https://southfront.org/syrian-war-report-july-3-2017-isis-collapsed-in-eastern-aleppo/
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Pro-government forces, led by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) Tiger Forces, have fully expelled ISIS terrorists from the area east of the Khanasir-Ithriyah road. Initially, the Tiger Forces took control over the entire Ithriyah-Resafa road, including the Habbari oil field and nearby points. Then, after a series of firefights with ISIS terrorists, government troops cleared the remaining ISIS-held pocket in eastern Aleppo.
With this advance, the SAA shortened the frontline with ISIS in the area and got a useful supply line to its strong point of Resafa. In the current situation, government forces will likely develop momentum against ISIS terrorists east of Salamiyah. If the SAA and its allies secure the road between Salamiyah and Palmyra, they will further shorten the frontline and repel any possible ISIS counter-attack on the Tiyas Airbase that may threaten the supply lines of government forces operating against ISIS east of Palmyra.
Faylaq Al-Rahman has followed the White House’s advice and blamed the Syrian government for using chemical weapons against its members in the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus. The militant group accused the SAA of using chlorine gas at the Ayn Tarma front after it had failed to advance in the area. Faylaq Al-Rahman said that 30 of its fighters were poisoned and added that the SAA once again used chlorine at the Zamalka front north Ayn Tarma. The Syrian Defense Ministry released a statement denying those claims and saying these reports are a pure propaganda.
In late June, the White House launched a large-scale media campaign preparing public opinion for further attacks against the Syrian government. The Trump administration claimed that it had some secret evidence that the Assad government was preparing for a chemical weapons attack in the country. The UK and France added that they would support any US military action against Syria.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured Hussainiya and Kasrat Mohamed Ali, and advanced on Ratlah in the southern Raqqah countryside. The US-backed force expanded its operations in the area after it failed to weed out the ISIS resistance insider Raqqah despite a desperate bombing campaign by the US-led coalition. The SDF is attempting to enter the Old Raqqah area, but this is a complicated task because clashes in al-Sinaa and Rawdah are still ongoing. ISIS claimed that 74 SDF fighters have been killed and 12 others wounded by its snipers so far in the city.
The US Marines have released a video showing its artillery unit supporting the SDF advance in Raqqah. Some people suggested that the video allows seeing alleged phosphorus shells prepared for usage.
Did Putin Allow Erdogan to Attack US-Backed Kurds in Northern Syria?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/did-putin-allow-erdogan-to-attack-us-backed-kurds-in-northern-syria/5597416
“1. The Russian moved into Afrin months ago, during the siege of Aleppo to keep Turkey from allowing rebels to be resupplied. They pulled their forces out before the attack.
2. The Turks have been massing in the area in preparation for an assault.
3. Reports exist of Turkish forces firing at U.S. troops embedded with the SDF and not firing back. This less than two weeks since the U.S. shot down a Syrian SU-22 for ‘threatening U.S. forces.
4. The SDF is threatening to pull out of its operation to oust ISIS from Raqqa.
These are the things we know. Even if the SDF haven’t officially stated they would pull their troops out of Raqqa in the event of a Turkish attack in Northern Aleppo, it’s pretty obvious that this attack was designed to slow down U.S. plans to colonize Syria east of the Euphrates River.
This is exactly the kind of ‘parallel escalation’ that Russia excels at. Instead of dealing with the U.S. head-on and creating overt tension, Putin has his military pressure the U.S. on a different front.
So, now the American counter-move will have to be President Trump authorizing a massive build up in Syria if the Kurds abandon them at Raqqa to support the PKK enclave the Turks are threatening.
This move by Erdogan slows down the advance on Raqqa and buys the Syrian Army a little more time to shore up their campaigns to the south before moving much farther east.
The front line is too big at this point and needs to be shortened to allow longer supply lines for any assault on ISIS in Deir Ezzor.”
It appears the Russians are not just sitting idle while the israeli’s ramp up their war to dismember Syria, and have a working counter strategy to defeat the zionazis.
Follow up. This article says the Turks haven’t begun the attack yet. Perhaps the previous article is describing preliminary skirmshes or this following article is based on older news?
