Syrian War: News #11

Interesting footage from the E. Qalamoun appearing to show tank-on-tank combat between IS T-72M1 & SAA tank

https://fat.gfycat.com/GrossZigzagDog.webm

calm wrote:

Interesting footage from the E. Qalamoun appearing to show tank-on-tank combat between IS T-72M1 & SAA tank

https://fat.gfycat.com/GrossZigzagDog.webm

Shot fell short, second one wasn't even calculated properly.

KoTeMoRe wrote:

calm wrote:

Interesting footage from the E. Qalamoun appearing to show tank-on-tank combat between IS T-72M1 & SAA tank

https://fat.gfycat.com/GrossZigzagDog.webm

Shot fell short, second one wasn't even calculated properly.

At 0:09 SAA tank firing, at 0:11 IS tank shell falling

@edit
no i'm wrong

huge victory for SAA north of Damascus
https://twitter.com/NatDefFor/status/825747428724858884
Entire of Wadi Baradah (including mountainous areas) was liberated by Syrian Army after 1 months battle

before and after

Yusha Yuseef ‏@MIG29_ 59 minutes ago

Wadi Barada , 3,700 Militants to reconcile with the syrian government
Others about 2000 to Edlib

NOTE: These numbers get bigger every time they are mentioned. Anyhow the green buses have started rolling out.

franco wrote:Yusha Yuseef ‏@MIG29_ 59 minutes ago

Wadi Barada , 3,700 Militants to reconcile with the syrian government
Others about 2000 to Edlib

NOTE: These numbers get bigger every time they are mentioned. Anyhow the green buses have started rolling out.

2000 from Mo'adamiya and Darayya, 500 from Al-Hama and Qudsaya, 2000 from Western Ghouta, 1500 from Al-Tal. And now 6000 militants from Wadi Barada, surrender/evacuated.

That's the numbers from my head, maybe i'm wrong. But around 10k of them are no longer threat to Damascus. Great job SAA.

now
Qabun, Madaya, Zabadani, Serghaya and Beit Jin pockets. And Yarmouk and E Ghouta as larger ones.

One clear gain from this disgusting war (illegal regime change attempt) is that it gives the Syrian government a golden opportunity to purge Syria of the violent Wahhabi element from within their midst, the existance of which was primary reason why Basahr al-Assad couldn't deliver on his desire to reform Syrian society and governance. Simply put, he couldn't relax the heavy hand of the State for fear of enabling the Islamist wackjobs and encouraging them to rise up. All other nations (such as Libya) which attempted to compromise with her Islamsist and grant clemency to jailed terrorists always regretted their actions. Now Assad has the opportunity to rid Syria of these filthy vermin and to clearly de-legitimise them (and their political ideology) in the eyes of Syrian voting public. Exile the recalcitrants to AQ-controlled Idlib (along with the foreign wahabbis) and then crush them in a final campaign after the rest of the nation has been liberated and Islamist fervour has been extinguished.

Given Idlib is controlled by AQ, no peace deal will get in the way of a (dare I say it) "final solution", and the surviving terrorists will be pushed back into Erdoganistan or better still, into Eurotrashland so that the feckless satraps of Uncle Scam can start paying the huge overdraft on their karma account. If the Eurotrash apparatchiks are pre-occupied with dealing with Wahabbi terrorism in their capital cities, they just may learn not to destabilise secular ME nations, or indulge in petty torments against Russia.

Over 5,000 Syrian Army soldiers freed up after Wadi Barada battle

The military source added that the Qalamoun Shield will redeploy to the eastern slopes of the Qalamoun Mountains, while the Republican Guard units from the 104th and 105th brigades will be transferred to the East Ghouta.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/5000-syrian-army-soldiers-freed-wadi-barada-battle/

This is another important victory of Syria. It is likely that Syria will continue cleaning the remaining pockets (including those that have limits with Lebanon).

There is not doubt that this war has a component of separation of the opposed communities. In both Syria and Iraq.

Not sure if Idlib is the right place, but these are the agreements. I would see more logical from a Syrian view to send them to the South-East.

