ISIS update 11/12\2015..75,000 Peshmerga forces launch major offensive to retake Sinjar

Iraq Kurds launch major operation against IS supply in Sinjar

Sinjar: Kurdish fighters enter the Eastern part of the City

Kurdish YPJ, YPG, PKK and Peshmerga forces advance toward the city

Assault on Iraq’s Sinjar: “this operation is important strategically, militarily & symbolically”

Kurdish win on IS group-held Sinjar “would be a moral boost and a symbolic victory”

Kurdish forces lave launched an offensive to retake northern Iraq’s city of Sinjar, controlled by Islamic State for over a year. The Turkish government has announced plans to send 10,700 soldiers to Syria in mid-December to make a buffer zone for refugees. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/6w7b

Turkey keeps pushing for creation of no-fly zone in northern Syria

US-Turkey Invasion Derailed by Syrian Army Triumph at Kuweires

by Mike Whitney

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/11/11/us-turkey-invasion-derailed-by-syrian-army-triumph-at-kuweires/

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) achieved its greatest victory in the four year-long war on Tuesday when it recaptured the strategic Kuweires military airbase in North Syria. Hundreds of ISIS terrorists were killed in intense fighting while hundreds more were sent fleeing eastward towards Raqqa. The victory was announced just hours after Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Turkey would be willing to invade Syria as long as Washington agreed to provide air support, create a safe zone along the Syrian-Turkish border, and remove Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

Now that Kuweires has been liberated, Davutoğlu will have to reconsider his offer taking into consideration the fact that Russian warplanes will now be within striking distance of the border while troops and artillery will be positioned in a way that makes crossing into Syria as difficult as possible. The window for Turkish troops to enter Syria unopposed has closed. Any attempt to invade the country now will result in stiff resistance and heavy casualties……………

……………..What are Turkey’s demands:

1 A safe zone on the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border

2 A no-fly zone over areas where Turkish troops are conducting operations

3 A commitment to remove Assad.

For a while it looked like the Obama administration might abandon their alliance with Turkey and join with the PYD (The Kurds) in their effort to create a buffer zone where they could harbor, arm and train Sunni militants to continue hostilities in Syria. In fact, Obama went so far as to air-drop pallet-loads of weapons and ammo to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) militia just 10 days ago. (Note: The US has already stopped all weapons shipments to the PYD) Whether Obama did this to force Turkey into playing a more active role in Syria, we don’t know. But what we do know is that a Turkish-US alliance is more formidable than a PYD-US alliance, which is why Washington is planning to sell out the Kurds to join-forces with Turkey.

Another sign that US-Turkish relations have begun to thaw, is the fact that Obama phoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to congratulate him on his party’s victory eight days after the election. The delay suggests that they were working out their differences before expressions of support. Erdogan needed the landslide victory to consolidate his power in Parliament and to persuade the military brass that he has a mandate to carry out his foreign policy. Obama’s phone call was intended to pave the way for backroom negotiations which would take place during next week’s G-20 meetings in Ankara. But now that the Russian-led coalition has retaken Kuweires, it is impossible to know how the US and Turkey will proceed. If Putin’s warplanes and artillery are able to seal the border, then Washington will have to scrap its plan for seizing the 60-miles stretch of northern Syria that’s needed to keep vital supplylines to US-backed jihadis open or to provide sanctuary for mercenaries returning from the frontlines. The changing battlescape will make a safe zone impossible to defend.

The fact is, Kuweires changes everything. ISIS is on the run, the myriad other terrorist organizations are progressively losing ground, Assad is safe in Damascus, the borders will soon be protected, and the US-Turkey plan to invade has effectively been derailed. Barring some extraordinary, unforeseeable catastrophe that could reverse the course of events; it looks like the Russian-led coalition will eventually achieve its objectives and win the war. Washington will have no choice but to return to the bargaining table and make the concessions necessary to end the hostilities.

Brief Tour Inside Kweiris Air Base

Syrian army liberates town of Hadir in Aleppo province

Syrian female pro-Assad warriors battle jihadists near Damascus

Israeli warplanes target areas near Damascus airport in Syria

ISIS in Sinai threatens to attack in new video

http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/11/isis-release-revenge-video-aimed-at.html

Obama’s little project, directed by Tel Aviv and Ridyah, is now making Hollywood-grade trailers for events that are yet to happen (and probably won’t happen). The video portrays the Takfiri rats as higher deities who would make Call of Duty player’s wet their underwear. According to the Western Media, Russia is not targeting ISIS, so why would they want revenge?

