Syria/Iraq update 12/13/2018..Turkey Threatens US-backed Kurdish Forces With New Operation

Turkey Threatens US-backed Kurdish Forces With New Operation

Turkey to expand military operations in Syria

Kurdish YPG attacks Turkish backed jihadists in northern Syria

HTS arrest and harass senior medical officials in Idlib

a car bomb blast struck near a medical center in Syria’s northwestern province of Aleppo.

Iraqi aircraft target Daesh positions in eastern Syria, kill 44 terrorists

Men of the Syrian Arab Army On the first lines despite the cold, and despite all the circumstances, a watchful eye to protect the homeland

From the celebration of the opening of the Christmas tree in Qassaa

Farsnews Syria in Past 24 Hours

The Syrian army dispatched convoys of troops and equipment to Aleppo, Idlib and Hama on Wednesday as the government forces were preempting and repelling terrorist attacks from the demilitarized zone on a daily base.

Idlib

The army forwarded several convoys, including hundreds of fresh soldiers and a large volume of military hardware, to contact lines with the terrorists, deployed in the demilitarized zone in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama provinces.

The terrorists’ continued attacks have made the government forces prepare for an imminent operation in the Northern and Northwestern parts of the country.

In the meantime, the army’s artillery and missile units pounded terrorists’ movements and positions in the towns and villages of al-Latamina, al-Janabarah, Tal Othman, al-Sakhar and al-Zakat in Northern Hama and preempted their attack after inflicting major losses on the militants.

Other units of the army opened heavy artillery attacks on terrorists’ movements in the small town of Jarjanaz in Southeastern Idlib and preempted their attack.

The terrorists suffered heavy casualties.

Also in the past 24 hours, almost 400 non-Syrian terrorists that had left Yemen’s battlefields arrived in Idlib province in Northwestern Syria via the Turkish border in the last two months, a Russian media outlet reported.

The Arabic-language website of Sputnik quoted well-informed sources as disclosing that almost 400 non-Syrian terrorists have arrived in Idlib through Turkey’s Southern border with Syria in the last two months.

It further said that the terrorists that had arrived in the region from Yemen crossed the Turkish border into Syria’s border towns of Sarmada and Atmah in Idlib in 8 and 15-member groups, adding that the terrorists’ transfer from Yemen to Idlib was supervised by a regional state.

The report did not mention the name of the regional state that had assisted the move, but said that Horras al-Deen militants have settled the newcomers in one of their bases between Idlib and Northern Hama that had been set up 20 days ago.

The news agency said that Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) has eased transfer of the terrorists to regions under Horras al-Deen’s control in Idlib.

Deir Ezzur

The ISIL terrorist group has arrested tens of civilians in Southeastern Deir Ezzur and asked them to pay a hefty amount of money for their release, a militant-affiliated news website reported on Wednesday.

Al-Hel reported that ISIL has told those locals who intend to leave the region in Southeastern Deir Ezzur to pay a hefty amount of money.

It further said that the ISIL has kidnapped a large number of civilians, adding that the terrorist group has asked $700 to release each captive.

The ISIL has also announced that the civilians who want to leave the region with their vehicles have to pay $1,500.

Also on Wednesday, the Syrian Army continued cleansing operation in Albu Kamal region in Southeastern Deir Ezzur near the border with Iraq and found 7 mass graves with over 100 bodies of victims killed by the ISIL terrorists.

The army’s engineering units carried out cleansing operation in the Western direction of Albu Kamal region near the border with Iraq and discovered 7 mass graves with a large number of bodies of people that were killed by the ISIL.

The Syrian Red Crescent has thus far discovered 101 bodies of the people who had been tortured by the ISIL before their execution.

The Red Crescent announced further that unearthing bodies of victim from the mass graves is still underway.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Iraqi Air Force pounded 2 key bases of the ISIL terrorists in Eastern Syria on Tuesday night, killing more than 40 terrorists, the Joint Operation Command said in a statement.

The Joint Command said that Iraqi F-16 warplanes bombed heavily a key position of the ISIL in the small town of al-Sousah in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, destroying the positions and killing a sum of 30 terrorists inside the base.

It further said that the terrorists were planning to hold a meeting of ISIL commanders at the time of the air raid.

In the meantime, another ISIL base also came under heavy airstrike in Southeastern Dei Ezzur, the statement said, adding that 14 suicide attackers were killed in the attack.

Homs

The Syrian Army’s artillery and missile units pounded ISILs’ movements and positions in the Eastern desert of Homs on Wednesday, inflicting major losses on the terrorists.

The artillery and missile units shelled the movements of a group of ISIL terrorists near Aweiraz Dam in the Eastern desert of Homs, killing and wounding a large number of them and destroying their military hardware.

Other artillery units targeted the remaining pockets of the ISIL in Jabal al-Qorab region Southeast of the town of al-Sukhnah and also in a region at Homs and Deir Ezzur border, destroying several positions.

In the meantime, a field source said that ISIL has suffered heavy casualties in the army’s intensified attacks on the terrorists in al-Sukhnah and near the US-run base in al-Tanf region.

Aleppo

The Turkey-backed militants resumed targeting the positions of the US-backed militias in Manbij region in Northeastern Aleppo, a Kurdish media outlet reported on Wednesday.

The Arabic-language website of Hawar news reported that the Ankara forces have started targeting the positions of Manbij Military Council North of Manbij.

It further said that the Ankara forces have chosen mosques to start their attacks, adding that they used Seyed Khadijah and Omar Bin Khatab Mosques to resume targeting the positions of the US-backed militants in Sajour line North of Manbij.

In the meantime, a number of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed or wounded in a bomb attack by unknown raiders in al-Ketab square in Manbij.