Syria update - 10/27/2015

I have taken the liberty of extracting this small extract from the latest radio show of Mark Sleboda, Eric Draitser and Don DeBar in which they discuss the latest coming news coming out of Syria, especially as it relates to Turkey and Jordan.

It is a more sober analysis that avoids some of the triumphalism of other analyses and indicates that progress on the ground has been limited and the terrorists of all complexions are being supllied with some spophisticated weaponry.

Much recomended

Update on Syria – 10/24.2015

Combat report: Russia fighter jets hit 285 terror targets in Syria in past 3 days

RT,

26 October, 2015

In three days of operations, the Russian aviation group in Syria has hit 258 targets belonging to the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terror groups, the Defense Ministry said.

"Over the past three days, the warplanes of the Russian air group have carried out 164 sorties, hitting 285 targets,” Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said Monday.

In the past 24 hours, 59 sorties were carried out, targeting 94 terrorist sites in the provinces of Hama, Idlib, Latakia, Damascus, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor.

Konashenkov said a large ammunition dump belonging to the Jabhat al-Nusra terror group has been destroyed in Syria’s Damascus province. The two metallic hangars were razed to the ground as munitions inside them detonated following a direct hit by a Russian bombбer.

“Su-25 attack jets have destroyed three fortified points of Islamic State terrorists near the village of Salma in the province of Latakia,” Konashenkov said. “The sites were equipped with bunkers, pillboxes and mortar positions.”

In Aleppo, the Russian planes bombed an Islamic State command center used by the terrorists to coordinate their actions against the Syrian Army units near the Quaires airport, the spokesman added. In the same region, an Islamic State base equipped with anti-aircraft guns, mortars and heavy machine guns was destroyed in an airstrike.

A video posted on the ministry's official YouTube channel also showed an airstrike in Hama.

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The Defense Ministry also denied a report by Human Rights Watch about suspected casualties among Syrian civilians allegedly caused by a Russian airstrike on a hospital.

Konashenkov said that such claims were nothing but “stovepiping,” but are still “carefully monitored and analyzed” by the ministry.

Such anonymous, unverified information is released especially for the purpose of being picked up by the Western media, he declared.

READ MORE: Kremlin dismisses HRW accusations that Russian strikes killed civilians in Syria

Russia launched airstrikes targeting Islamic State and other terror groups in Syria on September 30, following a formal request from President Bashar Assad.

Putin: US Using Terrorists as ‘Battering Ram to Overthrow Regimes They Don’t Like!’

http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/10/26/putin-us-using-terrorists-as-battering-ram-to-overthrow-regimes-they-dont-like/

21st Century Wire says…

To have a world leader saying this on a global stage is unparalleled.

Watch a video of this report here:

Speaking last week at an annual gathering of the Valdai Club, a group of Russian and international analysts and politicians, Putin said that the U.S. had been using terrorists throughout the Middle East as “a battering ram to overthrow regimes they don’t like.”
He said, “It’s always hard to play a double game – to declare a fight against terrorists but at the same time try to use some of them to move the pieces on the Middle Eastern chessboard in your own favour.”

Putin is, of course, referring to the massive amounts of Western support that has been placed behind the terrorists forces in Syria in an attempt to overthrow the internationally recognised, and legally legitimate leader, Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking of legitimacy, Putin had this to say: “The so-called Islamic State has taken control of a huge territory. How was that possible? Think about it: if Damascus or Baghdad are seized by the terrorist groups, they will be almost the official authorities, and will have a launchpad for global expansion. Is anyone thinking about this or not?“

Evidently, then, a government run by Assad is infinitely better than a government run by terrorists.

Putin hits a bullseye when taking aim at Western foreign policy. (Photo Credit: Premier.gov.ru)

The Russian President also raised questions about the alleged existence of ‘moderate’ terrorists,saying: “There’s no need to play with words and split terrorists into moderate and not moderate. I would like to know what the difference is.“

In an attempt to thwart further Western attempts to support supposed ‘moderates’, Russia has now deployed the world’s most advanced aerial defence system in Syria; effectively placing a bubble of security around key areas of the nation state.

Russia airstrikes managed to wipe out 40% of ISIS’s infrastructure in just one week, causing bothembarrassment for the West and infighting amongst jihadist groups fighting for control of what little they have left.

Putin himself has made a habit of speaking the truth about Western foreign policy, most recentlyembarrassing a BBC journalist for asking a truly ridiculous question.

Free Syrian personality disorder: what am I gonna be today, #FSA, civilian, 'moderate' or #ISIL?

Grand Mufti of Syria: 800,000 refugees returned after start of Russian air strikes

Refugees preparing for their return journey to Syria from the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan on October 1 2015. Photo UNHCR

Off-Guardian,

26 October, 2015

Lenta reports:

In Syria, over 800,000 refugees returned after the start of the Russian air force strikes. This was stated by the Grand Mufti* of Syria, Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, at a meeting with members of the Russian parliamentary delegation that arrived in Damascus on Friday, October 23. According to Interfax, the Muslim cleric made this statement as a participant in a meeting with Sergei Gavrilov, the head of the Duma Committee on Property.

