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ISIS update 11/23/2015..”The end is near” ..ISIL only has 34 bases remaining
International Military Review – Syria-Iraq Battlespace, Nov. 23, 2015
SOUTH FRONT
Syria War: Latest News
TheMedvedova
Syria – Syrian army reached the outskirts of Palmyra in Homs province
Combat cam: Massive bombardment of ISIS oil refineries, tankers by Russian warplanes
Syrian forces liberate strategic town, village in country’s west
Life in ruins: Syrians survive in Aleppo amid city destruction
Iraq says its forces advance towards Ramadi
Militants of ISIS in hysteria about strikes of the Russian air forces
“The end is near”: Russian airstrikes leave ISIS with only 34 bases
http://www.sott.net/article/306957-The-end-is-near-Russian-airstrikes-leave-ISIS-with-only-34-bases
Russian airstrikes have played a decisive role in aiding Syrian and Iraqi forces in their fight against ISIL, leaving the jihadist group with only several dozen bases in the two Arab countries, media reports said.
Syrian and Iraqi troops, supported by Russian air strikes in Syria, have continued to advance on Islamic State militants, leaving the jihadist group with just 34 bases in these two Arab countries, the Iranian news agency FARS quoted a media activist as saying.
“At present, ISIL only has 34 bases in Mosul, Raqqa, etc. which were many more in number,” Mohammad Ali al-Hakim, Managing-Director of Iraq’s al-Nakhil news agency, said.
According to him, the Islamic State may finally be destroyed in the foreseeable future. “The end of the ISIL which has been borne by the westerners is close,” he said.
His remarks came as the Syrian and Iraqi armies continued to deliver heavy blows to the Islamic State militants, which they have been attacking for the past few days.
On Thursday, it was reported that ISIL had sustained heavy casualties due to Russia’s anti-ISIL airstrikes and its long-range cruise missile attacks from the Mediterranean.
On Saturday, hundreds of Islamic State militants reportedly fled the Syrian city of Raqqa; the Russian fighters and long-range bombers have intensified their airstrikes on the strongholds and command centers of the ISIL militants in recent days.
It was also reported that the militants had retreated from the southern areas of Syria’s Hasakah province, north of Raqqa amid the ongoing offensive by the Syrian Army, which has been supported by Russian airstrikes.
According to al-Mayadeen television, which broadcasts in Arabic, ISIL terrorists are moving their families and heavy weaponry from the city of al-Shadadi in the Southern countryside of Hasakah to Deir Ezzur.
International coalition claiming to fight terrorism, not trustworthy
In New Video, A Grateful Al-Qaeda Thanks US For Supplying Anti-Tank Missiles | Zero Hedge
On September 30, just hours after a three star Russian general strolled into the US embassy in Baghdad and told the staff to inform Washington that Moscow would begin airstrikes in Syria “in one hour”, the Western media was alive with accusations that The Kremlin wasn’t targeting ISIS, but rather other, US and Saudi-backed rebel groups fighting Assad’s depleted SAA. Here’s what WSJ said at the time:
“Among seven areas that Syrian state media listed as targets of Russian strikes, only one—an area east of the town of Salamiyah in Hama province—has a known presence of Islamic State fighters. The other areas listed are largely dominated by moderate rebel factions or Islamist groups, such as Ahrar al-Sham and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.”
Yes, “moderate rebel factions such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.”
Put simply, the US had become so desperate to preserve whatever was left of the strategy to overthrow Assad, that Washington had the mainstream media floating trial balloons to see if the public would accept the characterization of al-Qaeda as “moderate.”
Generally speaking, most Americans didn’t notice, presumably because they were too busy ogling at Russian fighter jets and/or Islamic State’s latest Hollywood special (which at the time was a clip of an SAA fighter being run over by a tank), but for anyone who did pick up on the fact that the mainstream US media had just officially (and posthumously) labeled Osama Bin Laden a “moderate”, the farce was complete.
To anyone who frequents these pages – and to anyone who has endeavored to question the official narrative – the fact that the US now counts al-Nusra as a de facto ally came as no surprise. The Saudis and Qatar have backed al-Nusra virtually from the beginning, and the US is all for anything that destabilizes Assad, even if it means funneling guns and money to the very same group that flew passenger jets into skyscrapers on American soil. And let’s not forget that this wouldn’t be the first time Washington has backed al-Qaeda. The US has had lots of practice in getting arms to the Mujahideen – see the Soviet-Afghan war, for example.
