Russian Implementation of Syria Cease-Fire Inadequate, DoD Spokesperson Says

By Marine Corps Sgt. David Staten DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2018 — The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted Feb. 24 for an immediate 30-day cease-fire throughout Syria, but the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad continues attacking its citizens, especially in East Ghouta, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said today.

The cease-fire would have allowed for the delivery of emergency aid and the evacuation of the wounded in heavily targeted areas. According to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, these areas are home to 400,000 people.

Russia, a strong ally of Assad, was supposed to help in making sure the Syrian regime followed the U.N. resolution, but instead has called for daily five-hour local cease-fires to establish what it calls a humanitarian corridor so aid can enter the enclave and civilians and wounded can leave.

Officials say this isn’t enough time to give the people the aid they need.

With a failed cease-fire, Russia's commitment to de-escalate violence and negotiate a political solution is questionable. “Russia's inability to exert control over portions of the battlefield where they operate is troublesome,” White said.

Undermining International Security

White referred to U.S. Central Command commander Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel’s testimony Feb. 27 at the House Armed Services Committee, saying “Russia played both arsonists and firefighters in Syria, fueling tensions among all parties, then serving as an arbiter to resolve disputes, attempting to undermine and weaken … each party's bargaining position.”

“Russia’s efforts to preserve their own interests in Syria puts coalition progress at risk, and undermines international security,” she added.

White said the United States does not seek a conflict with the Syrian regime.

“But we call on Russia to restrain the Assad regime, deconflict counterterrorism operations with the coalition and de-escalate the remaining battlefields of the Syrian civil war,” she added

“We want Russia to live up to its commitments with respect to the cease-fire,” White said. “There are innocent people dying, there's humanitarian assistance that's not getting through. They made a commitment and we need them to uphold that commitment.”

Officials Report Details of Latest Strikes Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq

SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 2, 2018 — Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve and its partners continued to strike Islamic State of Iraq and Syria targets in designated parts of Syria and Iraq between Feb. 23-March 1, conducting 23 strikes consisting of 35 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Strikes in Syria

Yesterday in Syria, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes destroyed an ISIS motorcycle and two weapons caches.

On Feb. 28, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of four engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed an ISIS supply route and an ISIS-held building.

On Feb. 27, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of five engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed an ISIS vehicle and a supply route and damaged a unmanned aerial vehicle.

On Feb. 26, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed an ISIS supply route and damaged a mortar.

On Feb. 25, coalition military forces conducted a strikes consistin of two engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three fighting positions.

On Feb. 24, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed a heavy machine gun and a fighting position.

On Feb. 23, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed a fighting position.

-- Near Shadaddi, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and an improvised explosive device facility.

Strikes in Iraq

There were no reported strikes in Iraq on Feb. 28-March 1.

On Feb. 27, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Kirkuk, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Qayyara, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS-held buildings.

There were no reported strikes in Iraq on Feb. 26.

On Feb. 25, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Asad, a strike destroyed an ISIS-held cave.

-- Near Rutbah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS vehicles and a weapons cache.

On Feb. 24, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets near Hawijah. The strike destroyed an ISIS weapons cache.

On Feb. 23, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets near Hawijah. The strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

Additional Strikes in Iraq

On Feb. 22, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets near Hawijah. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS watercraft.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and ground-based tactical artillery, officials noted.

A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

Buffalo Woman Pleads Guilty to Twitter Threats on Behalf of ISIS

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Buffalo, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to using Twitter to transmit threatening communications against several persons, including two FBI employees and two former members of the military and their families, on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, also known as ISIS.

Safya Roe Yassin, 40, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to two counts of transmitting threatening communications across state lines, contained in a July 19, 2016, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Yassin admitted that she maintained a series of Twitter accounts under the pseudonym “Muslimah” that she used to post, or tweet, messages in support of ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Yassin also re-posted, or re-tweeted, messages she knew were authored by ISIS operatives residing overseas.

Beginning in May 2015, Yassin communicated over Twitter with a person identified in court documents as “Individual A,” whom she believed was an ISIS operative located outside the United States. They discussed ISIS’s publishing of personally identifying information of U.S. government employees and others, to threaten violence against those persons on behalf of ISIS. From May 2015 through at least October 2015, Yassin and Individual A routinely communicated about promoting new pro-ISIS accounts to like-minded followers before Twitter suspended them.

Yassin knew that Individual A used Twitter accounts, including those that Yassin promoted, to tweet personally identifying information of government employees and others and to threaten those persons on behalf of ISIS. Yassin admitted that, knowing Individual A’s intent to threaten, she re-retweeted the personally identifying information on her Muslimah accounts several times so that the information could be more widely disseminated.

Throughout the month of August 2015, ISIS operatives tweeted additional personally identifying information, which Yassin re-tweeted to her followers, knowing that the intent of the messages was to threaten on behalf of ISIS. Yassin admitted that on Aug. 24, 2015, she re-tweeted one such message that contained the phrase “Wanted to kill,” followed by the first and last name, status as an employee of the FBI, city of residence, zip code, and phone number of Victim 1. In the same communication, she repeated the same “Wanted to kill” phrase, followed by the same personally identifying information for Victim 2. Yassin intended this communication as a threat against Victims 1 and 2.

Yassin also admitted that on Oct. 8, 2015, she re-tweeted a message from Individual A that linked to a publically viewable document containing the name and home address of Victim 3, a U.S. service member, along with photos of Victim 3, his family, and the names of his wife and children. The document further stated, “Once again I leave these details online to cause havoc in his life & for my brothers and Al-Qaeda in the U.S. to eventually hunt him down & kill him.”

The linked document also contained the name and home address of Victim 4, a former U.S. service member who had been the previous target of threats on Twitter by ISIS. Yassin knew that Individual A had previously threatened Victim 4 with violence and called him ISIS’s “number one target.” Yassin admitted that she intended to aid and assist Individual A in threatening Victims 3 and 4.

Under federal statutes, Yassin is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Casey and Abram McGull II. It was investigated by the FBI.