Russian sappers deming villages recently recaptured by SAA from IS. East Aleppo. Tiger Force T-90, allegedly destroyed VBIED. One IS T-72 destroyed. Some positions of terrorists...


Palmyra front. Maybe Russian "advisor" requesting & adjusting artillery fire on IS positions.
4:12


SAA striking IS, east Homs. Some positions overrun, one tank and truck destroyed.

Update from Southfront today

ISIS units have been developing an advance on the al-Sin air base in eastern Qalamoun near the city of Dumayr. The terrorist group launched the offensive last night and seized certain Syrian army checkpoints in the area. But the terrorists failed to reach the air base, according to pro-government sources. The ISIS advance on the al-Sin air base is a part of its defensive strategy aimed to draw government forces attention from crucial fronts west of Palmyra, south of al-Bab and inside the city of Deir Ezzor, using maneuverable units to deliver attacks on other vulnerable targets controlled by the Syrian military.

In Deir Ezzor, the government-held area is still divided into two separate pockets by ISIS. Army troops repelled the initial ISIS advance and now fight terrorists in order to reverse their gains. The Russian Aerospace Forces deliver between 20 and 30 airstrikes against ISIS targets in the area every day.

West of Palmyra, the army and the National Defense Forces (NDF) continue pressure on ISIS militants near the Tiyas Airbase. Clashes in the area take place every day.

Government forces have entered the village of Hawsh Salihiyah in the Eastern Ghouta, aiming to encircle Jaish al-Islam militants in Nasabiyah. Clashes are ongoing.

The Syrian army’s Tiger Forces have liberated al-Brije, Sheikh Dan, Mushayrifa and Tuman in the eastern Aleppo countryside near the ISIS stronghold of al-Bab. Within two weeks, the Tiger Forces and the NDF had liberated over 25 villages in the area. Now, government forces are aiming to take control of Aran and Tadef, targeting ISIS terrorists there with artillery.

Reports appeared that the water from the Ayn al-Fijah spring has started arriving Damascus after the liberation of Wadi Barada. If confirmed, it’s a big victory for the citizens of the Syrian capital.

So-called “opposition groups” have formed two major coalitions in the province of Idlib. Initially, Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki, Liwa al-Haq, Jabhat Ansar al-Din, Jaish al-Sunna, Mijahidou Ashidaa, Kataib al-Aqsa, Katibat Qawafel al-Shuhada united under the Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham operation room, led by Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda). Then, Katibat Osoud al-Rahman, Katibat al-Rashid and the al Sa’ab tribe also joined the coalition and a number of Ahrar al-Sham battalions defected to Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham.

In turn, Tajamu Fastaqim Kama Umirt, Sukour al-Sham, Kataib Thuwar al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam (Idlib branch), Shamia Front, Mujahidi Ibn Taimia, Liwa Miqdad Bin Amro and Jaish al-Mujahidin merged with Ahrar al-Sham.

The creation of two big coalitions shows a separation of Turkish-oriented and Saudi-oriented militant groups in Idlib as result of Damascus-Tehran-Moscow-Ankara negotiations. The problems are that the question still remains how this can be used for successful military operations against terrorists on the ground.

https://southfront.org/syrian-war-report-january-30-2017-opposition-groups-form-large-coalition-led-by-al-nusra-al-qaeda/

Start of the slippery slope to a Trump 'safe area' in east Syria?

The U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State has supplied its Syrian allies with armored vehicles for the first time, expanding support since U.S. President Donald Trump came to office, a spokesman for the Syrian groups told Reuters on Tuesday.

The armored vehicles and troop carriers had arrived four or five days ago, said Talal Silo, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which includes the Kurdish YPG militia.

Though the number was small, he said, "this is evidence that there are signs of new support". "Previously we didn't get support in this form, we would get light weapons and ammunition," he said.

"There are signs of full support from the new American leadership - more than before - for our forces," he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-arms-idUSKBN15F15S?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

Picture on Twitter today

Conflict News @Conflicts

PHOTO: IAG Guardian armored vehicles given to the #SDF by US - @BarzanSadiq pic.twitter.com/TenYrBG0ip
12:05 PM - 31 Jan 2017

That is a IAG Guardian, those APC's have been in hold for the last two years. They were already delivered to YPG. Frankly, those are crap. Compared to Boxers the Kurds got in Iraq.

