Overnight on 23-24 March, the U.S. conducted airstrikes against forces described as being affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in eastern Syria (specifically in an area around 60km from Palmyra in the Homs desert), in response to what appears to have been an Iranian-launched drone attack on a maintenance facility in Hasakah province, killing an American contractor and wounding five U.S. personnel. The U.S. airstrikes appear to have killed at least two Syrian personnel, whose lives I document here, since we rarely hear in any detail about the people behind the statistics of casualties in these airstrikes.

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The security situation in Syria's southern province of Suwayda', which is formally under Syrian government control, continues to be problematic, with frequent incidents of kidnappings and other criminal activities. Recently, one individual called Osama Hamad al-Matni, who belonged to the local 'Faz'at Fakhr' faction, was found dead. Below is a very brief outline of his life.

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https://aymennaltamimi.substack.com/p/the-life-of-osama-ahmad-al-matni

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While the Islamic State has sought over the years to consolidate and streamline its official media output, the organisation does encourage supporters of the group to produce their own propaganda materials, seeing them as an important front in the media war for the cause. Occasionally, some material of historical value turns up in the realms of unofficial and supporting output.

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https://aymennaltamimi.substack.com/p/in-loving-memory-of-the-shuhada-stories

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It has been more than a month now since the initial earthquake whose epicentre was in southern Turkey, causing widespread damage in the southern Turkey-northwest Syria border areas. The aftermath of the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks are still being felt in the region. Among the affected localities is the village of Dudyan in north Aleppo province, presently located in the 'Euphrates Shield' zone controlled by 'revolutionary' factions supported by Turkey. The village is known for how it changed hands multiple times in the fighting between those factions and the Islamic State prior to the commencement of the Euphrates Shield operation.

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My friend Jasmine El-Gamal, who worked for twenty years in the realms of national security and 'counter-extremism,' has since transitioned to advising on and advocating for mental health awareness and care in the workplace, particularly in stressful environments. Not too long ago, she was profiled by Clara Galtier in the French newspaper Le Figaro. Besides editing the English translation of the article and translating it into Arabic, I also decided (as a novelty to mark her career transition) to render the French article into Latin, and the translation is presented below. Be sure to follow Jasmine as she recounts and intends to recount many of her interesting experiences from Iraq, Guantánamo Bay and Washington DC, among other places, while also hosting a podcast on mental health in the workplace that will feature some great interviews.

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