Russian President Vladimir Putin has made waves of late with his military offensive in Syria, and now he has on-the-ground backing of the Cuban variety. One of the world’s leading centers for research on Cuba has released breaking details of the Castro regime’s presence in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation.

The Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami shared via email on October 13, 2015, that General Leopoldo Cintra Frías, head of the Cuban Armed Forces, had already landed in Syria. He is, they write, “leading a group of Cuban military personnel … in support of Syria’s dictator Assad” and, in Cold War fashion, the Russian contingent.

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A representative of civil society groups in eastern Congo says rebels have killed at least seven civilians in two attacks.

Omar Kavota said Monday that rebels from the Allied Defense Forces-NALU launched attacks against Congo’s military and during clashes in Mukoko four civilians were killed. He said members of the group also attacked the army in Tenambo, killing three civilians and injuring four. Fighting continued in the villages near the town of Beni in Congo’s North Kivu province.

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At least 22 militants were killed and six hideouts were destroyed in military air strikes carried out in North Waziristan tribal region of northern Pakistan, said the military on Sunday.

According to the Pakistani military’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets carried out aerial strikes close to Pak-Afghan border ahead of Datta Khel area killing 22 terrorists.

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Iraqi security forces said on October 11 that they bombed the convoy of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an air strike near the country’s border with Syria, though his fate remained unknown.

“Iraqi air forces have bombed the convoy of the terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi while he was heading to Karabila to attend a meeting with Daesh (IS) commanders,” Iraq’s security forces said in a joint statement.

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Three explosions killed 37 people Saturday in a Chadian city on the shores of Lake Chad, security sources said, in the latest atrocity blamed on the Nigerian jihadi group Boko Haram.

Another 52 people were reportedly wounded in the attacks that struck at around 4 p.m., the sources said, with one blast targeting the fish market at Baga Sola and the other two occurring at a refugee camp on the outskirts of the city.

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At least 95 people were killed in twin explosions Saturday outside the main train station in the Turkish capital Ankara where protesters were gathering for a peace march, the government said.

Graphic pictures from the scene showed several bodies covered by flags and placards, with bloodstains visible and body parts scattered in the road. Officials said 248 people were hurt, 48 of them seriously.

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The Karen State Border Guard Force clashed Thursday with a splinter faction of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) near Kaw Moo village on the old Kawkareik-Myawaddy road in Karen State.

The fighting took place at 10 am and clashes continued until 2 pm, according to Col. San Aung of the splinter group.

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