Russian military intervention and aid to Syria #6

Some rumons about Russians using UCAV over Syria surfaced. Its either Altius being tested or they misidentified Reaper .

Or Iranians finally started using armed Shahed-129s.

Let me guess, US lying again? And what evidence do they have to state it was Russia?

sepheronx wrote:Let me guess, US lying again? And what evidence do they have to state it was Russia?

When have they ever needed proof?

Just run the headline Russia accidentally bombs Regime Forces and put the source as US officials. People will buy it without question.

sepheronx wrote:Let me guess, US lying again? And what evidence do they have to state it was Russia?

As i said "rumons", seems they came from https://www.facebook.com/kinana.allouche Kinana Allouche journalist. Cant say much about evidence, its most likely case of missidentification, but hey, you never know.

sepheronx wrote:Let me guess, US lying again? And what evidence do they have to state it was Russia?

Well...what I find odd is the deafening silence from the Russian MoD on the matter.
Or did I missed their statement on the matter?
It's been more than 24 hours since the initial claim was made, firmly pointing the finger at RuAF. Makes me wonder.

Militarov wrote:

sepheronx wrote:Let me guess, US lying again? And what evidence do they have to state it was Russia?

As i said "rumons", seems they came from https://www.facebook.com/kinana.allouche Kinana Allouche journalist. Cant say much about evidence, its most likely case of missidentification, but hey, you never know.

this is her exact post.
https://www.facebook.com/KinanaAllouchePage/posts/948903371813561

Militarov wrote:

sepheronx wrote:Let me guess, US lying again? And what evidence do they have to state it was Russia?

As i said "rumons", seems they came from https://www.facebook.com/kinana.allouche Kinana Allouche journalist. Cant say much about evidence, its most likely case of missidentification, but hey, you never know.

Most likely one of non-USA coalition members f*cked up, probably Brits because they are late to the party, and now everyone else is waiting for it to go away.

Syria is pissed, naturaly and Russia is putting additional screws on coalition. Still, minor incident, VKS already increased air cover over the area and are resuming the good work.

HOWEVER, if it was intentional then it was just a litmus test by US&co that failed miserably. Their current rhetoric and behaviour does not signal confidence, it signals weakness.

Militarov wrote:Some rumons about Russians using UCAV over Syria surfaced. Its either Altius being tested or they misidentified Reaper .

Or Iranians finally started using armed Shahed-129s.

I think that it could really be case of Russian UCAV or a large drone getting field tested. That paparazzi shot of Predator/ Reaper drone could not have been made by Orlan.

According to the Serbian 'Web Tribune' there was an incident on the Syrian-Turkish border whilst Su-24's were bombing 'Turkoman' rebels (apparently reinforced with regular Turkish Army commandoes). The Su-24's were chalenged by 3 x F-16's but dissengaged when Russian fighters arrived in the area...the report mentions 9 x Russian fighters....

http://webtribune.rs/ruski-su-24-bombardovao-turske-dzihadiste-na-njega-krenula-3-turska-f-16-a-onda-su-dosli-ruski-lovci/#

Cyberspec wrote:According to the Serbian 'Web Tribune' there was an incident on the Syrian-Turkish border whilst Su-24's were bombing 'Turkoman' rebels (apparently reinforced with regular Turkish Army commandoes). The Su-24's were chalenged by 3 x F-16's but dissengaged when Russian fighters arrived in the area...the report mentions 9 x Russian fighters....

http://webtribune.rs/ruski-su-24-bombardovao-turske-dzihadiste-na-njega-krenula-3-turska-f-16-a-onda-su-dosli-ruski-lovci/#

Web tribune tends sometimes to post clickbite articles, take this with reserve, big one, Baikal lake size reserve. I havent found anywhere else such info in Serbian media so some our local legit source is out of the question.

PapaDragon wrote:

Militarov wrote:Some rumons about Russians using UCAV over Syria surfaced. Its either Altius being tested or they misidentified Reaper .

Or Iranians finally started using armed Shahed-129s.

I think that it could really be case of Russian UCAV or a large drone getting field tested. That paparazzi shot of Predator/ Reaper drone could not have been made by Orlan.

It was most likely Forpost UAV. Well Orlan can fly quite fast and on significant altitudes, just when flying there its not suitable to track targets on the ground coz sensors are limiting it, doesnt mean it cant take shots of something flying couple hundred m from him in air.

