Syrian War: News #18

Up to one hundred SAA troops killed in an US air strike near Deir Ezzor: https://southfront.org/syrian-sate-media-accuses-us-led-coalition-of-striking-government-positions-near-al-bukamal-coalition-denies/

Not good.

Much from this thread, includes video of crater https://twitter.com/QalaatAlMudiq/status/1008685519235100673


Qalaat Al Mudiq
‏ @QalaatAlMudiq
1h1 hour ago

E. #Syria: airstrikes near #AbuKemal hit a fortified complex with villas on border with Iraq & used as base, as recent sat image suggests. Geolocated by @obretix: http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=34.395047&lon=40.943964&z=17&m …

2h2 hours ago

#E. #Syria: at least 22 PMU (#Iraq|i) fighters were killed in airstrikes near #AbuKemal. Mostly from #IRGC-linked Hezbollah Brigades & Harakat Nujaba. http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=34.436646&lon=40.968361&z=12&m …

2h2 hours ago

E. #Syria: airstrikes near #AbuKemal killed at least 14 among Assad forces: one Major General, 2 Colonels, 2 Majors & 9 other fighters. They were from Tartus (7), Latakia (4), Aleppo (2) & Homs (1) provinces.

6h6 hours ago

E. #Syria: (suspected) airstrikes targeted last night pro-Assad positions near #AbuKemal, leaving dozens of dead. Among them also high-ranking officers from Coastal Area.


6h6 hours ago

#Pt. #IRGC-linked forces working to remove bodies from rubble after suspected airstrikes destroyed their position near #AbuKemal (Imam Ali Brigade's vid accusing US). Many killed were from #Iraq|i Hezbollah Brigades & Nujaba. E. #Syria

Wael
????????
‏ @WaelAlRussi
2h2 hours ago

The #US force yesterday conducted an air strike against a group of the allies of the #SAA near Al Bu Kamal
The air raid targeted an #Iraqi fighters who were gathering to storm the #ISIS’s pocket near Al Bu Kamal.


Press TV Breaking
‏ @BREAKING_PTV
4h4 hours ago

Iraqi PMU says its military position on Syria border targeted by U.S. warplanes

Might be same incident but its further west


Qalaat Al Mudiq
‏ @QalaatAlMudiq
58s58 seconds ago

E. #Syria: Assad forces say they took over from #ISIS part of SE. #Homs desert incl. Bir Atshan, Tell Kabd + Wurk area & met with #Iraq|i PMU.


Within Syria
‏ @WithinSyriaBlog
6h6 hours ago

According to my sources, a UCAV of the US-led coalition targeted a gathering of Iraqi and Syrian fighters in the area of al-Hirri while they were on a break watching Brazil and Switzerland match.

6h6 hours ago

This how the US-led coalition rewarded the Iraqi Army for supporting the SDF, I hope the Iraqi government is proud for supporting the killers of its own people

Same one? Make your own mind up


AFP news agency
‏Verified account @AFP
7h7 hours ago

An air strike kills nearly 40 pro-regime foreign fighters in eastern Syria, with a US-led coalition denying accusations from Damascus that it was behind the attack http://u.afp.com/oAfa

Bosni

‏ @Bosni94
17h17 hours ago

that's are a lot of tanks #SAA #Daara





Video of large convoy heading to Daraa at link

https://twitter.com/oulosP/status/1008668914975326210

Same convoy by the look of it, much better and longer video at link from a different view. Good to see lots of real logistics trucks not just technicals.


Qalaat Al Mudiq
‏ @QalaatAlMudiq
17m17 minutes ago

S. #Syria: video showing huge convoy heading today to W. #Suweida CS amidst anticipated #Daraa Offensive. 80-90 vehicles with many artillery pieces, BM-21 Grad, armor (also ex-Jaish Islam's T-72) and #Russia|n GAZ Tigr.

https://twitter.com/QalaatAlMudiq/status/1008749050563350529

JohninMK wrote:Same one? Make your own mind up


AFP news agency
‏Verified account @AFP
7h7 hours ago

An air strike kills nearly 40 pro-regime foreign fighters in eastern Syria, with a US-led coalition denying accusations from Damascus that it was behind the attack http://u.afp.com/oAfa

Might be to distract from SAA southern offensive, but then again AbuKemal is a cruical town on its own due to critical supply line.
Something is up.