Syria's Unreported Energy War
2016 In Review: Aleppo
Second phase of the Raqqa offensive
A timeline of the battle for Mosul - part 3
American Foreign Policy in 2016
A summary of the recent fighting in the Barada River Valley
Update: Palmyra

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzdGQubygdCbaUFkYllnc1BvRzA/view

KoTeMoRe wrote:That is a IAG Guardian, those APC's have been in hold for the last two years. They were already delivered to YPG. Frankly, those are crap. Compared to Boxers the Kurds got in Iraq.

Kurd got Boxers in Iraq??? This one??? Boxer MRAV - wikipedia I doubt it is this one

Azi wrote:

KoTeMoRe wrote:That is a IAG Guardian, those APC's have been in hold for the last two years. They were already delivered to YPG. Frankly, those are crap. Compared to Boxers the Kurds got in Iraq.

Kurd got Boxers in Iraq??? This one??? Boxer MRAV - wikipedia I doubt it is this one

Kurds had Boxers for German training crews and Dingo 2's with RCWS.

KoTeMoRe wrote:

Azi wrote:

KoTeMoRe wrote:That is a IAG Guardian, those APC's have been in hold for the last two years. They were already delivered to YPG. Frankly, those are crap. Compared to Boxers the Kurds got in Iraq.

Kurd got Boxers in Iraq??? This one??? Boxer MRAV - wikipedia I doubt it is this one

Kurds had Boxers for German training crews and Dingo 2's with RCWS.

Thanks for information!

OK lawyers, have at it:

Full Text of the New Syrian Draft Constitution

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701311050216226-syrian-constitution-full-text/

PapaDragon wrote:
OK lawyers, have at it:

Full Text of the New Syrian Draft Constitution

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701311050216226-syrian-constitution-full-text/

I can't find any Sharia being foisted by this document and it seems to be a secular one up to modern
standards. This constitution is better than the one in Iraq which the Americans paved the way for.

I found this in a post on Tank-Net:
An analysis of Operation Euphrates Shield from a perspective of purged NATO officers.

Hopefully it hasn't been posted here before. Don't know how true it is, so please don't shoot the messenger.

About bloody time. I just hope Trump is hearing this.

Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the lawmaker who accused the U.S. government of funding and arming ISIS and introduced a bill to prevent it from happening in future, recently disclosed that she met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during her recent trip to Syria. The move has reportedly angered many of her fellow congressmen and women.

Upon returning from the war-stricken nation, Gabbard released the following statement in the form of a press release:

“My visit to Syria has made it abundantly clear: Our counterproductive regime change war does not serve America’s interest, and it certainly isn’t in the interest of the Syrian people. As I visited with people from across the country, and heard heartbreaking stories of how this war has devastated their lives, I was asked, ‘Why is the United States and its allies helping al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups try to take over Syria? Syria did not attack the United States. Al-Qaeda did.’ I had no answer.”

According to the press release, Gabbard met with refugees, Syrian opposition leaders who led protesters in 2011, widows and family members who fight alongside al-Qaeda groups, pro-Assad troops, humanitarian workers, and students, to name a few. Gabbard also met with high-ranking officials such as Lebanon’s newly-elected President Aon and Prime Minister Hariri, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard, Syrian President Assad, Grand Mufti Hassoun, and Archbishop Denys Antoine Chahda of the Syrian Catholic Church of Aleppo.

Initially, Gabbard allegedly had no intention of meeting Assad, as she stated in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “When the opportunity arose to meet with him, I did so because I felt that it’s important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we’ve got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we can achieve peace,” she told Tapper.

The meeting with Assad is incredibly controversial because of numerous allegations by the U.N. that Assad has committed crimes against humanity.

“Whatever you think about President Assad, the fact is that he is the president of Syria,” she added. “In order for any peace agreement, in order for any possibility of a viable peace agreement to occur there has to be a conversation with him.”

