₦airaland Forum

🇺🇸 American troops and equipment exited via Jordan as Damascus moves to take over the last US-held base. The last remaining US troops in Syria left their base in Hasakah on Thursday, ending a 10-year presence in the country aimed at fighting the Islamic State group, Syrian officials told Middle East Eye.

Following the withdrawal of US forces, the Syrian military entered the last base previously under American control, known as Qasrak, which included an airstrip. A Syrian official told MEE that the withdrawal had been completed.

Charles Lister, a prominent Syria expert, said in a social media post that the force that took over the base was the Syrian army’s 60th Division, composed primarily of Kurdish fighters affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a longtime US partner force.

Lister also said that US troops and equipment left Syria via Jordan in order to avoid possible attacks by Iranian-backed paramilitaries in Iraq.

In a statement later on Thursday, the Syrian foreign ministry said that it welcomed “the completed handover of military sites where United States forces were previously present in Syria to the Syrian government”.

The ministry added that the completion of the handover of these sites also reflects the successful integration of the SDF into national structures, and “the Syrian state’s assumption of full responsibility for combating terrorism and addressing regional threats on its territory”.

The US decision to withdraw followed President Ahmed al-Sharaa's defeat of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 after more than a decade of civil war.

Washington, which backs Sharaa's new government, previously had around 1,000 US troops in Syria.

Earlier this year, the US helped facilitate an agreement between the SDF and Damascus, under which the Syrian government agreed to take the lead in combating militant groups like IS.

Earlier this year, US forces also withdrew from two major American bases in Syria: southern al-Tanf and al-Shaddadi in the northeast.

dermmy:
We knew this when he posted "One civilization will die tonight" the dranged PDFile was weighing the nuclear option.

🇺🇸 U.S. President Donald Trump was denied access to his nation's nuclear codes by a high-ranking U.S. military official, according to explosive reports.

According to the newspaper, the US President was stopped by General Dan Caine.

Ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson said on the popular YouTube program Judging Freedom that during an emergency meeting on Saturday, Trump attempted to access the nuclear codes.

"One report coming out of that meeting at the White House is that Trump wanted to... use the nuclear codes, and General Dan Caine stood up and said 'No'. He invoked his privilege as the head of the military, so to speak. It was apparently quite a blow-up.

There's some very bizarre things going on in DC." It comes amid growing concern about the president's erratic behavior - just days ago, Trump made a disturbing sex comment on stage that stunned his audience into silence.

The nuclear code allegations have not been verified, and it remains unclear what purpose the nuclear codes alone would serve if accessed. However, this follows reports that Trump was excluded from the Situation Room by military advisors during a crucial Iran rescue mission.

The U.S. President was allegedly kept out of deliberations due to worries about his explosive temperament. Senior administration officials feared his unpredictability could jeopardize the operation.

After the destruction of a US aircraft by Iranian forces earlier this month, Trump reportedly spent hours shouting at staff in the West Wing while being tormented by recollections of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

morikee:
Why are you booking too many spaces

🇮🇷 Iranian forces seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to Iranian state media, just hours after President Donald Trump initially calmed fears of renewed violence by extending his ceasefire with Iran indefinitely.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said it seized the MSC-Francesca and the Epaminondas and moved them to the Iranian coastline, according to a statement published on state media.

“Disruption of order and safety in the Strait of Hormuz is our red line,” the IRGC Navy said. It accused the ships of operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems.

The ships seized by Iran reported coming under attack earlier Wednesday, one said an IRGC gunboat fired on it and “caused heavy damage to the bridge,” about 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman.

The second reported an attack eight nautical miles off Iran’s coast, but did not identify the attackers. Both incidents were reported by the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO), a monitoring agency that is part of the British Royal Navy, without identifying the ships.

The Iranian seizures represent a serious escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, where a battle for control of the vital waterway had emerged as a major stumbling block in negotiations to end the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

Trump announced the ceasefire extension Tuesday night in a social media post just as the deal was due to expire, to allow Iran’s “seriously fractured” leadership time to “come up with a unified proposal” to end the war.

The move was announced with no new concession by Tehran — a sign that the president is eager for a way out of what has become an increasingly costly and unpopular war.

Pro-Russian former President Rumen Radev, who is set for a runaway victory in Bulgaria’s election according to exit polls, said Europe has fallen victim to its own ambition to be a moral leader https://t.co/GU6RiCB5RP pic.twitter.com/o763fen0Ij

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 20, 2026