Middle EastL China ‘to upgrade Syria military ties’

Guan Youfei, the Chinese military official charged with overseeing international cooperation, announced the development on Tuesday.

The official, who visited Syria for talks with Syrian Defense Minister Fahad Jassim al-Freij, said Beijing was seeking closer military ties with Damascus.

“The Chinese and Syrian militaries traditionally have a friendly relationship, and the Chinese military is willing to keep strengthening exchanges and cooperation with the Syrian military,” he said.

Youfei also said the two sides had “reached a consensus” on the Chinese military providing humanitarian aid to Syrians, without elaborating.

The Chinese official and al-Freij also discussed the enhancement of training for Syrian soldiers by the Chinese military.

The visit marks a new precedence, given China’s refusal in the past to proactively concern itself with the Syrian conflict.

China has, meanwhile, been vocally backing Russia’s anti-terrorism efforts in Syria, which has seen Moscow carrying out large-scale bombings of Takfiri militants there.

Read more: PressTV-China ‘to upgrade Syria military ties’

Middle East Terrorism: German army training Peshmerga fighters to fight ′IS′

Kurdish Peshmerga are being trained in Germany, honing their weapons and tactical skills. The battle against Islamic State militants in Iraq is a matter of life and death. Wolfgang Dick reports from Hammelburg.

Mines have become the greatest challenge in the bloody conflict against "Islamic State" (IS) militants. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), typically used as roadside bombs, are radio controlled bombs with enough explosive power to turn even tanks into rubble.

Meanwhile, in the grasslands of the Bundeswehr's large army training center in the Bavarian town of Hammelburg, ten Peshmerga fighters and their German instructors carefully traverse mud tracks.

The Peshmerga group is supposed to learn how to "see" things. Their objective is to find hidden explosives, which are, of course, inert for military training. Radio bomb antennas are often hidden in blades of grass or bushes. Stones piled up in an inconspicuous manner mark targets for passing vehicles to be blown up. Everything seems to be inconspicuous here.

Read more: German army training Peshmerga fighters to fight ′IS′ | Germany | DW.DE | 12.03.2015