Turkey is ready to collaborate with the USA on the issue of fighting Islamic State. As a step towards defeating the IS, ground forces of IS should be destroyed. As the main base, Al-Raqqa is the stronghold of the IS in the Syria and pushing IS fighters from the Al-Raqqa will lead to the falling of the IS movement in Syria, and conversion of current conventional war into guerilla, with the eliminating of IS in Syria. According to the Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey: “Raqqa is the most important center of Daesh”. 

A government offensive on southern outskirts of Aleppo ended in success and cut off a vital supply line that ran through the Ramouseh district, reimposing a blockade on Eastern, rebel controlled part of the city. Government forces had managed to put Aleppo under siege before, in July, when they took control of strategic Catello Road north of Aleppo, but the opposition forces managed to win back a supply corridor in the south in August. The corridor has been now closed, cutting an estimated 300,000 inhabitants of Eastern Aleppo from basic supplies.

According to Turkish minister of EU affairs Omer Celik “We do not accept in any circumstances a 'compromise or a ceasefire reached between Turkey and Kurdish elements”. The statement revealed after the US statement, which pronounced the agreement on a ceasefire between the Turkish-backed rebels and Kurdish forces – SDF, near Jarablus area. According to US sources, US received assurance that all anti-ISIL fighters in the region reached a deal on the ceasefire. Colonel of US Central Command told: “It is a loose agreement for at least the next couple of days and we are hoping that will solidify".

The ministry of defense of Tunisia announced that three Tunisian soldiers have been killed in an explosion, near the Algerian border. The army spokesman, Belhassen Ouslati, explained that they were killed in a landmine blast, followed by multiple clashes in the Mount Sammama area. Even if there has been no claim of responsibility, it is well-known that Jihadis linked to al-Qaida use this mountainous region as a base. Since 2011, Tunisia is a model of democracy in a region wracked by violence and instability. However, the new Prime Minister Youssef Chahed will have to cope with the threat of Islamist incursions, especially bad for the tourism industry.

In accordance with a deal struck on Thursday, about 700 rebel fighters and 4,00 civilians began to leave Daraya. The town, located in Damascus suburbs, has been under siege for the last 4 years. The deal will allow the rebels to reach Idlib province which is not controlled by the government, provided they leave all heavy weapons. Civilians, on the other hand, will be relocated to temporary accommodations in Sahnaya near Damascus. Daraya was one of the first places that rose in arms against Bashar al-Asad’s regime and the negotiated surrender is both a symbolic and military victory for the government.

Iraqi Parliament voted 142 to 102 on Thursday, August 25, to withdraw confidence from the Defence Minister, Khaled al-Obeidi. Corruption charges concerning a weapons contract were the official reason behind the no-confidence motion, but the personal conflict between al-Obeidi and parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi was the primary driver. The resignation of defence minister would leave two most important security posts in the government empty, as the Interior Minister resigned in July.