Syrian Civil War: News #3

>.<

sepheronx wrote:

ultron wrote:What they should do. Build 10,000 Sturmoviks and blast the crap out of every mujahid town and village. Numbers win wars. Fact.

I am not a supporter of genocide.  But I do understand that it is specifically these sunni muslims causing the problems.  So it is really a tough situation and I do feel for the whole of Syria and even the Sunni's that are trying to help fix their country and stop these terrorists.

If civilians support terrorists in any way, then they are just as bad as terrorists. Any hospital, any mosque, that is used to store arms, must be bombed. No exceptions. If German civilians were not carpet bombed in WW2, Germany would have never been beaten.

SAA and Hezzies are now counterattacking in Morek - with success.

How the hell could that city fall? Defensive positions were prepared for 2 weeks in advance, SAA withdrew from two villages in order to strengthen the Morek defense and then that city simply collapsed.

On the fun side: YahooNews is advertising Morek as THE most strategically important place in whole of Mid East.

Syria rebels seize key regime town on Hama-Aleppo road: monitor

http://news.yahoo.com/syria-rebels-seize-key-regime-town-hama-aleppo-095717057.html

Grasping at straws much...

Walther von Oldenburg wrote:How the hell could that city fall? Defensive positions were prepared for 2 weeks in advance, SAA withdrew from two villages in order to strengthen the Morek defense and then that city simply collapsed.

Morek fell because SAA tucked their tails and run the moment they saw Qaeda coming their way. SAA retreated after suffering 0 casualties. Qaeda are not afraid to die. SAA are cowards. SAA don't want a single scratch on their hair. SAA are no bodies compared to their Hezbollah allies. Heck, Hezbollah can take over the entire Syria in less than a week. SAA would rather surrender than fight. At this rate, Hama city is in danger of falling.

Look at how the Shia towns Zahra and Nubl are holding strong in the middle of nowhere. Shia will fight to the death and will never surrender or retreat. Can't say the same for Sunni Arabs.

There doesn't seem to be much fighting in Morek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcC51OuRV70 -- Terrorists appear to be in pretty firm control.

zorobabel wrote:There doesn't seem to be much fighting in Morek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcC51OuRV70 -- Terrorists appear to be in pretty firm control.

2 h ago Russian jets blasted a position live on Djihad TV. Thèse res are from Western Morek.

Walther von Oldenburg wrote:SAA and Hezzies are now counterattacking in Morek - with success.

How the hell could that city fall? Defensive positions were prepared for 2 weeks in advance, SAA withdrew from two villages in order to strengthen the Morek defense and then that city simply collapsed.

Let me take an example with elections in India. Even with a huge polic and paramilitary force, elections are held in stages and one of the reasons is the shortage of security/police/paramilitary forces for the elections. So they deploy the paramilitary forces to another state or location once the current location has been done with.

Its the same happening with SAA (with little bit of excessive (?) carelessness when withdrawing from liberated areas- probably intelligence lacking?), they pull out their forces to concentrate on the next stage/place of assault leaving the already liberated area open to the terrorists.

This needs to be remedied so that SAA dont have to fight for the same place twice and drain their resources. One way to keep such areas constantly gaurded is wiith scouting with UAV's so that intentions of the surrounding habitats is known. An armed UAV would be more useful as they can strike the frontline units of terrorists moving in rather than watchinjg it helplessly on their screens.

Ok you want the truth fine. But is the truth that will make you loose. SAA is losing because they know some serious
reasons for wich they will loose. If someone understand those reasons for wich they will loose then is finish. Better said SAA knows their strenghts and weak points

Regarding Russian airstrikes in the area during initial stages of the jihadist advance..

Leith Abou Fadel ‏@leithfadel 5h5 hours ago

SAA was too close to the Islamist positions in order for Russian airstrikes to be effective, so they had to withdraw a bit

Generally speaking looks abit grim.

Supposedly shots from Morek.

In your opinion, are the Syrian government+allied forces concentrating on territory capture and positional warfare, or instead aim to maximise enemy losses in manpower and material? Personally, looking at the map of Syria, I would concentrate on literally wiping out every surrounded hostile area, then strive to methodically clear one front, one major objective at a time.

Seems they seized assault bridgelayer... Looks like MTU72, but pic was taken with boiled potato so it also could have been alien ship.

Serbian Krušik built 60mm mortar mines in hands of Syrian rebels most likely supplied by NATO via Croatia (or Gulf states).

Mortar is Yugoslavian M57 or American M2 i really cant tell the difference due to lack of leather/cloth straps used for carrying. (for all i know it could be also Brandt Mle 1935. which both of these are copy of but basically its same thing).

