Apparently just more Russian disinformation .......
#Turkey FM: says Turkey ready to cooperate with #Russia in anti-ISIL fight, denies news about opening Incirlik Air Base to Russia
Printable View
Russia and Putin attempting to play nice now........
Russia-backed channel RT censured for lack of impartiality in Turkish coverage http://gu.com/p/4nmc5/stw
BUT WAIT...initially Putin and his FM set the tone.....RT just followed their lead.......
Rus EU envoy: a Russian's complicity in the terrorist attack in Turkey is a lesson to the EU proving the need for cooperation with Russia
Too many arms and fighters for one jet?!
Iranian/Assad Il-76/747 tandem to enter #Syria from #Tehran in 15 minutes.
Assad-forces run in booby trap -factory building in north western #Aleppo detonated
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36...11516&z=17&m=b …
Reports Rebels blew up the Shabib factory with massive SVBIED, #Aleppo. Area probably here:
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=36....110035&z=16&m …
Damascus Regime T-55 tank hit (by recoiless gun?) at Harasta military hospital
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELNY...ature=youtu.be … http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=33...82813&z=16&m=b …
2 girls (5 & 2 years) killed by #Russia'n cluster bombing on #Aleppo's northern suburb Kafr Hamra
On 11th day of Regime offensive to besiege Rebel-held #Aleppo heavy clashes continue on #Mallah & #Khaldiyah fronts.
Photos being shared online of #HPG (#PKK) members with what looks like a German Panzerfaust 3
IS regain several villages in Jubb al-Jarrah area of eastern #Homs
after lost some yesterday to regime
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=34...22617&z=12&m=b …
Undetonated landmines left behind by #IS outskirts al-Ra'i in north #Aleppo countryside.
Rebels expelled Assad forces from some positions in Layramoun factories north Aleppo.
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=36...11516&z=15&m=b …
Jaish Al-Fateh claims seized back lost positions in Layramoun's area after large SVBIED. #Aleppo.
Jaysh al-Islam | apparent recoilless rifle strike on T-55 tank #Harasta Military Hospital:
https://youtu.be/ELNYHZVtvWk
Rebels are still in the outskirts of Al Rai & keep shelling #ISIS inside city, N. #Aleppo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJBWoFLY-eI …
STILL no US\Russian air strikes against IS........
Footage of clashes in #Khaldiya where Rebels claim they took out a tank & a BMP. #Aleppo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl3AiSiwLS0 …
Waste of tax payers money and a total failure of the Obama\Rhodes WH along with Jordan......
SouthernFront now experiencing 1 year of fails:
- June-July'15: Daraa offensive
- Dec-Jan'16: Sh. Miskin lost
- Since March vs IS: stalling
Seems Regime forces no more used 2 face SouthernFront as they leave barrier after few shells
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIblXaTWFjg …
Interesting 'self-propelled' improvised mortar 'cannon' deployed in direct fire mode by @AlrahmanCorps .
@QalaatAlMudiq Results of pro-Regime offensive (summary):
No gain: Handarat & Khaldiyah/Bani Zeid
Few gains: Layramoun
Main gains: Mallah
An FSA security official from Marat al-Numan was assassinated this AM, while an IED targeted an Ahrar al-Sham commander near Saraqeb. #Idlib
Amid massive troop losses, Hezbollah is at odds with the Assad regime over the 'impossible' fight to seize Aleppo.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/he...ort-1337512772
Karim El-Bar
Wednesday 29 June 2016 17:01 UTC
Last update: Thursday 30 June 2016 13:11 UTC
Quote:
Hezbollah is reportedly refusing to back Syrian government forces in a proposed attack on Aleppo, arguing that the city – a bastion of the Syrian uprising – is "impossible" to take, according to a report by an Italian news agency citing sources within the Lebanese Shia movement.
Hezbollah has been a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the country's five-year war but AdnKronos International (AKI) - which is headquartered in Italy but covers Arabic-language news - said on Wednesday the group had strategic differences with the government over its plans to recapture rebel-held areas of Syria's largest city with the aid of Russian air support.
Hezbollah sources close to the group's military operations in Syria told AKI: "We realised that it is impossible to take over the city, and thus it is dangerous to increase expansion without securing the areas neighbouring the expansion. This is in addition to the party suffering losses in its forces and in Iran-aligned forces.
“The party stressed to the Syrian forces that a battle such as this needs 100,000 fighters at least on the ground to succeed."
AKI also quoted a journalist embedded with Hezbollah forces who said: "[Hezbollah] sent a clear message to [the Syrian government] regarding this matter, because the city of Fallujah in Iraq needed 40,000 fighters and several months of fighting. This Iraqi city is very small compared to the sprawling city of Aleppo.
“But government forces are not convinced by this message and insisted on continuing,” he added. “They will most likely realise their mistake soon.”
This difference of opinion, the journalist said, had led Russia to draw its own strategic red lines, essentially saying that Russian air support was for defensive, not offensive, purposes.