@Militarov

OK, thanks....it doesn't sound completely implausible though

Militarov wrote:

Cyberspec wrote:According to the Serbian 'Web Tribune' there was an incident on the Syrian-Turkish border whilst Su-24's were bombing 'Turkoman' rebels (apparently reinforced with regular Turkish Army commandoes). The Su-24's were chalenged by 3 x F-16's but dissengaged when Russian fighters arrived in the area...the report mentions 9 x Russian fighters....

http://webtribune.rs/ruski-su-24-bombardovao-turske-dzihadiste-na-njega-krenula-3-turska-f-16-a-onda-su-dosli-ruski-lovci/#

Web tribune tends sometimes to post clickbite articles, take this with reserve, big one, Baikal lake size reserve. I havent found anywhere else such info in Serbian media so some our local legit source is out of the question.

Agreed, avoid Serbian media, they either make stuff up for clicks or translate and repost English language articles from MSM and RT in no particular order...

Night strike - Hama province



Aleppo province

The moment of the bombing of guided missiles on the city of Zamalka Rural Damascus 06/12/2015 (translation)


Damascus area



SyAAF MiG-23 bombing and deploying flares over East Ghouta
https://twitter.com/DPRKJones/status/674001869430112256

"President Masoud Barzani said the Kurdistan region is welcoming any attacks against the Islamic State, but Russian attacks are hurting the region by closing its airports. “This issue needs to be solved and we ask Russia not to make problems for Kurdistan Region,” Barzani announced during a press conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday. He said the Kurdistan Regional Government is in contact with Baghdad to resolve the problem of suspended flights at the International airports of Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimani provinces due to Russian missile attacks against ISIS in Syria.

Barzani has welcomed Russian help for Peshmerga forces but said Russia has not yet been an active supporter.

“So far (Russia) has only sent a minimal number of weapons,” Barzani said. Baghdad asked on late Sunday that the airports in Erbil and Sulaimani halt all flights for 48 hours in order to protect the safety of travelers. “We have been informed by Baghdad to halt the flights because of Russian jets attacking Daesh (ISIS) in Syria. This is for the safety of travelers,” Talar Faiyq, head of Erbil International Airport, told Rudaw late Sunday. She said all flights were halted for Monday and Tuesday and will not resume at least until Wednesday. This is the second time in less than a month that Baghdad halted flights in the Kurdistan region due to Russian attacks in northern Iraq airspace."

Source: http://rudaw.net/NewsDetails.aspx?pageid=177521

Boo hoo.

Maybe they shouldnt be aiding aggressors and terror supporters like Turkey.

Militarov wrote:"President Masoud Barzani said the Kurdistan region is welcoming any attacks against the Islamic State, but Russian attacks are hurting the region by closing its airports. “This issue needs to be solved and we ask Russia not to make problems for Kurdistan Region,” Barzani announced during a press conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday. He said the Kurdistan Regional Government is in contact with Baghdad to resolve the problem of suspended flights at the International airports of Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimani provinces due to Russian missile attacks against ISIS in Syria.

Barzani has welcomed Russian help for Peshmerga forces but said Russia has not yet been an active supporter.    

“So far (Russia) has only sent a minimal number of weapons,” Barzani said. Baghdad asked on late Sunday that the airports in Erbil and Sulaimani halt all flights for 48 hours in order to protect the safety of travelers. “We have been informed by Baghdad to halt the flights because of Russian jets attacking Daesh (ISIS) in Syria. This is for the safety of travelers,” Talar Faiyq, head of Erbil International Airport, told Rudaw late Sunday. She said all flights were halted for Monday and Tuesday and will not resume at least until Wednesday. This is the second time in less than a month that Baghdad halted flights in the Kurdistan region due to Russian attacks in northern Iraq airspace."

Source: http://rudaw.net/NewsDetails.aspx?pageid=177521

You cannot trust the Kurds and especially that asshole Barzani, that asshole is a NATO dog.

he's turkey's dog

More on that attack on the SAA. Mmmm a twelve Tu-22 strike, wonder what CENTCOM made of that, especially with likely Flanker escorts on top of that, 20-25 aircraft? Quite a sight on the radar screens. My highlight. Note Moscow is quiet on this.

Moreover, a U.S. military official said Washington was "certain" it was a Russian airstrike that hit the camp. U.S. officials cited coalition surveillance and other data they said showed that Russian aircraft launched airstrikes near the Syrian army camp. One senior official said the Russian aircraft were in the air around 9 p.m. Sunday near the city of Deir el-Zour, whereas the coalition aircraft were flying an hour earlier about 55 kilometers away. A senior U.S. official said radar tracked a dozen Russian TU-22 bombers that left Mozdok, Russia, traveled over the Caspian Sea, across portions of Iran and Iraq, and launched airstrikes in Raqqa, Deir el-Zour and Al Bukamal, Syria.

