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

at this point:

delft said:

... I even saw recently a reference to helicopters dropping barrel bombs. ...

Click to expand...

I'll repeat myself
Dec 23, 2015

Jura said:

...
during last ten weeks or so has noticed, for example in the right banner at

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

many videos reportedly showing civilian victims of Russian airstrikes, but didn't post for the reason which is obvious after "one" actually sees some of those videos (yes, dead children). But I suppose those videos I still available at that site, ...

Click to expand...

and add I repeatedly noticed on that site the footage of helicopter attacks on Syrian towns, but no, I didn't watch them because I thought at some point they would show what reportedly happened to people on the ground

Its amazing how the Syrian Army link through to relieve the siege of Nubl and Al Zahraa have produced so many refugees, while the earlier and ongoing army campaigns to the South and East of Aleppo, over the last months; which have liberated much larger areas, seem to have produced none.

Interesting also how the breaking a near 4 year siege of 40,000 has been of so little interest to the media here.

More interesting however are reports in Fars and Almarsdasnews of Syrian Army attacking around Aziz.
This could be a bit of poetic licence to include the Kurdish SDF as Syrian Army or.......... the the Syrian Army are able to freely move through Kurdish held Afrin to be able to open new salients along the Turkish borders of Aleppo and Iblid.

Talk/Suspicion of a possible Turkish military incursion into Northern Syria will do nothing to make such passage less likely.
I will wait for more detail/confirmation before posting links.

This morning the BBC Radio 4 Today program, just as WaPo yesterday, said it was afraid that the rebels will be defeated and thus that the civil war will end.

Jan 28, 2016

Jura said:

...
now I've read about allegedly the last Rebels' stronghold (it shows on the above map in top-right):

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

to be the target soon:
...

Click to expand...

and after
https://www.sinodefenceforum.com/is...no-oped-no-policis.t6913/page-326#post-386546
(and a break
now I looked how it's going:


several sources are now saying "Aaliyah (Kuruja)" was taken by Government Forces most recently, an unmarked (sorry) place right in the middle of this map:
north to the railway which goes from Sheekhaneh (middle-bottom); the red point is

(and Kinsabba in the right)

OK, I just tried to "align" what's on this map:

Just to mention, that looking at the maps and judging the progress of the fighting, it is easy to appreciate how much of an advantage a good Airborne force would have been for the Syrian Army, had it had one.

I would go further and say that Airborne forces would probably be in their element in a war such as this.

There has been lots of activity in both North and South Syria:




On the other hand:

Hi Delft
I have been following the very same pages.
Lets look at the reverse in Al-Sin.
Is this an actual fight back by ISIS and simply them forcing their way out of the cauldron before it closes?
Either way I guess this is an illustration of the limitations of the SAA capabilites, which are that the air cover cannot be everywhere at once and clearly the border areas are the priorities at the moment (and rightly so for very obvious reasons). It also shows I think just how critical the battle is for ISIS and just how much they are prepared to spend to keep the gap open. Could cost them very dear if they fail!

The news of the Kurds pushing out of Afrin both East and South is very interesting with the clear inference that the rebels groups in the region and very close to full collapse!
Months of continual and unrelenting damage now starting to tell?

delft said:

There has been lots of activity in both North and South Syria:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

On the other hand:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

delft I noticed the same source throughout your post ... I'm saying this because I also noticed

EXCLUSIVE: 30 Militants Killed in Eastern Ghouta Clashes
(you're about to see a picture with dead bodies once you click:
)

while it seems the Government Forces were splashed while attacking Eastern Ghouta today (video which I sure can't post is available also in the right banner of

since this afternoon)

thanks for posting anyway

SampanViking said:

Just to mention, that looking at the maps and judging the progress of the fighting, it is easy to appreciate how much of an advantage a good Airborne force would have been for the Syrian Army, had it had one.

I would go further and say that Airborne forces would probably be in their element in a war such as this.

Click to expand...

Any airborne forces would still need a good supply route and logistics, other wise any new land gain can be lost in a week if fresh supplies don't get drop in for the front line troops.

I presume those who follow this Thread know what's so called Rayyan Bulge I scrambled its map:
(Rayyan in mid-bottom) using the most recent map by "peto lucem":
and "edmap":

"the lid" now appears to be about three miles wide