The Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the Tiger Forces and their allies have continued to advance in the Abu al-Duhur Airbase area in southern Idlib and have liberated the villages of Jakusiyah, al-Rahjan, Miraya, Tamakh, Miyal, al-Adiliyah and others from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda).
According to pro-government sources, the SAA also started a bombing campaign against positions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the airbase itself and the Tiger Forces even attacked militant positions in its vicinity.
Should the SAA keep the current tempo of its advance, it will reach Abu al-Duhur within the next two-three days.
The ISIS branch in Daraa province, the Khalid ibn Al-Waleed Army reportedly captured Al-Jubayliyah from its counterparts, ie from other militant groups in southern Syria.
The Syrian Air Defense Forces thwarted three Israeli missile attacks on targets near Damascus, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement on January 9. According to the statement:
- At 2:40 local time Israeli warplanes launched several missiles from Lebanese airspace at targets near Damascus. The missiles were intercepted and one Israeli warplane was targeted by air defense forces.
- At 4:00 local time, two surface-to-surface missiles were launched from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. They were also intercepted.
- At 4:15 local time, Israeli forces launched another 4 missiles from the Golan Heights. One missile was intercepted and the others hit a target causing damage to positions of Syrian forces.
The ministry added the Israeli actions were aimed at supporting militants operations in the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus and to counter the victories achieved by the Syrian Army in Idlib province.
The US Navy’s Boeing P-8 Poseidon military aircraft was detected in the area between Russia’s Khmeimim air base and Tartus naval facility in Syria when militants attacked the facilities using 13 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the night on January 6, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on January 9.
“…it is a strange coincidence that during a UAV attack on the Russian military facilities in Syria, a US Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft was cruising for more than four hours over the Mediterranean Sea at an altitude of 7,000 meters,” the statement said.
Separately, the ministry revealed via its newspaper, Red Star, that the aforementioned UAVs were launched from the “Muazzara settlement located in the southwestern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone controlled by the armed forces of the so-called moderate opposition.”
The ministry has sent letters to Turkey’s Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar and intelligence chief Hakan Fidan saying that “it is necessary for Ankara to meet assumed obligations to ensure ceasefire by controlled armed forces and intensify efforts to put observation points in the de-escalation zone in Idlib for preventing such UAV attacks on any targets.”
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused the SAA of “hitting the moderate opposition with the excuse they are fighting Nusra. [HTS]” Cavusoglu said the SAA’s actions undermined diplomatic efforts for a negotiated solution to the conflict.
It is not clear what kind of so-called moderate opposition Cavusoglu had found in the Abu al-Duhur area controlled by HTS.
In the 1973 war — Egypt, Syria and Jordan vs Israel and the USA — decoy attacks were used to learn Russian radar codes and take out Syrian anti-aircraft defense. In spite of which Israel lost many aircraft which were promptly made up by aircraft from the US air force. This part of the war depended on rate of supply, from USSR vs US. The present probes could be a preliminary to something similar. However, the political climate is different: people in the USA are beginning to question why they have spent so much “blood and treasure” on endless wars against Israel’s neighbours — Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and now Iran.
The merciless annihilation of Zion’s proxy armies in Syria continues unabated, currently in eastern Idlib. In the southern cauldron of the map below are an estimated 1.000 ISIS terrorists and roughly the same amount of HTS fighters.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DTNOUkCVAAArJ5a.jpg
“… three Israeli missile attacks on targets near Damascus …”
What would happen – exactly – if Russian nuclear warheads, in a leisurely quarter an hour job, permanently rubbed out from the world map Tel Aviv, Haifa, Yafa, Dimona, and all the military-industrial centers and bases of the unholy Zionist entity in Palestine?
On the up-side, granted, there would instantly ensue a blessed peace & quiet in the entire Middle East and beyond.
Any possible down-side?…
@Rob: “Any possible down-side?…”
Have you seen the horrors in Fallujah, from depleted uranium? Would you like to live near Chernobyl? Do you know the aftermath of Hiroshima to this day? And of people who live near WW2 test sites in the USA; and in the Pacific?
Palestine is a small area, radioactive clouds from TelAviv-Jaffo, from Haifa-Akko, from will spread to Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. As for blowing up the nuclear production site Dimona, don’t even think about it. It’s bad enough Israeli lunatics stuffing the area with nuclear weapons and threatening to let them off in “Samson Option”. Let alone the FUKUSA countries, Russia and China having nuclear weapons as well, and some lunatics from there dreaming of using them (from a safe distance of course) on little countries far away.
