Iraq to Increase Searches of Iran Overflights to Syria

Iraq said today it will step up searches of Iranian flights via its airspace to Syria.

“Because of a lot of information which referred to transportation of weapons, we have increased the activity of inspections,” said Ali Mussawi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. “We will carry out more random searches, to be assured that there is no weapons transfer.” (AFP, 30 March).

However, the head of Iraq's civil aviation authority told AFP that no planes had been searched since October. Last week, in a meeting with Maliki, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry criticized Baghdad for turning a blind eye to the Iranian overflights.

Kerry had told reporters while in Baghdad that he “made very clear to the prime minister that the overflights from Iran are in fact helping to sustain President Assad and his regime.” (AFP)

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the rebel Free Syria Army, Alaa Al-Basha, said that a number of IRGC personnel were injured on Thursday when an Iranian plane was shot down by FSA and caught fire after landing at a runway at Damascus airport. (Al-Arabiya, 29 March)

The state-run media in Syria has denied the incidence. Iran has not confirmed nor denied the report.

File photo: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad. 24 March, 2013. (Jason Reed/Reuters/The Daily Star)

Syrian Rebels Shot Down Iranian Plane - Report

Al-Arabiya reported Thursday morning that the Syrian Free Army has shot down an Iranian cargo plane over Damascus Airport. The plane managed to land but burst into flames upon landing. Large parts of the airport were reported to be on fire, including the main arrivals hall. The report said the plane was en route from Iran and was loaded with weapons for the Syrian military.

Al-Arabiya said the Syrian Free Army rebels used anti-aircraft missiles to shoot the plane down. Iran has not commented on the report, and the Syrian Free Army's claim has not been independently verified.

Damascus has been the scene of a fierce fighting between rebels and government troops in recent days. Al Arabiya has shown numerous videos of the fighting. At least 118 people were killed on Wednesday.

Photo credit:  The Iranian plane in flames at Damascus airport (Al-Arabiya)

Syrian Rebels Free UN Peacekeepers

Twenty-one U.N. peacekeepers detained by Syrian rebels this week have been handed over to Jordanian authorities at the border with Syria, the Free Syrian Army told CNN today. Jordan confirmed the release. (CNN, 9 March)

Rebels had detained the Filipino peacekeepers in a Syrian village near the Golan Heights. The United Nations and Filipino government criticized the rebels and demanded their release. The peacekeepers reportedly are unharmed.

File photo: United Nations peacekeepers in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights near where 21 UN peacekeepers were seized by Syrian rebels on Wednesday. (Baz Ratner/Reuters)

Russia Sends Warships to Syria for Possible Evacuation

Russia sent warships to the Mediterranean to prepare a potential evacuation of its citizens from Syria, Russia's Interfax news agency reported today. Two assault ships, a tanker and an escort vessel had left a Baltic port for the Mediterranean Sea, where Russia has a port in Syria's coastal city of Tartus. (Reuters, 18 December)

Russia’s move came a day after the Syrian rebels seized the Yarmouk Palestinian camp just 2 miles from the heart of Syrian capital city of Damascus.

“They (the warships) are heading to the Syrian coast to assist in a possible evacuation of Russian citizens ... Preparations for the deployment were carried out in a hurry and were heavily classified,” Interfax quoted the government source as saying. (Interfax/Reuters, 18 December)

Photo credit: Free Syrian Army fighters run during clashes with forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Ouwayjah village in Aleppo. 17 December, 2012. 
(REUTERS/Zain Karam)

Retired IRGC Officers Among Hostages in Damascus – Iran FM

The Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters today that some of the 48 kidnapped Iranians in Syria are "retired IRGC and military officers.” Saheli added that these retired officers were in Damascus on pilgrimage. The Free Army of Syria had previously claimed that there were IRGC officers among the 48 detainees. Iran had denied that charge.

Three Iranian Hostages Killed During Air Raid on Detention Place

The Free Army of Syria, the main opposition group, said three Iranian hostages were killed on Monday during what they said to be an air attack by government forces on a house they were being kept. The rebels threatened to kill the remaining Iranians in their custody unless the army stopped its attack.