(try other browsers if the video doesn’t work)

Iran’s president: Syria talks need to focus on Syrian people, not Pres. Assad

Retired U.S. General: I was in Syria; US doesn’t want peace negotations between Assad and opposition

Syria – Airstrikes and firefights
TheMedvedova

Today’s Battle Progress In Iraq and Syria

The fight against Islamic fundamentalist in Iraq ad Syria rapidly progressed today. U.S. air support in Iraq and Russian air support in Syria enabled the various ground forces to take significant amounts of ground.

Russia continues to build out its arsenal in Syria and may soon introduce more ground and air components.

After several days preparations by U.S bombing 7,000 Kurdish and Yezidi forces today attacked the Islamic State from the Sinjar mountain range southwards towards Sinjar city. Sinjar is about 50 kilometers east of the border between Syria and Iraq. Just south of the city lies the important Highway 47 which is the main transport artery between Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.

The attackers were supported on the ground by U.S. Forward Air Controllers who called in pinpoint airstrikes whenever the attack was held up. The operation succeeded faster than expected. The city is surrounded by YPG and Peshmerga forces and a wide stretch of the highway is now under Kurdish control. First units are breaking onto the city. The main problem are now snipers, mines and booby traps and the bloody phase in the city will take a while. Counterattacks on the highway are to be expected but are unlikely to succeed over the open land as long as the U.S. air force provides cover for the Kurds.

Progress in Syria was even better. After yesterday reliefing the IS besieged Queires airport east of Aleppo, more ground around the airport was taken today. The plan seems to be to free the area between the airport east of Aleppo, which was relieved from the south, and Aleppo city in the west from all enemies. The thermal power station between the airport and the city was taken today. The airport will be rehabilitated and will allow for rapid, short distance air support for all further operations between Aleppo and the Turkish border.

South west of Aleppo the successful campaign towards the highway between Aleppo southward to Idleb, Hama, Homs and Damascus progressed fast. The al-Qaeda/Jabhat al-Nusra held town Al-Hadher was taken today surprisingly fast and the attack immediately proceeded further west towards the highway capturing Al-Eis. The highway, now only 2 kilometers away, is currently under al-Qaeda/FSA control and is an important resupply road from Turkey to the al-Qaeda occupied areas further south.

East of Damascus a military airport Marj Al-Sultan in the hands of Jaysh al-Islam was retaken by government forces after air preparations. A cordon around the insurgent held east-Ghouta area was thereby established for the first time in three years. East-Ghouta is used by the insurgents to fire mortars and rockets into Damascus. The area is now under siege and will be cleaned up in due time.

There have been sightings of new Russian weapons in Latakia near the Mediterranean coast. For the first time a T-90 main battle tank was seen in Syria (unconfirmed). This is the most modern Russian tank in service and will have a Russian crew. The tank may belong to a new Russian ground component. At the Russian military airport in Latakia a 96L6 acquisition radar for a S-300PMU2 or S-400 air and missile defense battery was seen (confirmed). The Russian troops will no longer depend on the sea based air defense cover provided by the missile cruiser Moskva. They now have a mobile long range air defense with a range of 300-400 km established on the ground. This can be easily moved further inland to cover all of west-Syria as needed. Russia is working to increase the number of air sorties it can provide per day and is equipping an additional airport. Additional planes and helicopters are expected to arrive soon.

Three suicide attacks in the Shia dominated area of Ayn al-Sikkeh in south Beirut in Lebanon killed at least 25 civilians and wounded some 100. This was likely an al-Qaeda terror attack seen as revenge for Hizbullah’s support for the Syrian government.

URGENT: Syrian Army Conquers Marj Al-Sultan Airbase

Notorious ISIL Executioner Killed in Aleppo

URGENT: Al-Nusra Stronghold in Aleppo Conquered by Syrian, Hezbollah Forces

URGENT: Syrian Troops Seize Back Several More Villages in Aleppo

URGENT: Two More Villages Recaptured by Syrian Forces in Aleppo

Syrian Army, Hezbollah Win More Territories Around Kuweires in Aleppo

Military Expert: Freedom of Kuweires Airport Prelude to Bigger Victories against ISIL in Syria, Iraq

Syrian Army Shells Terrorist Command Centers Near Jordan Border