Most action in the east against ISIS seems to be further north


Emmanuel
‏ @EmmanuelGMay
Jun 17

South #Hasakah ; #YPG / #SDF / #YPJ free ad-Dashishah from #Daesh and advance until 3 kms of the Iraqi border, v @sayed_ridha + @ClaudiaAlMinah

Why doesn't Russia bomb SDF in retalitation?

The Kurds and any other nongovernmental forces in Syria are not homogeneous . They compose of different people . Some will make peace with central government . So targeting entire forces is not wise . They are not like regular army . Under unified command . But the rats are different . They usually fight to death . Because of their martyrdom ideology . So wasting time with them is not such good idea . Also it was not SDF that attacked . It was yank airforce . So what I said about limiting their movements on ground and air by closing road . And air defence . For now . Until these pockets are cleared in East . Also hitting yank bases is good idea . With SSBM . Not difficult . Keep them weak .

Even if yank win ground in the short term . What will they do with it ? God gave them the rich land of America . What did they do with it ? A racist country of genocidal madmen . You can not even walk the streets . They are in Afghanistan right ? What they doing with it ? More opium than before . No infrastructure investment . And Iraq ? Oh , the Chinese are winning the contracts !

They are like Chengiz khan . They saw , they came , they destroyed . It will be others who will build . Who will gain influence . They will leave . And go back to the hell  they came from . We are with the people of the region . We will win .

nomadski wrote:The Kurds and any other nongovernmental forces in Syria are not homogeneous . They compose of different people . Some will make peace with central government . So targeting entire forces is not wise . They are not like regular army . Under unified command . But the rats are different . They usually fight to death . Because of their martyrdom ideology . So wasting time with them is not such good idea . Also it was not SDF that attacked . It was yank airforce . So what I said about limiting their movements on ground and air by closing road . And air defence . For now . Until these pockets are cleared in East . Also hitting yank bases is good idea . With SSBM . Not difficult . Keep them weak .

Even if yank win ground in the short term . What will they do with it ? God gave them the rich land of America . What did they do with it ? A racist country of genocidal  madmen . You can not even walk the streets . They are in Afghanistan right ? What they doing with it ? More opium than before . No infrastructure investment . And Iraq ? Oh , the Chinese are winning the contracts !

They are like Chengiz khan . They saw , they came , they destroyed . It will be others who will build . Who will gain influence . They will leave . And go back to the hell  they came from . We are with the people of the region . We will win .

And who is going to make the US leave Syria?

The US has occupied Afghanistan for nearly two decades and they show no signs of leaving.

You know why? Because the US is not suffering casualties in Afghanistan.

The US won't leave Syria for the same reason. They are not suffering any casualties.

The US was forced to leave Vietnam only because of the casualties the Vietnamese freedom fighters were able to inflict on the US occupation troops.

When the US troops start to die in large numbers in Syria they will start thinking about leaving. Not any sooner.

But the problem is that nobody is willing to kill Americans in Syria. So they will stay.

Karl Haushofer wrote:Why doesn't Russia bomb SDF in retalitation?

In short, SDF = US under Kurdish flag. They are not even hiding it like they're doing with AlQaeda/ISIS, so attacking SDF would mean attacking the US and the result would be a major escalation which Russia is trying to avoid.

Visc wrote:

Karl Haushofer wrote:Why doesn't Russia bomb SDF in retalitation?

In short, SDF = US under Kurdish flag. They are not even hiding it like they're doing with AlQaeda/ISIS, so attacking SDF would mean attacking the US and the result would be a major escalation which Russia is trying to avoid.

Well, attacking the SAA should mean attacking Russia and the result should also be a major escalation.

But both the US and Israel seem to have a free reign to attack the SAA whenever they feel like with zero consequences. Russia seems like a pussy if compared to the US.

How can Syria ever win this war? The US and Israel can just bomb them into oblivion and thus prevent Syria from scoring decisive victories in the battlefield.