"I am not confident that an offensive on Aleppo will take place in the foreseeable future," Russian ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinshchak told Interfax on Tuesday. "As for Raqqa, in this case I would also like to refrain from any certain forecasts regarding its liberation."
Reports of splits in the pro-Assad alliance come just days after Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah came out forcefully in favour of the “greatest battle” in Aleppo:
In remarks broadcast over the group's al-Manar television station, Nasrallah said his party would "increase our presence in Aleppo... because the real, strategic, greatest battle is in Aleppo and the surrounding area".
"We are facing a new wave, or a new phase, of military operations in Syria that will be fought in the north, specifically in the area of Aleppo," he said.
"Fighting in defence of Aleppo is in defence of the rest of Syria, of Damascus. It's in defence of Lebanon and Iraq and Jordan.
"This is why it is our duty to be in Aleppo, and we were - and we will stay in Aleppo."
He also announced that 26 Hezbollah fighters had been killed in the offensive this month, in a rare admission of casualties for the group.
The Syrian conflict is purportedly the deadliest conflict in which Hezbollah has been involved since it was set up in the 1980s to fight the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Hezbollah has sent thousands of fighters to Damascus, Aleppo and Homs provinces, and up to 1,500 are estimated to have been killed.
They include Mustafa Badreddine, formerly Hezbollah’s top military commander, who was killed last month in contested circumstances in a secretive command facility near Damascus airport.
One account of Badreddine's death suggested that he had been killed by Syrian or Iranian fighters as a result of an argument over Hezbollah's presence in Syria, and said he had been planning to withdraw many of Hezbollah's fighters to Lebanon because of the heavy losses sustained by the group.
Aleppo - once Syria's industrial and economic hub - has experienced a surge in violence over the past two months amid clashes between government forces in the west and rebel groups in the east.
Government forces, backed by Hezbollah and by Russian warplanes, are now seeking to close off the last rebel route out of the city.
Charles Lister @Charles_Lister ·
All in all, this is a critical component of Jabhat al-Nusra’s gradualist, long-game strategy in #Idlib, focused on…
Slowly & methodically, Nusra is taking apart potential future U.S-linked FSA threats in #Idlib, leaving a safer operating environment.
Jaish al-Tahrir was formed in Feb '16 by:
Jabhat al-Sham
Division 46
Div'n 312
9th Brigade
Saraya al-Haq 312
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo1D...ature=youtu.be …
Mohammed al-Ghabi previously fought under controversial SRF leader Jamal Maarouf, who Nusra forcibly expelled from #Idlib in Oct '14.
Nusra has long accused certain Maarouf loyalists in #Turkey of coordinating attacks against JN figures using Jaish al-Tahrir fighters
It’s widely rumored that Jaish al-Tahrir fighters trained by America in Saudi Arabia were encouraged to share intel on Nusra positions.
More recently, Al-Ghabi was accused of diverting funds to his favored sub-commands = tensions were rising between Jaish al-Tahrir Units
Nusra exploited rising tensions yesterday to “intervene” & effectively neuter Jaish al-Tahrir, but left alone those open to JN power.
Nusra exploited similar dynamics in Marat al-Numan in March ’16, to expel the US-vetted 13th Division, led by Colonel Ahmed Saoud.
This was Marat al-Numan in #Idlib yesterday - 111 days of protests vs. #Assad & Al-Qaeda.
Day 112 in-a-row today.
Worth reading......
Charles Lister
@Charles_Lister
My new, exclusive article on FP:
"Jabhat al-Nusra initiates plans for Emirate in #Syria"
http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/04/...orthern-syria/ …
Hassan Hassan @hxhassan
Reverting to guerilla roots? I said exactly that in March, here
(https://twitter.com/hxhassan/status/...611892224?s=09 …)...
http://www.thenational.ae/world/midd...s-us-commander
ISIL may be reverting to its ‘terrorist roots’, says US commander
May 18, 2016 Updated: May 18, 2016 07:09 PM
Quote:
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY // A series of deadly attacks by ISIL operatives in and around Baghdad may be a sign that the militants are “reverting to their roots" as a terrorist organisation, the top US commander for the Middle East said on Wednesday.
Army Gen Joseph Votel, the head of US Central Command, said this does not mean ISIL has given up its ambition to create a so-called caliphate. However, he said, it marks a new turn in tactics aimed at diverting attention from the group’s recent battlefield losses.
Gen Votel said the attacks that have rocked Baghdad over the past week – killing upward of 200 civilians – are an illustration of the dynamic nature of the war.
“We have to respect our enemies and respect their ability to adapt and adjust on the battlefield," he said, speaking to reporters while travelling to the Middle East.
“In this regard, some of the attacks we’re seeing in Baghdad – I think we are seeing a manifestation of that. We are seeing them see opportunities and take advantage of those opportunities," he added.
