Syrian War Report – Feb. 9-11, 2019: US-led Coalition Is About To Reach Another Deal With ISIS?
Last week, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) uncovered a large ISIS base in the outskirt of the city of al-Mayadin in the province of Deir Ezzor. The base contained several mass graves of civilians who had been executed by the terrorist group more than two years ago, a training ground, a munitions workshop and a tunnel network to connect various positions. Army troop seized dozens of improvised rocket-assisted munition and a destroyed T-72 battle tank on the site.
This revelation once again highlighted large security problems, which still exist in the areas liberated from ISIS in eastern Syria. Al-Mayadin was liberated by the SAA in October 2017. However, government forces still release reports about newly found weapons caches and tunnels abandoned by ISIS. This is likely a result of the insufficient efforts or lack of resources to fully secure the area.
Such problems become especially important as the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are finishing their operation against ISIS in the Hajin pocket and multiple ISIS members are fleeing it towards the Homs-Deir Ezzor desert, northeastern Syria and western Iraq.
On February 9, the SDF announced the start of its final push to eliminate the ISIS-held pocket. The announcement came in response to an attack by a group of 12 ISIS members on SDF positions in the Omar oil fields. SDF fighters, backed by US-led coalition warplanes, repelled the attack killing 10 ISIS members. 2 others withdrew to their positions in the Euphrates Valley.
On February 10, the SDF press center announced that the group had captured 4 supply roads and 19 positions from ISIS. However, clashes in the area are still ongoing, according to this version of the events.
Reports are appearing from multiple sources that the US-led coalition and ISIS are holding negotiations behind the scenes. According to some sources, the sides even reached an initial agreement, which would allow the terrorist group’s leaders and fighters to withdraw to an unspecified area. The sources believe that this area will be the al-Anbar desert in western Iraq or the desert near al-Tanaf in southeastern Syria, where a U.S. base is located. The families of ISIS members and injured ISIS fighters will be allowed to enter the areas controlled by the SDF.
The SDF has a long history of faking battles against ISIS in order to cover its deals with the terrorist group. For example, in October 2017, the Kurdish group was claiming that its fighters are storming the last ISIS positions in the city of Raqqa, while in reality the terrorists were being transferred with their weapons to Deir Ezzor province.
A new wave of protests against the US-led coalition took place in the provinces of Deir Ezzor and al-Raqqa during the weekend. During the events organized by local Arab leaders, protesters were burning improvising US and French flags and demanding the end of the foreign occupation as well as reconciliation with Damascus.
Meanwhile, the SDF announced that its security forces had arrested 63 “terrorists” during a large-scale combing operation in Raqqa city. The group’s statement didn’t mention ISIS or accuse these supposed terrorists of any real crimes. Some local sources say that the arrested persons may have been supporters of the reconciliation with Damascus.
The situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone remains tense with both the government and militants accusing each other of ceasefire regime violations. According to the existing data, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is actively attempting to form a united command of the existing militant groups in the area in order to be prepared for an expected large-scale military confrontation.
On the other hand, Russian military advisers and Russia-linked private military contractors continue to train pro-government forces. Groups of photos showing Russian specialists training SAA personnel and members of pro-government militias appear on a constant basis.
On February 9, the YPG-linked Afrin Liberation Forces (ALF) announced that Kurdish forces had carried out a series attacks against pro-opposition militants in the Turkish-occupied area of Afrin in northern Syria on February 6th and 7th. The attacks targeted two vehicles and two positions of the Turkish-backed Hamza Division and Jaysh al-Sharqiyah. As a result, seven militants from both groups were injured.
Meanwhile, a large-scale media campaign about allegedly growing tensions between Tehran and Moscow over the increasing Iranian and Hezbollah presence in Syria can be observed in mainstream media outlets and Israeli-linked media organizations. The goal of the campaign is to impact the political situation in Syria ahead of the expected withdrawal of US forces.
The US and Saudis created Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and spread it into the Middle East. From knowing this then what follows is easy to understand. With one hand the US supposedly fights Al Qaeda/ISIS, with its other hand it creates, shepherds and uses it.
It was does the same during the Cold War in Europe where its Gladio Army were running false flag terrorist operations to blame on communists and/or the USSR.
I will make a second or third request to find out if anything I post is printed, read and criticised in the Saker.is site?
I have been reading and commenting in this site for years, about 12 to 14 years. Not once have I seen a release of my comments or one answer to any of them.
Since my computer and phone have been hacked for years the safest way to contact me is to use my original e-mail as I post alternative news for the last 12-14 years in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in thrall to the unelected Brussels EU leading group and US war membership NATO.
considered yourself posted and replied to. the comments are supposed to be on topic: no advertisments,so you may find your emails deleted.
Whitney Webb from Mintpress News had reported several days ago that since Trump’s announcement of withdrawl from Syria, troop size has increased by 50%, moving troops from Iraq, to Syia, leaving one of three possibilities:
1.) the report is incorrect this time, despite repeated U.S. lying and policies that have shifted several times in a single day in a battle between the predators.
