thanks to our guests, alexey khlebnikov, omer ozkizilcik and joshua landis. can see the program again by visiting our website, for further discussion go to our facebook page at facebook.com/ajinsidestory, you can join the conversation on x, the handle is @ajinsidestory. goodbye for now. ♪ eric tlozek: the lowest place on earth, the dead sea, is slipping away. it's been the site of dramatic biblical stories, and the area is still contested today. david elhayani: this is the promised land by god to the jewish. eric: for millennia, treasured for its healing powers. male: i have skin issues, and the sea, when you're in it for a couple hours, it almost takes everything away. female: you're flowing. it's feeling wonderful, like, ooh. eric: modern-day pilgrims still come to bathe in the

we have joshua landis, director of the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma and editor of the syria comment blog. a warm welcome to you all, and thanks so much for joining us today on inside story. joshua, let me start with you today. was this the most coordinated use of drones when it comes to an attack in syria against the government that we've seen, and from your vantage point, who might be behind this attack? well, there are a number of groups that could be behind it, but this is definitely what we're seeing today is a major up scaling of the technology being used by the opposition. now the opposition has been using drones since 2018 um russia set at the head shot down or captured over 200 drawings and in 2020. so this has been a constant effort on the part of the opposition groups in england to carry out effective drawn strikes. this by far is the most um, you know, is the most damaging strike to the syrian for shipment is going to cause a big change in the way the word is carried out. and as we're seeing already, the syrian government is retaliating with, w