Karl Haushofer wrote:

Visc wrote:

Karl Haushofer wrote:Why doesn't Russia bomb SDF in retalitation?

In short, SDF = US under Kurdish flag. They are not even hiding it like they're doing with AlQaeda/ISIS, so attacking SDF would mean attacking the US and the result would be a major escalation which Russia is trying to avoid.

Well, attacking the SAA should mean attacking Russia and the result should also be a major escalation.

But both the US and Israel seem to have a free reign to attack the SAA whenever they feel like with zero consequences. Russia seems like a pussy if compared to the US.

How can Syria ever win this war? The US and Israel can just bomb them into oblivion and thus prevent Syria from scoring decisive victories in the battlefield.

They can't just bomb them into oblivion, otherwise they would already do it. They are aware Russia would respond in that scenario. Besides resupplying and rebuilding Syrian air defense systems, the air force and the army (Iran played a role in this as well), Russia issued effective warnings and displayed its ability to respond on more than one occassion. One such occasion being during the latest US-led cruise missile attack which mostly Russian air defenses in Syria weakened to a serious degree by jamming/shooting down large amount of missiles and shadowing/jamming US/UK/French warships and submarines in the Mediterranean, making some of them completely unable to participate in the attack. This is something that is not talked about in the media, but it happened. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes.

Syria along with Russia, Iran and Iraqi PMU is scoring decisive victories on the battlefield - from Al-Qusair, Jabroud (and Arsal in Lebanon) a few years back, to Al-Zabadani, Qalamun, Lattakia, Aleppo, Palmyra, Quneitra, Damascus, Deir Ezzor, Homs/Hama today and now upcoming Daraa i.e. major southern Syria offensive. The whole Iraq was cleared of ISIS as well. These are all major decisive victories that completely shifted the war in Syria's favor. Remember, the Syrian army a couple of years back was in such a bad shape that calling them an army wasn't proper anymore, they were becoming a low morale ragtag militia unable to launch an offensive and could barely hold any ground. Yes, this war is still far from over but Russia/Iran/Syria/Iraq/Hezbollah and even Ansarallah (aka the Houthis) in Yemen which is an important part of all of this cannot afford to act on emotions and have to play this really smart.

Yo, what happened to the "Russia will do this and that" guys that love posting baseless shit here. I dont hear Bulavas being launched...

Militarov wrote:Yo, what happened to the "Russia will do this and that" guys that love posting baseless shit here. I dont hear Bulavas being launched...

Who gives a damn about baseless sh*t posted by some general-wannabe teenagers?

Militarov wrote:Yo, what happened to the "Russia will do this and that" guys that love posting baseless shit here. I dont hear Bulavas being launched...

People still can't get it into their heads that for Russia pro-Syrian militia AKA Hezbollah != SAA

Isos wrote:This report seems to be fake or at least not true. USAF denied attacking them and neither Israel would have attacked them without telling russians. It looks more like artillery attack that was really precise.

Building erased from the face of the earth. Obviously chosen target.

Airstrikes near AbuKemal hit a fortified complex with villas on border with Iraq & used as base, as recent sat image suggests. Geolocated by @obretix:


Huge crater left, no artillery could do this.
https://twitter.com/QalaatAlMudiq/status/1008685519235100673

This building
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=34.395025&lon=40.943931&z=19&m=bh

Comment from Iraq, so who was the Major General claimed to be killed? Its now gone very quiet on the subject.

@IraqiSecurity
3h3 hours ago

#Iraq's Hashd say 22 fighters were killed by US-led coalition strikes on a headquarters of the 45th and 46th Brigades near the Iraqi-Syrian border.

Iraq's Joint Ops Command says the strike happened inside Syria (south of Albu Kamal) and it has no connection to the forces hit.



This perhaps makes more sense as an attacker than the USAF/Coalition


Qalaat Al Mudiq
‏ @QalaatAlMudiq
4h4 hours ago

E. #Syria: as per US official, it was an #Israel|i airstrike. Significant as very 1st time bombardment is attributed to Israel in #Euphrates area (#AbuKemal region has important (pro-)#IRGC presence) since massive Al-Kibar strike (2007).


