Al-Mayadeen: American soldiers were attacked in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria

Al-Mayadeen satellite channel reported that US Army soldiers were subjected to missile strikes in eastern Syria.

The channel reported that the incident occurred in the Koniko gas field area in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, where an American military base is located.

No information was available about the results of the attack.

Earlier, the Shiite militias warned the United States, in a statement distributed on its channel on the “Telegram” application, that it would increase the targeting of its sites in Syria and Iraq, in response to American military support for the Israeli army, which is killing civilians in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon.

Large parts of Al-Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa governorates, located in eastern and northeastern Syria, are under the control of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces supported by the United States.

The United States began deploying its bases in the region in 2015.

At the end of 2019, US President Donald Trump approved a plan requiring several hundred US forces to remain in Syria.

One of the main tasks of these forces is to ensure control over the oil fields in the northeast and east of the country.

For its part, Damascus considers the American military presence in Syria an illegal occupation.

6 countries share first place the most powerful passports in 2024, according to the “Henley” index.

Six countries share first place in terms of visa-free travel to a record number of destinations around the world, according to the Henley Most Powerful Passports Index for 2024.

Henley relies on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The list, according to the aforementioned classification, included France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and Singapore, whose citizens can visit 194 destinations out of 227 around the world without a visa.

Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and inventor of the Passport Index concept, says that although the general trend over the 19-year history of the ranking has been toward greater freedom of travel, the global mobility gap between the highest and lowest The index is now wider than ever.

He added: “The average number of destinations that travelers can reach without a visa has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024. As we enter the new year, the top-ranked countries are now able to travel to a further 166 countries, which is an amazing number.” “Visa-free destinations compared to Afghanistan, which is at the bottom of the rankings with visa-free access to only 28 countries.”

South Korea joins Finland and Sweden in second place with the ability to travel without a visa to 193 destinations, and Austria, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands share third place, with access to 192 destinations.

The 10th position is largely dominated by European countries, with the UK rising two places to fourth place with visa-free access to 191 destinations compared to just 188 last year.

The Australian and New Zealand passport rankings improved to sixth place with 189 visa-free destinations, while the United States maintains seventh place with visa-free access to 188 destinations.

The UAE has added 106 destinations to its ranking since 2014, achieving a significant jump of 44 places in the rankings from 55th to 11th place.