“I think they believe it will cause the Iraqi government to divert forces, divert effort, divert intellectual horsepower to solving those problems" as opposed to priorities like recapturing the ISIL stronghold of Mosul in northern Iraq. His visit this week to the region comes amid concern about the slow pace of Iraqi military operations to recapture Mosul.
Now that ISIL has lost 40 per cent or more of the terrain it once controlled in Iraq, “they may be reverting in some regards back to their terrorist roots", he said.
The increase in attacks coincides with a political crisis over prime minister Haider Al Abadi’s efforts to replace the current cabinet.
The crisis has paralysed the legislature for weeks, and demonstrators angered by lawmakers’ lack of progress stormed parliament last month.
Gen Votel said he sees reason for “a little concern" about political paralysis that has gripped the Iraq government in recent weeks.
Colonel Steve Warren, the spokesman for the international operation against ISIL, cited the group’s battlefield setbacks as the primary motivation for the increase in Baghdad attacks.
But he also said that ISIL may see political turmoil in the capital as “an opportunity they can try to exploit using truck bombs".
At least 69 people were killed on Tuesday in a wave of bombings claimed by ISIL that struck outdoor markets and a restaurant in Shiite-dominated neighbourhoods of Baghdad.
The deadliest of the recent attacks were triple car bombings that hit Baghdad last Thursday which killed at least 94 people.
“Baghdad is now being targeted because the group is on the defensive and they can still hurt the government in their capital," said Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer who is now with The Soufan Group consultancy
http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/co...egional-crises
UAE shows the way to deal with regional crises
Hassan Hassan
July 3, 2016
BUT WAIT the Obama\Rhodes WH policy in fighting IS was what again????......not doing any "stupid ####".....Quote:
Since late 2013, two main regional blocs have competed over how to deal with the rise of extremist forces in Syria. The policy in Syria today seems to have finally settled in favour of one of the arguments.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, on one hand, favoured a twin policy of fighting extremist factions at the same time as battling the regime of Bashar Al Assad. Turkey and Qatar, on the other hand, pushed for toppling Mr Al Assad first. They argued that it would be easier to build a local, regional and international consensus to fight extremists after the downfall of the regime. With varying success, the two sides competed to advance their visions on the ground in Syria and in policy circles outside it.
Around this time in 2013, Jabhat Al Nusra had already revealed its links to Al Qaeda after two years of acting as a local Syrian group with a jihadist bent. ISIL began to establish a foothold for itself in much of Syria, mostly focusing on policing rebel-held areas. Syrian Islamist groups then began discussions to form a unified front. By the end of the year, Islamist and jihadist forces became the main players in rebel-held Syria.
At the beginning of 2014, clashes erupted between the rebel forces and ISIL. This continued until the summer, when the latter took over #Mosul and returned to Syria with a vengeance – eventually controlling about half of the country.
Two summers later, it should be clear that the twin policy of fighting the regime and extremists would have a better chance of working. Today, the two superpowers involved in the Syrian conflict are getting closer to working together to defeat ISIL and Jabhat Al Nusra, after American president Barack Obama reportedly proposed a partnership with Moscow against the Al Qaeda affiliate. Turkey’s policy in Syria was also widely criticised after last Tuesday’s terror attacks inside Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, with many saying that the attacks were payback for neglecting the growing presence of extremists in Syria.
The lesson that must be drawn from how the situation developed in Syria is that the twin policy is more effective. But there is an inherent issue with counterterrorism efforts in the region, often because they have been largely led by the United States, or because operations show little regard for local sensitivities or aspirations. Shifting politics in Washington may also undermine ongoing efforts and therefore perpetuate or exacerbate the problem. So, the apparent solution is for regional countries to take on the task.
This is where the UAE comes in. On Tuesday, Reuters published a detailed account of the Emirati special forces’ counterterrorism mission in southern Yemen – an operation that turned out to be more extensive and impressive than initially made out in media. An Emirati eight-person special forces team landed in Yemen in April 2015 and began to train Yemeni soldiers. The UAE teams trained a 2,000-strong force that drove the Houthi rebels from Aden last July, and further 4,000 forces to run the newly captured city. The UAE special forces then began to prepare for the Mukalla operation which culminated with driving out Al Qaeda.
A US official told the agency that some in Washington had doubted the UAE’s sincerity in attacking Al Qaeda in the port city of Al Mukalla. But the Pentagon deployed a small number of military personnel to help in the fight after an evacuation in early 2015, according to Reuters, in a possible sign of increasing US willingness to re-engage on the ground.
“Whether there’s secession or not, the south is in the hands of its sons and that was made possible by the coalition countries," Mahmoud Al Salmi, a professor at Aden University, said.
What makes the UAE’s mission particularly significant is that the effort is conducted by local forces and led by a regional country with a long-term commitment to the neighbourhood’s stability. This aspect is critical for any counterterrorism effort. While locals who want to expel extremist forces from their areas often seek support from the US, long-term commitment weighs heavily in their calculation. This dynamic is felt in Iraq, Syria and other countries where extremists dominate.
