ISIS update 4/13/2017...US airstrike on Daesh Deir Ezzur poison gas depot.. many civilians dead

US airstrike on Daesh poison gas depot leaves many civilians dead

US-Led Coalition Airstrike Blows Up ISIL Chemical Weapons’ Cache in Deir Ezzur, Kills Scores of Civilians

The Syrian Armed Forces’ General Command announced in a statement that the US-led coalition’s airstrikes on an ISIL chemical weapons cache in Hatleh village in Eastern Deir Ezzur killed hundreds of militants and civilians after inhaling toxic gases.

The statement explained that after the attack a white cloud was formed on the ground which later turned yellow, adding that these and other signs show a large cache of toxic materials was exploded in the attack.

After the airstrike, hundreds of people, including the militants and a large number of civilians, suffocated to death after inhaling toxic gases.

The statement also said the incident showed that the terrorist groups, headed by the ISIL and the Al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board) are in hold of chemical weapons and can access, transfer, store and use them with the help of certain regional states.

Stressing that the Syrian army has no chemical weapons and has not used any chemical arms, the statement warned of the dangers of continued chemical attacks by the terrorist groups against the civilians.

The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces had categorically denied allegations and claims circulated by media outlets about the use of chemical substances in the town of Khan Shaikhoun in Idlib countryside last week.

“The armed terrorist groups used to accuse the Syrian Arab Army of using toxic gases against them or against civilians at anytime they fail to implement the targets of their sponsors and operators or when they are unable to achieve any advantages on the ground in an desperate attempt to justify their failure and to maintain the support of their masters,” the Army’s general command said in a statement last week.

It categorically denied any use of chemical or poisonous materials in the town of Khan Shaikhoun in Idlib countryside, affirming that it didn’t and will never use those materials in any place or time, nor in the future.

The army’s general command held the terrorist groups and those behind them responsible for the use of chemical and toxic substances and the disregard for the lives of innocent citizens to achieve their goals and base agendas.

The United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Shairat last Thursday, claiming that it was a response to the alleged chemical weapons use in Syria’s Idlib province three days prior.

Assad claims Syria chemical attack fabrication

’100% fabrication’: Assad on accusations of chemical attack in Idlib

Assad: The Chemical Attack Is “100% Fabrication”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-13/assad-chemical-attack-100-fabrication

Following yesterday’s icy meeting in Moscow between Rex Tillerson and Russian diplomat Sergey Lavron, the propaganda campaigns between the U.S., Syria and Russia seem to be ratcheting up to full force.

Speaking with the BBC earlier this morning, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the U.S. account of the recent chemical weapons ‘attack’ in Syria was a “100% fabrication” which can only lead him to the conclusion that the West must be working “hand and glove with the terrorists.”

“We gave up our arsenal 3 years ago. Even if we had them we wouldn’t use them. We have never used our chemical arsenal in our history.”

“Our information, that the West, mainly the United States, is hand and glove with the terrorists. They fabricated the whole story in order to have a pretext for the attack.”

“There was no investigation, no complete evidence about anything, the only things were allegations, and propaganda and they struck.”

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Syria in Past 24 Hours: Army Blows Up Al-Nusra’s Operations Room in Damascus

The Syrian army soldiers smashed a main operations room of al-Nusra (Fatah al-Sham) Front terrorists in the Eastern parts of Damascus.

Damascus

The Syrian Army troops continued military operations in the Eastern parts of Damascus province and won back control of more positions, while a main operations room of the al-Nusra Front was targeted and destroyed under the heavy fire of the army.

The army men, supported by the artillery and missile units, engaged in fierce clashes with terrorists in al-Qaboun region in the Northeastern countryside of Damascus city and managed to take back several buildings in the region, killing or wounding a number of militants.

In the meantime, the army’s artillery units shelled Al-Nusra positions in al-Qaboun, destroying the main operation room of the terrorists and killing the entire fighters in the room.

Field sources, meantime, reported that the warplanes targeted terrorists’ concentration centers in al-Qaboun, killing and wounding several militants.

Also in the past 24 hours, militants in two more towns in the two key provinces of Damascus and Quneitra laid down arms and joined the peace agreement with the Syrian government and army in the last 24 hours, the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria announced in its latest report.

“Representatives of militants in the town of al-Bayadheh in Damascus province and in the town of al-Sabah in Quneitra province have ended fight against the Syrian Army troops and joined the peace process in the last 24 hours,” the center said, adding, “The total number of regions, cities, towns and villages that have thus far joined the peace plan stands at 1,452 now.”

Idlib

The Syrian Army and militant groups agreed to allow over 3,500 gunmen leave four towns Northwest of Damascus later in return for the evacuation of 8,000 civilians from the two Shiite-populated towns of Fua’a and Kafraya in the Northwestern Province of Idlib in several phases.

