Syrian War Report – June 3, 2019: Israeli Military Intensifies Attacks On Syria
Overnight on June 2, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a missile strike on Syrian Arab Army (SAA) targets in the southern part of the country. According to the IDF, the missiles hit 2 artillery batteries, observation and intelligence posts and an SA-2 (S-75 Dvina) aerial defense battery.
The IDF says that the strike was conducted in response to the launch of 2 rockets at Mount Hermon from the area controlled by the Syrian government. Pro-Israeli media outlets immediately speculated that the rockets were Iranian-made Fadjr-5.
The Syrian state media confirmed the Israeli strike saying that air defense forces had intercepted several Israeli missiles coming from the Golan Heights. 3 Syrian soldiers were killed and 7 others were injured.
This was the second Israeli strike on Syria during the week. On May 27, Israeli jets destroyed a Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft gun killing one service member and injuring another one at Tal Sha’ar.
Israel seems to be increasing its military against Syria once again after the decision of the Trump administration to recognize the occupied Golan Heights as a part of Israel. At the same time, the Syrian military is avoiding to employ a S-300 air defense system received from Russia, most likely to avoid a further military escalation in the region.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Turkish-backed militant groups carried out a failed attack on al-Hwaiz in northwestern Hama. At least one vehicle and 19 militants were eliminated in clashes with the SAA.
ISIS fighters have destroyed two SAA vehicles east of the town of al-Sukhnah with an anti-tank mine and an improvised-explosive device (IED), the terrorist groups’ news agency, Amaq, reported on June 1. According to Amaq, several Syrian service members were killed and injured in the attacks.
The terrorist group went on to claim that its fighters captured a third vehicle in an ambush west of al-Sukhnah. Four SAA soldiers were reportedly killed there.
Earlier, ISIS cells in the Homs desert launched a large attack on the area of al-Faydah in southwestern Deir Ezzor. The army repelled the attack after more than six hours of heavy clashes. Several soldiers were killed.
Amaq said that these attacks were a part of a new military campaign called Ghazwat Al-Aistinzaf [the Battle of Attrition], which began on May 31. The campaign appears to be aimed against both the SAA and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
israel, syria, Syrian Civil War, Syrian War
Saker Message:
This is a clear example of Israel basically lying in order to justify attacks on the Syrian military. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Israel either outright lied about mortars falling in their territory, or if mortars were fired, their own agents were responsible. I find this absolutely disgusting, and yet, Israeli’s themselves believe their own government’s lies without question. A sad state of affairs.
Secondly, the fact that Israel has started to deliberately kill SAA soldiers, based on what they know are lies, is a pretty big escalation. Normally, they destroy equipment that isn’t manned. This is a clear escalation, probably related to the SAA offensive in Idlib. Israel wants to draw the SAA away from Idlib and distract them. That is very dangerous, because if Syria wanted to, they could retaliate with limited artillery or missile strikes on Israeli targets in the Golan, killing and wounding Israeli soldiers in the process. It could be that Israel wants to start a war, both to distract the SAA from re-taking Idlib, and to reverse Trump’s (partial) withdrawal from Syrian territory.
Syria can’t afford a war with Israel right now, which could explain why they haven’t retaliated. They need to focus on re-taking Idlib, not opening a second front against Israel and by extension, the US. It’s painful to watch, but *not* retaliating is probably the right decision.
That said, in about a year from now, Syria will be in a much better position to take on Israel. After most of Idlib province has been liberated, of course. Once that operation is completed, the Syrians will be an excellent position to retaliate against Israeli aggression at their leisure, as well as finally clear the Eastern Syrian desert of the remaining Daesh terrorists, which number several thousand, and are wreaking occasional havoc on SAA troops in the desert, and who are being no-doubt illegitimately supported by the US & Nato.
At any rate, Israel’s days of unchecked aggression are numbered. They are in for a rude awakening when Syria finally does choose to retaliate and finally activate their S-300 batteries.
Unfortunately for Syria they are far from being ready to retake the Golan heights. In addition to clearing out the remnants of ISIS in eastern Syria, the Syrian Army must:
*Retake the last terrorist stronghold on the Jordanian border (the likely source of the never ending ISIS supply)
*Neutralise Turkish invasion of Syria’s North
*Re-integrate, or neutralise Kurdish forces
*Increase both the quantity, & quality of equipment & manpower of the Syrian military.
#1 probably can be done shortly after Idlib is liberated. #2 & #3 can likely be achieved with Russian mediation. #4 is the most difficult; while Iran can help bolster manpower, advanced weapons suppliers are either Israel’s allies, or not presently willing to break its good political & economic relationships with Israel (ie Beijing & Moscow.)
Only then would Syria have a chance of winning against Israeli army.
Weapons, ammo left behind by terrorists found in Homs northern countryside
https://sana.sy/en/?p=166755
Weapons, including US-made TOW missiles, seized in southern region, Homs countryside
https://sana.sy/en/?p=166787
The army strikes gatherings of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in Idleb countryside
https://sana.sy/en/?p=166847
Syria calls on Security Council to condemn terrorist attacks on safe civilians
https://sana.sy/en/?p=166843
Syrian Army storms jihadist mountain fortress in northeast Latakia
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-army-storms-jihadist-mountain-fortress-in-northeast-latakia/
Russia rains hell from above on jihadist stronghold in northeast Latakia
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russia-rains-hell-from-above-on-jihadist-stronghold-in-northeast-latakia/
ISIS leader Baghdadi allegedly hiding in a tunnel near the Syrian border
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-leader-baghdadi-allegedly-hiding-in-a-tunnel-near-the-syrian-border/
Western fakestream presstitute vermin version- ‘Twenty thousand hospitals and infant schools in ‘rebel’ held Free Syria, bombed by Syrian and Russian monsters, using sarin and novichok gas and the ultimate horror weapon-barrel bombs. Unknown number of little children, pregnant women and old people killed, but hundreds rescued by noble ‘White Helmets’ heroes’. Oh! The humanity!!
It is interesting to compere Soviet assistance to Syria with that of Russia today. USSR provided Syria with all the arms it wanted, including state of the art systems for the time such as MiG-25 and S-200. Russia by contrast not only cut the massive military aid to the country, but continues to deny it defensive systems because of Western and Israeli pressure. Examples are the MiG-31 and until last year the S-300PMU-2 which Syria requested for over ten years. As a result Syria effectively doesn’t have an Air Force today. If the USSR was still backing it, the balance of power in the sky would be very different 🇸🇾 🇮🇱 🇷🇺
https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/fighting-america-through-syria-how-the-soviet-union-armed-its-middle-eastern-ally-to-undermine-the-u-s-position-in-lebanon
Easy for us not living in Russia to criticise Moscow for “stinginess.” USSR had over twice the population of Russia today, hence more available money to give out freebies.
It is not just a matter of money but of different strategies and diplomacies between Russia and the Soviet Union.
With the USSR, the war in Syria would never have begun like in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine.
In that theater the new Russia is a great friend, ally and partner of the bombers and applies stinginess only to the bombed.
“Amaq said that these attacks were a part of a new military campaign called Ghazwat Al-Aistinzaf [the Battle of Attrition], which began on May 31.
“Actually War of Attrition”