Conflict in Syria - update 10/05/2015

The situation in Syria is fast developing and looking more dangerous.

1. The Russian air raids have been very sucessful in destroying the positions of all terrorist groups, but especially those belonging to what could be called al-Nusra or ISIS/Daesh

2.Today a combined FSA/Kurdish command has asked for Russian assistance as have the Iraqis in the past few days. We even seem to have the phenomenon of the Afghans asking for asssistance

3.The West seems to be in total denial about what is happening and is totally silent and unable to acknowledge the success of Russian actions

4. Large groups of volunteer Russian soldiers seem bound for the conflict including Chechens whose assistance president Kadyrov has offered.

5.There are reports of Iranian troops ariving in the country in advance of a ground operation

6.Saudi clerics are calling for Jihad against Syria’s government and their Russian backers

7. There are still rumours of China planning to enter the conflict

8. How long before we have a general conflagration or even World War in the region?

I have used various sources some more reliable from others. Generally reports from western mainstream media has been excluded

The growing regional conflict in Syria

ISIS ON THE RUN: Russian Airstrikes Totally Obliterate Terrorist Forces in Just 72 Hours

Russia has just achieved, in 72 hours, what the West failed to do in an entire year.



Numerous news outlets are now reporting that ISIS forces are in total disarray and even, in some cases, completely on the run following the start of Russian airstrikes last week. 

Russian Lt. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov said that “intelligence has captured that militants are leaving the areas under their control“, and, most importantly, he added that “panic and desertion have begun in their ranks. About 600 mercenaries have left their positions and are trying to get to Europe“.

Due to this runaway success, Kartapolov said “we will not only continue conducting our airstrikes, but will also increase their intensity“, where the Russians will be targeting “command and control centers, ammunition and explosives warehouses, communication centers, mini-factories for the production of weapons of suicide bombings and militant training camps“.

A spokesperson from Russia’s Defence Ministry said “A bunker-busting BETAB-500 air bomb dropped from a Sukhoi Su-34 bomber near Raqqa has eliminated the command post of one of the terror groups, together with an underground storage facility for explosives and munitions“. He added that “All disclosed targets are promptly engaged, regardless of the weather or light conditions“.

ISIS have no chance against the advanced Russian jet and bomb technology, and the spokesperson commented that “No operable air-defense systems have been spotted in the Russian Air Force zone of action in Syria“.

Terror analyst Dr Afzal Ashraf commented saying that ISIS “vastly exaggerated their military strength“. He said “this mythical state will disappear in a matter of hours once the international community decides to act. It won’t take very long at all to drive them, if not out of all of Iraq or Syria, then certainly the majority of their territories“.

This obviously now calls into question what the West was doing for an entire year, when they were supposedly trying to destroy ISIS. What is certain is that military industrial complex was making a boat load of cash – around $10 million per day – ‘fighting ISIS’, yet there were no results to speak of. 

Adding to the embarrassment, NATO managed to drop a bomb through the roof of a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing numerous innocents, in the same week that they were upstaged by Russia.

Source: 3,000 ISIL, Al-Nusra Front Terrorists Flee Syria to Jordan

Hundreds of ISIL terrorists have fled Syria to Jordan as the Syrian army continues march on militant-held regions, specially in the South, military sources said Monday.

“Over 3,000 militants from the ISIL, Al-Nusra Front and Jeish al-Yarmouk have left Syria for Jordan after the start of the Syrian army’s new wave of attacks and advances and the Russian airstrikes on ISIL positions,” a military source said.

The source noted that the Takfiri militants are afraid of the army’s advances in all fronts that come with the Russians’ air backup.

According to the source, the Syrian army on Sunday attacked the positions of ISIL and Al-Nusra Front terrorist groups in the suburbs of Damascus and the provinces of Deir Ezzur and Homs as well as regions near the city of Palmyra.

On Friday, the ISIL Takfiri terrorists were on the run to save their lives after sustaining heavy casualties in the Russian airstrikes in the Syrian governorate of Raqqa.

