trafficking ring, and that Trump "didn't partake in any sex" with underage girls.

Giuffre first sued Maxwell in 2015 for her role in Epstein's sex ring, and later filed a second defamation suit after Maxwell accused her of lying. The records released Friday have been under seal as part of that case, for which Maxwell failed to obtain a summary dismissal in 2017.

"I question whether or not it was a true suicide attempt that Mr Epstein was involved in in jail or whether or not there may be some powerful people who just don't want him to talk. If he goes on trial, everyone he's been in contact with will ultimately be fair game. There's no doubt in my mind that no jail will protect you when there's powerful people that want to reach you - wherever you are. If he's going to implicate anyone in power that has the ability to reach in and somehow get to him - his life is definitely in jeopardy.

"I do question whether it was a true suicide attempt. I mean how do you choke yourself? It doesn't make any sense. There are reports someone came after him but that could just be because he's a paedophile. Those types of individuals don't last long in prison. If Epstein is in general population or anywhere available to the general population I believe his life is in jeopardy. They will have to seal him down in the jail. But even there there are still people who can get to him, ultimately."
- The Sun, 'IN DANGER' Jeffrey Epstein's life 'in jeopardy' as powerful pals 'don't want their secrets out', victim's lawyer claims

A separate source revealed to DailyMail.com that Epstein actually told prison guards and fellow inmates that he believed someone had tried to kill him in the weeks before his death.

The insider, who had seen the disgraced financier on several occasions during his incarceration at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, also claims that the normally reserved Epstein seemed to be in good spirits.

'There was no indication that he might try to take his own life,' the source told DailyMail.com

'From what I saw, he was finally starting to adjust to prison. I think he was comforted by the rigidity of his new life.'

He was, by all accounts, the kind of inmate that should have been under the closest possible supervision.

Instead, Epstein was taken off suicide watch in the days before he took his own life, officials told NBC News, a decision that baffled former wardens and veterans of the federal prison system.

"For them to pull him off suicide watch is shocking," Cameron Lindsay, a former warden who worked at three federal facilities, told NBC News. "For someone this high-profile, with these allegations and this many victims, who has had a suicide attempt in the last few weeks, you can take absolutely no chances. You leave him on suicide watch until he's out of there."
...
The conditions would have required him to be moved to a special bare-bones cell where he would be outfitted in a tear-resistant one-piece smock and receive stepped-up observation from a staffer or inmate posted outside, according to Lindsay and sources familiar with Epstein's case.

But Epstein's status was changed sometime in the last two weeks for reasons that remain unknown, officials told NBC News. The decision would normally have to have been authorized by the jail's suicide prevention program coordinator, who is ordinarily the institution's chief psychologist, and approved by the warden.

"Once an inmate has been placed on watch, the watch may not be terminated, under any circumstance, without the program coordinator or designee performing a face-to-face evaluation," according to the federal Bureau of Prison official guidelines issued in 2007.
...
"It's too early to say what I think should happen, but if this did occur as we believe that it did, some staff are going to have some hard questions to answer, I'm afraid," said Lindsay, who served as warden at the nearby Metropolitan Detention Center from 2007 to 2009.

Bob Hood, a former federal Bureau of Prisons chief of internal affairs and former warden at the ADX Florence "supermax" prison in Colorado, said he also was perplexed by the decision to remove the suicide safeguards.

"Under the circumstances, I would have a staff member sitting there or have a camera on him 24/7 while he was in my custody, purely to cover my butt," said Hood. "I know that sounds tacky, but this is not your average inmate."
...
Jack Donson, a former longtime federal Bureau of Prisons case manager, told NBC News that suicide watch in federal lockup "usually only lasts a few days to week" due to the amount of manpower the 24-hour surveillance entails.

"It requires staff to do overtime shifts," Donson said, and is "not considered a good use of resources."

Federal staff members will "make an assessment" about when they believe that "imminent danger" to the inmate has passed, and then the warden and chief psychologist make a determination about what to do with the inmate, Donson said.
...
Epstein's suicide has led some involved in his case to wonder whether he received outside help.

"It simply does not make common sense that Jeffrey Epstein was not on suicide watch," said Jack Scarola, a lawyer who represents seven of Epstein's alleged victims. "And it does not make common sense that if he was on suicide watch he could have successfully taken his own life unless he had some outside help."

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