Local tribes or insurgents would rather strike temporary alliances with extremists, even though they could defeat them with some help from the US, because they know the US commitment is often fickle but extremists always come back. That is a lesson many have learnt from the Iraq war, when the people of Anbar joined forces with the American troops to expel the predecessor of ISIL from their areas between 2005 and 2010. The US withdrew from Iraq and left them to deal with an increasingly sectarian government in Baghdad and a growing jihadist force in their midst.
Today, many seek US support but they also want a regional guarantor of long-term commitment. The UAE offers an example of what that commitment looks like.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...2552&tid=ss_tw
By Josh Rogin
July 3 at 7:18 PM
The U.S.-Russia relationship is too big to fail, but it’s failing.
Quote:
The Obama administration came into office with a big idea about this relationship: that these two world powers must work together on areas of mutual interest even if they still worked against each other where their interests diverged. The concept was sound, but as relations have deteriorated and Russia has taken a more antagonistic stance, the United States has failed to adapt.
Last week’s revelation that the administration is proposing increased military cooperation with Russia in Syria, in exchange for Russian agreement to abide by the cease-fire it had already agreed to, was a stark example of how the administration’s theory about how to work with Russia is being misapplied on the ground. Washington is offering Moscow both a reprieve from the political and military isolation it imposed after the invasion of Ukraine — and a reward for taking unilateral military action designed to undermine U.S. policy in Syria.
The White House and the State Department believe that the only way to make progress in Syria is to work with Moscow, even if that means setting the isolation effort to one side. That makes some sense, but only if Russia actually honors its agreements in Syria and makes progress toward resolving the Ukraine crisis.
But neither of these things is happening. Ukraine’s recently departed prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, told me last week that while Russia has successfully distracted the world from the Ukraine crisis, the Russian military continues a medium-boil military campaign in violation of the Minsk agreement.
“Every single day they kill Ukrainian soldiers, every single day the death toll is rising, every single day we’ve got civilian casualties. There is no cease-fire on the ground,” he said.
To Yatsenyuk, Russian President Vladi#mir Putin’s strategy is clear. Russia will pretend to work with Western powers and even strike deals when the deals are sweet enough. But by selectively violating the agreements while manipulating other governments and the media, Putin will continue to make steady progress toward his anti-Western, anti-democratic objectives. For Yatsenyuk, there’s simply no way to work constructively with the current Kremlin.
“I don’t believe that you can agree on anything substantial with the Russian Federation because the U.S. is an enemy to the Russian Federation in their view,” he said. “They can have talks, they can have debates, they can even agree on some non-existential issues. But there is an existential difference. These are just two different worlds.”
The United States cannot afford to write off the U.S.-Russia relationship. There is truth to the argument that the world’s most pressing problems, including Islamic extremism, cannot be solved without some Russian involvement. But Washington cannot ignore Russia’s increasingly horrendous behavior. Russia’s dangerous military maneuvers near U.S. ships are now regular occurrences. Russian harassment and intimidation of U.S. diplomats across Europe is at an all-time high. Russian government cyberespionage and propaganda campaigns have run amok.
“The fact is, they are engaged in a new global Cold War against the U.S.,” said Samuel Charap, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “There’s absolutely no question about that. We have this festering wound on the relationship that nobody on the U.S. side is spending much time trying to fix.”
The United States has complicated relationships with lots of problematic countries. China, for example, is internally repressive and externally aggressive, but there’s no thought of cutting off relations with Beijing. Similarly, the policy of isolating Russia as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine has limits. Russia was determined not to cave to sanctions, and if the recent vote in the French senate is any indication, the sanctions regime will not last forever.
Kyle W. Orton @KyleWOrton
Anyone know any more about this?
http://bit.ly/29bJu8U
Syria|YPG chief commander flees to Germany w/his lover
BUT WAIT....I thought they were a US Kurdish Proxy?????Quote:
The Chief Commander of the YPG was arrested after being discovered to have married illegally, in breach of the internal rules that doesn’t allow him to marry , by Rydor Khalil personnally and was jailed in Qartashuk. Then he was sent on a tour of repentence in Qandil and returned to his village Yarmji in Derbasiya countryside.
After stealing 700 millions sp, he fled to Turkey and then to Germany with his lover. He left the militia. Rynas Ruz is considered to be one of its most important founder. He was replaced by al Haffal Syamin.
Another YPG responsible in al Hassakeh, Muhammad Issa, fled after stealing 90 millions sp to Kurdistan Irak.
Khamenei: Iran will never coordinate with the US on Syria. Those seeking ties with the West "have lost their minds".
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/2...th-us-on-syria …
CrowBat...any idea just how many SA8 missiles JaI has left????
Confirmed by proAssad\Putin supporter.......
Ivan Sidorenko @IvanSidorenko1
#Syria #Damascus #EastGhouta #EasternGhouta MiG-23 was Shot down by a Anti Aircraft Missile. Pilot Shawkat Suleiman announced Dead
Ivan Sidorenko @IvanSidorenko1
#Syria #Damascus #EastGhouta #EasternGhouta Pilot Shawkat Suleiman was From #Banias - MiG 23 shot down today.
