Levant crisis - III

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Jun 2016 18:29

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carrhae

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Licinius_Crassus

btw Turkey also has a lot of that army model HH60 pave hawk helicopter with the LR fuel tanks under those high wings. even their SF units have them for periodic raids into PKK land. so even turkey could be supplying ISIS from their illegal base in iraq to keep the pot boiling

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Jun 2016 19:02

turkish miiitary camp zeylkan in north iraq

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Jun 2016 19:03

wal mart for ISIS to drop by and grab whatever weapons they need ?

habal · Post by **habal** » 10 Jun 2016 19:09

It is from Turkey alright, but seems to be operated by USA.

a recent article

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/mili ... /73057938/

their duties include "search & rescue" ..

U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, head of U.S. European Command said the aircraft and crew "will enable us to better recover our coalition partners should they need assistance in Syria or Iraq."

moreover hezbollah are seasoned campaigners, they would know well to differentiate between turkish SF and USAAF.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Jun 2016 19:48

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CkmTxiTXEAAZzoW.jpg

up north from tishreen dam(YPG) to the al tabqa dam is lake assad - wide and tough for large formations and heavy gear to cross in boats

so the 20 km between the SAA and al tabqa is all that remains on land route for the north syria emirate to move to and from raqqa.
if this stretch is taken, then boating it across lake assad will be the onlee route left.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Jun 2016 19:50

tabqa airbase imo will fall without much of a fight, the terrain is too open to easily defend without vast resources and mobile units and air support.

but the populated belt stretching from al-bab through deir hafr, jirah, khanasir, al tabqah town, mansoura will be defended stoutly.

ideally another armour division would be striking east from south of the jabal salt lake to khanasir and jirah on the euphrates

ISIS is now fighting close to their logistical nodes and caches of supplies, SAA at the farthest from it. all depends on how much resupplies SAA can arrange and how badly the RuAF can maul the highway to aleppo from raqqa. they have used cluster bombs to rip a oil facility near mansoura and partially break 50% of a small bridge per a ISIS pic released today.

habal · Post by **habal** » 10 Jun 2016 20:02

SAA, Suqur al-Sahra & SSNP have liberated Sfaiyah gas field & junction and are now 20km from Tabqa Airbase
https://twitter.com/sayed_ridha/status/ ... 6343392256

SAA/Resistance forces regained Karrasi
https://twitter.com/A7_Mirza/status/741266236231831554

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Jun 2016 21:25

Hassan Ridha ‏@sayed_ridha
#SOHR: #SDF liberate 90 villages, lost 22 fighters, killed 159 #IS militants & cut all roads to #Manbij after 11 days since offensive start

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 10 Jun 2016 21:57

TSJi! A truly Moderate Freedom-lover and Pro-Democracy Resistance Fighter

Washington (CNN)An American who joined ISIS was charged in federal court Thursday with providing support to the terror group.
Mohamad Jamal Khweis, 26, who grew up in Virginia, is the first ISIS-affiliated American to have been captured on the battlefield.

