ISIS update 9\16\2015.. true colors exposed

Assad: Political solution to Syria conflict only possible after terrorists defeated

‘West crying for refugees with one eye, aiming gun with the other’ – Assad

Syria ‘in a state of complete war’ with terrorism – Assad (FULL INTERVIEW)

Assad interview: US true colors exposed

US desperate to remove Syrias Assad

Matt Lee: Questions about policy & not about Assad. 15 Sept 2015

US: Syrian president has no role in fight against ISIL

US State Dept spox almost cracks over ISIS and Syria regime change charges

US-led campaign against ISIL under fire for ineffectiveness

DoD Admits US SpecOps “Boots On The Ground” In Syria

With the Russians on the ground at Latakia shoring up the Assad regime and with tensions between Washington and Moscow at a fever pitch over the Kremlin’s involvement, the Pentagon now says US boots are officially on the ground in Syria – you know, to help fight ISIS…

Of course, if true, the whole “assisting Kurdish forces” won’t go over well with Turkey’s Erdogan, the US’s brand new coalition partner against ISIS who has made no secret of his distrust for the YPG.

Then again, there had to be some pretext for an imminent escalation with Russia and since it’s all a convoluted, bloody mess at this point, “helping Kurdish forces” is just as good as any other excuse we suppose.

US soldiers finish their duty over NATO’s patriot missiles in Turkey’s Gaziantep

Russian FM stresses need for united anti-ISIL front during phone call with US counterpart

A Russian-Syrian volunteer talks about his experience in the “Shabiha” pro-Assad paramilitary

…………………You’re talking about ISIS, but in fact there are many different groups – don’t locals make that distinction?

– And what difference does it make who cuts your head off?

The military keep track of it, because it is important for them to know with whom they enter into a temporary truce. Also historians and scientists, for their research…

Well, there is also Free Syrian Army, but they are no more than a tenth of the rebel forces. Locals don’t want much to do with them either. All their demands are being gradually met as it is. To counter the Islamists, Assad already needs to establish dialogue with the people.

And FSA demand the resignation of al-Assad – why, if everyone knows that he will win any sort of a fair election?

- Do the locals make the distinction between local and foreign Islamists?

– Yes, that one is important. Foreigners spit on local custom. It went so far that even the Bedouin tribes near Raqqa, who at first invited ISIS in, now run to Assad, as they cannot live under the new regime.

But the main flow of refugees starts when Islamists take over new settlements. The militiamen that I spoke to believe that our mission in life is to cleanse the world from the big pile of shit that got gathered in our homeland. They only regret that it came to Syria, and not to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States, who finance them.

- What is the general attitude toward the Saudis?

– Even before the war, no one of the Gulf liked them because of their medieval way of life… In Latakia, for example, there is one café with a sign: “Dogs and Saudis not allowed.”

Saudi Arabia is disliked for its savagery, backwardness and barbarism, as well as cultureless pride based on vast oil reserves. In turn, the Syrians consider themselves the heirs of ancient civilizations.

- And what do they think about Russia?

– Supporters of Assad thought well of Russia since the Soviet times, and now even more so. But if ISIS know you’re a Slav or you have a Slavic wife, then you will be killed for sure, because after the war in Chechnya Russia is considered one of the main enemies of radical Islam.

- I see … Was it hard to say goodbye to the squad?

– I was ashamed. I have somewhere else to go, and they do not. I became friends with all of them already. Next year, I want to make another trip. When I went there, I thought the enemy will be like an immortal horde. It turned out that the capabilities of Islamists are exaggerated. They die like everyone else.

- Do you think the war will not stop in a year?

– Of course not. To stop it, the state needs to take control of the Turkish border, and the Jordanian border by the Golan Heights… If the influx of Islamists is stopped, we will quickly deal with the ones in country.

All Syrians know that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the US are helping the Islamists with weapons and money, buy their oil. Supposedly, they help only the “secular opposition”, but everyone understands that all of the supply goes into a common pool, and FSA distributes those weapons to other groups. [Some FSA units have been described as “mostly consisting of a warehouse on Turkish border, getting rich on re-selling CIA weapons” – ed.]

At the same time, Syria can lose only if a no-fly zone is established, Turkey openly supports the Islamists, and “anti-ISIS” coalition openly attacks Syria……………………..

Russia Continues Support for Syria, Despite US Objections

Putin Accuses World Of “Using Terrorist Groups” To Destabilize Governments

……………………..The first thing to note there is that Putin has essentially called the US out for using terrorists to destabilize Assad. So for anyone just looking for the punchline, that was it. Everyone else, read on.