Manbij: #ISIS has captured #Al_Mankubah village north of #Manbij from #YPG today.
Palmyra: #ISIS advancing east of #Palmyra Airport & southwest of #Palmyra at #Jabal_Hayyanah after heavy clashes with pro-#Assad forces.
Hasakah: 7+ pro-#Assad forces and 2+ #YPG militias were killed in #Hasakah today. Dozens more were wounded.
Hasakah: #ISIS VBIED has killed several #YPG militias southeast of #Shaddadi.
DeirEzzor: #Assad regime arrested 50+ youths today and forcing them to fight against #ISIS.
A Russian military observation blimp has been tethered over Hmeymim, previously there were 2 in Palmyra
Manbij: #ISIS has launched new massive attacks against #YPG north of #Manbij this evening.
A newly released IS video of Shaer features the exact same T-72s that also took part in the Tabqa counterattack.
European Parliament
✔ @Europarl_EN 100,000 ISIS tweets a day: how EU can tackle radicalisation & online propaganda
http://bit.ly/29e3TuD
Europol
✔ @Europol Europol Deputy Director Wil van Gemert on how we tackle online #terrorist & violent extremist propaganda
https://twitter.com/Europarl_EN/stat...30459518251008 …
Faylaq Al-Sham took out with an #ATGM an armored bulldozer near Al-Hader, S. #Aleppo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMit9tHWiOw …
First Coastal Division blew up with a #TOW a bulldozer on Tell Bashoura front, N. #Latakia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX_SG6ZSUMg …
From proAssad commenter...
Inside the airbase that held out against #ISIS for 2 years
#Syria #Aleppo
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7117431.html …
SAA is in a real mess in #Latakia,with insurgents attacking the entire frontline form the Turkish border to Kabanah.
With such a lenghty &bloody fight,#SAA gained very little in N. #Aleppo battle,having a fragile control of Al-Isamat &Northern Mallah farms.
From yesterday........LLC lists 39 killed.....
19 martyrs in Aleppo
7 in Raqqa
5 in Damascus
3 in Idlib
2 in Hama
2 in Deir Ezzour
1 in Daraa
1 in Homs
Heaviest battles accompanied with big explosions in all fronts around #Manbij now.
Heavy Coalition airstrikes targeting #IS as well.
Rebel offensive in #Latakia - July 4, 2016 #Syria
#Jaish_alFatah vs. #SAA
HD: http://newsmap.pl/news/ofensywa-rebe...2016#news-9446 …
Front is stabilizing in N. #Latakia: Rebels repelled pro-Assad attempt to reach #Kinsabba outskirts but didn't manage to capture Burj Bayda.
The use of the B9 recoilless rifle as a standoff weapon.....notice the weapon was totally new...not a scratch on the green paint.
https://youtu.be/z9sZGXMFaS0
Omar al Suri's gutsy reporting from #Salma outskirts. #Lattakia
https://youtu.be/s03iPaCQteM
After capturing Shaer gas field, #IS destroyed the facility in a controlled demolition w/ IEDs
Since more than a month, thousands of pro-Assad troops and the Russian air force have only one goal: Too cut off & besiege E Aleppo city.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians WILL be trapped.
The EU&US SEES this happening and says / does nothing.
Little room for interpretation...BUT WAIT the Obama/Rhodes WH does not want to do anything remotely appearing to be "stupid".....
APPEARS the Obama/Rhodes WH truly believes the Russian Ambassador to Syria when he states Assad does not want to capture Aleppo.....YES he does as it is the second largest city on Syria....AND if the Obama/Rhodes WH truly believes him then I have an entire desert I can sell to the WH...
Syria yesterday
The same procedure as ever day from #Aleppo to #Rastan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO17PBAlPV4 …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf9zgdHb29Y …
While the entire West and the Obama WH talks about IS attacks on the West...we tend to forget this simple basic fact.......
Jordan
Lebanon
Turkey
Bangladesh
Iraq
Syria
Saudi Arabia
Libya
Nigeria
Yemen
Afghanistan
Egypt & more...
IS Attacks/Kills Muslims
Reports from Kafranabel:
Jabhat al-Nusra has agreed to release Jaish al-Tahrir leader Mohammed al-Ghabi.
IS names suicide-killer who attacked YPG north of #Manbij: Qaswarah al-Maghribi, a German.
IS claim they have killed twenty SDF/YPG fighters around #Manbij with a suicide bomber.
Levant front footage of them fighting to capture al-Raeh from IS in North Aleppo. Go pro tank footage.
https://youtu.be/wJBWoFLY-eI
Iraiq Shia cleric but self-styled secular has a theory about what produces a suicide bomber: homosexuality + Quran:
New profile-Mustafa Sejari-compelling #Syrian rebel commander+leader of vital US-backed anti #ISIS group in #Aleppo http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_...e#.V3uo_sspDqB …
NOW English @NOW_eng
Hezbollah’s mounting losses in Aleppo #Syria
http://mme.cm/1FBW00
CrowBat.....what do you think.....??