“A large number of foreign ISIL terrorists have fled Raqqa for Iraq after the Russian warplanes pounded their hideouts,” the Arabic-language El-Nashre news website quoted eyewitnesses as saying.

The report said that many ISIL militants and their families have escaped form Tal a-Saman villages in the Northern parts of Raqqa.

The Syrian air defense command said that the Russian Air Force struck the ISIL-held Tabaqa airbase in Raqqa governorate’s Western territories, destroying the military barracks after two airstrikes above this large military base.

The source said the ISIL terrorists sustained considerable damage as a result of the Russian airstrikes on the Tabaqa airbase.

In addition to their airstrikes inside Tabaqa, the Russian Air Force struck the ISIL positions at the Al-‘Ajrawi Farms; this farm area is located outside of the Tabaqa airbase and used by the terrorist group as a weapons supply depot.

To the east of the Raqqa governorate, the Russian fighter jets continued their airstrikes above the Hasaka governorate, attacking the terrorist group at the cities of Al-Shadadi and Al-Houl, while the Syrian Air Force struck an ISIL convoy along the Deir Ezzur-Hasaka Highway.

ISIS Suffers Disastrous Defeat in Deir Ezzor: Over 150 Terrorists Killed in 24 Hours

On Monday morning, the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) launched a full-scale assault on the provincial capital of the Deir Ezzor Governorate, attacking the Syrian Armed Forces’ frontline defenses at the Military Airport; the Al-Sina’a, Al-Haweeqa, and Al-‘Amal Districts; and the village of Al-Muri’iyah.



Unfortunately for the terrorist group, they were severely outmatched by the soldiers from the 137th Artillery Brigade of the 17th Reserve Division and the 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard.



Upon their initial assault at the Deir Ezzor Military Airport, ISIS sent two waves of fighters towards the contested army base (southern perimeter of the airport); however, the charging terrorists were overwhelmed by the fierce resistance from the Syrian Arab Army and the relentless aerial assault by the Russian Air Force.



The terrorist group’s frontlines were fractured by the Syrian Armed Forces and Russian Air Force; this resulted in the death of over 55 enemy combatants from ISIS, including their Tunisian field commander.



Meanwhile, at the Al-‘Amal (Workers) and Al-Sina’a (Industrial) Districts of Deir Ezzor City, ISIS made the mistake of attempting to push into these well-fortified areas; this attack was repelled by the Syrian Armed Forces, who reportedly killed 32 enemy combatants from the terrorist group before they made an eastbound retreat.



Perhaps the most impressive victory for the Syrian Armed Forces came at the contested district of Al-Haweeqa, where they were originally attacked by a large contingent of ISIS fighters at the northern flank.



ISIS stormed the Syrian Armed Forces’ defenses at the northern flank of Al-Haweeqa; however, once again, they found themselves under attack by the Russian Air Force, who relentlessly bombarded their reserve units, leaving over 20 terrorist dead in the process.



With ISIS’ frontlines crumbling, the Syrian Army’s 137th Brigade took advantage of this, capturing a half dozen building blocks and unearthing a 150 meter tunnel that belonged to the terrorist group inside the Al-Haweeqa District.



Undeterred by their high death toll and failed infiltration attempts, ISIS launched one last assault at the imperative village of Al-Muri’iyah, where they foolishly stormed the Syrian Armed Forces’ defenses in an open field; this resulted in the death of almost 40 terrorists.



According to a military source from the 104th Airborne Brigade, ISIS’ offensive was a disaster and ill-prepared for something of this magnitude in the Deir Ezzor Governorate.



Furthermore, the Russian Air Force played an integral role in this defeat, as they relentlessly pounded the terrorist group with numerous airstrikes.

End of ISIS? Putin 'sending 150,000 soldiers to Syria to WIPE OUT evil Islamic State'

VLADIMIR Putin is preparing to send 150,000 troops to Syria in a bid to wipe out the evil Islamic State once and for all

The Russian leader is reportedly mounting an enormous military mission to take control of the terror group's stronghold of Raqqa.

