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Russia's deputy foreign minister met Wednesday with leading diplomats from Iran and Iraq to discuss combating Islamist extremist groups and the future of Syria.

With the U.S. minimizing efforts to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assadand Iraq expressing weariness of the U.S.'s extended presence in its country, Russia has become an increasingly important power broker in the region. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister MikhailBogdanov met in Moscow with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari and Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Nazar Khairallahto emphasize the "principled position of the three countries" on Syria. All threeexpressed support for Assad in a lengthy war pitting his armed forces against jihadists and opposition groups, according to Syria's pro-government Al-Watan newspaper and Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Related: U.S. is working with Russia to prevent a new war in Syria, Tillerson says

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Bogdanov also took the opportunity to attack the U.S.'s most recent round of sanctions against his country.The Russian diplomat called the sanctions "absolutely unlawful" and said they would further alienate the U.S. at a time where Washington is seeking to work more closely with Moscow in the Middle East and on other international affairs.

"This is sad, it affects our bilateral relations," Bogdanov said, according to the state-run TassRussian news agency. "I think that it does not add optimism regarding the possibility for us to coordinate our approaches towards a whole range of regional issues, including our relations with such an important partner and neighbor as Iran."

People celebrate carrying Russian and Syrian national flags inside Waer district, after rebel fighters and their families evacuated the besieged district in the central Syrian city of Homs, following an agreement was reached between rebels and Syria's army, May 21, 2017. Since intervening on the Syrian government's behalf in 2015, Russia has become the leading international power in the war-torn country, overshadowing the U.S. Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

Russia and Iran, against which the U.S. also recently rolled out more sanctions, have grown closer over their mutual support for Assad, who the U.S. accuses of carrying out human rights abuses. Both countries have contributed money and military power to bolster the beleaguered Syrian military, allowing it to retakemuch of the territory previously lost to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and other insurgentstrying to topple the government since 2011. Tehran took the unprecedented step last year of allowing Russian planes to use its territory to bomb positions in Syria, and the two countries managed to draw Turkey, which deeply opposes Assad, intopeace talks following the Syrian government's recapture of Aleppo in December.

Assad's comeback coincided with a greater U.S. focus on fighting ISIS and a decline in U.S. support for rebel groups. The CIA ultimately cut links to the Syrian opposition, leaving only Pentagon support for the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mostly Kurdish alliance of Arabs and ethnic minorities deeply involved in fighting ISIS. While Kurdish forces, such as the People's Protection Units (YPG), have seen major successes in battling ISIS across northern Syria, their popularity islimited among the rest of the mostlyArab country. Special Operations Command head Raymond Thomas said last month that, once ISIS is defeated, the U.S.'s counterterrorism mandate in Syria will likely expire, but not Russia's.

The U.S.'s influence in Iraq may also be waning, in Russia's favor. Last week, Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki visited Moscow to make an appeal for close relations with Russia in order to "balance" the U.S. and its agenda. Just two days earlier, Iraqi Defense MinisterIrfan al-Hiyali met with his Iranian counterpart to talk about greater cooperation between the two countries. After nearly15 consecutive years of U.S. presence in Iraq, Baghdad appears to be looking elsewhere for future security ties.

Two Iraqis take a selfie while stepping on a U.S. flag during a parade marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) International Day organized by the Popular Mobilization Forces in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, June 23. Iran's growing influence in Iraq and Syria has presented a serious challenge to U.S. interests. HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Both the U.S. and Iran played a major role in beating ISIS in Iraq. The U.S.-led international coalition lent its support to the Iraqi military and Kurdish forces, while Iran backed the majority-Shiite Muslim Popular Mobilization Units, which Iraq ultimately recognized as part of the country's official armed forces. Last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared ISIS defeated in its former stronghold of Mosul, but tensions remain between some local fighters and the U.S. The Iran-backedIraqi Hezbollah Brigadescalled for the withdrawal of the U.S., which spokesperson Jafar al-Husseini accused of trying to sabotage a potential alliance between the "resistance axis" of Iran, Iraq and Syria.

"The goal of the Americans is to control the Iraqi-Syrian border and isolate the axis powers," Husseini said, according to Iraqi journalist Muntather al-Omri. "We won't allow any American presence in Iraq under any circumstance."

Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria maintain a joint intelligence sharing operation known as the 4+1, which includes the Iran-backed, Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah of Lebanon. In addition to Russia's involvement with these countries, it has reportedly established relationships with Egypt and Libyan military leader KhalifaHaftar in an effort to extend its sphere of influence in the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

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Russia, Not the US, is Now Calling the Shots in the Middle East With Iran and Iraq - Newsweek

If Argentina can raise money for 100 years, and Greece can print bonds despite still being in a bailout -- then why not Iraq?