'Admiral Kuznetsov’ could be preparing for war in Syria
https://warisboring.com/russias-crea...e4bbcf83bb---4 …
Iran saying since May it has info its 4 diplomats abducted in Lebanon in '82 in Israel prison. (info maybe from Lebanese allies) now Iran MP says Israel relayed message to Hezbollah, allegedly holding European POWs from Aleppo battles, willing to discuss a deal and peripherally, has it been suggested that austin tice is being held by some hezbollah allied group? (pro assad militia)?
Based on timelines/intvws I read it was, initially, Iran's Intel efforts hinting they are alive. Possible things moved after that.
@amnesty telling me, that "groups like the rebels, who committing war crimes, shouldn't be armed."
Why is @amnesty never demanding from #Russia and #Iran to stop arming #Assad and bombing the #Syria|n people?
https://twitter.com/worldonalert/sta...00356610027520 …
Homs: #ISIS launched new attacks against pro-#Assad forces around #Jub_al_Jarrah today after failed regime offensive in Eastern #Homs.
Russia'n airstrikes with cluster bombs on
Harbinafsah in south western rural #Hama
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=34...23611&z=14&m=b …
Russia'n airstrikes with cluster bombs on
Harbinafsah in south western rural #Hama
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=34...23611&z=14&m=b …
BREAKING-Multiple casualties reported as airstrikes hit Palestinian refugee camp.
But it was in Syria.
Carry on.
http://bit.ly/29k0oqp
ISIS using tanks, BMPs and heavy artillery in the #Manbij offensive.
Damascus : Loyalist media source Misyaf News confirms a Mi-24 helicopter was shot down in #East_Ghouta on Sunday.
While #Russia removed restrictions on outbound #tourism with #Turkey, it is in no rush to remove #trade #sanctions:
http://newsru.com/russia/05jul2016/medveg.html …
Homs: #ISIS destroyed 1 regime tank, 1 heavy machine gun and killed several pro-#Assad forces in #Abu_al_Balaya village
Hasakah: 3 #YPG fighters killed & 5 wounded in a booby-trapped house in the village of #Hasan_Zayt, south of Mount #Abdul_Aziz.
#Syria|n rebels advancing against pro-#Assad forces in Eastern #Ghouta today.
Cracks are starting to appear between Russia and Syria
http://read.bi/29jViJt
Deir Ezzor civilians pressed into Hezbollah’s new militiaQuote:
Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah recently tackled the recent battles southwest of Aleppo, where the party reportedly suffered its worst losses since entering the conflict in Syria. Nasrallah admitted in a speech broadcasted live on the group's Al-Manar TV on June 24 that 26 Hezbollah fighters had been killed since the beginning of June.
This rare acknowledgment of the party’s death toll seems to be an attempt to downplay the recent spate of casualties suffered in fighting near Syria’s largest city. This tally was later confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, who reported that “25 Hezbollah fighters were killed in southwest of Aleppo, which is the highest toll for Hezbollah fighters in a single battle since 2013.”
Nasrallah later explained that the heavy losses came after the arrival of thousands of opposition fighters to the area via the Turkish border, who aim is to capture Aleppo and its surrounding countryside. However, several experts claim that the mounting Hezbollah casualties were mainly due to a lack of Russian air cover in the battle.
Russia’s unilateral announcement of a two day ceasefire in Aleppo was actually one of the main factors that contributed to Hezbollah’s heavy losses. Russia's defense ministry stated that the goal of the ceasefire, which began on June 16, was to lower the level of violence and stabilize the situation in Aleppo.
However, it was later claimed that Russia announced the ceasefire in Aleppo without consulting Damascus or Tehran and that the Russians intentionally deprived pro-Assad forces in Aleppo of air cover due to conflicting agendas among the allies. Mustafa al-Ahmed, a rebel fighter with Jaysh al-Fatah in Aleppo, believes that the absence of Russian airstrikes was the main reason behind Hezbollah’s losses.
“Although the extensive use of mortar shelling and car bombs had contributed to a high number of casualties among Hezbollah’s fighters, the main reason was the absence of Russian air support to the Shiite militias backed by Iran,” Ahmed argued. Similarly, Hezbollah
supporters reportedly blamed Russia for the mounting casualties and publicly criticized Moscow for not using its air force to protect the party’s fighters.
Exhaustion among Hezbollah fighters, who are spread over several fronts in Syria, may also have contributed to the recent spike in casualties. Ali al-Saadi, a field commander in the Iraqi Shiite militia Harakat al-Nujaba, which is active in Syria and Iraq, told Al-Quds al-Araby that Hezbollah has requested urgent reinforcement from Iraqi Popular Mobilization militias to support their fighters in Aleppo.