The city is the self-declared capital of ISIS in Syria and is patrolled by as many as 5,000 jihadi members.


Putin is set to mobilise 150,000 reservists who he conscripted into the military earlier this week.

Russia Says ‘Volunteers’ Likely to Fight in Syria

Russia Not Planning Formal Ground Operations

Russian military official Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov reiterated today that there are no plans for Russian ground troops to get directly involved in the Syrian Civil War, but said it was very likely that Russian “volunteers” will start showing up in the ranks of the Syrian Army.

Chechen special operations force will start land operation in Syria

Ramzan Kadyrov proposed to send his infantry to fight ISIS terrorists In connection with the decision of the Federation Council on the use of Russian aircraft in the war against terrorists in Syria, the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov announced his position that it was necessary to involve not only the Air Force, but also the Army in the military operation in the Middle East . The Chechen leader said that in case the decision on participation of Russian Army in Syria was taken, he would immediately provide it with the troops from Chechnya.

“We have been working on it for more than a year, we are absolutely prepared for combat activity. We are ready to go, we have tens of thousands of volunteers. ISIS recruits our brothers, the terrorists are preparing them to commit terrorist attacks against our people aiming at destabilizing the situation in Russia. The sooner we finish with them, the more easy it will be to live for the world community. We are waiting for the opportunity to participate in the fight against these devils, ” Ramzan Kadyrov said.

The head of Chechnya says that the Russian Federation is not only a defender of its own people, but also as a fighter against international terrorism, and in this context we are not talking about the support of some of the Syrian side – President Bashar al-Assad or the opposition.

“We see the murders of innocent people. The existence of ISIS endangers the safety of our country. So why should we wait for them at home, if they can be destroyed in their own lair? We are ready to go, we have volunteers, tens of thousands of people. In 1999, we took an oath on the Koran that to the end of life we ​​will fight against these devils, and we will destroy them wherever they may be “, he stressed in his speech.

On September 30, Ramzan Kadyrov personally checked the readiness of his “flying squad”, which, as noted, is formed from the staff of the special forces. It was not specified why the inspection of Kadyrov’s “flying squad” happened so suddenly after it had been announced that Russia was ready to bomb the positions of ISIS in Syria. 

Iran mobilises forces on Syrian border ahead of ground operation

US military experts have apparently told Fox News that additional Iranian forces had arrived in Syria in advance of a ground operation supported by Russian airstrikes in the country, Palestinian newspaper Al-Resalah reported on Friday. The experts did not reveal the numbers of the forces involved.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported Lebanese sources on Thursday saying that hundreds of Iranian troops had been heading to the Syrian border for the past ten days. They said that these troops are preparing to take part in a ground operation in the north of the country. Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia is also preparing to take part in the operation, it was claimed.

The sources said that the ground operation is to be carried out by Syrian government troops supported by the Iranians and Hezbollah, with air cover provided by the Russians.

According to Russian Interfax news agency, however, an Iranian diplomatic source in Moscow insisted that Tehran has no need to send troops to Syria, but added that there are Iranian military advisers already in the country.

This news came just days after the start of Russian airstrikes in different parts of Syria. The Syrian opposition said that the Russians targeted its positions, although observers claim that the Russians have also hit Daesh/ISIS targets in Al-Raqqa in the north of Syria.

Chinese warplanes to join Russian air strikes in Syria. Russia gains Iraqi air base

2 October, 2015

Russia’s military intervention in Syria has expanded radically in two directions.DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report that China sent word to Moscow Friday, Oct. 2, that J-15 fighter bombers would shortly join the Russian air campaign that was launched Wednesday, Sept. 30. Baghdad has moreover offered Moscow an air base for targeting the Islamic State now occupying large swathes of Iraqi territory

Russia’s military intervention in Syria has five additional participants: China, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hizballah.