None of this is a secret, which is what makes it so astonishing that the Western public is largely clueless despite the efforts of people like Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Georgia Republican Austin Scott.
Of course Washington isn’t as vocal in its support of al-Nusra as it is in its enthusiasm for the “moderate” opposition group of choice, the Free Syrian Army. As we’ve documented extensively, the FSA has received anti-tank weapons from The Pentagon over the past two months so that they may counter the advance on Aleppo by Hezbollah and the IRGC. Given that the very same Iran-backed Shiite militias the FSA is fighting in Syria are also fighting ISIS in Iraq, the fact that the US is supplying the FSA with weapons to kill them is nothing short of ridiculous. Here’s how we described the situation last month:
The US is now supplying anti-tank weapons and other munitions to the rebels fighting in Aleppo and those weapons are being used to kill these very same Shiite militiamen who are driving US tanks, fighting alongside the Iraqi army, and indirectly receiving US assistance just across the border in Iraq.
So thanks to Washington’s twisted foreign policy, they are friends on one side of the Syria-Iraq border and mortal enemies on the other.
Well now, in what can only be described as an embarrassment of truly epic proportions, al-Qaeda has released a video thanking the FSA for supplying al-Nusra with American-made TOWs. Here’s Sputnik:
The Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, has released a grateful video, where they openly thank the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which the US has touted as a “moderate opposition group”, for supplying them with US-made anti-tank TOW missiles (“Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided”)
Al Qaeda Thanks the U.S. Backed Moderate Rebels for Supplying Anti Tank Missiles
Syria’s President Assad slams Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar for backing terrorists
Syrian War Military Report | The policy of Saudi Arabia and Iran
Intelligence forces have foiled ISIL attempt to create insecurity in Iran: IRGC chief
Ban Ki Moon: I count on leadership of Russia in fighting against ISIS
France says carrier in Mediterranean to target ISIL in Syria
Touching moment when Syrian Army Kuweires heroes meet their families after three years’ siege
Russian infantry troops reportedly participate for the “first time” in Syria
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/11/russian-infantry-troops-reportedly.html
According to a reliable source, Russia has dispatched some troops to control a strategic hill overlooking Sahl al-Ghab in Syria. Now in terms of Fourth Generational Warfare, it is possible that this is indeed a first for Russia’s operation in Syria, however, it is most likely that this is a frequent occurrence that is not always as obvious as looking for soldiers with Russian emblems on their attire.
The source writes:
Here is my opinion on the leading sources saying that in Syria, for the first time, Russian infantry troops participated, backed by tanks and aircraft, in an operation to storm the opposition forces between the countryside of Latakia and Idlib countryside, where they captured a strategic hill without recording any injuries in the ranks of the attacking forces.The leading sources state that a live military exercise was carried out by the Russian army on Syrian land, which required the involvement of an infantry battalion, with the help of Syrian 130 mm cannons and advanced Sukhoi SU-25M aircraft to aid the advancing Russian infantry from the periphery . Carrying out the takeover process highly accurately , and without losses to the attacking forces is evidence that the Russian army is using their troops on an increase level of efficiency, clashing with the enemy as a prelude to the involvement of combat units in the near future, because the Kremlin leadership made the decision to benefit Syria strongly, and to consider the land of Sham as an arena for the real training and the development of strength and to shake off rust of the combat equipment that did not participate in a real battle for many years…..
Syria and the Middle East SITREP November 23rd, 2015 by Rambo
Syria/Russia/Iran/Hezbollah:
• The liberation of Kweires air base near Aleppo by the Syrian Arab Army. A great morale boost and a tangible operational victory. The siege has been ongoing for nearly two years. Although there is still intermittent fighting and a large counterattack by ISIL is expected the fact it has been liberated shows clearly that the Syrian Arab Army are gaining significant victories against Daesh. [Source][Source]
• It is too early to initiate air operations out of the base considering its proximity to Islamic State units but it allows the SAA to begin securing the nearby neighborhoods and eventually spring-boarding attacks into Islamic State territory as reinforcements arrive. Supplies by helicopter (Iranian detachment) would allow the airbase to be a forward logistical point at the minimum.