List of mines produced by Krušik: http://www.krusik.rs/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/MBM_HE_60mm.pdf (60mm list)

SAA needs firing squads. :/ They can't relly on Iranians and hezzies all the time.

^^' Iranians don't have huge forces in Syria - in total it's about 4,000 and the bulk of them is made of Basij militants, certainly not the best guys in IRGC though certainly the most fanatical.  Hezzies are basically a knock-off of Basij militia.

Elite Russian army units - 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Divison, 4th Kantemirovskaya Tank Division - could do more in 3 months of combat than all Hezzies, IRGC advisors and Shia militias from Iraq did in 3 years.

Something is boiling in Harasta:

Things on the ground in Syria are getting worse and worse...

1. Positions east of Morek including Tell Sukayk are now reportedly under Jaish_Fateh control.
2. 16 Hezbollah killed on top of a hill that was under rebels control the day before. Lack of coordination.
UPDATE: Friendly fire, RuAf killed 16 Hezbollah. Pretty much confirmed since it's coming from ejmalrai (pro-gov)
Hezbollah (their troops were on that hill) likely doesnt have a direct communication with RuAF and indirect communication is likely to result in delays - which in turn cause such incidents.
=============================

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) top commander, Hossein Hamadani revealed, among other things, why Iran wants Bashar al Assad to remain in power, in his last interview with a local site

On the surface, there are copious photo ops between Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad and the Iranian officials, stressing the unbreakable alliance. Statements in agreement are in no paucity either. Assad reflected on Iran as “the wise friend of Syria”, while Iran dubbed him as “the axis of resistance.”

Underneath the reciprocal praise, Iran and Syria relations are more nuanced, at times, at variance, the slain revolutionary guard commander, Hossein Hamadani revealed.

Here are some of the salient points from Hamadani’s interview:

1. Bashar al Assad — not his Baath party — has a strategic value for Iran
Hamadani considers Bashar al Assad as a strategic asset. “Syria is the key to the region and has a higher priority than Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen for Iran,” he said.

According to Hamadani’s analysis, the US is aware that to rule in Syria, an organized and powerful institution like Baath party is required. Thus the US has no problem with the ruling Baath party in Syria, but Iran.

“They are telling us we want to cut Iran’s hand from the region and weaken Hizbollah, Hamadani claimed, adding that “their final goal is to provide for the security of Israel.”

“Everyone fled, even the Russians,” Hamadani claimed, adding that Iranians were the only one that stayed.

2. Assad’s army was initially against Iran’s intervention in Syria
In Hamadani’s telling, Assad had already lost the control over eighty percent of Syria’s soil, and Free Syrian Army (Jaish al-Hor) had organized a hundred and twenty thousand forces when he arrived in Syria.

Nonetheless, Assad’s army rejected Iran’s hand. “What kind of help you want to provide?” Hamadani acknowledged he was told in his first month in Syria. He called Syria’s army as “conceited.”

3. The Supreme Leader urge on Hamadani to stay in Syria and loyalty to Assad paid off
Even once, we wanted to return from Syria, Hamadani Said. But the Supreme Leader told us that Syria is like a patient that is not aware of his ailment. Therefore, he doesn’t want to go to Doctor, but you need to take him anyway. When he goes to Doctor he will tell you that he doesn’t want any medication. You need to prescribe and get the medication for him. He won’t take the medication, but you need to make him take it, Hamadani asserted. “That was the recipe for us to stay,” he added.

Accoding to Hamadani, the opening for Iran in Syria came when the opponents reached to the close vicinity of Assad’s palace. “Everyone fled, even the Russians,” Hamadani claimed, adding that Iranians were the only one that stayed. They came to believe that we would stay next to them “up to the last moment.” As a result, they started to trust us, the IRGC commander said.

Hamadani spoke highly of Assad in an unsual way. “His obedience from the leader of the revolution is more than some of our statesmen,” he said.

4. Hamadani blames Syria’s Baath party, not Assad for the misdeeds
Surprisingly, a number of Iranian officials, including Hamadani hold Syria’s government, albeit partially, responsible for Syria’s woes.

“At the beginning of the conflict, Syria’s system didn’t deal with the peaceful demonstrations well, which led to multiply problems”, Hamadani acknowledged. But he didn’t give bad press to Assad. Instead he grumbled on Syria’s Baath party, describing it as a closed entity with “an iron door and steel walls,” which Assad can not do much about it. That’s why there has not been a coup-d’état in Syria , Hamadani said.

5. Assad is better than his father
Hamadani spoke highly of Assad in an unsual way. “His obedience from the leader of the revolution is more than some of our statesmen,” he said.

“Bashar al-Assad is better than his father,” the Iranian top commander also quoted Hizbollah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. He has a better understanding of the world than his father and recognizes political openness, he added.

