News from Syria -09/17/2017

SYRIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES CROSSED EUPHRATES EAST OF DEIR EZZOR – RUSSIAN MEDIA

South Front,

18 September,2017

Last night, special units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) embedded with Russian military advisers crossed the Euphrates River east of Deir Ezzor city and gained a foothold on its eastern bank, the Russian pro-government media outlet Riafan reported on September 18 citing own correspondents on the ground.

According to the report, the operation came under cover of the Russian Aerospace Forces that conducted a series of airstrikes on ISIS positions on the eastern bank of the Euphrates.

Then, pro-government forces engaged ISIS units in a firefight and forced the terrorists to retreat in the northern direction.

Riafan correspondents added that now the SAA is fortifying its positions on the eastern bank and is working to expand its foothold in the northern direction.

Last Friday, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced that government forces had crossed the Euphrates and gained a foothold on the eastern bank but no video confirmation has been provided. Riafan has not provided videos or photos also.

Syrian And Iraqi Forces Planning Joint Attack On ISIS Border Strongholds Of Al-Qa'im And Al-Bukamal

SouthFront,

17 September, 2017

On Sunday, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Hezbollah officially met with the Iraqi Army and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) on the Syrian-Iraqi border near the newly liberated Akashat town in Iraq.

The SAA and Hezbollah deployed several special force and armoured units right on the border line with Iraq, according to Iraqi sources.

According to a report of the UK-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper, officials from the Iraqi Army and the PMU met with officials of the SAA last month in Damascus and agreed to establish three joint positions on the Syrian-Iraqi border.

The Syrian side also gave Iraqi forces a permission to enter 10km deep inside the Syrian territory if it’s needed. Iraqi sources also claimed that some tanks and armored vehicles of the SAA entered the Iraqi territory and joined Iraqi units on Sunday. This could mean that the SAA also got the permission to enter the Iraqi territories.

The SAA and Hezbollah will likely attack al-Bukamal city advancing from the southern direction along the border line. The attack will likely be coordinated with the Iraqi forces advance on al-Qa’im city on the Iraqi side of the border. This joint attack will ease a battle against ISIS in this strategic area that allows to control the Deir Ezzor-Baghdad highway.

In a related development, the PMU media wing announced on Sunday that PMU military engineers are now building an airfield south of Qayyarah town south of Mosul. The airfield will be mostly used by Iraqi Air Force attack helicopters to support the upcoming operations towards al-Qa’im as well as Hawija located south of Kirkuk city.

Moreover, Deputy Chairman of the PMU, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, held a meeting with the Iraqi Joint Operation Command on Sunday to discuss the ongoing preparation for the “upcoming operations”, according to the PMU media wing.

The upcoming al-Bukamal, al-Qa’im and Hawija operations will be a huge blow for ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Al-Qa’im and al-Bukamal cities are now considered the last major ISIS supply line between Syria and Iraq.