Turkish Military Op Against Kurds in Syria’s Afrin Could Begin ‘Any Time Soon’
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201707031055193235-military-operation-afrin-any-time/
“At the first stage, we plan to take control the city of Tall Rifaat, as well as the local airbase, and then we plan to begin with the siege of Afrin, which is under the control of Kurdish YPG forces. Our goal is not to enter the territory of Afrin, but rather to clear the territories located near the Turkish border from YPG,” the commander said.
“We have been getting ready for the operation for 2 months; the last preparations are now underway,” he added.
Around 20,000 members of opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Turkish troops will participate in a new military operation in the northwestern Syrian Afrin region, which is under control of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), Turkish Sabah newspaper reported on earlier.
“The operation can start at any moment. The Turkish forces are stationed in Marra, Azaz and in the north of Idlib. Only those FSA units which were previously involved in the Euphrates Shield will take part in the upcoming operation. The US-backed FSA militants won’t participate in the fighting in the Afrin area. We don’t trust them, as they can pass information on to the Kurdish self-defense units,” the FSA commander said.”
Great news. I am sure Putin is treating his upcoming meeting with Trump as a task in teaching. It must be tedious for him to explain to dolts like Obama and Trump that their intelligence and world-view is cooked. I hope he sees Trump as a fidgety a schoolboy that needs to be tutored on the middle east and US/Russia relations. Maybe then Trump will have a smidgen of knowledge that may help him see through the Russia scare and the false flags in Syria.
I hope so.
I hope that Putin takes the opportunity to enlighten Trump, nicely, as to the reality that
he and the usa face if they don’t wise up. Perhaps Putin will give Trump some pointers as to how to deal with unruly alpha generals at home.
Trump loves nothing more than alpha self-assertion. He must be suffering from the image that he is not his own man, not the biggest swinging dick in DC. Hopefullly Putin will talk to him man to man.
Katherine
The Syrian war’s worst kept secret that could become Israel’s nightmare
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/worst-kept-secret-syrian-war-1083404612
“What Israel wants
These new reports confirm several years of my own reporting which have documented extensive Israeli intervention in the Syrian conflict, including numerous air strikes against Hezbollah and Iranian arms convoys, the shooting down of a Syrian jet which had strayed a few metres into Israeli-occupied Golan, assassinations of Hezbollah and Iranian commanders, equipment drops to al-Nusra units allied with al-Qaeda, and direct intelligence briefings between IDF officers and rebel commanders.
Israel wants a divided Syria. It wants a country riven by ethnic and religious disputes so that it can dominate the Golan and protect its northern border
All this has belied the repeated false claims in the media (including in this WSJ article) that Israel is a neutral party to the conflict – which is what Israel would have the world believe. However, it is deeply involved in it and seeks to weaken or topple Bashar al-Assad, because Israel’s arch enemies, Hezbollah and Iran, are his chief allies.
I expect that Israeli escalation will continue since Assad and his allies are in the ascendant. They are routing IS in eastern Syria and, once they finish, it’s very possible Assad could turn his attention to the west, including the Golan, to consolidate his territorial gains. That is when the true test will come.
Israel wants a divided Syria. It wants a country riven by ethnic and religious disputes so that it can dominate the Golan and protect its northern border. How far is it willing to go to prevent Assad from reasserting full control there?”
Just In From the Astana Talks”
Astana Talks.
“… Astana is very very promising, as expected, Astana is just a “vehicle” for promoting what was already agreed behind closed doors between the key countries and organizations involved. The recent ceasefire in the southern front, from Eastern Damascus, Daraa and Suweida was an indication that a broader agreement was reached before Astana.
There are leaks of joint presence of Russia and the SAA in the Jordan border which would guarantee the ceasefire in the southern front, while in the north turkish pressure on the US to let the kurds down, once more, is gaining traction, vis a vis recent comments from the US regime State & Defense Departments in relation to the Syrian Government.
It will be an interesting G20 to be followed later this week, a lot to be said and “not said” that will mean much for the up coming few years.”