The war-torn country has defied conventional logic by issuing a $1 billion five-year security on Wednesday, without the backing of the U.S.The state's declaration of victory over Islamic State in Mosul, the country's second-largest city, has clearly provided the impetus to brave issuing debt on its own.

Investor demand was huge -- the deal was seven times oversubscribed. This enabled the lead managers to lower the indicated yield by 25 basis points to a final 6.75 percent. This is lower than what's available from a similar Ukraine bond, though it is well above the recent five-year issue from Greece, which trades at 4.6 percent. The credit ratings are similar.

Joining The Club

Iraq's yield is within what's appropriate, given where peers are trading.

Source: Bloomberg

So what's the appeal? Iraq does have the benefit of being able to export oil again.Holders of the 2028 bond comprise all the major emerging market investors, and it is likely they have queued up to take part in this new deal. An issue of this size will enter the emerging market bond indexes, and with an order book so strong it is likely to perform well. It becomes a self-fulfilling must-buy if investors are not to underperform their peers.

Iraq's bond oversubscribed by a factor of

7

But that should not be an investment principle.

Welcome Territory

The yield on Iraq's existing 10-year bond has dropped steadily, creating perfect conditions to issue new debt

Source: Bloomberg

This is another example of the insatiable demand for yield that so worries central banks and market commentators. This would seem to define the very idea of a credit bubble: A wholly insufficient reward for what must be seen as a considerable risk, as Iraq is still in the midst of a serious civil conflict in the most unstable region in the world.

Return of capital seems to have taken a back seat to a decent coupon.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story: Marcus Ashworth in London at mashworth4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jennifer Ryan at jryan13@bloomberg.net

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Iraq Sells Bonds. Greed Beats Fear. - Bloomberg

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 2, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 12 strikes consisting of 16 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 10 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed three ISIS wellheads.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIS oil refinery.

-- Near Raqqa, seven strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, two ISIS headquarters, an improvised explosive device, an ammunition cache and a fuel supply point.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of six engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed a piece of ISIS engineering equipment and a front-end loader.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne bomb.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four front-end loaders, a supply cache and a command-and-control node.

Previous Strikes

Additionally, seven strikes consisting of 10 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 30-31 that closed within the last 24 hours.

-- On July 30, near Raqqa, Syria, four strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units.

-- On July 31, near Raqqa, Syria, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units.

-- On July 31, near Kisik, Iraq, a strike illuminated an area.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

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Coalition Strikes Target ISIS in Syria, Iraq - Department of Defense

Samantha Bee is globetrotting again.

While the travel plans of any of TVs late night hosts may not be of high interest to the average person, Bees viewers may take note. In previous outings, Bee has journeyed to Russia and Jordan among other places, to eye-popping effect: She met with people in the former who actively spread misinformation on social media hoping to confuse Americans and discovered in the latter Syrian refugees who wanted to come to America.

On Wednesday night at 10:30 p.m. eastern, she will be at it again. Her Full Frontal program on TBS will this evening kick off a two-part look at a recent trip she made to Iraq, where she surprisingly, perhaps found a few things to laugh at, including a young boy named Trump.

Traveling is a critical piece of the show that I would never want to do without, said Bee in an interview, and a reason why she would not want to do a daily program. It would really deprive me of the opportunity to go places and do field pieces and learn about the world. Its a nice opportunity to go places and travel on someone elses dime. Im only half kidding. During her reporting, Bee also met with female soldiers and people at refugee camps.

Her journeys are becoming a bigger part of TVs regular late-night hijinks, where several of the genres most popular hosts have discovered that exploring far-flung places can result in work that stands apart from the pack. Conan OBrien, Bees TBS colleague, has over the last few years traveled to Cuba and Armenia, among other places. HBOs John Oliver has raised eyebrows by visiting Edward Snowden in Russia and the Dalai Lama in Tibet. And CBS Stephen Colbert recently flew to Russia, and the segments he devised created a weeks worth of material.

Bee, field producer Razan Ghalayini and a crew spent about four days shooting material in Iraq (Ghalayini, who has proven instrumental in finding people on the ground to interview in past travel segments, was there for several more days). In tonights segment, Bee discovers Iraqi Kurds love President Trump so much so they are willing to name their kids after him.

Producers were trying to track down one child with the name they had seen on CNN, Ghalayini said, but security reasons prevented them from getting to find him. Instead, she says, we were tracking down four or five babies. Among Kurds, its a real buyers market for babies named Trump, Bee joked, noting that no one was trying to buy a child.