At this point what should be obvious is that Vladimir Putin’s intentions in Syria are anything but unclear. Russia is openly supplying the Assad regime with military aid in an effort to prevent terrorists and extremists (some of which were trained by the US and received aid from Qatar) from facilitating the strongman’s ouster. It’s that simple and frankly, the only two things Russia hasn’t made explicitly and publicly clear (because this is international diplomacy after all, which means everyone is always lying about something) are i) the role that natural gas plays in all of this, and ii) that the Kremlin will seek to prevent anyone from overthrowing Assad, so to the extent that there are any real, well-meaning “freedom fighters” in Syria, they’ll find themselves on the wrong end of Russian tank fire just the same as ISIS.

As clear as that is, the US must stick to the absurd notion that the Pentagon just can’t seem to get to the bottom of what Russia is doing and to the still more absurd idea that Russia – who seems to be the only outside party that’s actually interested in fighting ISIS as evidenced by the fact that there are Russian boots on the ground – is somehow hurting the very serious effort by the US and its allies to defeat Islamic radicals in Syria. Here’s Bloomberg again:

Russia’s intentions in Syria are unclear and it’s important for U.S. diplomats to understand them, Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Tallinn, Estonia, on Tuesday. While Putin’s said it wants to prevent Islamic State’s expansion, “explaining the purpose and seeing how it actually evolves on the ground are two very different things and we will be working on that,” Dempsey said.

Right, “explaining” that your “purpose” is to take your very powerful military and defeat what amounts to a large militia that’s woefully under-armed and under-trained by comparison “and seeing how it actually evolves are two very different things.” If you buy that argument, then you are buying into the patently ridiculous idea that if the US and Russia were to bring their combined military might to bear on ISIS in Syria, that somehow the outcome of that battle would be in doubt. ……………………….

International Military Review – Syria, Sep 16, 2015

Militants’ rocket attack kills 20 in Syria

Iraq HD – destroy army and Shia ISIS headquarters and evacuate their wounded – September 16, 2015

Turkey: Soldiers hurt by roadside bomb as conflict with PKK escalates

5 police officers killed in PKK bomb attacks in Southeast Turkey

Turkey and its Kurds at War: Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Personal Quest for Survival
By Sungur Savran

….Turkey’s war is not only against the PKK, but the Kurdish people as a whole. It has taken at least three different forms. The first is the military conflict proper between the Turkish armed forces and the PKK. This has so far taken the form of bombardments by the Turkish air force of PKK camps in Northern Iraq, on the territory of the Kurdish Regional Government led by Barzani, a close American and Turkish ally. The PKK has reciprocated by killing Turkish soldiers and police officers by the day. However, the two most spectacular instances of such raids came within forty-eight hours in early September, when the PKK blew up 16 soldiers in the southeast of the country and subsequently 13 police officers in the northeast. The very long geographical distance between the locations of the two incidents, as well as the heavy losses suffered by the Turkish forces, were meant to show the country that the PKK is a formidable force.

The second form the war has taken is the effort on the part of the state to pacify the flashpoints in the cities and towns of Turkish Kurdistan. Since early 2013, a process of negotiations between the government and the PKK, called the “solution process” was going on. However, not all in the Kurdish movement are happy with this process. Abdullah Ocalan, the historic leader of the PKK, held in captivity since 1999, is the architect of the process. Yet there are other actors on the scene. The official ones are the PKK based in Northern Iraq and the HDP, the People’s Democratic Party, an avatar of the parliamentary Kurdish movement that has now joined forces with a host of Turkish socialist parties and movements. Among these three, Ocalan is the most flexible while the PKK projects a more intransigent image. However, there is a fourth actor on the scene, called the YDG-H, which is usually presented as the youth wing of the PKK, but really has lately acted as a quasi-independent force. It stands to the extreme left of the movement and despite swearing unswerving allegiance to Ocalan, is patently critical vis-a-vis the “solution process”. It is they who organise whole neighbourhoods in many Kurdish cities and towns and make these neighbourhoods inaccessible to Turkish security forces by digging ditches and trenches and defending these with arms in hand when needed. The population at large may not agree with their methods, but sides with them against governmental forces during periods of conflagration when push comes to shove………

Farsnews

Syria in Past 24 Hours: Daraa Turned into Blood Pool for Terrorists

An army unit killed eight terrorists and destroyed a vehicle loaded with ammunition in al-Abazeed neighborhood in Daraa al-Balad on Tuesday, a military source said.

