Levant crisis - III

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 16 Jun 2017 14:40

Russians are claiming that thay have killed bagdadi.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jun 2017 15:12

https://sputniknews.com/military/201706 ... qqa-daesh/

must have been a hell of a strike to kill 300+ . we have seen what the platypus can do with KAB1500 guided bombs or just a hellacious shower of OFAB250. love the black hunchbacked beast.

this is usually the cue for Philip saar to call for getting a couple squadrons
followed by someone saying our Flankers can do nearly the same

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jun 2017 15:25

check the KAB1500 series - plenty of meat on the bone there
http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-GBU. ... ocId173495

Atulya P · Post by **Atulya P** » 16 Jun 2017 16:25

If it was pre-disclosed strike, it's going to be another one in the long series of failed attempts

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 16 Jun 2017 17:03

Not sure if that is good news to kill IS leader , they will start bombing Russian Metro and Suburbs

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 16 Jun 2017 17:11

Hmm is this bombing the reason why Qatar is getting its musharraf kicked by KSA?

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 16 Jun 2017 17:14

Gee! UBCNews is way late again:
Bagdaddy Killed For the 17th Time! This time he was killed in Raqqa, which UBCNews believes he left circa 2015. If the Russians strike Riyadh or get the Houthis to do that, they may get him.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 16 Jun 2017 18:25

"Baggy" B-al-B "killed" (perhaps) perhaps for the umpteenth time,a legend in his lifetime.But this time hopefully it is true as it is the Russians who are making the claim.

From Tehran to Beirut: Shia militias aim to firm up Iran's arc of influence
Iranian plans to secure ground routes across Iraq and Syria and being shored up by proxies driving Isis from the region
From Tehran to Beirut: Shia militias aim to firm up Iran's arc of influence
Iranian plans to secure ground routes across Iraq and Syria and being shored up by proxies driving Isis from the region

The town of Ba’aj is deserted and broken. Its streets are blocked by overturned cars, its shops are shuttered and the iron gates of its ravaged homes groan in a scorching wind.

Amid the wreckage, though, are the signs of new arrivals – forces who less than a week earlier chased Islamic State (Isis) from one of its most important territories in northern Iraq.

Spraying graffiti and planting their battle colours, they have wasted little time in staking their claim to a place that had mattered little in the sweep of Iraq’s modern history, but which is set to be pivotal from this moment on.

Booby-traps … but no Baghdadi: the men cleaning up after Isis in northern Iraq
Read more
Ba’aj is now a foundation point of an Iranian plan to secure ground routes across Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon, cementing its influence over lands its proxies have conquered.

“From Mosul to Ba’aj, thank you Suleimani,” read one message painted on the town roundabout in tribute to the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani, who helped lead units of the Popular Mobilisation Front (PMF) as they swept through Ba’aj toward the Syrian border. Flags of various Shia units were planted like poppies.

On the road into town, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the joint leader of the PMF, was greeting his victorious forces who in recent weeks have carved out a new swath of influence from Mosul to the Syrian border.

“This was the last castle in the area for Isis, said Muhandis, in a rare interview inside a tribal meeting hall his men had commandeered. “It was the crossing point for terrorists from Turkey since 2013-2014. They entered Ba’aj and Tel Afar. It’s a strategic area for their leaders.”

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We have liberated the last Isis castle, says Iran-backed militia leader. Video by Salem Rizk
Along the highway from Qayyara to the south of Mosul, diggers, roadwork machines and bulldozers are lined up. Some will join the Shia-dominated units in battle as they push the retreating ranks of Isis into Syria.

Others will soon be used to consolidate what has been left behind, a barely passable network of roads which – when repaired and expanded – will form a vital route to the border and beyond, with Baaj serving as a waypoint.

“We are not leaving Ba’aj,” said one senior PMF member. “This will be our main base in the area.”

That afternoon, semi-trailers carrying blast walls trundled through the town toward a government building in the centre.

Not far away, the Nujaba Movement, an Iraqi militia that led the fight against forces in Syria opposed to Bashar al-Assad, has set up a base. So too has every one of the militia protagonists to have fought Isis inside Iraq.

Shia signs replace Islamic State ones near Ba’aj.
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Shia signs replace Islamic State ones near Ba’aj. Photograph: Cengiz Yar
The transformation of Ba’aj, from an out-of-bounds haven for Isis leaders to a focal point for Iran’s efforts to change the regional dynamic, is taking place rapidly, even before hundreds of booby-trapped homes have been cleared.

“It’s important,” said the PMF member. “We will do a lot from here.”

In early May, PMF leaders told their senior members a land corridor that would give Iran a supply line across Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon, had been rerouted south of Mt Sinjar, 25 miles to the north. Ba’aj was to be the first main hub, and from there the road was to cross into Syria through the city of Deir Azzour and town of Mayedin, both of which remain under Isis control.