“The discovery of neutron-induced uranium fission has finally brought to mankind the possibility of total annihilation which is its deepest wish”. — Erwin Schrodinger, ca 1938.
“… Erwin Schrodinger …”
Who was a notorious sexual pervert of … ahem … non-goyim persuasion. What a stellar choice for quotations…
@Richard. Link please. To the best of my knowledge, Schroedinger is notorious only as the great 20th century physicist, a founder of Quantum Theory whose equation is still used. Pray tell me more.
More detailed info published on the nature of the drone themselves.
Threat of terrorist drone attacks is real, says Russian military after assault on base in Syria
https://www.rt.com/news/415591-threat-of-terrorist-drone-attacks/
“The assessment of the drones also revealed that any jamming countermeasures would be ineffective. “The research showed that the avionics equipment mounted on the drones facilitated their fully automated preprogrammed flight and bombing, ruling out any jamming,” Novikov said.
The military official again drew attention to the fact that precise target coordinates as well as fine adjustments to flight configurations were needed for such tactics to be effective. He also pointed out that the coordinates used by the drones in the Syrian attack were much more precise than those that could be obtained from open access resources such as the internet.
Components used in the drones that attacked the Russian bases could indeed be purchased separately on the open market. However, assembling such a drone requires “a large amount of time and specific expertise,” including special training, scientific knowledge and practical experience of building similar devices, Novikov said, adding that the drones had likely undergone flight trials.
Specialists “from the countries that produce and actively use” various UAVs were involved in the development and construction of the drones used by the terrorists in the attack on the Russian bases, the major general said, citing the results of the technical assessment. He added that the drones carried bombs with industrially-manufactured explosives which could not have been made locally or taken from other munitions.”
See also:
Attackers of Russian Bases in Syria Couldn’t Get Their Location From Net – MoD
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201801111060675367-drones-russia-syria-bases-attacks/
“Ammunition used on UAVs [in Syria attack] attracts particular attention. Those are improvised explosive devices weighing about 400 grams, equipped with striking elements in the form of metal balls with a destruction radius of up to 50 meters,” Novikov said at a briefing.
“Each drone participating in the attack carried 10 pieces of such munitions,” he added.
The Russian Defense Ministry called on journalists not to confuse the primitive assembly of these unmanned vehicles and the technical solutions applied to construct them.
“One should not confuse the primitive assembly of the drones presented to you with the engineering and technical solutions used during their manufacture. The production of such deadly machines requires superior professional knowledge, practical skills and experience in operating drones, ” Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov explained.”
The horror of how easily, devastatingly and well organized the SAA & allies are mowing down terrorist defenses in Idlib has reached Ankara. In response, Erdogan has cranked up the well oiled terrorist supply lines into Idlib to the max. But will this bring glory to the Sultan or only more pain and misery?
Considering that the Turkish air force can’t fly CAS for their obviously overwhelmed and relentlessly decimated brothers in arms, and the fact that the RuAF is hitting terrorist targets harder then ever before in Idlib, the answer is obvious.
My speculation the israeloamericans staged the drone attack to frame turkey and cause a turk-Russian rift looks like it was correct.
Russia Knows Perpetrators of Attack on its Syrian Bases, It’s Not Turkey – Putin
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201801111060680364-putin-syria-bases-attack/
“On the Recent Attack on Russian Base in Syria
While speaking about the recent drone attack on the Russian Hmeymim base in Syria, Vladimir Putin said that he believed Turkey had nothing to do with the issue amid reports that, allegedly, the drones had been delivered from Turkey.
“There were provocateurs there but they were not Turks, we know who was it was… We know, how much and whom they have paid for this provocation,” Putin said.
The attack was a provocation, aimed at undermining Russia’s relations with its partners, including Turkey, Vladimir Putin said, adding that Russia had taken additional measures to protect its military facilities in Syria.
“Firstly, these are provocations aimed at the collapse of the earlier reached agreements. Secondly, that is also an attempt to destroy our relations with partners — Turkey and Iran. We clearly understand that, and therefore we will show solidarity,” Putin said.
The Russian leader furthermore said that the attacks had been thoroughly planned.
“Concerning the attacks, we have no doubts that they had been well prepared, we know when and where these drones were transferred, as well as the number of drones,” Putin added.”
And as some had speculated, the drone attack was likely a test, with the p-8 aircraft central. Like when the israeloamericans used Turk assets to shoot down a Russian Su-24 a couple of years ago, in a previous op to cause a rift between turkey and Russia.
Attack on Russian Bases in Syria First Combat Test of ‘Swarming’ Drones’
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201801111060675583-drone-attack-russia-base-syria/