Syria/Iraq update 8/25/2019..Russian forces stationed near the Turkish observation post in Morek, north of Hama

Russian forces stationed near the Turkish observation post in Morek, north of Hama

Special Task Force since the last 24 hours storming the villages and towns of the southern countryside of Idlib (Tal Tari – Tal Saghira – Al-Ta’manah

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops seized control of a string of villages in the northern countryside of Hama province, completing their takeover of the formerly rebel-held region just south of Idlib province for the first time since 2012

air defenses counter hostile targets in the skies of Damascus

The Israeli military said early on August 25 that its warplanes had struck several Iranian military positions near the town of Aqraba south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, preventing a large attack on its territory.

According to the Israeli military’s claims, operatives of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated units were preparing to launch several armed drones at Israeli positions.

“The IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] is prepared to continue defending the State of Israel against any attempts to harm it and holds Iran and the Syrian regime directly responsible for the thwarted attack,” the Israeli Air Force (IAF) wrote on Twitter. Syrian sources reported several explosions in the vicinity of Damascus in the late hours of August 24. Several anti-aircraft missiles were also launched by the Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces (SyAADF).

A Syrian military official told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) the SyAADF was able to intercept several hostile missiles. “At 23:30 our air-defense systems detected hostile targets coming from above the Golan Heights towards the vicinity of Damascus … So far, most of the hostile Israel missiles have been destroyed before they could reach their targets,” the official said.

The situation is expected to escalate further. Israeli sources reported that the Iron Dome anti-rocket system was deployed in the northern part of the country, while Syrian activists are talking about possible casualties.

Israeli missiles flying over Damascus dealt with ‘efficiently’: Syria’s SANA

Israel Takes Credit for Airstrike in Syria

IAF Jets Preemptively Strike Iran In Syria

- A Hezbollah official said Sunday that an Israeli drone went down over the Lebanese capital of Beirut and another exploded in the air, amid regional tensions between Israel and Iran.

Residents of the Iranian-backed group’s stronghold in southern Beirut reported one large explosion that shook the area early Sunday, triggering a fire. They said the nature of the blast in the Moawwad neighborhood was not immediately clear, but said it may have been caused by an Israeli drone that went down in the area amid Israeli air activity in neighboring Syria. They said they heard an aircraft flying just before the blast and reported later that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group sealed off the area. The blast occurred near the militant group’s media office in the Moawwad district.

The Hezbollah official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as the person was not authorized to speak on the record to journalists. No details were immediately available. Journalists on the scene were not allowed to film or take pictures. One building appeared to be slightly damaged where the drone went down. A man was seen taking away metal parts in a white plastic bag that he said contained parts of the aircraft that went down.

The Israeli military said it does not comment on “foreign reports.” Israeli warplanes regularly violate Lebanese airspace and have struck inside neighboring Syria from Lebanon on numerous occasions. Lebanese security stand at the site where an Israeli drone was said to have crashed in a stronghold of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019.

A Hezbollah official said Sunday that an Israeli drone went down over the Lebanese capital of Beirut and another exploded in the air, amid regional tensions between Israel and Iran. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) A few hours earlier, late Saturday, the Israeli military attacked targets near Syria’s capital of Damascus in what it said was a successful effort to thwart an imminent Iranian drone strike on Israel, stepping up an already heightened campaign against Iranian military activity in the region.

The late-night airstrike, which triggered Syrian anti-aircraft fire, appeared to be one of the most intense attacks by Israeli forces in several years of hits on Iranian targets in Syria. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Al Quds force, working with allied Shiite militias, had been planning to send a number of explosives-laden attack drones into Israel.

On Twitter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack by Israeli warplanes a “major operational effort.” Syrian state TV said the country’s air defenses had responded to “hostile” targets over Damascus and shot down incoming missiles before they reached their targets.

In recent days, U.S. officials have said that Israeli strikes have also hit Iranian targets

Debate: Israel strikes on Iraq

FarsNews Agency – Syrian Army Preparing to Liberate Tahrir Al-Sham’s Stronghold Town in Idlib

The Syrian Army has dispatched massive military equipment to Southern Idlib and Northern Hama in preparation for an offensive to capture the Al-Nusra bastion town of al-Tamaneh in the next phase of its major operations in the Northwestern front.

The Syrian Army has dispatched a large number of troops and massive military equipment comprising tens of military vehicles, and armored personnel carriers to Northern and Northeastern Khan Sheikhoun in Southern Idlib and the town of Atshan in Northern Hama.