Since then, Iranian backed forces, led by Suleimani, have massed on both sides of the border near the Damascus-Baghdad highway, leading to at least three clashes with US forces and their Syrian opposition proxies near the town of Tanf.

The highway is a focal point of efforts to safeguard a viable route, but senior PMF members said other potential corridors were also being explored as the collapse of Isis rapidly changes the battlefield around the border. A path through Deir ez-Zor, Mayedin and Palmyra and then on toward Damascus is, for now, a preferred option, they said.

The movement of forces around the border area has become a bewildering game of chess between multiple players, with Iranian-backed militias leading the Syrian army toward Iraq from the west, and the same leadership moving Iraqi militias toward them from the east.

Earlier this week, the two forces met at a point on the map between Mayedin and Deir ez-Zour – a pivotal moment in the Syrian war and the three-year fight against Isis – and at least a partial fulfilment of Iran’s plans to secure an arc of influence.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis meets with Iraqi force near Ba’aj.

With spheres of control now physically taking shape across the battlefield, Muhandis was bullish about what may come next, but reluctant to reveal whether PMF units will now openly cross into Syria.

“Isis now is in the Euphrates basin in Syria and Iraq, he said. “They are trying to stay there. We want to do a military operation there. I think it will take at least a year, maybe more.

“Al-Qaida was defeated, and then came back as Isis. If we didn’t destroy everything, all this area would be Isis again under a different name.”

To the south of Ba’aj, a wasteland of hurriedly-emptied towns and villages suggest that if Isis did return, it would not be anytime soon. “The fight is across the horizon,” the senior PMF member said. “Securing Syria will stabilise the region. We will see this through.”

Muhandis was more circumspect. “If a threat remains from Syria or another area, any country that respects itself should go to where the terrorists are in defence. If we need to make contact [between the Iraqi and Syrian governments] we can do it, but the order should come from the Iraqi government.”

Additional reporting by Salem Rizk and Mohammed Rasool

Topics

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jun 2017 21:08

Suleimani and Muhandis were visiting shrine in karbala today

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jun 2017 21:35

there is hard fighting going on in raqqa and kurds losing some of their best soldiers for US "promises" to support rojava .. i wonder after raqqa is done how keen they will be to move further down losing more blood on the way in areas where no kurds care about

probably not very

this leaves two senas of US proxies. the magaweer al thawrah aka the v2.0 of the new syrian army are blocked by the al tanf escapade and are fighting the SAA in sweida region adjacent to jordan. the martyr ahmed abdo forces are part of the SDF and located in that province but i dont think they alone will make any impression on the ISIS. US has been trying to train as many as they can in sdf controlled areas.

so far no sign the sunni anbar tribes want to make a few $$ by charging across the border to al bukamal in support of nato plans.

interesting 3 months ahead as ISIS is chased and killed in various corners and people jockey for control of land and routes

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jun 2017 21:39

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forces_of ... ad_al-Abdo

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jun 2017 21:51

before and after image released by Russian mod of the strike on isis leadership offsite.
looking at almost no damage to surrounding buildings must have been glonass or TV guided weapons

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jun 2017 21:55

other videos of ruaf savagely attacking isis units trying to move toward palmyra

https://www.rt.com/news/390383-russian- ... airstrike/

whispers speak of the russis planning a 2nd base in palmyra including a radar facility to keep an eye on entire region once the war is over

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jun 2017 22:02

Hassan Ridha‏ @sayed_ridha 3h3 hours ago
Hassan Ridha Retweeted Hassan Ridha
Several people killed and wounded after a suicide(?) blast targets car of Saudi terrorist Muhaysani outside of Abi Dhar Mosque in Idlib city

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jun 2017 22:03

solidly armoured SUV that shrugged off AK47 rounds

Y. Kanan · Post by **Y. Kanan** » 17 Jun 2017 02:22

Singha wrote:other videos of ruaf savagely attacking isis units trying to move toward palmyra

https://www.rt.com/news/390383-russian- ... airstrike/

whispers speak of the russis planning a 2nd base in palmyra including a radar facility to keep an eye on entire region once the war is over

Hoping that was yet another of those ISIS convoys deliberately spared from US air attack because it was rolling towards Syrian lines. There's no limit to US perfidy.

chanakyaa · Post by **chanakyaa** » 17 Jun 2017 03:31

Bagdaddy Killed For the 17th Time! This time he was killed in Raqqa, which UBCNews believes he left circa 2015. If the Russians strike Riyadh or get the Houthis to do that, they may get him.