Hamadani also praised Assad’s “courage.” In the critical time when the armed groups reached to Assad’s palace, he was told to move, but he said “I will stay with my nation, until I get killed,” the IRGC commander said.

6. “Mass mobilization” is the tactic used by Iran to fight against Assad’s opponents
According to Hamadani, Syria’s army initially objected to his plan of setting up a militia from volunteer forces that he called it mass mobilization. “Do you want to create a new army? What about the funding? The arming? They told us,” Hamadani said.

Even after fending off the opponents attack on Assad’s palace they (Baath party) wanted the mobilised forces to operate under the supervision of the army, Hamadani asserted.

This war would not end, Hamadani reiterated. “It would continue, until either some in the friends, or in the the foes camp of Syria compromise,” he added.

Additionally, Hamadani quoted Iran’s head of Quds forces, Qasem Suleimani that once told him that he wanted to bring a division from Iran and end the war in Syria. It was for the prudence of the Supreme Leader that we recruited from the locals, Hamadani added.

7. Iran can not win the war in Syria
Hamadani broke from the rhetorical lines of other IRGC commanders by admitting that Iran can not win the civil war in Syria.

“There is no end to the war in Syria. [Assad] will not fall either,” Hamadani said.

Even the “enemy” knows that if Assad gets assassinated it will not be able to control the borders close to “the occupied Palestine,” Hamadani said. Otherwise, it’s an easy task to assassinate Assad, he added.

This war would not end, Hamadani reiterated. “It would continue, until either some in the friends, or in the foes camp of Syria compromise,” he added.
https://pandagulu.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/top-commander-shed-light-on-irgc-role-and-differences-with-assads-baath-party-before-his-demise-in-syria/?preview=true&preview_id=277&preview_nonce=ad6501b132

Solncepek wrote:Things on the ground in Syria are getting worse and worse...

Positions east of Morek including Tell Sukayk are now reportedly under Jaish_Fateh control

This was to be expected, the US has developed Special Forces to Syria.

More like being surrounded and little support does this. Where is the Syrian AF to do their job? Now that Morek is lost, level it with the terrorists in it

Don't overestimate US SF. I bet their training will be another blundet with no results.
SAA is terrible, thats it. They are like Iraq forces, instead of fighting they just run like rabbits.
Fighting arab style, the more fanatical one prevails.

Regular wrote:Don't overestimate US SF. I bet their training will be another blundet with no results.
SAA is terrible, thats it. They are like Iraq forces, instead of fighting they just run like rabbits.
Fighting arab style, the more fanatical one prevails.

I don't think fanaticism is the key here. It's simply Jund Al Aqsa that acts like a real army and SAA that poses like one. They put a pressure point on Morek because the line was thin. And there was almost nothing to stop them. Russians hit twice, then the SAA moved out.

Regular wrote:Don't overestimate US SF. I bet their training will be another blundet with no results.
SAA is terrible, thats it. They are like Iraq forces, instead of fighting they just run like rabbits.
Fighting arab style, the more fanatical one prevails.

SAA's major mistake is using heavy armory small scale attacks against the enemy which waits with ATGW.
Iraq's military collapses were mainly due to political factors, but they're picking it up well with the fighting getting better as time goes by.

There's no point in using those tanks in Syria when the enemy's greatest weapon is a TOW, I don't know why they keep doing it. Almost all video's shown by the enemy of victories are them firing an ATGW on tanks/other heavy stationary vechiles. Much more effective for SAA to have light assault troops with Russian CAS overrun enemy positions, then have other units take defensive positions.

iraqidabab wrote:

Regular wrote:Don't overestimate US SF. I bet their training will be another blundet with no results.
SAA is terrible, thats it. They are like Iraq forces, instead of fighting they just run like rabbits.
Fighting arab style, the more fanatical one prevails.

SAA's major mistake is using heavy armory small scale attacks against the enemy which waits with ATGW.
Iraq's military collapses were mainly due to political factors, but they're picking it up well with the fighting getting better as time goes by.

There's no point in using those tanks in Syria when the enemy's greatest weapon is a TOW, I don't know why they keep doing it. Almost all video's shown by the enemy of victories are them firing an ATGW on tanks/other heavy stationary vechiles. Much more effective for SAA to have  light assault troops with Russian CAS overrun enemy positions, then have other units take defensive positions.

You can use those tanks very well ONCE your artillery has flattened the path in front of you.

sepheronx wrote:More like being surrounded and little support does this.  Where is the Syrian AF to do their job? Now that Morek is lost, level it with the terrorists in it

Too few modern aircraft...?

Guys, do not expect too much. It takes years to build an effective fighting force from a barely competent army which is what SAA was before the war.