2.) Trump lied, or changed his mind once again without telling the public.
3.) The U.S. military has gone rogue.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/us-troop-count-in-syria-jumps-by-50-percent-since-trumps-withdrawal-announcement/254681/
This comment is 0ff-topic – please take it to the MFC. Any further off-topic comments will go to trash. Mod.
Just another one of the millions of life threatenning lies by the American predator class!
Another one is that of flouride added to water to build bones and teeth, based on a fradulent study by ALCOA noticing that individuals that lived in areas with heavy flouride, had better teeth and bones, failing to disclose that the flouride in those areas was calcium flouride! What a shocker that calcium builds strong bones and teeth! Unfortunately, they are adding corrosive sodium flouride to water and toothpaste! Great for American dentists!
Years ago, in the mid 1990’s there was an excellent article in The Shepherd Express called “Don’t Drink The Water”, which has vanished from existence.
The article was specifically about flouride in water, and explained that the flouride in water, is sodium flouride, which is literally a byproduct of the aluminum smelting process, and that the government started paying ALCOA to pollute the water, on totally fraudulent science, because the flouride placed in water, which governments buy from ALCOA is sodium flouride, which causes flourosis, leading to osteoporosis and cavities. The flouride that is good for bones and teeth, is not surprisingly, naturally occuring calcium flouride. It is like the difference between drinking Napalm, and orange juice, on an exagerated scale obviously!
The SDF fighting ISIS is like the rest of us fighting the Alien Invasion from Mars. SciFi.
They fight hard if and when attacked. They did next to nothing in terms of going out and engaging with ISIS or AQ.
The videos from Raqqa show them lobbing in rockets and sniping and that’s it.
ISIS was bombed and then negotiations for them to leave. There never was a battle for Raqqa.
Out in the desert, it’s all a charade. The Syrians and Iranian militia fought the ISIS hordes.
SDF cordon off the path to the Blackhawks for ISIS to be moved around.
The Kurds have been a fabrication of US Media Fake News as a brave, stalwart fighting force.
They fought in Iraq. But nearly always, their real fights are defensive fights for their turf.
They have not been a factor fighting the menace of ISIS.
They are useful tools of US and Israel.
Liz Cheney: “We’ve done tremendous work both in Syria as well as in Afghanistan. But in Syria, the is-
sue is not the territorial control. In Syria the issue is whether or not we’re able to ensure that ISIS doesn’t reconstitute.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/10/politics/liz-cheney-syria-isis-cnntv/index.html
[How I understand what Dick Cheney’s daughter Liz says: We’ve done huge destruction both in Syria as
well as in Afghanistan. (She forgot to mention Iraq.) We stay in Syria to rebuild the ISIS.]
For god’s sake, stop all the palaver and Syria and her allies simply attack these groups and kill all who are still on Syrian soil – indispensable Americans included.
It seems that Donald Trump’s promise to withdraw US troops from Syria is …uh… working out as well as his US-Mexican Border Wall.
Perhaps, Trump will be given a Nobel Peace Prize just like Barack “Predator Drone” Obama!
US Troop Count in Syria Jumps by 50 Percent Since Trump’s “Withdrawal” Announcement
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2019/02/07/us-troop-count-in-syria-jumps-by-50-percent-since-trumps-withdrawal-announcement/
US Dispatches Massive Military Convoy to Largest Base in Northern Syria
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2019/02/03/us-dispatches-massive-military-convoy-to-largest-base-in-northern-syria/
an attack by a group of 12 ISIS members on SDF positions in the Omar oil fields. SDF fighters, backed by US-led coalition warplanes, repelled the attack killing 10 ISIS members. 2 others withdrew to their positions in the Euphrates Valley.
Is it just me, or it truly looks like too much effort to stop an attack from a squad-sized unit? Two LMG positions, probably supported by RPG teams, should be more than sufficient to stop such assault cold.
Update: Syrian military on high alert after Israeli attack
https://mobile.almasdarnews.com/article/update-syrian-military-on-high-alert-after-israeli-attack/
“Earlier in the day, the Israeli military launched three separate strikes that targeted three different Syrian Arab Army sites.
The first attack targeted a Syrian Army garrison at a large hilltop; the second strike targeted the Quneitra Hospital, which was later turned into a base by Jabhat Al-Nusra; and the third attack targeted another garrison at Jabata Al-Shaab.”
https://sputniknews.com/latam/201902121072341794-venezuela-israel-guaido-maduro/
By the colour of his skin one would assume Bibi is on statins.
Article about an interview with Peter Ford, interesting reading.
Assad’s Only Option in Winning Syria’s Civil War is ‘Military Solution’
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201902131072365878-Assads-Only-Option-Syria-War-Military-Solution/
“As the fight against Daesh in Syria closes, the question of the final showdown over Idlib, occupied by terrorist forces loosely supported by Turkey, remains, as do Israeli attacks in the south. A former UK diplomat to Syria tells Sputnik the Idlib question can only be solved by force, but that Tel Aviv is mostly posturing in an election season.”