Big daddy is was notorious for repeatedly dying and coming back to life. He even beat cat with nine lives. UN, on behalf of countries with armed forces in the Middle Yeast, should submit an application to the Guinness World Records for killing same person multiple times. Another gentleman famous for dying more than once is Saudi bandar.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 17 Jun 2017 06:49

Reminds me of Al Qaeda #3. Got killed more times than The Phantom.

darshhan · Post by **darshhan** » 17 Jun 2017 09:52

Singha wrote:solidly armoured SUV that shrugged off AK47 rounds

looks like bomb splinters. But looks like Armored vehicle.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 17 Jun 2017 13:00

More Pictures emerge of yesterdays strike on IS Chief

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2675510.html

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 17 Jun 2017 13:32

Pretty accurate strikes. Whoever was targeted and if inside have met their 72.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Jun 2017 17:30

3 of the rubble sites look swept clear on May29 within 1 day of the strike. why would daish devote precious bulldozers to clear it than send them to build fortifications ... indicates some high value Emirs were inside and remains were recovered for a proper burial.

also russis to my knowledge have no bombed much if at all in and around raqqa urban city , and definitely not with the SDF fighting inside raqqa.

so this was a special high value op.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 17 Jun 2017 19:38

Singha wrote:check the KAB1500 series - plenty of meat on the bone there
http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-GBU. ... ocId173495

The scale of destructions indicates pretty much KAB1500 class or similar weapon ...Dont think they use Kalbir cruise missile looks like classic air strike.

Million dollar queschion did they take out Top Leadership of Daesh ?

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 17 Jun 2017 19:47

Singha , I am wondering if Iran may have tested their Saumar Cruise missile in Syria , They have used Armed UAV to attack Rebels and used UAV extensively in Syria

Check the Cruise Missile viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5092&start=2720#p2171566

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 17 Jun 2017 20:05

India is the Second Largest Source of Components Used by the Islamic State to Make Explosives, Report Says https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/201 ... port-says/

The London-based Conflict Armament Research, which tracks the supply and use of illegal arms in active conflicts, said it studied the remnants of explosives found in Syria and Iraq and found “most of the detonators, detonating cord, and safety fuses,” used by Islamic State were from Indian companies.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Jun 2017 20:16

These stuff are imported via 3rd parties in gulf. Its not as if we are selling on black market

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Jun 2017 20:17

Iran is gaining good exp in syria after a long gap.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 17 Jun 2017 20:20

Eyeran is using Syria as lab for possible showdown with the kingdom.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Jun 2017 20:35

I guess we now have proof that glonass has 3m cep in middle east.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Jun 2017 20:40

Tiger forces are preparing a surprise move which i will wait and see if my hunch is right

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 17 Jun 2017 21:09

Singha wrote:I guess we now have proof that glonass has 3m cep in middle east.

IRNSS wiki page says even our NAVIC covers entire ME.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Jun 2017 21:18

Nice. All the land and sea we might fight in.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 17 Jun 2017 21:25

Right place to post Yemen News ?

Seems Yemen SA-3 has been Shooting Saudi Planes

S-125 "Pechora" in action: Yemen knocked third Saudi F-15

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Jun 2017 21:57

https://twitter.com/sayed_ridha/status/ ... 3883147264

Iraqi govt has seized its own side of the al tanf border and evicted any lurking militias into jordan

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 17 Jun 2017 23:20

Singha wrote:https://twitter.com/sayed_ridha/status/ ... 3883147264

Iraqi govt has seized its own side of the al tanf border and evicted any lurking militias into jordan

Singha Ji :

May I have your E-Mail Address Please

Cheers

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 18 Jun 2017 07:12

I will send you a pm in brf ... you can reply there

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 18 Jun 2017 08:43

Austinji: "3rd F-15"? When were the other 2 downed? Recently I hope?

Panic among the F-15 drivers in KSAF would be good.

Rishi Verma · Post by **Rishi Verma** » 18 Jun 2017 10:35

Singha wrote:other videos of ruaf savagely attacking isis units trying to move toward palmyra

https://www.rt.com/news/390383-russian- ... airstrike/

whispers speak of the russis planning a 2nd base in palmyra including a radar facility to keep an eye on entire region once the war is over

I hope russia really is savagely killing the greens of any hue but their propagandu video quality is worse than isro's PAL analogue camera tied with a rassi to the beetle nut tree. That combined with the editing skills of RT.com leaves much to be desired. Again amrikans score higher. Even 20 years back Stomin' Normin's daily updates from tent in kuwait was fun to watch.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 18 Jun 2017 10:43

Well you can see the piles of rubble in the baghdadi attack and feel the power.

These were more powerful explosions than the thawks fired on qayarrah or kalibrs

Russis dont skimp on explosive power

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 18 Jun 2017 10:46

Sdf claims to have lost 20 and killed 300 in raqqa so far

Which validates the impression they are not doing cqb like iraqi army in mosul but just firing from cover to locate isis strongpoints and advisers call in airstrikes. Mosul was a bloody fight from day1. Apache helis i think obama sent 4 are in action.

Raqqa looks like a ghost town in contrast and far less strongly defended. Isis has lost a lot of its elite shishani and afrika korps veterans in other fights like palmyra albab dez and mosul. And unable to find respite to train up younger lads and khalifa cubs to same level.

The deserts between raqqa to al qaim are watched by russians to bombard any major activity