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Voiceover by Harold Hoover
Pro-government forces, backed by Russian and Syrian warplanes and attack helicopters, continued developing momentum against ISIS terrorists in the countryside of Palmyra. Following the liberation of the Mustadira gas field and Wadi Ahmar, Government troops advanced on the town of Arak and the Arak gas field.
Separately, the army and the National Defense Forces (NDF) attacked ISIS units in the area of the Talila crossroad and the town of Talila.
The advance was supported by multiple airstrikes which destroyed at least one ISIS battle tank, 3 vehicles, and killed over 10 terrorist group members.
The government operation in the countryside of Palmyra created rumors that the army and the NDF will soon advance on the town of al-Sukhanah located at the highway between Homs and Deir Ezzor. However, this is unlikely until government troops secure the whole countryside of Palmyra.
Some 1,000 Syrian servicemen completed their retraining under the guidance of Russian instructors in a training camp near Damascus and replenished the Fifth Legion of the Syrian Army. It is unknown where the retrained troops will be sent. However, the first detachment, which completed its training in late 2016, currently fights against ISIS in the area of Palmyra.
The Army and the NDF advanced on the Sous Hill and the village of Umm al-Mara in the province of Aleppo, seeking to encircle the ISIS-held town of Deir Hafer. Clashes continued in the Jirah Airbase.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Syrian capital on March 15th, killing at least 34 people and injuring over 100 others. The Wednesday attack followed a double suicide bombing which hit the area of the Bab al-Saghir cemetery, killing at least 40 people earlier in March, and was clearly linked to the sixth anniversary of the so-called “Syrian revolution”.
Trump Requests $25Bln for Urgent ‘Warfighting’ Needs
https://sputniknews.com/military/201703161051654643-trump-warfighting-readiness/
“The White House requested nearly $30 billion for “immediate warfighting readiness”.
Breaking: Syrian air defense shoots down Israeli warplane
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-air-defense-shoots-israeli-warplane/
Downed IDF Aircraft: Syria’s SAMs ‘Send a Very Special Message’ to the Israelis
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703171051691543-israeli-plane-downed-over-syria-analysis/
“As far as the back and forth battle of claims by Damascus and denials by Tel Aviv is concerned, experts say that it is difficult to ascertain exactly what occurred, since the Israeli military has made denial or downplaying of its losses almost standard practice.
Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abbas, an officer informed with the situation, provided Sputnik Arabic with new details about Friday morning’s engagement. “This morning at 2:40 am local time, according to a report from a military source, the Israeli Air Force breached Syrian airspace in the area over Al-Barij and headed east toward Palmyra, aiming to destroy Israeli military facilities. I can declare with total certainty that the enemy’s missiles failed to reach their targets,” the officer said.
“According to the air defense forces, one aircraft was shot down, and a second damaged. The rest flew away. The plane that was shot down fell in occupied territory,” Abbas added.
Col. Samir Suleiman, head of the Syrian Army’s information service, clarified that the IDF’s intended targets were Syrian Army positions in the mountains near Palmyra. He also confirmed that the Israeli warplanes were F-16s, which entered Syrian airspace from over Lebanese airspace near the city of Al-Nebek in the region of al-Barij.
Suleiman said that the Syrian air defenses reacted to the incursion almost instantaneously, downing the Israeli plane near the Jordanian border. Wide swathes of southern Syria are currently occupied by opposition militants.
Isa lamented that while most of the world, including the Western powers, considers Daesh to be the main enemy to civilization, Israel is effectively ‘providing air support’ for the terrorists. The expert recalled that Israel has been known to support Syrian terrorists for a long time, including taking in wounded Nusra Front fighters to be treated in Israeli hospitals. “Today we saw another confirmation of this fact,” the expert said.”
The zionazi attack was an obvious attempt to aide their daesh proxies and disrupt the Syrian advance near Palmyra. Apparently the Syrian AD response prevented the israelis doing much damage. The article also provides a useful map showing which areas of Syria is occupied by whom:
https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/images/105168/90/1051689073.jpg
“Syrian Civil War map. Red: Damascus-controlled territory, Green: Opposition forces-controlled territory, Black: Daesh (ISIS)-controlled territory. Note that in the area around Palmyra, where the Israeli F-16s struck, only Syrian government forces and Daesh are present.”
Not to be alarmist, or jump on the Putin-the-abandoner bandwagon, but this stinks to high heaven.
That the jets could avoid the Syrian anti-air defenses is not surprising as they only have the S-100 and S-200 systems, which are obsolete compared to Israeli upgrades on their F16s. What bugs me is that this MUST have either been coordinated with the Russians to not have the S-400s shoot them down, or the Russians were too afraid to shoot their systems, or that they did fire and miss, leaving the performance of a much-vaunted system in the trash bin. My bet is a mix of the first and second (I have not seen any confirmation of a jet actually downed).
However, this leads to some pertinent questions. Previous Israeli strikes could at least have been argued to be attacking Syrian government supply depots and supply lines to Hizbullah, which Israel has claimed to be the real target. I think this is laughable but at least slightly believable. This strike, again claimed to be targeting Hizbullah(this was the claim I saw, but also believe the quoted target above of the Syrian army), happened on the FRONT LINE in Palmyra, far from any depots or supply lines. So if Russia turned a blind eye, it directly effected the anti-Isis front, far from any, again laughable, but at least semi-cogent worry about Hizbullah supply lines. This unfortunately strikes me as a major escalation by Israel and a deafening non-response from Russia who allows attacks not only on its de facto ally Hizbullah but it’s overt fight, with Syria, against Isis.
vot tak,
Very interesting, I mentioned here a few times that Palmyra and Deir ez-Zur must be held by Syrian forces at all costs to prevent western designs for Qatar/Saudi pipeline.
This is an escalation by Israel which I have been expecting. This partially confirms what I have been saying, they need Palmyra so bad they are willing to risk Israeli air incursion to support headchoppers there. Yes target was likely Hezbolla leadership but, Palmyra is a long way to go for that.
S200 used which is straight out Syrian Air Defense Force. Maybe it shot a plane down, maybe not. S300’s would be Russian controlled and would have most likely dropped the planes. If S300’s get used, that would be huge escalation. That is what I expect at some point and when we will know that all out war is around the corner.
Drumbeat to the American public for war over there has not gone away. I see ignorant Americans supporting “fighting ISIS” with boots on the ground and illegal incursion into Syria. I have even come to the point where I have no sympathy. If Americans are that stupid and numb to invading other nations and killing others, then we all have what is coming to us on the other side of that.
Those in leadership who know the what’s and why’s and still lead us into this should be hung in the streets.
Russian Military Awaits Pentagon’s Comment on Deadly US Strike in Syria
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703171051685544-us-airstrike-idlib-russia/
” The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said late Thursday the March 16 airstrike carried out in an al-Qaeda “meeting location” in Idlib killed several terrorists. Foreign-based observers claimed mostly civilians were killed in the attack in al-Jinah village.
“I think that in the near future we should expect relevant comments from our US colleagues. Tragic mistakes which can kill civilians happen in any war,” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.
The ministry spokesman noted that a photograph of an AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missile found at the site of the blast “left no chance for the international coalition to escape silently.”
“The tragic incident in the Syrian village of al-Jinah turned into a moment of truth for the well-functioning mechanism of the Western system of anti-Russian propaganda with the participation of mainstream media,” Konashenkov stressed.”