Units of the Army and Armed Forces destroyed vehicles and dens of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists and other terrorist organizations during special operations that targeted their gatherings in Daraa province.

Another unit thwarted an infiltration attempt by a terrorist group from al-Bajabjeh neighborhood towards Sajneh neighborhood in Daraa al-Balad, and all the invading terrorists were either killed or wounded.

Also, a vehicle along with all terrorists, arms, and munitions on board was destroyed during an operation by an army unit to the West of the old customs building in Daraa al-Balad.

Local sources said that another army unit established control over nine blocks of buildings in al-Manshiya neighborhood after killing a large number of terrorists, most of whom were from Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization.

Another unit directed a big strike against a group of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists to the southwest of Ghazaleh Bridge in the Southeastern countryside of the province, killing a number of terrorists and destroying their vehicles and munitions.

Meanwhile, an army unit destroyed a bulldozer which terrorists had been using to build barriers and fortifications to the north of al-Sheikh Miskeen 22 kilometers to the North of Daraa city.

More terrorists were killed and their vehicles were destroyed in the army operations against their gatherings, dens and movements in other parts of Syria on Tuesday.

An army unit on Tuesday killed two terrorists and seized their weapons in Madaya South of al-Zabadani city in Damascus Countryside.

In the Eastern Ghouta area, army units targeted Jaish al-Islam terrorists in Harasta, al-Samadi, al-Maqale’, and near the al-Cham al-Jadida gas station West of Douma, killing and injuring a number of them.

Another unit killed 3 terrorists and injured 2 others in Tal Kurdi farms Northeast of Douma city.

Also in the past 24 hours, an army unit destroyed a mortar launcher for ISIL terrorist organization and killed a number of its members in Kherbet Sa’ad in the Northeastern countryside of Sweida province.

Army units targeted the terrorists’ gatherings and movements’ axis in the hills of Thalfa’ and the Southern Ashhen in the vicinity of Kholkholeh village, 50 km North of Sweida province, killing a number of terrorists and injuring others in addition to destroying a vehicle with all ammunition and arms on board.

Also in the southern province of Quneitra, the army units, in cooperation with popular defense groups, clashed with terrorists near al-Baath city.

Field sources said that the army killed and injured scores of the terrorists and destroyed a vehicle loaded with weapons and ammunition near Abu Shatta, 1 km North of al-Baath city.

Army and Armed Forces units, in cooperation with popular defense groups, established control over Jazal village, al-Ze’eb hill, and a number of hills that serve as vantage points in the Western countryside of Tadmur (Palmyra) after eliminating large numbers of ISIL terrorists on Tuesday.

Earlier, Army units targeted ISIL terrorists in Palmyra’s western countryside, killing and injuring a number of them and destroying their machinegun-equipped vehicles.

Also on Tuesday, an army unit targeted terrorist organizations’ gatherings and hotbeds in the villages and towns of al-Qseir, Jaboul, Hwejeneh, Kabbaret al-Ward, Rayan, and al-Salheiyeh in the countryside of al-Sfeira city, 25 km Southeast of Aleppo city.

Meanwhile, the army destroyed terrorists’ dens in Tal al-Na’am, al-Sbeiha and Tal Faouri in the Eastern countryside of Aleppo, destroying an ammunition depot, a rocket launcher pad, and a heavy machinegun, in addition to killing and injuring a number of terrorists.

The army’s operations also targeted hideouts of Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations in Khan al-Assal, Kafr Hamra and Zeitan, 16 km South west of Aleppo city, resulting in killing and injuring many terrorists.

Additionally, a number of terrorists were killed and injured in an intensive army operation which targeted their hotbeds in the neighborhoods of Bustan al-Qaser and Qastal Harami in Aleppo city.

The army units defending al-Neirab Airport and the Air Force Academy carried out precise strikes against terrorists’ gatherings and hideouts in the areas surrounding the Airport and the Academy, killing a number of terrorists and destroying their vehicles.

Army units foiled terrorists’ attempt to infiltrate Aleppo city from al-Rashidin and the Scientific Research Facility, and then carried out counterattacks in which terrorists’ gatherings in al-Rashidin, the Scientific Research Facility, Kifr Naha, and Khan al-Assal were destroyed.