• Once again Syria will undergo elections, this time in 18 months. How elections will be enforced in Islamic State territory escapes me. Maybe if the EU is REALLY friendly the Islamic State will let them set up polling booths. [Source]
• Putin, being wise and decisive, has warned his military to “catch up” but not commit an arms race with the US. The Chinese understand that starting an arms race with the US is what the United States want. The US will ALWAYS win in an arms race. [Source][Source]
• Russia seems to be suffering a series of international political attacks, specifically a doping scandal over its athletes. Full-Spectrum Dominance at work no less. [Source]
• 25 long-range bombers will be deployed from Russia to be used on targets in Syria. An additional 37 fixed-wing aircraft will be augmenting the forces already deployed in Syria.
• The deployment of the Tu-160 is overkill. Being strategic weapons they were tasked with delivering accurate payloads against European NATO nuclear weapon sites in the early minutes of a war breaking out. They are fast and large jet-powered aircraft capable of firing tactical nuclear stand-off cruise missiles (and painted anti-flash white to reflect thermal radiation from nuclear explosions; unlike US jets painted dark-grey to reduce visibility). [Source]
• These long-range bombers were used in tangent with naval cruise missiles from the Mediterranean and Caspian to unleash maximum carnage on Islamic State assets, including the destruction of oil truck convoys. [Source][Source]
• It’s claimed that an estimated 400 Syrian civilians have been killed in the past 7 weeks from Russian bombings. That number cannot be confirmed by independent sources. Though 400 is a bit high, to say that no civilian causalities have occurred would be US-levels of arrogance.
• More Iranian officers are dying. Again this could be indicative of accurate Israeli intelligence being handed to ISIL (Israeli intelligence was able to kill Iranian scientists all the inside Iran) or it could be the creed of the IRGC for officers to lead from the front. [Source][Source]
• Hezbollah is steadfast in the face of Islamic State bombings inside Beirut which killed 43 and vows new fronts against ISIL in response to the attacks in Paris. I should mention that France was a major broker in establishing a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah during the 2006 war and is a somewhat ‘trusted’ broker between Israel and Hezbollah. [Source]
Syrian Democratic Front and YPG (Kurds), Al-Nusra, Army of Conquest, and other actors (Anonymous):
• Kurds alongside the newly crafted Syrian Democratic Front have pushed onto Islamic State lines near the city of Al-Hasakah. [Source]
• Al-Nusra has claimed it shot down not one, but two Russian drones. What truth it holds is still questionable. Syrian forces have had both Iranian and Russian drones on-hand for a while. It could also be the typical propaganda piece, igniting the wreckage of yesteryear and shooting videos of it. [Source]
• The so called hacktivist group ‘Anonymous’ have released information claiming that attacks by the Islamic State are to occur in France, US, Italy, Indonesia, and Lebanon [Source]
• Anonymous has also ousted ISIL recruiters online and shutdown pro-ISIL media accounts and websites ever since the Paris attacks.
Iraq:
• Older British Chieftain tanks are being reactivated in the Iraqi Army. Considering the Iranians once had Chieftains they are probably providing the ammunitions for it. [Source]
• It seems that ethnic tensions between Sunnis and non-Sunnis is still high, specifically in Sinjar where looting has been reported. It seems the fires to continuously feed ISIL will never be stamped out. [Source]
• Some of these attacks seem to be committed by Peshmerga forces in Iraq against even Turkmen Shias. [Source]
• Kurdish fighters have previously joined the Islamic State at one point, highlighting the diverse Kurdish population in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. [Source]
• The Kurds have managed to cut the main highway to Mosul alongside an operation to recapture Sinja. The loss of Sinjar would cut off Mosul from easy resupply [Source]
• An Iraqi Army Russian-made Mi-28N has been used to engage Islamic State forces, a very advanced helicopter gunship [Source]
• As usual the majority of ground fighting is done primarily by militias with the Iraqi army providing fire-support and Special Forces [Source]
• The majority of these militias are directly supported proxies of Iran [Source][Source]
• Baiji is firmly in Iraqi army hands, the Islamic State has been crippled when it comes to oil revenue. [Source]
Report: Russia Starts Ground Operations in Syria
URGENT: Syrian Forces Take Full Control over Maheen Town in Homs Province
Russia’s Putin Vows Not to Stab Iran in the Back
Syria: Army Wins Another Chunk of Aleppo-Lattakia Highway
URGENT: Syrian Troops Gain Ground near Palmyra
Syria: Heavy Clashes Reported with Militants in Damascus
Russian Choppers Cover Syrian Forces’ Anti-ISIL Operation near Palmyra
Syria: 2 Opposition Leaders Defect as Rifts Widen
Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2015/11/isis-update-11232015the-end-is-near.html