"They were killed when the aircraft attacked. One of the houses they were in collapsed over their heads," FAS spokesman Moutassam al-Ahmad said. "We will kill the rest if the army does not stop its assault.” (Reuters)

Ahmad said that a number of rebels were also killed in the attack. "Our losses are bigger than theirs."

Fighters from the al-Baraa brigade of the rebel Free Army of Syria kidnapped 48 Iranians on Saturday on suspicion of being military personnel, but Iran says they are pilgrims.

Syrian Prime Minister Defects to Opposition

Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab has defected to the opposition seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. The Free Army of Syria reports that three cabinet ministers have also defected along with the PM (6 August 2012).

Photo credit: Hijab is being sworn in as new PM by Assad on 26 June 2012. REUTERS/SANA

Iran Asks Turkey and Qatar for Help with Its Hostage Situation

Rebels Claim IRGC Officers Among Hostages

Iran has asked Turkey and Qatar to help secure the release of 48 Iranians seized in the Syrian capital by rebels. IRNA reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Salehi has called his Turkish and Qatari counterparts Ahmet Davutoglu and Sheikh Hamad on Sunday.

But the rebels said today the 48 hostages were not pilgrims as reported by the Iranian and Syrian media. A spokesman for the Free Army of Syrian (FAS) said among the detainees were some IRGC officers and a number of “street tugs” sent to support the Assad regime. 

Al-Arabyia TV today broadcast a video released by the Free Army of Syria (FAS) showing the hostages sitting in front of a rebel Syrian flag with a FAS officer, identified as Captain Abdel Nasser al-Shumair, commander of the al-Baraa brigade of the Free Syrian Army, present.

“Negotiations with parties inside or outside Syria are not open yet before we confirm the identity of the Iranians and prove that Iran is active on Syrian lands with its soldiers and arms,” said Captain al-Shumair.

UPDATE: the Iranian government has denied claims by the Free Army of Syria (FAS) that some of the hostages are IRGC officers. FAS also announced that they have confiscated IRGC-issued documents and maps from some of the hostages that show they were on a reconnaissance mission in Damascus.  

Photo Credit: From an Al-Arabyia video released by the Free Army of Syrian reportedly showing Iranian hostages in their captivity. FAS Captain al-Shumair is standing. 5 August 2012

48 Iranian Pilgrims Kidnapped in Damascus

In a brazen daylight kidnapping, gunmen snatched a bus filled with 48 Iranian pilgrims from a Damascus suburb Saturday as they headed to visit Hazrat Zeinab shrine, Iran’s al-Alam TV network reported.

The pilgrims had just left their hotel and were headed by bus to the Hazrat Zeinab mosque. Zeinab is the granddaughter of Prophet Mohammad and the sister of Shia’s Martyr Imam Hossein. The Shiites believe her tomb is within the mosque situated in a suburb south of Damascus, which has become one of the holiest Shiite sites. 

“Friends of Syria” Recognize Syrian Opposition

“Friends of Syria”, consisting of the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and 70 other countries, gathered in Istanbul today. They recognized the Syrian National Council, the umbrella opposition group in exile, as the representative of the Syrian people and announced their support of rebel fighters known as the Free Syrian Army in their fight to oust the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Arab nations pledged $100 million and the US agreed to send communications equipment to help the Free Syrian Army organize and evade Syria’s military.

Turkish prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the host of Sunday’s meeting, called on the United Nations Security Council to act in the wake of the failure of Kofi Annan’s mission to Damascus. Erdogan said the Syrian government was using Annan’s initiative to buy time.

“If the Security Council hesitates, there will be no option left except to support the legitimate right of the Syrian people to defend themselves,” Erdogan said. “They are not alone… They will never be alone.”

Burhan Ghalioun, the president of the Syrian National Council, a confederation of Syrian opposition in exile, addressed hundreds of world leaders and other officials at the Istanbul conference and urged them to support the Free Syrian Army. “This is high noon for action,” Ghalioun told the world leaders.

Sources: The New York Times / AFP