ISIS/ISIL conflict in Syria/Iraq (No OpEd, No Politics)

SampanViking

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It sounds as though the Syrian Army has broken through all the way in Northern Aleppo to link with the besieged enclave of Nubbol and Al Zahraa.
Its not official yet, but I fail to see how Syrian forces can be where they are reported to be without having effectively joined up.

At the very least, any remaining rebel outposts will be surrounded and under all round artillery fire.
I expect this news to break during today.
 

SampanViking

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The latest headline from the BBC rather confirms the breakthrough on the ground

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Although the headline itself is the most absurd I have probably read for a while.
It certainly transcends parody.

Further East in the Keweires region of Aleppo, it also seems that the Syrian Army have advanced further westwards and taken the village of Al Sin.
If this is true, then this may have cut all major supply routes for ISIS fighters in the Rayyan bulge
 
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based on what I read now, it seems to me it's time to look north to Aleppo...
oops, after I had created the map below, this popped up:
URGENT: Syrian Army Breaks Several-Year-Long Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahra Towns
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history now:
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the narrowest part schematically according to
CaSJbPAW0AAjvgG.jpg

EDIT
I see SampanViking foretold this two posts above :)

plus I found a vid reportedly showing a Russian air-support in Ratyan (Rebels' held place in mid-bottom on the maps above):
 
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according to DefenseNews
Carter Again Slams Anti-ISIS Partners on Lack of Assistance
US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called out members of “our so-called coalition” Tuesday for not doing more to fight the Islamic State group, commonly known as ISIL or ISIS.

Carter’s comments, made at a public forum in Washington, appeared to set the tone for his trip to Belgium next week for a major gathering of the anti-ISIS coalition leadership.

“A lot of them are doing — making considerable contributions to this, but some of them are not. And you really have to look at this — this is a fight of civilization against — for its own survival,” Carter said. “And we need everybody, and that's all the Europeans — the Gulf States, which aren't doing [enough], Turkey, which is right there on the border. So, there are a lot that need to make more contributions.”

Over the last several months, Carter has been increasingly vocal about disappointment in what the coalition partner have brought to the table, with Turkey and Gulf regional allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates the most frequent targets of his comments.

In August, Carter insisted Turkey must “do more” to help in the fight; in December, he poked at the Gulf partners for prioritizing high-end air assets over ground forces, and how that is hampering the anti-ISIS operation.

Then in late January, Carter said it was “one of the great ironies” that the Gulf nations most at risk from the rise of the terrorist group have not contributed more to the fight, adding, “Up to now, they haven’t done enough. We want them to do more.”

On Tuesday, Carter acknowledged that some partners are participating, calling out the British and Australian forces in particular, but indicated frustration with the lack of support from other nations.

“The reality is that we've got a coalition that is committed at the political level to defeat ISIL, and that needs to be translated into the operational military contributions they're making,” he said. “That's what I'll be doing next week in Europe.”

Carter said his plan for the Belgium trip is to gather all the defense ministers in one place, sit them down, and unveil the full campaign plan from the Pentagon.

“What I'm going to do with them is to say, all right, here are all the capabilities that are needed — boots on the ground, airplanes in the air, more prosaic things, logistics, bridging, training — training for those police that are going to patrol cities like they're patrolling Ramadi now once the cities are retaken.” Carter said. “And I'm going to say, ‘OK, guys, let's match up what is needed to win, with what you have,’ and kind of give everybody the opportunity to make an assignment for themselves.

“The United States will lead this and we're determined, but other people have to do their part,” he added. “Civilization has to fight for itself.”

According to the latest Pentagon figures, the Department of Defense has spent $5.4 billion from the start of anti-ISIS strikes on Aug. 8, 2014, through Dec. 21. That averages out to a daily cost of $11.4 million spread out over 511 days of operations. Some 69 percent of that cost has been borne by the US Air Force, 14 percent by the Army, 11 percent by the Navy and 7 percent from Special Forces.

Carter pledged Tuesday that the Pentagon's fiscal year 2017 budget request contains $7.5 billion for the anti-ISIS campaign, as well as another $1.8 billion for munitions that have begun to run dry due to the daily nature of US strikes.
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delft

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Syrian Army ends 3-year siege of 2 Shiite towns in Aleppo – reports
Published time: 3 Feb, 2016 16:58Edited time: 3 Feb, 2016 20:10

Syrian Amy units have broken a siege imposed by terrorist organizations in the towns of Nubbul and al-Zahraa, local media report.
"The Syrian army and its allies have totally broken the siege on Nubul and Zahraa," a senior army official told Reuters.

The end to the siege has been described as a major “breakthrough” for the Syrian army by Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper.

“It is actually a breakthrough for the Syrian army in Aleppo area,” he told RT. “I believe this will change the equation there and it could be a turning point. Aleppo is actually very close to falling, partly or fully, to the hands of the Syrian official forces.”

Atwan attributed the success of the operation to the Russian forces providing a “very efficient air cover” that in cooperation with Syrian ground forces resulted in “huge advances.”

Earlier in the day, the army worked in cooperation with local defense units to destroy a vehicle equipped with heavy machine guns near Maarasta al-Khan village, a source on the ground told SANA. The vehicle belonged to Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists, the source said.

The Syrian army has lately been making advances in the west of the country. On Monday, it seized a strategically important village, Hardatnin, located about 10 km (6 miles) northwest of Aleppo.

On the same day, the town of Kinsabba in Latakia was also recaptured by Syrian troops.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura announced on Wednesday that the Syria talks in Geneva are to be “temporarily halted” until February 25.

The UN official said that he was not frustrated or disappointed with the process, but has to be realistic.

Citing difficulties with select procedural matters for the break in talks, de Mistura said he remained determined to continue with the negotiations.

Countries backing the talks will be asked to meet again immediately to resolve the issues, he added.

The siege is said to have lasted for 40 months. The Syrian troops were assisted by local fighters in order to break it.

The Syrian Army has also managed to cut off supply routes for the terrorists between the towns of Mayer and Maarasta al-Khan, Syrian radio and TV reports.
RT refers to a new map of the area at Peto Lucem. Look there and see.
 
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Just to wind up the day edmaps have a new map of the whole North Alleppo

260bxp5.png


It shows that AL Sin in the East has been retaken and that all major supply routes into the Rayyan Bulge are now cut and that an encirclement is very nearly achieved.

I wonder if the Syrian government retakes all the "rebel" territory surrounding/in Aleppo whether it would negotiate for the "SDF" pocket or fight for it, or perhaps even leave it alone.
 
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