He appeared in court in Alexandria, Virginia, with family members and heard the charges he is facing. He didn't speak during the hearing and will be held at least until another hearing later this month.
Khweis' lawyer, John Zwerling, said after the hearing it was "too early to say" how his client would plead.
"Everything's not as it appears in the government pleading," Zwerling said, adding he just found out this morning his client was back in the U.S. and had been able to spend only an hour with him. "We will have our opportunity to explain the other side, at the appropriate time."
Khweis' father, Jamal, was with his son in court. "I'm just happy to see him today," he told reporters.
The judge ordered Khweis remain in detention until the next hearing on June 14.
After being captured by Kurdish anti-ISIS forces in March, Khweis said he renounced the terror group and described it as not representative of Islam, calling life under the organization "really, really bad" in a television interview.
Khweis has previously said he joined the terror group because of a woman.
The FBI interviewed Khweis while he was in Kurdish custody in Iraq, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.
The complaint alleges Khweis admitted to conducting "extensive research concerning ISIL" in 2015, including "frequently" watching ISIS execution videos and using social media to privately contact ISIS and smuggle himself across the Turkish-Syrian border.
He told the investigators, according to the complaint, that when an ISIS operative asked him whether he wanted to be a suicide bomber, Khweis said that he did. The complaint says Khweis thought that the "question was intended to test his commitment."
His lawyer said Thursday, "I have no reason to think he wanted to end his life for any particular reason."
After being captured by Kurdish anti-ISIS forces in March, Khweis told a local news organization that he had joined ISIS because of a young woman he met in Turkey who he said he accompanied into ISIS-controlled Syria.
"I wasn't thinking straight," he told Kurdistan24, adding that he left the terrorist group because he "wanted to go back to America."
Khweis told the Kurdish media outlet that he wanted to warn others against joining ISIS.
"My message to the American people is the life in Mosul, it's really, really bad," he said. "The people ... controlling Mosul don't represent the religion ... I don't see them as good Muslims."
"I didn't agree with their ideology, and that's when I wanted to escape," added Khweis.
More than 250 ISIS fighters in Syria are Americans, according to the U.S. director of National Intelligence. Khweis said he did not meet any other Americans while he was with the terror group.
Brian Todd and Dugald McConnell contributed to this report.

My regard for the Kurds has plunged. Why is this POS still walking? Such a paragon of honesty, he could be a tremendous ass-et for the Pentagon AND the State Department.

Hitesh · Post by **Hitesh** » 10 Jun 2016 21:57

Who is SAA and SDF? I am not familiar with the acronyms.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 10 Jun 2016 22:01

SAA is Sadistic Antihumanitarians of Assad aka Syrian Army Of The Regime. SDF is ???? Apparently Kurd-dominated? Anti-Regime, Anti-Assad, Anti-Turkey, Anti-Saudi, Anti-Russian, Not pro-American, Anti-Alawite, Anti-Iranian, Anti-Nusra, Anti-ISIS. Sweet Darlings and Fawns.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 10 Jun 2016 22:02

Hitesh wrote:Who is SAA and SDF? I am not familiar with the acronyms.

Syrian Arab Army (Assad's forces)

SDF is Syrian Democratic Forces - bsically Kurds and some Arab and other militias.

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 10 Jun 2016 23:55

From RT
UN report ‘deliberately ignores’ Russia’s anti-ISIS efforts in Syria – Churkin

while the actions of other states, which are often more effective, are deliberately ignored,”
..
It destroyed thousands of control points, warehouses with ammunition, weapons, military equipment, materiel, fuel and explosives, more than 200 oil production, pumping and processing facilities, as well as over 2,000 means of delivery of petroleum products for contraband sales to Turkey.
..
also asked the UN Secretariat to check the reports that Turkey is fortifying its positions on the territory of Syria with “reinforced concrete” structures.
..
Among other things, the ambassador pointed out that he is “bewildered” that the report “doesn’t say a word” about the role Russia played in liberating Palmyra and subsequent Russian mine-sweeping effort of the UNESCO heritage site. At the same time, Churkin wondered why the UN even bothered to ask Russia for its operational data in Syria, if the report did not take into account any of the information provided by Russia.

The May 31 report, Churkin went on to say, does not reflect an “objective understanding of the terrorist threat” nor a full assessment of countries that are contributing in fighting terrorism in Syria. He called it a “one-sided” document which fails to “paint an adequate picture.”
..