Saadi linked this request to the increased inability of Hezbollah to fight effectively while its fighters are active in multiple operations across Syria. He added that the Russian government had informed its Syrian counterparts that airstrikes in support of Hezbollah near Aleppo would not be useful unless there were enough soldiers on the ground to secure areas taken from rebels.
Although not having enough fighters may have contributed to Hezbollah’s losses, it is unlikely that this was the main reason behind the spike in casualties. Al-Akhbar’s editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin wrote on June 17 that Iran, Russia and Syria have agreed on an action plan for a large battle in Deir Ezzor province in which Hezbollah will play a central role.
This claim, if true, refutes Saadi’s explanation and demonstrates that Hezbollah is willing and has the man power to expand their operations into new fronts in Syria.
The most likely explanation behind the mass casualties is that Russia was not on board when the Syrian regime and Iran launched their Aleppo offensive. Nasrallah argued the fighting near Aleppo was necessary to “defend what remains of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.”
However, it seems that Hezbollah was not able to convince Russia to fully support this battle. “Nasrallah’s latest speech exposed Iran’s failure to convince Moscow to fully join the fight to retake Aleppo and its countryside from the opposition,” wrote Mustafa Fahs, a former fellow at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Interfax news agency also quoted Russia's ambassador to Syria saying that he did not expect the Syrian army to assault the city in the near future.
Nevertheless, it seems that Iran had a plan to change Russia’s position, but the strategy backfired. “Iran was trying to drag Russia into Aleppo by starting the fight there alone and hoping that the developments on the ground would push the later to join. However, it seems that Hezbollah is the one who paid the heaviest price for Iran’s gamble,” said a Western diplomat based in Lebanon, who spoke under the condition of anonymity.
“We had to be in Aleppo, and we will stay in Aleppo,” Hassan Nasrallah declared in the same speech. The Hezbollah leader even promised to increase their presence there as "retreat is not permissible." However, it seems that the party leader is ignoring the recent improvements in relations between Russia and Turkey, which may reduce Russia’s involvement in Aleppo and could in turn increase the party’s losses there.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsRepo...itia-activists …
So that is why Hezbollah was sent to DeZ, to create more militia outside of Assad's SAA structure.
Jordan continues to block food deliveries to 65k + Syrians trapped in terrible conditions at Jordan/Syrian border
13th Division downed with machine guns a small #ISIS drone over N. #Aleppo.
Heavy clashes on Bahariya-Midaa front where JaI claims seized back few positions, E. #Ghouta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvFgsicmYtQ …
Jaish Al-islam's "Al Omar" missile: propulsion system is provided by a Grad rocket, #Aleppo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMQFHVV659s …
Jaish Al-Islam shelling Regime positions in #Khaldiyah with Omar missiles, #Aleppo.
Jaish Al-Nasr fired 2 #TOWs vs a tank & BMP in #Khaldiyah, #Aleppo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DjlPQlUurI …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK3CQc9NPKo …
BREAKING: #ISIS Amaq news agency reports that #US combat drone was downed in Tabqah city, W. #Raqqa
New promo from @Alaza_Army, filled with TOW shots, epic graphics, and training montages
https://youtu.be/N3lQrjRalZ8
Hayyan near #Aleppo today.
Same #Assad/#Putin war crimes as every day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X1XyBfIDnw …
http://www.understandingwar.org/back...june-3-28-2016
Jul 1, 2016 - Genevieve Casagrande:
"Russia continues to pressure the U.S. and regional actors into closer cooperation through its military intervention in Syria. Russia ultimately seeks to supplant the U.S. as a security guarantor in the Middle East and has used its air campaign in Syria to galvanize its demands for greater coordination in the theater. Unidentified U.S. administration officials claimed that the White House issued a proposal for military partnership with Russia in Syria after several weeks of negotiations between the two countries. The deal reportedly calls for the U.S. to conduct a coordinated air campaign against ISIS and al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Jabhat al Nusra. In exchange, Russia has reportedly agreed to push the regime to stop striking specific geographic zones held by oppositions groups deemed acceptable by the U.S. The provision of geographic delineations of armed groups has been a longstanding demand of Russia. This type of delineation remains infeasible in opposition-held Syria as Jabhat al Nusra and other jihadist groups do not unilaterally control terrain, and any withdrawal of opposition forces from key frontlines jointly held with jihadist groups would likely render core opposition-held areas vulnerable to advances by pro-regime forces."
Several hours after this was "leaked by the Obama/Rhodes WH" social media correctly pointed out that DoD (the military) was expressly forbidden to collaborate with the Russian military on basically anything....so stated in the 2016 National Defense Funding Bill...which was the cause for the SecDef to be the only one against the idea as reported by the NYTs...
Then a few days later it was "again leaked" by the Obama/Rhodes WH that well maybe we will "share intelligence".....THEN that was shot down by the Intelligence Community.....
BTW....virtually no US MSM picked on the possible violation of the 2016 DoD Funding Bill......still has not picked up on it.
