In late November, Russian air-strikes in the area of north Idlib countryside killed two people from the remaining original inhabitants of the Jabal al-Summaq area (who are originally Druze but were forced many years ago to declare conversion to Sunni Islam, first by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham and then by Jabhat al-Nusra). The two martyrs are Aymenn al-Qouda from the village of Kafr Maris and Ibrahim Najdo from the village of Taltita. While it is important to document the oppression that the remaining original inhabitants of Jabal al-Summaq have suffered at the hands of armed groups, it is also important to document civilian deaths from airstrikes and not think of those killed as mere statistics. In this new guest post, my friend 'Odoacer' of the village Qalb Lawze in Jabal al-Summaq documents the lives of Aymenn al-Qouda and Ibrahim Najdo, whom he refers to as 'daraweesh' (a term for poor people with simple and innocent means of living).

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I have previously featured a number of guest posts from writers inside Syria. One of these contributors is my friend 'Odoacer' from the village of Qalb Lawze in north Idlib countryside. In this guest post I have translated below, 'Odoacer' provides an overview of the historical ruins of Idlib and the damage of plunder and smuggling to which they have been exposed:

[click here to continue reading, for paying subscribers only].

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Over the course of the war in Syria, a number of media activists on the ground have emerged to cover the events. One such activist is 'Mahmoud al-Hamawi,' who originates from the town of al-Latamina in north Hama countryside. He is currently displaced in the insurgent-held areas of northern Syria. Follow his current Youtube channel here and his current Twitter account here. Below is an interview I recently conducted with him.

Q: Could you speak in summary about your life before the Syrian revolution?And what was your role in al-Latamina?

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While the Islamic State's 'Central Africa Province' has primarily been associated with operations in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the group's operations have expanded eastward from the DRC into Uganda, which in fact is the ultimate origin of the Islamic State-affiliated insurgency in the DRC, as the insurgency grew out of the majority faction within the so-called 'Allied Democratic Forces' that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. To all African governments: I advise you for the sake of clarity to stop calling Islamic State insurgencies by the names of the groups in which they originated.

Below are today's suicide bombing claims by the Islamic State, translated by me:

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Overnight there were reports of an attempt to assassinate Iraq's prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi via a drone strike. The capabilities displayed in this attack seem to suggest that it was unlikely the Islamic State was involved. Given Kadhimi's tensions with some of the pro-Iranian factions, there are suspicions that one of them could be behind the attack. That said, figures from the main pro-Iranian factions with political influence have largely condemned the attack so far, as has Iran. A somewhat different tone is struck by 'Abu Ali al-Askary,' who is reportedly a leading official in Kata'ib Hezbollah. It is certainly possible that one of the newer brands of pro-Iranian armed groups that claim attacks on U.S. forces in the country and have murky relations with the 'mainstream' factions and Iran are behind the assassination attempt. It seems unlikely though that any group will claim the attack.

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