From RT
Russia killed 28,000 militants in Syria, third of all ISIS forces – Russian deputy security chief

We estimate that at the beginning of our operation Al-Nusra Front and Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] possessed about 80,000 fighters, of whom 28,000 (35 percent) have already been eliminated.
..
Well, the [US-led anti-terrorist] coalition eliminated an additional 5,000 in two years,
..
He noted that over 100 Syrian settlements have already recognized the armistice and are observing it.
..

habal · Post by **habal** » 11 Jun 2016 05:39

hitesh SDF is american pawns.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 06:54

breakthrough on palymra front. T3 pumping station and heli base is on crow flies route to deir azzor vs the northern loop road of sukhnah

Hassan Ridha ‏@sayed_ridha 27m27 minutes ago
#SAA liberate Telaylah crossing, Arak valley & Arak gas field/plant. T3 is currently under fire control

habal · Post by **habal** » 11 Jun 2016 07:26

joshua landis is pro-nusra/rebels

Joshua Landis
‏@joshua_landis
Syrian Army has taken Tabqa Air field. ISIS has retreated to base houses in the compound. Russian rockets are pounding it accord to sources.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 07:55

Leith Abou Fadel ‏@leithfadel 2h2 hours ago
Leith Abou Fadel Retweeted Al-Masdar News
'Arak is important, but ISIS is going to be tough at Sukhanah. ISIS is backed by tribal forces there.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 07:56

The remarkable blitz offensive was carried out by the 60th brigade of the 11th Division alongside the 67th Brigade of the 18th Tank Division. Furthermore, the National Defence Forces (NDF) and Shaitat tribesmen participated in the government offensive. The SAA troops met very little resistance from ISIS as the jihadist group seemed to have withdrawn many of its fighters to frontlines in northern Syria, especially around Raqqa.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/sy ... t-palmyra/ | Al-Masdar News

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 07:57

road to tabqah

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 08:03

ISIS attempted to mine the road in parts but the SAA bulldozers simply piled heaps of earth on top and columns just drove past.
these are the mounds on the road. in any case the countryside is also driveable both sides of the road.

reports of heavy airstrikes on tabqah airbase and surrounding areas, and artillery pounding any key nodes.

also reports of ISIS withdrawing fighters from various fronts to reinforce raqqa , and tabqah lies on the road from aleppo side unless they cross lake assad directly. so SAA has no time to rest and must dig in and prepare to repel ISIS both from aleppo side and mansoura side.

tabqa airbase must be put in service as a helicopter FARP for sure, probably move a lot of heavy artillery in there to pound anything in range, using the dispersed areas of the base for cover

ISIS clustering around raqqa gives the SAA time to prepare its offensive from the west, because added to the kurds reluctance to push so far south, and the infighting among arab tribes in the SDF, now raqqa will have the best equipped bearded warriors manning the ramparts.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:01

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:03

^^ so one stream of daesh the blue arrows has run off to their masters in KSA across the southern border and another stream has made a beeline north to salahaddin province.

the Shia PMU militias involved in all three prongs of the attack.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:04

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:07

orcs being pounded in mordor

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:11

captured isis vbied

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:12

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:14

this commander abu ali was injured in a isis vbied attack. lost one arm

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ckm_IB7XIAIR11N.jpg

another commander was lured by a isis drone , out of curiosity he followed it and picked it up, but they set off a explosive device and killed him.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:17

Rao Kumar ‏@RaoKumar747 14h14 hours ago
#pt They accuse Abu Abbas (leader of al-Moutasem) of running a strip club (or night club accounts differ) in Aleppo prior to the war.

Ivan Sidorenko Retweeted
Rao Kumar ‏@RaoKumar747 14h14 hours ago
Ahrar al-Sham fighters/supporters in N. Aleppo not happy with the recent merger of all Mare' groups into the US backed al-Moutasem Brigade

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:18

SAA has either reached the airbase or very close...conflicting reports...