So basically this was a trial lead balloon by the Obama/Rhodes WH to show that they were indeed trying to stop the bombing...which we know they really do not care about if it continues....remember "actions speak volumes about intent".
Clashes in Al-Mankubah at NE entrance of #Manbij after #IS counter assault http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36...67978&z=15&m=b …
IS took control of Al Zatar Cement Factory at road
#Manbij -> #Jarablus
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36...44460&z=14&m=b …
@UNOSAT This shows damage from a November 27th 2012 airstrike on Bab al-Hawa IDP camp. 47 tents destroyed.
@UNOSAT The razed (and revolution sympathetic) Masaa al-Arbaeen district of Hama, with 3256 buildings demolished.
Statistics by Syria's Civil Defense for June 2016 during the month of Ramadan: nearly 800 dead in Aleppo alone!
Comment from a proAssad/Russian regime supporter......
"Battle of Deirezzour maybe postponed to focus on Aleppo sources are telling me."
Translated means....
"Battle of Quagmire maybe postponed to give a priority to quagmire, sources telling me.
I guess assadists dont warn each other, same place 1st Coast gives Eid present - Fagot ATGM to KPV gunners #Lattakia
https://youtu.be/v_ckn3yMDWk
Assadist Kornet team shows their face in Jabal Akrad, 1st Coast replies with Fagot ATGM to their forehead #Lattakia
https://youtu.be/xWD9EihsNIU
Discontent over 40% incr. fuel prices sparks protest movement 'ghazna' in #Latakia. Regime forbids protest sit-in.
SAA armored vehicles captured by #IS at Shaer gas field included 8 tanks & 4 BMPs
Appears the SAA has now given up trying to be a coherent military organization and has gone over to simply resupplying the entire anti Assad forces and IS ......
Who has fired most TOW missiles during the SCW? Abu Hamza, 1st Coastal Div. (More than 50)
https://youtu.be/s0nvprmbExQ
New video message from The Islamic State: “The Clear Victory – Wilāyat Ḥimṣ”
http://jihadology.net/2016/07/04/new...%a5im%e1%b9%a3 …
BUT WAIT AI says virtually nothing about the torture and atrocities being committed by the Assad regime....in the same article....
These pale in the face of Assad's actions........
Syria: besides #JN Amnesty accuses Ahrar al-Sham, Jabhat al-Shamia, Nour al-Din al-Zinki & 16th Division of torture
Remember this?
Joint #YPG-Jabhat al-Nusra checkpts in 2012-13…
Yes, #Syria is complicated
http://vvanwilgenburg.blogspot.com/2...eckpoints.html …
Some US foreign policy experts insisted for decades Hezbollah was indigenous org fighting for Lebanon
Some still do
Don't worry, those people are still employed.
BUT WAIT........
#Iranian military official: We have 100,000 missiles in #Lebanon ready to hit #Israel
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Co...-Israel-459350 …
ALL under the control of Hezbollah.......
ISIS could probably justify burning a Quran, banning the hijab, and drawing cartoons of the Prophet. Where there's a will, there's a hadith
ShOAB-0.5M cluster bombs used near Homs, ShOAB-0.5M cluster bombs only appeared after Russia started bombing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kMX4T5cgBE …
First it was Russia declaring "periods of silence"...now it is Assad....
Syrian military declares 72-hour truce across Syria: military source
http://reut.rs/29nsChe
First Regime violation to its own "72hrs ceasefire": Jaish al-Islam reporting continuous violent attacks on Midaa front in E. #Ghouta.
Only yest., Jaish Islam claims took out 4 tanks, 1 Shilka & 1 BMP:
- Regime steps up efforts to seize E. #Ghouta
- Reinforcemenrs from South
Regime's ceasefire: focusing on its own attacks (Dam-N. Aleppo) & trying to stop Rebel offensives after their recent success (Lat-S. Aleppo)
Assad regime sends reinforcements from #Daraa Province to Eastern #Ghouta. Rebels in Daraa don't attack the regime since months.
Syria|n rebels destroyed 4 #Assad regime tanks and 1 BMP in Eastern #Ghouta yesterday.
Basically Assad and Putin use the so called periods of silence to move their troops around the battlefield and to resupply them.....
NEW Nusra video release
Battle of Khalasah
https://youtu.be/sqEHGHj9GbU
4 Martyrdom VBIED's was used in this battle.
FSA 2nd Coastal Div. TOW strike on SAA position in Latakia
https://youtu.be/IVjQUdqIghU
Homs : Regime forces on the outskirts of #Waer fire Shilka 23mm cannons into the besieged neighborhood.
Hasaka : Al-Hilal said Regime will form new "Volunteer Brigades" supervised by #Hezbollah to support #Kurdish Units in their "ISIS" war.
Qunaitra : Israeli forces fire a missile into the Regime held city of #Baath that killed members of their forces.
Israel|i army helicopter fired two rockets toward SAA army building in Quneitra causing it to totally collapse..
Assad regime Brigadier Ghassan Fayad assassinated, he's head of the political security branch in Damascus