The J-15 warplanes will take off from the Chinese Liaoning-CV-16 aircraft carrier, which reached Syrian shores on Sept. 26 (as DEBKAfile exclusively reported at the time). This will be a landmark event for Beijing: its first military operation in the Middle East as well the carrier’s first taste of action in conditions of real combat.

Thursday night, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, made this comment on the Syrian crisis at a UN Security Council session in New York: “The world cannot afford to stand by and look on with folded arms, but must also not arbitrarily interfere (in the crisis).”

Saudi Clerics Call for Jihad Against Iran and Russia in Syria

Dozens of conservative Saudi Arabian clerics have called for Arab and Muslim countries to "give all moral, material, political and military" support to what they term a jihad, or holy war, against Syria's government and its Iranian and Russian backers.

Although the clerics who signed the online statement are not affiliated with the government, their strong sectarian and anti-Christian language reflects a growing anger among many Saudis over Russian and Iranian involvement in Syria's civil war.

Russia last week started air strikes against Syrian opposition targets. The Kremlin, a staunch supporter of the ruling Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, says it wants to weaken the militant group known as the Islamic State. Saudi Arabia, along with Turkey and other Gulf states, has supported rebels trying to unseat the Assad regime and has denounced the Russian attacks. The clerics' statement portrayed the Russian bombardments as part of an Orthodox Christian crusade.

"The holy warriors of Syria are defending the whole Islamic nation. Trust them and support them ... because if they are defeated, God forbid, it will be the turn of one Sunni country after another," the statement said.

The bloodshed in Syria, part of a wider struggle for regional supremacy between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran, has aggravated sectarian anger across the Middle East and drawn religiously motivated foreign fighters to both sides.

But the Saudi leadership is also worried about the rise of jihadist groups, such as Islamic State, that are among the opposition. Riyadh's state-affiliated clergy has already termed the war a jihad for Syrians. But the Saudi religious leaders also have denounced the Islamic State and al Qaeda and said that Saudi citizens must not go abroad to fight or give the rebels money except through government channels

Syria Ground War Imminent? U.S. Accuses Russia Of Launching Syrian Land Campaign

….What happens next? A very likely course of events is that despite Russia's denials, the Pentagon will use the gambit of a Russian ground campaign, credible or not, to get permission from Congress to send a "small", at first, then bigger ground force of US troops in Syria to, you guessed it, "fight ISIS", but really to do everything to prevent Russian troops from taking over key strategic positions.

What happens then? Well, with the previously discussed Russian naval campaign of Syria as a likely next step, and with both US and Russian warplanes already flying back and forth above Syria, and now both superpowers having a legitimate, if only in the eyes of their own media, justification to dispatch land troops, what was until now a mere proxy war is about to become full blown land combat on Syrian soil, one which will soon involve both Russian and US ground, sea and airborne forces.

The last missing step will be when US cruisers, destroyers and/or battleships park next to the Syrian coastline, within earshot (and every other "shot") away from comparable Russian warships. Keep tabs on the weekly US naval update, because once several US warships weigh anchor in the vicinity of Syria that will be the catalyst for the next and final escalation.

At that point, the world will be one false flag away from what some could call another world war, only this time one launched not in Serbia but Syria.

Putin Issues Ultimatum, Threatens War Over Erdogan’s Support of ISIS

Putin issues an ultimatum to Turkey, "End all military support for ISIS"

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting with the Turkish Ambassador issued a verbal ultimatum calling for an immediate end to Turkey’s support for ISIS and violations of Syria’s sovereignty.  In doing to, Putin has drawn a red line over Syria, after weeks of escalating NATO moves against that beleaguered nation.

In a startling move, Russian President Vladimir Putin castigated Turkish President Recep Erdogan, calling him a “dictator” and threatening to sever diplomatic ties with Turkey over what Putin claims is Erdogan’s continued support of the ISIS terror organization.

It is believed that this is in response to Erdogan’s claim, pasted across the western press yesterday, that Putin had told him Russia was no longer going to support Syria in their war against al Qaeda, ISIS and their western backed sister organizations.