We really started to figure out that the Kurds loved Trump,and so we thought we should make our first pro-Trump field piece, said Ghalayini.

Bee and her producers and crew spent two-plus hours in 110-degree heat to get man-on-the-street interviews only to find they were not able to talk to any women. None made an appearance on the darkened street they were on, said Bee. It was a very pleasant outdoor summer evening scene, she said. It was just completely free of women. Her program, Full Frontal, is decidedly not.

Here is the original post:
Samantha Bee Travels to Iraq in Latest 'Full Frontal' Journey - Variety

KABUL (Reuters) - Attacks on the Iraqi embassy and a Shi'ite mosque in Afghanistan have reinforced fears that Islamic State militants are seeking to bring the group's Middle East conflict to Central Asia, though evidence of fighters relocating from Iraq and Syria remains elusive.

Islamic State said it carried out Monday's attack against the embassy in Kabul, which began with a suicide bomber blowing himself up at the compound's main gate, allowing gunmen to enter the building and battle security forces.

The group also claimed responsibility for an attack Tuesday that killed at least 29 and wounded more than 63 at a Shi'ite mosque in Herat, an area in western Afghanistan that had previously escaped Islamic State's sectarian attacks.

The choice of target in the Iraqi embassy attack, three weeks after the fall of Mosul to Iraqi troops, appeared to back up repeated warnings from Afghan security officials that, as Islamic State fighters were pushed out of Syria and Iraq, they risked showing up in Afghanistan.

"This year we're seeing more new weapons in the hands of the insurgents and an increase in numbers of foreign fighters," said Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Gen. Dawlat Waziri. "They are used in front lines because they are war veterans."

One senior security official put the number of foreigners fighting for both Islamic State and the Taliban in Afghanistan at roughly 7,000, most operating across the border from their home countries of Pakistan, Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, but also including others from countries such as India.

While such foreign fighters have long been present in Afghanistan, there has been growing concern that militants from Arab countries, who have left the fighting in Syria as pressure on Islamic State there has grown, have also been arriving in Afghanistan through Iran.

"We are not talking about a simple militant fighter, we are talking about battle-hardened, educated and professional fighters in the thousands," another security official said.

"They are more dangerous because they can and will easily recruit fighters and foot soldiers here."

The United States, which first came to Afghanistan in 2001 after Al Qaeda's attacks on New York and Washington, is considering sending more troops to Afghanistan, in part to ensure the country does not become a haven for foreign militant groups.

But while Afghan and U.S. officials have long warned of the risk that foreign fighters from Syria could move over to Afghanistan, there has been considerable scepticism over how many have actually done so.

In April, during a visit to Kabul by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, said that, while ISIS had an "aspiration" to bring in fighters from Syria, "we haven't seen it happen".

U.S. commanders say that, in partnership with Afghan security forces, they have severely reduced Islamic State's strength over the past year with a combination of drone strikes and Special Forces operations.

But according to Afghan intelligence documents reviewed by Reuters, security officials believe Islamic State is present in nine provinces, from Nangarhar and Kunar in the east to Jawzjan, Faryab and Badakhshan in the north and Ghor in the central west.

"In recent operations, we have inflicted heavy losses on them but their focus is to recruit fighters from this area," said Juma Gul Hemat, police chief of Kunar, an eastern province where Islamic State fighters pushed out of their base in neighboring Nangarhar have increasingly sought refuge.

"They are not only from Pakistan or former Taliban, there are fighters from other countries and other small groups have pledged their allegiance to them," he said.

Afghan officials say newly arrived foreign fighters have been heavily involved in fighting in Nangarhar province, Islamic State's main stronghold in Afghanistan, where they have repeatedly clashed with the Taliban.

Security officials say they are still investigating Monday's embassy attack and it is too early to say whether there was any foreign influence or involvement.

Islamic State put out a statement identifying two of the attackers as Abu Julaybib Al-Kharasani and Abu Talha Al-Balkhi, Arabic names that nonetheless suggest Afghan origins. Khorasan is an old name for the Central Asian region that includes Afghanistan, while Balkh is a province in northern Afghanistan.

What little contact is possible with fighters loyal to Islamic State in Afghanistan suggests that the movement itself is keen to encourage the idea that foreign militants are joining its ranks.

"We have our brothers in hundreds from different countries," said an Islamic State commander in Achin district of Nangarhar.

"Most of them have families and homes that were destroyed by the atrocity and brutality of the infidel forces in Arab countries, especially by the Americans," he said. "They can greatly help us in terms of teaching our fighters new tactics, with weapons and other resources."

Editing by Alex Richardson

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Embassy, mosque attacks fuel fears ISIS bringing Iraq war to Afghanistan - Reuters