You would think that when Syrian forces surprised the Pentagon and effectively neutralized the US base in southern Syria by cutting it off from coveted ISIS-held eastern Syria this would have helped to defuse the standoff there.

However, rather than contemplating retreat from what is now an almost completely useless and strategically irrelevant occupation zone the US military is for some reason doubling down instead.

CNN has learned that the US has moved its long range rocket artillery from Jordan to southern Syria:

The US military has moved its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) from Jordan into southern Syria for the first time, positioning it near the US-Coalition training base at At Tanf, three US defense officials confirmed to CNN Tuesday.

HIMARS, a truck-mounted system which can fire missiles as far as 300 kilometers, represents a major boost to US combat power near At Tanf, a location that has come under the spotlight following a series of recent coalition strikes against pro-regime forces operating in the area.

HIMARS had been previously used to strike ISIS targets from firing positions in Turkey and Jordan. The system has also been deployed in Iraq to hit ISIS positions there.

Ever since 2004, the US has carried out drone strikes across the Middle East and Africa, often far away from official theaters of war. Leaders have admitted to killing thousands, many of them innocent women and children - although a report now suggests up to 80 percent of drone strikes have gone unacknowledged and unreported by officials.

The report by Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic and the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies notes that while the US has taken and continues to take a lackadaisical approach to drone strike reporting, the program is intensifying — ever since Donald Trump took office, drone strikes per month have increased by almost four times Obama's average. War ravaged Yemen has been a common target of these operations, with at least 11 strikes hitting the country as of June 2017, along with 81 other covert attacks by US forces.

The ongoing siege by Syrian Kurdish militia supported by airstrikes of the US-led coalition on terrorist stronghold Raqqa is marred by many civilian casualties and displacement of some 160,000 people, a UN commission says.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group of militias dominated by ethnic Kurds, launched their offensive on Raqqa last week amid weapons and military hardware supplies from the US. The effort is taking a serious toll on civilian residents of the city controlled by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry into the Syrian conflict said on Wednesday.

"We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced," Paulo Sergio Pinheiro told the UN Human Rights Council, Reuters reports.

The official didn't give an estimate for civilian casualties in the city.

The Islamic State (Daesh) terrorist group stages attacks in the region under the guidance and with the support of the United States and Saudi Arabia, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri said Tuesday.

"Today, we are witnessing the destructive outcomes of state-sponsored terrorism backed by Saudi Arabia, the United States and some (other) reactionary regional countries in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere, including in some European countries," Jazayeri said as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

The de-escalation zones in Syria, agreed on during the Astana talks, led to a a discernible reduction in levels of violence near Idlib and western Aleppo, chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said Wednesday.

"The de-escalation zones agreed by Russia, Iran and Turkey, the guarantors of the last round of the Astana talks, have resulted in a discernible reduction in levels of violence in the zones around Idlib and western Aleppo," Pinheiro said speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, as quoted by the organization.

However, hostilities continue unabated in Homs, Damascus and Daraa, he added.

"The establishment of de-escalation zones is a step in the right direction. They potentially help to support the conditions necessary for more comprehensive political discussions within the Geneva framework led by [UN] Special Envoy [Staffan] de Mistura," Pinheiro noted.

The chairman of the commission underlined that only an inclusive political settlement of the Syrian conflict would lead to achievement of sustainable peace in the country.

Philippine officials say US troops are on the ground near the besieged city of Marawi, which fighters linked to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) have occupied for more than three weeks.

Philippine military general Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said in a news conference on Wednesday that the US troops are operating in a support role and are not involved in fighting the militants.

"There are some US personnel who are operating equipment to provide information on situation awareness to our troops," Brigadier General Padilla said, according to Reuters.

"I do not know the exact number and the specific mission. They are allowed to carry rifles for self-defense. But they are not allowed to fight, they only provide support," he added.

On Sunday, Iran's 47th Navy flotilla, comprised of Alborz destroyer and Bushehr logistic warship, set sail on its voyage to Oman. It will further go to the north of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. Sputnik Persian talked to Iranian political analysts, who explained why Tehran is demonstrating its naval military might.

On June 11, the naval fleet left the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas for Oman after a ceremony attended by Iran's Navy commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari.

The move, which comes amid a crisis in the Persian Gulf after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar for allegedly supporting "extremism," has sparked heated reaction of the Gulf of Aden littoral states.

Former Tory Prime Minister John Major has spoken out against Theresa May's intent to prop up a government with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

He said he is "wary" about the "fragile" deal between the prime minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster as it might undermine Northern Ireland's peace process, which he claims may "unwind."

Major's comments come as May is due to discuss the terms of a"confidence and supply" deal with Foster at Downing Street on Tuesday, which would mainly entail the DUP backing the government on confidence votes and budget requests.

The Manchester Arena suicide bombing occurred partly because of poor UK security cooperation with Libyan authorities, security officials from the North African state claim.

Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a homemade device at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in May, which killed 22 and wounded scores more.

Abedi, who also died in the blast, was of Libyan origin. He and his father Ramadan were known to have ties with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which is linked to Al-Qaeda.

Originally at Rusvesna

Yesterday, opposition protests were held, which were organised by US-paid Alexei Navalny. They were held purposely on the same date as Russians celebrating their national day - Russia Day, on June 12th.

The editor of the American publication The Financial Times Neil Buckley, posted this picture on his Twitter , with the caption "Most countries use anti-tank against the invaders. In Moscow, they used against their own people." (repost from Alexei Venediktov, host of CIA funded radio station, Echo Moscow)
What the image shows is a reenactment of anti-tank traps during the battle of Moscow in WWII. It was especially set up for Russia Day, as a historic reenactment of the sacrifices made for the city in the past.