Soldiers

Dec. 25 (UPI) — The remains of two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in an ambush in Syria arrived at the Iowa National Guard base in Des Moines, with funeral services for both scheduled for this weekend.

The bodies of Staff Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard and Staff Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar were carried off a KC-135 on Wednesday afternoon at the base as Gov. Kim Reynolds, Sen. Joni Ernst, U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, leaders from the Guard and their families looked on, Iowa Public Radio and KCCI Des Moines reported.

“Today’s honorable transfer of Sgt. Howard and Sgt. Torres-Tovar marks their return to Iowa,” Reynolds said in a post on X. “They can now be laid to rest after making the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation.”

Howard and Torres-Tovar, who were promoted to the rank of staff sergeant posthumously, and a civilian U.S. interpreter were killed in an attack in Palmyra, Syria, on Dec. 13, in a lone gunman attack.

Their flag-draped caskets were saluted by Ernst, Nunn and Guard leaders before their families had a moment alone with them.

Iowa state and Des Moines police officers then escorted processions to Marshalltown, where Howard’s visitation and funeral will be held on Saturday, and south Des Moines, where Torres-Tovar’s visitation will be held Sunday, ahead of his funeral and burial on Monday.

Three other Guard members were also injured in the attack, two of whom are receiving treatment in the United States, while the other was treated in Syria.

Eight-month-old among multiple Palestinians wounded in attacks across the occupied West Bank.

Five Israeli settlers have been arrested over their alleged involvement in an attack on a Palestinian home that wounded an eight-month-old baby in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the infant suffered “moderate injuries to the face and head” in the attack that took place late on Wednesday involving “a group of armed settlers” who were throwing stones at homes and property in the town of Sair, north of Hebron.

Israeli police on Thursday said five settlers were arrested after they received reports of “stones being thrown by Israeli civilians toward a Palestinian home”.

Israeli settlements and outposts are Jewish-only communities built on Palestinian land that are illegal under international law. They can range in size from a single dwelling to a collection of high rises. About 700,000 settlers live in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli advocacy group Peace Now.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, a 17-year-old boy was shot and dozens of Palestinians suffered tear gas inhalation during an Israeli army raid in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, Wafa reported.

The report added that “Israeli forces carried out a widespread incursion into the town, firing live bullets and tear gas canisters across its neighborhoods”.

Israeli forces also detained three Palestinians from Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, after settler attacks.

Also in Masafer Yatta, Israeli forces raided homes and tents belonging to residents, searched them and vandalised their contents before detaining one resident.

Another Palestinian man was wounded in a settler attack in the town of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah.

Local sources said armed settlers attacked homes near the village entrance, resulting in minor injuries to a young man.

British tourists have been warned by the Foreign Office after deadly fighting erupted between two countries, with rockets fired across the border and travel insurance likely voided in affected areas

British holidaymakers travelling along a well-trodden backpacking trail have been issued a stark warning by the Foreign Office following deadly clashes between two neighbouring nations.

The UK Foreign Office issued an urgent notice to all travellers heading to Thailand and Cambodia this holiday season – as parts of the country grapple with “regular attacks”.

Residents in areas of Thailand and Cambodia sought refuge last week as both countries launched volleys of rockets across their shared frontier. Both nations have blamed each other for violating a Trump-mediated ceasefire that brought an end to intense five-day hostilities earlier this year.

Authorities have urged British holidaymakers to avoid travelling within 50km of Thailand’s entire border with Cambodia. The only exceptions are a few islands, which should only be visited if absolutely necessary. These include Koh Chang, Koh Kood and the other islands in between.

If you’re planning a trip to Thailand, make sure to read all of the Foreign Office advice.

The escalation comes as Cambodia’s senate president Hun Sen vowed to mount a fierce battle against Thailand. Last week’s unrest included brutal airstrikes and saw at least 20 people killed.

An orange alert has been issued, covering Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat Province, alongside the districts of Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi, and Saba Yoi in southern Songkhla Province.

Approximately one million UK citizens travel to Thailand annually. In recent years, it has become commonplace for some visitors to take brief excursions over the land crossing into Cambodia by catching a coach from Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.

However, the frontier has remained shut for most of this year due to violent outbreaks, with current UK Foreign Office guidance as of this week advising that British citizens should steer clear of “all but essential travel” to areas within 31 miles of Thailand’s border with Cambodia.