Meantime, the Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper quoted a military source as saying that the Syrian Army intends to seize the town of al-Tamaneh some eight kilometers to the East of Khan Sheikhoun which is home to the most important strongholds of Tahrir al-Sham al-Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) in Southern Idlib.

Meantime, the Syrian Army intends to cleanse the remaining part of the vital Aleppo-Damascus highway which connects Northwestern Syria to Jordan in the South.

On Monday, the Syrian army managed to enter Khan Sheikhoun after five years.

Also reports said on Wednesday that the local population in Ma’aret al-Numan in Southern Idlib were preparing themselves for the imminent entry of the Syrian Army troops into the city, adding that the people were eagerly waiting for the army’s military takeover.

“The next target of the Syrian Arm’s military operations is Ma’aret al-Numan after imposing full control over Khan Sheikhoun,” Syrian lawmaker for Idlib Province Safvan Qorbi said.

He noted that the residents of Idlib and its countryside are expecting the Syrian Army to arrive in areas occupied by the terrorists, and said that large groups of residents of Ma’aret al-Numan and the city of Saraqib in Southern Idlib have visited the joint Syrian-Russian Command Headquarters for the implementation of peace plan.

Qorbi noted the massive presence of the terrorist groups in Ma’aret al-Numan and the Turkish Army’s occupying role in the region, and said that the Syrian Army is prepared to enter Ma’aret al-Numan.

He also pointed to the heavy defeat of the terrorist groups in Khan Sheikhoun city despite massive military backup by the Turkish Army and their retreat from the region, and said that negotiations are currently underway for exit of the Turkish Army troops from areas under its control in Hama.

In a relevant development on Sunday, the Arabic-language media outlets reported that the Syrian Army is attempting to take full control of the key town of Ma’aret al-Numan in Idlib after it liberated the strategic city of Khan Sheikhoun earlier this week.

“According to intel, the Syrian Army will move towards the strategic town of Ma’aret al-Numan along the Damascus-Aleppo highway, 25 kilometers North of Khan Sheikhoun,” the Arabic-language Russian Sputnik News Agency quoted battlefield sources as saying.

It pointed to the terrorist groups’ fast retreat from Khan Sheikhoun towards Ma’aret al-Numan, and said that the Syrian Army has targeted the terrorists’ positions in the region.

Meantime, Syrian military expert Mohammad Abbas also pointed to the Syrian Army’s control over Khan Sheikhoun, and said army units plan to enter Saraqib and even Jabal al-Zawiyeh in Western Idlib in a bid to pave the way for their advances towards areas North or Ma’aret al-Numan.

He also noted that the Syrian Army troops have cut off the supply routes of the terrorists from Southwest to Southeastern Idlib, and said that the Syrian Army has paralyzed the terrorists’ defense lines in different directions.

FarsNews Agency – Ex-IRGC Chief Denies Israeli Claim about Iranian Casualty in Air Raid Near Damascus

Former Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Mohsen Rezayee strongly dismissed the claim made by Tel Aviv about killing an Iranian military personnel in the last night attack on Damascus, adding that Israel and the US are unable to attack Iranian military positions.

The Syrian Army air defense repelled Israel’s missile attack on the Syrian Army positions near Damascus on Saturday night. Tel Aviv claimed that it has damaged an Iranian-managed center in the attack.

Rezayee strongly rejected the claims, saying, “Israel and the US do not have the power to attack any of the different Iranian centers. Meanwhile, none of our advisory centers has been damaged.”

“Measures that Israel and the US are jointly undertaking in Syria and Iraq are against the international rules. And Syrian and Iraqi defenders will soon respond to them,” Rezayee told ILNA on Sunday on the sideline of an event in Qazvin province.

According to the Arabic-language SANA news agency, Syria has also denied the claims, saying the majority of the Israeli missiles had been destroyed before they could reach their target.

Syria has condemned the attacks while rejecting Israeli claims about the presence of any Iranian forces or their allied forces in the country.

The Israeli attacks come as Syrian military forces are taking back control of more territories from terrorists.

The SANA news agency quoted a military source as saying that Israeli army launched missile attacks on the military positions of the Syrian army near Damascus from its positions in the Golan Heights.

It noted that the Syrian Army’s air defense systems intercepted the Israeli missiles before they could reach their targets.

The Arabic-language website of the Russian Sputnik news agency also reported that the Syrian Army’s Air Defense systems confronted Israel’s missile attacks on Southwestern Syria in Syria-Lebanon-Occupied Golan triangle.