A Busy Month For Russia’s Aerospace Forces Over Syria

 02.09.2021

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You can read this article in German: LINK.

Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) continue their aerial crusade over Greater Idlib and Central Syria.

On September 1^st, as the capstone of a very active month, seven VKS warplanes carried out more than 25 airstrikes on ISIS cells in Syria’s vast central region.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the airstrikes hit fortified hideouts of the terrorist group in the Hama-Aleppo-Raqqa triangle.

More than 550 Russian airstrikes hit ISIS cells in central Syria last August, according to a recent report by the SOHR. The airstrikes killed nine terrorists and wounded 20 others.

The other direction of the airstrike activity is Greater Idlib.

Efforts to contain Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the ruler of Idlib are necessary, as on September 1^st a six-year-old girl was killed in the government-held town of Jurin in the northwestern countryside of Hama.

Jurin was one of several government-held towns around the Greater Idlib which were shelled by HTS and its allies. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the militants fired more than 50 shells and rockets at these towns.

Just hours earlier, in the evening of August 31, an old landmine exploded in the area under militant control in the Syria’s countryside of Idlib. As a result of the explosion, a man and his child were killed, while his second child was injured.

The constant escalation in the region prevents any de-mining or other safety procedures to be carried out, forcing civilians to risk their lives daily.

Instead of enforcing the ceasefire and aiding the local populace, the Turkish Armed Forces are fighting their own war and directly supporting the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant groups in northern Syria.

On August 30, the Turkish army and the militants it backs shelled with artillery strikes the surrounding area of the refugee camp north of the city of Ain Issa as well as the nearby village of Muallaq. The villages of Khalidiya, Hoshan, Ma’lek as well as the nearby M4 highway were also reportedly targeted.

On August 31^st, a Turkish UAV hit a checkpoint of Kurdish forces in the town of Ain Issa. The town is strategically important as a link between the self-governing regions of Euphrates and Cizîrê. The town is regularly targeted by Turkish and Turkish-backed forces.

There is no apparent end in sight of the endless fighting between the Greater Idlib so-called “moderate opposition” and the Syrian Arab Army and the Russian VKS in one direction, and the constant fighting of Ankara’s forces and the militants it backs against the Kurdish groups in the other. Northern Syria remains as volatile and chaotic as ever, with varying levels of escalation.

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Has Damascus’ Time To Recapture Northern Syria Finally Arrived?

South Front

You can read this article in German. LINK

Chaos is brewing in the Aleppo countryside, as the Syrian Arab Army reportedly prepares for a decisive push on the Turkish-occupied areas.

All eyes are set on the town of Al-Bab and the surrounding area.

On March 7th, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) shelled the outskirts of the Turkish-occupied town of al-Bab. According to sources from the “moderate opposition”, at least ten mortar rounds fired by the SAA landed in the towns of Bratah and al-Dana near al-Bab.

There was one reported casualty, and one injury. The previous day saw shelling from the SAA on the same location, without any casualties and damage being reported.

These developments followed the incident on March 5 when, the Syrian military used ballistic missiles and rockets to pound Turkish-affiliated smugglers in the areas of al-Himran and Tarhin. According to reports, over 40 criminals were injured and more than 200 oil trucks and storage facilities were destroyed.

More than three years ago, the Turkish Armed Forces wrestled the city of al-Bab away from ISIS. Since then, the SAA has been waiting for an opportunity to liberate it from the successive occupations.

Nearby, in the northeastern part of Aleppo city itself, there appears to be a Turkish-funded insurgency rising.

On March 4th, saboteurs burned a minivan of the al-Quds Brigade in the district of Hannano. The al-Quds Brigade, made mostly of Palestinians, is one of the largest pro-government factions in Aleppo. The group Youth of Aleppo al-Shahba Regiment for Special Missions claimed responsibility for the attack. Their allegiance is formally unknown, but it is obvious.

It comes down to speculation, but pro-Turkish groups could have carried out the sabotage, in order to spread chaos and impede the SAA’s attack on the Turkish-occupied cities in the countryside.

Nearby, in Greater Idlib, the soon-to-be-rebranded Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) terrorists are attempting to merge with the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL).

This proposed military council is clearly meant to provide a legitimate cover for the rebranded terrorist activities of HTS and other al-Qaeda factions in Greater Idlib.

Sure enough, on March 6th, an infamous propagandist of HTS, Tahir al-Omar, confirmed that work was ongoing to establish a “Defense Ministry” in Greater Idlib. HTS, in the past, has attacked the NFL occasionally, despite the fact they’ve been allied. For the purposes of the “moderate opposition” and the rebranding of terrorists, those issues have been left in the past.

Greater Idlib is still the greatest source of the terrorist threat, and no amount of rebranding of terrorists can change that.

A sense of urgency should be growing with in HTS and the Turkish-proxies in Greater Idlib, as their turn is likely coming shortly after any operation to recapture the Turkish-occupied towns in the Aleppo countryside.