Based on an agreement concluded in late March between the Damascus officials and gunmen, around 3,800 fighters and their family members are to leave the towns of Madhaya, Baqin, al-Zabadani and al-Jabal al-Sharqi for militant-held region in Idlib via four passageways.

In return, 8,000 residents of Fua’a and Kafraya will leave their towns for government-controlled regions in Aleppo province.

In the meantime, 19 captives will be freed by the militants and the army will release 17 gunmen in return.

A number of bodies of dead army soldiers and militants will be exchanged too.

Homs

The Syrian army forces, backed up by the country’s Air Force, continued their attacks on ISIL positions in the Southern parts of the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur) and drove terrorists out of more positions.

The army soldiers that had previously captured al-Abtar mountain Southwest of Palmyra, engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL and managed to take full control over several key positions Northeast of al-Abtar mountain, 15km away from Palmyra.

In the meantime, the army men pushed ISIL back from cattle raising center, the power station South of Palmyra and the road that connects Palmyra to al-Sawaneh.

A field source reported that tens of ISIL members were killed or wounded in clashes with the army units in Badiyeh (desert) region, while terrorists’ vehicles and equipment were also destroyed in large scale.

Aleppo

The Syrian army soldiers continued their anti-terrorism offensive in Northern Aleppo and managed to deploy forces in positions very close to one of the main bastions of the terrorists after killing 60 militants and destroying their equipment, well-informed sources said.

The sources said that following liberation of the village of Khirbet Anadan on Tuesday, the army forces continued their operation from two directions to take back the strategic town of Anadan, killing 60 terrorists and forcing the rest of them to retreat towards their main base, Anadan.

They added that the army soldiers have gained military control over Anadan from the direction of the town of al-Tamoureh and Khirbet Anadan.

In the meantime, the army’s artillery and missile unis pounded the positions of the terrorists in Anadan, killing a number of them.

Also, the army units targeted and downed two imaging drones of the terrorists South of al-Tamoureh in Northern Aleppo.

Hama

Military sources in Northern Hama reported that the Syrian Army’s missile and artillery units and Air Force have launched heavy attacks on terrorists’ positions in the towns of Souran and Taybat al-Imam.

The sources said that the artillery and missile units have opened heavy fire at the concentration centers and movements of Al-Nusra Front in Northern Hama in line with the liberation operation of Souran and Taybat al-Imam.

Al-Nusra has suffered heavy casualties in the shelling in Ma’ardeh, Souran-Ma’ardes road, Taybat al-Imam and surroundings of Tal (hill) Skeik, they added.

The sources went on to say that four tanks, a bomb-laden suicide vehicle and four military vehicles were destroyed in the attacks.

A military vehicle and a large volume of arms and ammunition of Al-Nusra were also seized by the army men.

In the meantime, the Syrian and Russian fighter jets pounded the positions of the terrorists in Taybat al-Imam and areas surrounding Souran, killing a large number of militants and destroying their vehicles.

Raqqa

The predominately Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued the Euphrates Rage operations against ISIL in Western Raqqa and managed to take control of a key highway connecting Raqqa city to Damascus capital city.

The SDF fighters that had laid siege on ISIL-held al-Tabaqa city managed to drive ISIL combatants out of a long chunk of Raqqa-Damascus highway.

The Kurdish fighters also engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL and repelled their attack on SDF’s positions to lift siege on al-Tabaqa city, killing and wounding a number of ISIL militants.

The SDF forces, meantime, clashed fiercely with ISIL in a region 3km away from al-Tabaqa and managed to win control over the village of Ayed al-Kabir.

“US led coalition airstrike on Mosul kills 13 civilians”

Iraqi Forces Partially Retake Western Mosul’s Old City

Iraqi government forces on Thursday took partial control over an area in Mosul’s Old City after 13 hours of fighting with ISIL militants as operations enter a tenth week to clear Western Mosul from the terror group.

Cap. Saeed al-Alousi, from the Interior Ministry’s Rapid Response forces, said Iraq army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service took over seven alleyways at al-Tenek, a district that is considered one of ISIL’s most remarkable havens, Anadolu reported.

CTS forces killed 15 militants from the group and arrested three others, while losing one officer, he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Federal Police command said its troops killed 13 militants and advanced closer to the Nuri al-Kabir Mosque, a much-coveted target for the Iraqi troops being the place where Islamic State declared the establishment of its “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.

Iraqi government forces, backed by popular groups, recaptured Eastern Mosul in January, and launched another offensive in February to retake the Western region. Iraqi commanders said earlier this week that ISIL militants were in control over less than seven percent of Iraqi territory.

Farsnews

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