Not surprisingly, the media has hyped up this visit as outrageous but has omitted some very glaring hypocrisies that arise as a result of Gabbard’s trip to Syria.

First, the Obama administration and Bush administration both drew serious allegations of war crimes, but if Gabbard had met with either of those former presidents, it’s doubtful anyone would have batted an eyelid.

Second, former Secretary of State John Kerry met with Assad in 2009, even though, after nine years in office, Assad was clearly responsible for all of the things western media has been relentlessly accusing him of doing since 2011.

Third, Gabbard’s meeting symbolizes the ridiculousness of America’s foreign policy decision-making system. A few hundred old men and women who have never been to Syria — nor care to go — sit in a room and deliberate a piece of paper deciding whether or not to drop million dollar tomahawk missiles on a relatively poor country. Even when these decision-makers are well aware of the horror their edicts will unleash, they are never required to visit the country, talk to its people, or understand the situation and better educate themselves. In the case of Syria, Congress wasn’t even required to approve the air campaign that began in 2014, as Obama authorized airstrikes without their approval anyway.

Gabbard’s move should be applauded — not ridiculed. Singling Assad out as some sort of mass-murdering psychopath while foreign leaders routinely meet with alleged war criminals such as Israel’s Binyamin Netanyahu, Saudi Arabia’s leadership, and Henry Kissinger, to name a few, is the epitome of U.S.-NATO arrogance.

Gabbard may have met with a mass murderer, but she also met with numerous people on the ground — the people who matter most. After doing so, she concluded: “I return to Washington, DC with even greater resolve to end our illegal war to overthrow the Syrian government. I call upon Congress and the new Administration to answer the pleas of the Syrian people immediately and support the Stop Arming Terrorists Act. We must stop directly and indirectly supporting terrorists—directly by providing weapons, training and logistical support to rebel groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS; and indirectly through Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and Turkey, who, in turn, support these terrorist groups. We must end our war to overthrow the Syrian government and focus our attention on defeating al-Qaeda and ISIS.”

No one can criticize her strategy because, for the last six years, no one has even attempted it.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-31/congresswoman-who-says-us-funds-isis-just-got-back-syria-heres-what-she-found

klahtinen wrote:I found this in a post on Tank-Net:
An analysis of Operation Euphrates Shield from a perspective of purged NATO officers.

Hopefully it hasn't been posted here before. Don't know how true it is, so please don't shoot the messenger.

54 tanks? Maybe 50+ Armored vehicles, but tanks, Turkey hasn't committed more than a battalion so far. So while the M60T's weren't up to task, they sent the Leo2A4's, so basically it's impossible to do anything about that.

It is true that if any armored vehicle is concerned than it's probably more than 50, as 25 tanks are on film or on paper hit and disabled/destroyed for sure. Then there are are at least 12 ACV-15 that are goners.

But let's be honest, this isn't as much military incompetence as it is the way Erdogan made its bed. It wanted confrontation with Russia, which narrowed the assets Erdogan would use.

So blame the political aspect of this, instead of the military part. Off course some of the stuff we've seen from the TSK is sub-par. But, it's not all military.

seems the SAA are doing fairly well at mopping up the pockets and now this is the next target, where will be next???????? i am guessing more focus on east Ghouta.


Pro-government forces to undertake new offensive in Al-Quneitra province

Reports are coming in that the high command of the Syrian Armed Forces is planning a large offensive in Al-Quneitra province to liquidate the last militant bastion around the Beit Jenn area.

The operation is to involve the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) elite 4th Armoured Division, plus a range of units from the National Defense Forces (NDF). The 4th Armoured Division in particular is fresh from successful operations in the Wadi Barada region, so morale among its soldiers are undoubtedly high.

The offensive will take place in two parts. First, the farmlands of Mazra’et Beit Jenn are to be secured, followed (secondly) by the liberation of Beit Jenn village which sits in a valley of the al-Sheikh mountain chain.


https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/map-pro-government-forces-undertake-new-offensive-al-quneitra-province/

Are we seeing any guerilla type action in those areas that the SAA has recovered?