Putin summoned Turkish Ambassador to Moscow, Umit Yardim to the Kremlin for what turned out to be a two hour diatribe by Putin with fiery accusations returned by the Turkish Ambassador.  This is the best translation of key statements made by Putin:

“Tell your dictator Erdogan to go to hell and that unless he stops well established and easily proven support for ISIS, Russia will sever diplomatic relations.  We are  prepared to turn Syria into a big Stalingrad for Turkey and her Saudi allies and their vicious little gang of Hitlers.

Your little dictator is a hypocrite, attacking the military coup in Egypt while, at the same time, he is trying to overthrow the elected government of Syria. As it stands, China, Iran and Russia will guarantee the survival of Syria.”

In an article by the Moscow Times, a publication controlled by CIA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, a different version is given with Ambassador Yardim shouting down Putin and blaming Russia for all of Syria’s ills.  As an illegally foreign owned media organization, the Moscow Times is being sold to Russian owners by government decree with change of ownership coming in September 2015.

The meeting is said to have lasted over two hours and to have been behind closed doors.  The version we have of statements made were leaked by sources close to President Putin. We believe the statements quoted above are to be considered an ultimatum

Yesterday, President Obama announced that the United States would provide air support for US trained jihadists fighting inside Syria.  The White House statement may well have been misquoted by the Murdoch owned Wall Street Journal.  The Journal, in another case of “mission creep,” quoted spurious anonymous sources in the Pentagon embellishing the president’s statement to include air attacks on Assad forces.

It is very possible that the White Houses’ failure to demand a retraction for the WSJ story until early this morning Washington time may have been a contributing factor to Putin’s rage.  To a large extent, the Wall Street Journal has become an organ of Netanyahu’s schemes since Murdoch bought the publication  in 2011.

Netanyahu has long seen himself as the ultimate winner in any military confrontation between Russia, China and NATO and Japan.....

Turkey says ‘no tension’ after Russian airspace violation mistake, NATO cries foul

Russia has admitted making a mistake after its warplanes violated Turkey’s airspace. Ankara has accepted the matter, saying there is no ill feeling between the two countries. But NATO has slammed Moscow for what it deemed “irresponsible behavior.”

The incident, which occurred on Saturday, saw Turkey scramble two F-16 jets after a Russian military aircraft crossed into Turkish airspace near the Syrian border.

Ankara also claimed that a MiG-29 fighter jet, which is used by both Russia and Syria, harassed two of its F-16’s on Sunday by locking radar on to them, as they patrolled the Turkish-Syrian border.

“Our position is very clear, we’ll warn any country that violates our borders in a friendly way. Russia is our friend and neighbor. There is no tension between Turkey and Russia in this sense. The issue of Syria is not a Turkish-Russian crisis,” Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told HaberTurk TV, as cited by the Hurriyet Daily, following diplomatic communications between Ankara and Moscow. 

"What we have received from Russia this morning is that this was a mistake and that they respect Turkey's borders and this will not happen again," Davutoglu added.

The Russian Defense Ministry has said that bad weather caused the incident when Russian combat aircraft violated Turkish airspace

With Russia’s Dep. Army Chief due in Israel, Moscow posts 64 S-300 ship-to-air missiles off Syria, N. Israel

5 October, 2015

Russia’s deputy chief of staff, Gen. Nikolay Bogdanovsky, accompanied by a large military delegation, arrives in Israel for a two-day visit on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to discuss increased coordination between the two militaries. However, Moscow seems to be sending Jerusalem an altogether different message: Friday, Oct. 2, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the surprise deployment of Navy cruiser, the Moskva, armed with 64 advanced anti-aircraft missiles S-300 ship-to-air missiles opposite the Syrian coastal town of Latakia.

DEBKAfile’s military sources point out that Russia, without saying so publicly, has thus created an effective no-fly zone over most of Syria, most of northern Israel, including the Golan, as well as southern Turkey, for US aircraft based there for air strikes in Syria; Cyprus, the site of British air force bases; and Jordan.