The army also destroyed a convoy of terrorists’ vehicles that was en route to support the terrorist groups near Khan al-Assal, and an armored vehicle rigged with explosives was destroyed at the city’s Western entrance.

Sources on the ground refuted all reports on terrorists’ infiltration into new areas in Aleppo.

Meanwhile, media outlets said that an army unit destroyed two vehicles and a rocket launcher and killed a number of terrorists in al-Mansoura West of Aleppo city.

Also in Idlib, the army units targeted gatherings of the so called “Jaish al-Islam” terrorist organization in Kafr Oueid village, 20 km West of M’aret al-Nu’man in the Southwestern countryside of Idlib, killing 7 terrorists and destroying their arms and ammunition, field sources said.

Heavy losses were inflicted upon terrorist organizations’ personnel and equipment in the army operations against their gatherings in Kafr Zeita, South of al-Taman’a and Attshana near the administrative borders between Idlib and Hama.

Meanwhile, army air force destroyed terrorists’ hideouts in Mahambal, Khan Sheikhoun and al-Kfair in Idleb countryside.

Also in the past 24 hours, the army units destroyed a vehicle for terrorists, killed 15 terrorists in al-Bahsa village in Hama Northern countryside.

Earlier, an army unit killed, at least, 15 ‘Jaish al-Fateh’ terrorists in an ambush targeted a terrorist group during its attempt to infiltrate into the vicinity of Kherbet al-Naqous village in al-Ghab Plain in the Northwestern countryside of Hama province.

Army units carried out intensive strikes on a terrorist organizations’ convoy during its movement West of al-Latamneh town, 35 km North of Hama city, destroying a number of vehicles with all arms and ammunition onboard.

Later, a military source said that army units killed dozens of terrorists in Attshan and al-Ankawi in the province’s countryside.

Iraq Rejects US Request for Partnership in Combat against ISIL

Iraqi Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahamad Jamal announced on Wednesday that Baghdad has rejected Washington’s demand for the deployment of the US ground force to Iraq’s war against the ISIL.

“Some of the US military officials and generals of the anti-ISIL coalition forces have indirectly underlined the necessity for dispatching the US ground troops to Iraq to join the combat against the terrorist group,” Jamal said.

“But, Iraq is opposed to the presence of any ground force from the US or any other member states of the coalition in the fight against the terrorist groups, because the Iraqi people do not want to see any foreign soldiers on their soil and they do not want to experience the bitter taste of the US military presence on their land once against,” the spokesman added.

Earlier this month, the Iraqi popular forces known as Hashed Al-Shaabi also underlined their opposition to the US forces’ partnership in fighting against terrorists in the Western province of Anbar.

“The US will not sacrifice even one of its soldiers for Iraq and their present meddling in the government’s affairs is a plot to disintegrate Iraq,” Karim al-Nouri, a commander of the popular forces, said.

He reminded that Hashed Al-Shaabi has earned many victories against the terrorists, and said, “Therefore, the popular forces will not wait for anyone’s permission and will continue fighting against the ISIL.”

Syrian Army Kills Scores of Militants in Zabadani Countryside

Syrian Army Wins Back Strategic Jazal Heights, ISIL Flees towards Palmyra

Military sources in the Central province of Homs said that after wining back the Jazal town the Syrian Armed Forces retook full control over Jazal heights, and forced the ISIL Takfiri terrorists to withdraw forces from the region and go back to their positions near Palmyra.

Last week, the ISIL surprised the Syrian army men with a full-scale assault on the Jazal heights in the ancient city of Palmyra’s Northwestern countryside; this attack resulted in the capture of Jazal and half of the Jazal Oil and Gas Fields located directly at the West of the town.

However, ISIL’s success did not last very long, as the Syrian army’s 67th Brigade of the 18th Tank Division, in coordination with the Liwaa Assoud Al-Jabal (Lions of the Mountain Brigade) and Liwaa Suqour Al-Sahra (Desert Hawks Brigade), launched a counter-offensive to recapture this strategic area in the Homs Governorate’s Eastern territories.

Much to the terrorist group’s surprise, the Syrian Armed Forces were not passively striking the ISIL militants; instead, they relentlessly pounded the terrorists with mortar shells and rockets before they would storm the town of Jazal.

The Syrian Armed Forces finally took full control of the two hills that sit to the South of Jazal.

As a result of the Syrian soldiers’ operations the ISIL terrorists were forced to withdraw South towards the city of Palmyra after sustaining heavy casualties and the destruction of their main hideout.