BBC urges caution in Sinai plane crash
Thank goodness someone is. Thus far we have evidence of a midair breakup and a heat flash. A bomb may have been responsible, but the evidence is also consistent with a fuel tank explosion and an engine explosion. Investigators will look for shrapnel, traces of explosives, and fuselage damage from internal or external force. Let’s wait.
US deploys F-15 fighters to Turkey
The planes are equipped for air-to-air combat and will likely be used to deter Russian and Syrian fighters form intercepting western air support for rebel groups.
Iranian officers balk at service in Syria?
A London-based new outfit reports that IRGC officers are refusing to serve in the increasingly costly war in Syria. However, it is unlikely that significant numbers of IRGC personnel are refusing. The IRGC is staunchly nationalistic and religious, and the war is not unpopular in Iran. One or two such cases are not a trend and do not signify a problem.
These stats are noteworthy: “165 Iranian nationals, 154 Afghan nationals, and 26 Pakistani nationals – all Shiites – have been killed in combat in Syria since January 2013.”
Iran organizing Afghan refugees to fight in Syria
The Hazaras are a Shia people who live in central Afghanistan and who suffered greatly under Taliban rule. Some are fleeing the country into Iran where they are recruited to fight in the war in Syria. The US would much prefer the Hazaras fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.