The guidance states: “Land borders and crossings between Thailand and Cambodia continue to be suspended. Some tourist destinations in border areas, such as the Khao Phra Wihan/Preah Vihear temple, the Ta Kwai/Ta Krabey temple, and the Ta Muen Thom/Tamone Thom temple, are closed. There are also unexploded landmines in the border area. We advise against all but essential travel to the affected border areas.”

Whilst travelling to a region marked as ‘essential travel only’ by the Foreign Office isn’t against the law, doing so will likely invalidate your travel insurance – even if it remains valid in other parts of the same nation considered safe. This leaves you personally responsible for expenses such as medical emergencies, cancellations, or repatriation, and securing help from the British Embassy becomes considerably more challenging should problems arise.

What’s the reason behind the Thailand and Cambodia conflict and what part did Donald Trump play?

The ongoing strife between Thailand and Cambodia is a flare-up of a border disagreement that has been simmering for several decades, which until this year had only led to occasional skirmishes.

In May, the death of a Cambodian soldier in one such skirmish sparked an intensification of hostilities, culminating in five days of full-scale warfare in July. The fallout saw at least 48 fatalities and displaced 300,000 people.

A peace agreement mediated by Donald Trump was inked by the Thai and Cambodian governments in Malaysia in October, with the US President having threatened to withhold trade deals with either nation if they rejected the pact. However, this week saw a resumption of hostilities after the ceasefire was violated – with each party pointing the finger at the other for firing the first shot.

Thailand’s military alleges that Cambodia launched an assault on Thai positions with artillery, rockets and drone strikes earlier in December, following accusations of previous attacks in the days before. Conversely, Cambodia asserts that Thai forces initiated the conflict, in the Preah Vihear province.

Three US soldiers have been killed in an attack in Syria’s central city of Palmyra.

It is the first known deadly attack on US forces since former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was deposed last year. Washington has accused the ISIL (ISIS) group of carrying out the assault.

The government in Damascus has expanded its ties with Washington and joined a coalition to fight the ISIL group.

But how much of a security challenge is ISIL in Syria?

Will the US now reinforce its military presence? What risks could that pose?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Colin Clarke – executive director of The Soufan Center

Dareen Khalifa – senior adviser at the International Crisis Group

Orwa Ajjoub – PhD candidate in global politics, focusing on armed groups in Syria

Kim Jong Un participates in latest public event to honour North Korean troops who served with Russian forces in war against Ukraine.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has hugged injured soldiers in wheelchairs at a ceremony in the capital, Pyongyang, to welcome home troops who served with Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.

State-run Korean Central News Agency said on Saturday that Kim praised the “mass heroism” of the returning 528th Regiment of Engineers of the Korean People’s Army, which had served in Russia’s Kursk region.

Kim hailed the regiment’s conduct during its 120-day overseas deployment, which commenced in early August and involved combat and engineering duties, including mine clearing in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian forces had infiltrated and occupied for months before withdrawing.

“You could work a miracle of turning a vast area of danger zone into a safe and secure one in a matter of less than three months, the task which was believed to be impossible to be carried out even in several years,” Kim said, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

“The armed villains of the West, armed with whatever latest military hardware they are, cannot match this revolutionary army with an unfathomable spiritual depth,” Kim added at the ceremony on Friday.

The North’s leader also spoke of the “heartrending loss” of nine members of the regiment and announced that the unit would be conferred with the Order of Freedom and Independence. The deceased troops would also be honoured with the title Hero of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, KCNA said, referring to North Korea’s official name.

Video footage of the ceremony released by North Korea showed uniformed soldiers disembarking from an aircraft and Kim embracing soldiers seated in wheelchairs, as other soldiers and officials gathered to welcome the troops.

The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed last month that North Korean troops, who had helped Russia repel Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk, were now involved in clearing the area of mines.

Concluding a key meeting of his ruling Workers’ Party of Korea on Thursday, Kim also praised the deployment of North Korean troops in support of Russia’s war on Ukraine, saying it “demonstrated to the world the prestige of our army”.

North Korea’s “ever-victorious army” was the “genuine protector of international justice”, Kim said.

Under a mutual defence pact between Moscow and Pyongyang, an estimated 14,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed to fight for Russia, with the number of those killed or wounded ranging between 3,000 and 4,000.

The welcoming ceremony held on Friday marks the latest event to publicly honour North Korean soldiers who served in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

In October, Kim was featured embracing weeping soldiers at a ground-breaking ceremony for a planned memorial to those who fought for Russia, and in June, state media showed Kim draping coffins with the national flag in what appeared to be the repatriation of soldiers’ remains from Russia.