Ivan Sidorenko ‏@IvanSidorenko1 14h14 hours ago
#Syria #Raqqa #To_Raqqa #To_Taqbah Al Mayadeen Reporter said 17 minutes ago #SAA are 4 KM from #Safyan Village & 15KM from #Tabqah Airbase

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:22

age no bar to being a jihadi- one just needs to have the jasbaat

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:27

YPG food packets sent from nearby villages. the russians have also remarked that all parties in syria fighting eat very well, no dry shy MREs there...things are prepared daily

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:30

manbij IS emir abu al-tunisi killed

https://twitter.com/DrPartizan_/status/ ... 9576055808

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:32

erdogans bodyguards in scuffle with secret service detail during his recent visit

https://twitter.com/VOANews/status/741334029958537217

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:34

YPG has advanced to a village 23km west of manbij and look set to expand their holdings without getting into street fighting in the city. they must be some <50km away from SAA's eastern front which is kuweires airbase and less than that to Al-bab.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 11:36

just to irritate the turks even more the tomb of their king lion suleiman shah is right beside the repaired qara qowzaq bridge through which SDF is pouring west

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/S%C ... 4d38.20763

so much for red line not to cross the euphrates

under a agreement with syria, around 100 turkish soldiers were there as the guardians of the place. a couple years ago, turkey launched a night raid which crossed the border, was not stopped by ISIS, and moved both the guard detail and some relics back to turkey.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 14:25

Syrian Army attacked by teenage ISIS suicide bombers in west Raqqa, 13 year old captured By Leith Fadel - 11/06/20160 The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) attempted 5 suicide attacks in the western countryside of Al-Raqqa on Saturday, targeting the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) positions near the recently liberated Rasafeh Crossroad. According to the Desert Hawks field journalist Eyad Al-Hussein, 4 of the 5 suicide bombers succeeded, killing a total of 8 soldiers near the Rasafeh Crossroad in west Raqqa. Eyad Al-Hussein further added that all of the Islamic State’s suicide bombers were teenagers. The last ISIS suicide bomber was captured by the Syrian Armed Forces before he could complete his mission. The captured ISIS suicide bomber is a 13 year old boy that was part of a teenage brigade for the terrorist group.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/sy ... est-raqqa/ | Al-Masdar News

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 14:31

Daesh has lost cohesion and large unit control. Strung out in 1000 places all over Syria, and facing setback on many fronts they cannot decide where to push or fall back.

Local commanders seem to have no cohesive plan and these desperate suicide attacks are just an indicator. Completely useless in scaring hardened older folks like desert Hawks and Magaweer bahr. may work against greenhorn ndf.

Tabqah attack was not a surprise, yet no defensive plan beyond laying a few token mines and laying behind a earth berm shouting takbir aoa.

Wherever confronted by strong forces, the Isis tend to falter and wilt.

The nusrah and shams seem much more seasoned fighters in general

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 14:40

Sputnik

Manjib and its surroundings are of vital importance for Daesh, Malbrunot underscores. The crux of the matter is that the region serves as a transit route for the terrorist organization. New jihadists, weapons and money are coming into the city from Turkey via Jerablus (Jarabulus), located 30 kilometers north of Manjib. If the SDF takes control over Manjib and Jerablus, Daesh will be cut off from this important logistical axis. Needless to say, it would deal a heavy blow to the extremists.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/2016060 ... z4BGTgzxoD

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 11 Jun 2016 15:46

What I see is that the ISIS doesn't fold even when faced with overwhelming technical superiority (air cover, satellite sensors, guided missiles). They cannot very well concentrate forces for any length of time - that would simply bring a friendly visit from a MIL or F-15s or a couple of missiles. So their resistance-2-the-death is pretty eye-opening.

I think the netaship is long gone to Turkey, KSA and Libya, and all Syria and Iraq are now just diversionary. Expect the big sweep to come elsewhere, capturing a 100 villages and kidnapping the men and boys for the battlefield and the wimmen as slaves to sell. Very simple bijnej plan, these Emirs'.

ISIS' strategic advantage is that they travel light, and they are worldwide, flat organization. Their opponents have to go through years-long yadayadayada before deciding to cross from one country to another.

Maybe next sweep will come the day after the BREXIT is announced - Brixton, Londonabad, Deir-ez-Surrey and the Lake District all taken over in a day.

Ten thousand saw I at a glance
Waving their mijjiles in happy dance

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jun 2016 16:05

Rumours for nth time of grand emir baghdadi wounded by airstrike in iraq