A roadside bomb attack on the Homs-Masyaf highway injured 11 Syrian soldiers, highlighting the persistent security challenges in the country. Meanwhile, international scrutiny grows as the global chemical weapons watchdog raises concerns over Syria’s undeclared toxic arms stockpiles. In northern Syria, clashes between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed militias have resulted in multiple casualties, exacerbating tensions in the region. On the political front, Tulsi Gabbard’s past visit to Syria and meeting with President Bashar al-Assad continues to spark debate, with U.S. lawmakers expressing concerns over her potential nomination as Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence. These stories underline the ongoing complexities and challenges shaping Syria’s turbulent landscape.
11 Syrian Soldiers Injured in Roadside Bomb Attack on Homs-Masyaf Highway
Eleven soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army were injured in a terrorist attack targeting a military transport bus on the Homs-Masyaf highway, SANA news agency reported.
The attack occurred near the Al-Haisa village crossroads when an explosive device planted next to the road detonated as the bus passed. According to a source in the Homs Governorate, one of the injured soldiers is in critical condition.
All wounded personnel have been admitted to a military hospital for treatment. Authorities have not yet identified the perpetrators behind the attack, but investigations are underway.
This incident underscores the ongoing security challenges in Syria, where such attacks continue to threaten stability despite efforts to restore order.
Syria’s ‘Large Quantities’ Of Toxic Arms Serious Concern: Watchdog
The world’s chemical watchdog said Monday that it was “seriously concerned” by large gaps in Syria’s declaration about its chemical weapons stockpile, as large quantities of potentially banned warfare agents might be involved.
According to AFP, Syria agreed in 2013 to join the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, shortly after an alleged chemical gas attack killed more than 1,400 people near Damascus.
“Despite more than a decade of intensive work, the Syrian Arab Republic chemical weapons dossier still cannot be closed,” the watchdog’s director-general Fernando Arias told delegates at the OPCW’s annual meeting.
The Hague-based global watchdog has previously accused President Bashar al-Assad’s regime of continued attacks on civilians with chemical weapons during the Middle Eastern country’s brutal civil war.
Tensions rise between Turkish-backed factions, Kurdish forces in northern Syria
The Media Line reported that heavy fighting between Syrian Kurdish forces and Turkish-affiliated proxies near the northeastern city of Aleppo left more than a dozen people dead or injured, including combatants and civilians, an international war monitor reported Sunday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which relies on sources and informants within Syria, said the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an offensive on Turkish-held positions along the Al-Daghlabash frontline in the Aleppo countryside.
Fifteen fighters from the Ankara-backed Liberation and Construction Movement militia and other allied groups were killed during the “violent clashes,” which involved “heavy and medium weapons,” according to SOHR.
Throughout the day, SDF and Turkish-backed forces exchanged heavy fire in villages and cities within the “Euphrates Shield” area, with local sources reporting multiple civilian deaths and injuries.
Tulsi Gabbard faces ‘a lot of questions’ in the Senate about Syria visit, Republican lawmaker says
A Republican lawmaker has said that the Senate Intelligence Committee has “a lot of questions” for Tulsi Gabbard about a visit to Syria where she met with President Bashar al-Assad, The Independent reported.
Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, who sits on the committee, said he wants to know the “context” and “purpose” of her meeting with the Syrian dictator in 2017 before he backs her as Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence.
“We’ll have lots of questions. She met with Bashar Assad, we’ll wanna know what the purpose was and what the direction for that was, as a member of Congress,” Lankford told CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union.
“We’ll wanna get a chance to talk about past comments that she’s made and get them into full context.”
Lankford said the committee would “get everything out” about Gabbard, and referred to her being “outspoken” in the past.
Gabbard has previously made statements and comments that have been supportive of Russia and has denied crimes were committed by the Syrian regime. In 2017, as a Democratic House member from Hawaii, she flew to Syria for a meeting with Assad.
“We’re gonna go through hearings. We’re gonna get everything out. We’re gonna get facts and information and get the entire story,” Lankford said.
“She is somebody who has been very outspoken. She’s obviously a past member of the military. She’s a veteran herself.”
Despite Lankford’s remarks, several other Republicans have been quick to defend Gabbard after her nomination by Trump sparked renewed concerns about her past comments and ties to foreign governments.
Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and veteran of combat missions in Iraq, warned on Sunday that Gabbard is “compromised” over her statements about Russia and the trip to Syria.
“The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America’s foes. And so my worry is that she couldn’t pass a background check,” Duckworth also told State of the Union.