Radar shows Russian bombers making seven passes over the city of Deir el-Zour dropping munitions, the official said, adding that one of the TU-22s made a pass over the area of the army camp within one minute of the explosion that killed the Syrian troops. Overall, the Russian bombers launched strikes in four locations around Deir el-Zour. The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

There was no immediate comment from Russian Defense Ministry.

The U.S. officials said it was likely the Russians mistakenly hit the Syrian government camp. The U.S. military has been widely critical of Russia's often indiscriminate strikes, saying Moscow routinely uses so-called "dumb bombs" rather than the precision-guided munitions used by the coalition.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on activists in Syria, also reported the airstrikes and a similar death toll. The Observatory said the strikes were "believed" to have been carried out by the coalition. The planes hit the camp known as Sa'iqa, the Observatory said, though it gave a slightly different account, saying the camp is near the village of Ayyash in the western countryside of Deir el-Zour.

A Facebook page used by Islamic State militants to post news said several coalition warplanes flew over IS positions about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, then headed toward areas controlled by the Syrian government and struck an arms depot in the village of Ayyash, west of Deir el-Zour. Several strong explosions were heard, it said.

The city of Deir el-Zour is mainly held by the Islamic State group, but the Syrian government maintains a presence in some parts of it.

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/12/07/syria-alleges-us-airstrike-killed-and-injured-troops-but-us-blames-russia/76949746/

Twelve Tu-22s??? I think someone would notice by now...

...The U.S. officials said it was likely the Russians mistakenly hit the Syrian government camp. The U.S. military has been widely critical of Russia's often indiscriminate strikes, saying Moscow routinely uses so-called "dumb bombs" rather than the precision-guided munitions used by the coalition.........

And they also don't complain about "lack of ordinance" due to wasting guided bombs on Toyotas...

Project 636.3 Rostov-on-Don launched Kalibr missiles at targets in Raqqa.

http://tass.ru/politika/2509573

Also Shoigu delivered the Su-24 black box to Putin. Putin said it should be opened in front of the international experts.

https://russian.rt.com/article/135463

And another video from Hmeymim.

Top article from Mike Whitney last week, well worth the read. This is an excerpt

But, of course, an apology doesn’t change the fact that a man is dead. And not only a man, but a Russian soldier. That means something. That puts the onus on Putin to seek justice for a hero who died while fighting for his country. Americans don’t understand this because America is always at war. In fact, American history is one long 240-year carnage-generating bloodbath from Bunker Hill to Baghdad, from Wounded Knee to Haditha. As a result, America has to conceal its casualties from public view to the extent that even photographing the flag-draped coffins delivered to Dover Airbase has been banned. That’s how Sparta prevents the people from seeing the enormous costs of its so called interventions.

Russia is different. Russians don’t like war, and war is not a permanent feature in Russian life. So when a pilot is killed in action, the entire country grieves which is exactly what happened when the remains of Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov were returned from Syria to Moscow. It was a day of national mourning.

Now the ball is in Putin’s court. Now it is incumbent on him, as a responsible and moral leader, to seek justice for Peshkov, which means that, first of all, he must persuade Erdogan must acknowledge his mistake and apologize. Secondly, there has to be some tangible effort to make amends. It’s Putin’s responsibility to demand accountability, not revenge. And that’s what he’s doing. Putin has already stated in blunt terms that he is NOT going to let this thing slide. There will be payback, that much is certain.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/04/putin-must-seek-justice-for-peshkov/

ult wrote:Project 636.3 Rostov-on-Don launched Kalibr missiles at targets in Raqqa.

http://tass.ru/politika/2509573

In English http://tass.ru/en/defense/842471

Makes me smile when one of my forecasts comes true

MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. The guided missile cruiser The Vargyag, currently taking part in the joint Russian-Indian naval exercise Indra, will be dispatched to Syria, a source in the Russian contingent taking part in the exercise has told TASS in an interview.

"The guided missile cruiser The Varyag will leave India for Syria, where it will replace the guided missile cruiser The Moskva (project 1164 Atlant), he said, adding that The Varyag’s mission in the area would presumably last till September.

The naval exercise Indra began on December 7. It is scheduled to last till December 12. At the moment the preparatory phase of the exercise is nearing completion. The active phase in the Bay of Bengal is due on December 10-12. Anti-submarine operations will be practiced. Also, the crews will polish skills of freeing a ship seized by hypothetical terrorists. Helicopters will deliver assault groups on board.