The Grand Mufti “called on Syria and Russia to engage in mutual support as multi-confessional states.” In general, the meeting was devoted to the issues of spiritual interaction between the two countries, humanitarian aid and the fight against extremism. […]

The Vice President of the Turkish branch of the Red Crescent, Kerem Kinik, said on October 23 that the humanitarian situation in Syria deteriorated after the start of the operation of the Russian air force. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on October 22 that he observed “clear signs” of an approaching new wave of refugees from Syria.

The Coordinator of the UN Refugee Agency in the Middle East, Amin Awad, assessed the situation differently. According to him, the offensive by government forces with the support of the Russian aviation has affected the dynamics of the movement of refugees within Syria, but did not increase their flight abroad. Representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stressed that they did not notice a significant accumulation of migrants at the border. […]

These following reports do not testify to rapid success on the ground. It sounds as if the terrorists (of complexions) are being supplied by the Americans and the Saudis with some very sophisticated weaponry

Saudi ISIS Commander Killed by the Syrian Army in East Hama

On Sunday morning, the Saudi emir of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) – “Abu Usama Al-Jazrawi” – was reportedly killed by the Syrian Arab Army’s 66th Brigade of the 11th Tank Division during a firefight outside of the town of Ithriyah, which is located inside the Khanasser Plains of the Hama Governorate’s eastern countryside.

Abu Usama Al-Jazrawi was the emir of Hasbah, Al-Raqqa before he was killed – not much is known about his past or his true identity; however, his pseudo-surname reveals his national identity

Uyghur Terrorist Killed by the Syrian Army in Northwest Hama

The Syrian Arab Army’s 45th Regiment of the 1st Armored Division has reported the death of an Uyghur (Turkic ethnic group in northwest China) terrorist from China’s Xinjiang Province on Saturday afternoon – the Islamist rebels later confirmed the death of this terrorist, while also providing his identity and photo.

According to social media activists from the Syrian Opposition, the Uyghur terrorist fighting alongside their Islamist militias was identified as “‘Abbas Al-Turkistani” – he was believed to be fighting with an all Uyghur rebel group that was operating inside the Al-Ghaab Plains of the Hama Governorate’s northwestern countryside.

The deceased Uyghur terrorist was mourned by several pro-rebel social media pages, including groups like the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham – two Islamist rebel groups that have close ties with the predominately Turkic fighters that are combatting the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in northern Syria.

Chinese officials have recently expressed their commitment to combatting terrorism inside their country and inside Syria; this was confirmed during Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban’s visit to Beijing last week.

‘Abbas Al-Turkistani is not the first Uyghur terrorist to be killed by the Syrian Arab Army in northern Syria; however, he is part of a group that has recently suffered casualties inside the Al-Ghaab Plains.

ISIS Offensives Prove Costly: Over 200 Terrorists Killed in 3 Days

The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) launched several large-scale offensives this past weekend that targeted the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) defenses at the Deir Ezzor Military Airport; the strategic Khanasser-Aleppo Highway in east Hama; and the towns of Al-‘Aziziyah and Tal ‘Arn in the Aleppo Governorate’s eastern countryside.

While all of these offensives started off successfully for ISIS, they came at a heavy cost of life; this cost eventually proved too much for the terrorist group, as they withdrew from several points at the Deir Ezzor Military Airport and along the Khanasser-Aleppo Highway.

Undoubtedly ISIS’ most costly battle took place along the Khanasser-Aleppo Highway, as they attempted to cutoff the Syrian Government’s only supply route to the Aleppo Governorate; this military endeavor proved successful until their body count started to rise significantly after the failed infiltration into the imperative town of Ithriyah.

According to a military source from the National Defense Forces (NDF) inside the large city of Al-Salamiyah in east Hama, ISIS’ death toll is estimated between 100-120, while the Syrian Arab Army and their allies only suffered a total of 41 casualties during the battle for the Khanasser-Aleppo Highway.

Among the dead ISIS combatants killed by the Syrian Arab Army’s 66th Brigade of the 11th Tank Division was the terrorist group’s Saudi field commander “Abu Usama Al-Jazrawi.”

Meanwhile, at the Deir Ezzor Governorate, ISIS reportedly lost 60 fighters during their attempt to breach the Syrian Arab Army’s defenses at the Military Airport’s southeastern gates – most of these terrorist casualties were caused by the Russian Air Force’s relentless airstrikes.

Finally, there was the recent battle for Tal ‘Arn and Al-‘Aziziyah in east Aleppo; this assault proved to be the terrorist group’s most successful and least costly offensive, as they lost an estimated 40-50 fighters en route to the capture of Tal Reeman and Al-Salihiyah from the Syrian Armed Forces.

All-in-all, ISIS suffered a significant number of casualties over the past 72 hours, marking the conclusion of one of their bloodiest weekends with a total death toll that exceeds 200 fighters.