Elizabeth Tsurkov
‏Verified account @Elizrael
4h4 hours ago

???? Retweeted Guy Elster

First semi-confirmed Israeli strike in Deir Ezzor since 2007 (the strike on the nuclear reactor in al-Kibar). Previous confirmed Israeli strikes were on targets in western Syria & the Homs desert (T-4 base)

Guy Elster
‏
#BREAKING The airstrikes on #Syria, near #Iraq border, were carried out by #Israel: US official to CNN

Israel is behind this. No doubt that US is providing them with information, they are very close to that area, monitoring every move of SAA and allies.

Israel behind airstrike in Syria, US official says
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/18/politics/israel-us-strike-syria/index.html

Yesterday an alleguedly ISIS convoy was chased in transit in the desert, likely from Al-Tanf area, despite what other people say. This seems retaliation, likely someone important for the US and Israel was killed yesterday.

The fact seems to be that not only the US and Israel are monitoring, also Russia is monitoring now the area around Al-Tanf to chase infiltrations before to reach their goals.

It is not casual that a good part of the recent attacks of supposed ISIS fighters in the area are to the oil stations. This smells to US strategies a lot. And logically, the fighters would be just US paramilitaries coming from US controled areas.

Now with a stronger Russian monitoring around Al-Tanf, these infiltrations are becoming suicidal and ineffective.

For all those who feel a little allergic about directly attacking yank forces in Syria . Especially any Russian involvement . I like to say that you must remember in Iraq the Iraqis were alone . Yet they managed to fill 4000 body bags . Without permission or help from Russia or Iran . Using most basic equipment . A large scale withdrawal from Iraq followed . The Syrians / Iraqis/ Iranians/ Hezb fighter can do much more damage even now . As far as Usraelis . They can be retaliated in good time . After rats cleared from south . And army in position .

Tigers to the south

calm wrote:Israel is behind this. No doubt that US is providing them with information, they are very close to that area, monitoring every move of SAA and allies.

Israel behind airstrike in Syria, US official says
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/18/politics/israel-us-strike-syria/index.html

I suspected Israel was behind this but what motivated them to attack such a remote area? Are they trying to weaken the SAA's links to shiite allies in Iraq and Iran?

This was July 8th last year

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The US forces have thus far refused to enter al-Tabaqa military airport that is now under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), fearing that they may come under attack by the Syrian Army troops, tribal sources in the SDF reported.

The Arabic-language al-Watan daily quoted a number of tribal forces' commanders as saying that "handing over the al-Tabaqa base to the US forces is not logical for various reasons", adding that reconstruction of the airport needs a long time which is impossible for now.

"The second and more important reason is the short distance between al-Tabaqa base and the positions of the Syrian army men," the sources said, adding that the army soldiers are deployed in regions only 4km away from al-Tabaqa, "so Washington does not intend to accept the risk of deploying its soldiers and planes in the missile and artillery fire range of the Syrian army units".

A Russian-language daily reported on Saturday that the SDF were to hand over al-Tabaqa airbase in Western Raqqa to the US forces, adding that Washington intended to oust the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Izvestia quoted SDF sources as saying that they would hand over al-Tabaqa military airport, 60km West of Raqqa city, to the US forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry sources also confirmed the revelation. Some other Kurdish sources also said that based on negotiations between the US forces and SDF, the al-Tabaqa base would be used by the US army.

Syrian Parliamentarian Saji Tomeh, meantime, said that Washington was paving its way to launch an offensive on the Syrian army, adding, "We are witnessing reinvigoration of the US military presence in Syria. The US is doing whatever it wants through the assistance of its allied Kurds and in return for separation from Syria."

Izvestia also quoted Russian sources as saying that in a recent meeting with Moscow representatives, the US officials insisted on regime change, and refused to start any kind of cooperation with Moscow to end Syria's crisis before Assad steps down.


Now today a year later, this of course is in the 'Syrian' area of control west of the Euphrates.

Desert Hawk
????????
‏ @Syrian_Uruk
22m22 minutes ago

#Syria the #US-led coalition has forwarded a large volume of military hardware to #Tabaqa airport. Several trucks carrying prefabricated rooms and cement-made walls entered al-Tabaqa airport from its Northern gate to set up a new military base in the region