Since 2012, The Obama administration has been discussing the possibility of establishing no-fly zones in northern and southern Syria on a number of occasions, but has shelved the plan whenever a decision was imminent. Now, with one move, Moscow has imposed a no-fly zone over Syria.

The presence of the wide-ranging S-300s means that the Turkish, British, Israeli and Jordanian air forces will need to coordinate their aerial operations in Syrian or Lebanese airspace with Russia, or face the risk of their planes being shot down.

In the view of DEBKAfile’s military sources, the only aircraft capable of evading those advanced missiles are stealth planes. Neither the Israeli, British, Jordanian or Turkish air forces, nor the US squadron in Turkey consisting of F-16 fighters, have such aircraft at their disposal.

The S-300 has a range of 150 kilometers and can shoot down any type of missile, including cruise missiles, as well as planes.

If US President Obama truly wanted to deal effectively with Moscow’s military moves in Syria, besides saying that Russia is bound to fail, he would have ordered the deployment of US stealth fighters to Turkey and Israel. However,may have been held back from this step by fear of antagonizing Iran, which has so far delayed sealing the nuclear agreement with the world powers by putting it to vote in parliament.

The presence of Moskva off the shores of Syria and close to northern Israel creates a new situation that will very likely be discussed in the talks that start Tuesday in Tel Aviv between Russia’s deputy chief of staff and his Israeli counterpart, IDF Gen. Yair Golan.

Although Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during their summit in Moscow on September 21 not to allow S-300 missiles reach the hands of the Syrian military, he made no promises about positioning them on a Russian warship in the Mediterranean facing Syria and northern Israel.     

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Our military sources point out that Russian air strikes have not been confined to any single area so far, but the injection of S-300s into the war arena widens the Russian air force's options.

In an interview with CNN on October 4, Prime Minister Netanyahu described how the Russian operation in Syria had affected relations with Moscow. "We don't want to go back to the days when, you know, Russia and Israel were in an adversarial position,” he said. “I think we've changed the relationship. And it's, on the whole, good.” He added that Israel’s close relations with the US were in a completely different and special category.

When asked whether he thought Russia’s intervention would cause instability in the region, he seemed to avoid giving a detailed response, only saying, “I don't know. I think time will tell”.

However, on the topic of the transfer of advanced weaponry to Hizballah, the prime minister was very clear. ”If anybody wants to use Syrian territory to transfer nuclear weapons to Hezbollah, we'll take action,” he said.

It marked the first time for an Israeli prime minister to speak publicly on the possibility that the terrorist organization could acquire atomic weapons.  

Who is next in line? Afghanistan wants Russia's help too

Афганистан попросил Россию помочь в борьбе с ИГ

Translated by Kristina Rus

5 October, 2015

Kabul needs Russian help in the fight against terrorist group "Islamic state". This was announced by the first Vice-President of Afghanistan General Abdul Rashid Dostum following the meeting with the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov.

 "Dostum said that ISIS is trying to make its foothold in Afghanistan. To prevent this threat Kabul needs Russian support, as in Syria. We are confident that the Russian leadership will make a positive decision in this matter," — wrote Kadyrov on his social network page.

He also said that economic, trade and cultural cooperation was discussed at the meeting.

On September 30th, Russian air force at the request of the President of Syria Bashar al-Assad began an air operation with the application of point strikes on ISIS positions.

Today the Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian aircraft over the past day has made 25 sorties against the "Islamic state" in Syria and attacked ten objects of the terrorists. As a result of the six strikes on a terrorist base near the city of Idlib about 30 vehicles have been destroyed, including captured from the Syrian army T-55 tanks.

The general staff of Russia reported that over the three day operation the Russian pilots completed more than 60 sorties in Syria to destroy more than 50 sites of terrorist infrastructure. During this time, the logistical base of the terrorists has been undermined and their combat potential significantly reduced, in addition, the terrorists began to panic and desert.