Car Bomb Kills at Least 11 in Jableh

At least 11 civilians were killed by a car bomb in the government-held coastal town of Jableh on Thursday, BBC News reported.

The blast took place in a crowded commercial area, injuring 35 other people, according to the Syrian state-run news agency SANA. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the death toll was as high as 15.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast yet. Attacks claimed by ISIS resulted in the deaths of 45 people in Jableh last May.

Russian Military to Reduce Presence in Syria

Russia’s defense ministry has announced it is scaling back its military presence in Syria, reports AFP.

Moscow’s sole aircraft carrier will be the first to leave, heading for its home port in the Arctic Circle, followed by the nuclear-powered Pyotr Veliky battlecruiser and the Severomorsk destroyer.

“The tasks set for the aircraft carrier group during its military mission have been fulfilled,” said Andrei Kartapolov, Russia’s main commander in Syria.

Aircraft on the carrier hit 1,252 “terrorist” targets during the its two-month deployment in Syria, Kartapolov said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin had initially announced a partial withdrawal of forces from Syria in March 2016, but the announcement was followed by an increased deployment in November.

“In accordance with the decision of the supreme commander of the Russian armed forces Vladimir Putin, the Russian defense ministry is beginning the reduction of the armed deployment to Syria,” said military chief Valery Gerasimov in a televised statement on Friday.

Putin ordered the scaling down of Russia’s military presence in Syria on December 29, following a Russian and Turkish brokered cease-fire.

U.S.-Backed Forces Seize Citadel Near Euphrates from ISIS

U.S.-backed forces have taken control of an ancient citadel in Raqqa province from ISIS, Reuters reported.

A spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they seized the Jabar citadel, located on the banks of Lake Assad, on Thursday.

This is a “victory for the Syrian people because liberating the citadel from Daesh [ISIS] is saving Syrian heritage,” the Syrian government’s antiquities chief, Maamoun Abdulkarim, told Reuters.

As a result, more than 150 prisoners currently held by ISIS, mostly Kurdish citizens, are being transported by the Islamic militants from the neighboring town of al-Tabaqa to territories east of Raqqa city, according to SOHR.

The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by the U.S., has also set its sights on taking control of a neighboring dam on the Euphrates River in its campaign against ISIS.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• The Christian Science Monitor: Russia and Turkey Close Ranks. A Victory for Putin?
• The Guardian: John Kerry Blames Britain for Derailing Obama’s Plan for Intervention in Syria
• Middle East Eye: Syria Was Never America’s to Lose
• Chatham House: How Ceasefires in Syria Became Another Tool of Warfare
• Los Angeles Times: After Islamic State Institutionalized Looting in Syria, the Market for Fake Antiquities is Booming