Overnight on January 17, ISIS units attacked positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies south of the Abu al-Duhur airbase from the eastern direction aiming to reach the key village of Sinjar.
Initially, anti-government sources claimed that ISIS had been able to capture some points from the SAA, but these claims were not confirmed by any photo or video evidence yet. Later, the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq confirmed that the advance took place and said that ISIS had captured some positions in the area.
Right now, clashes are ongoing there. Thus, ISIS and “moderate opposition” groups attacking the SAA from the western direction de-facto cooperate against government forces in eastern Idlib.
Click to see the full-size map
Oh o, can’t let ISIS cut SAA in Two. This is oing to be on hell of a fight and demand a lot of air combat missons.
No sufficient air support until Saturday- because of the weather.
If they join at north, there is no cut in half either way, i think it will take a day or two. (It’s only 6-7km and there is no major city between them – it’s the similar area, what they made within a month) Anyway there is an another front at south. (ISIS back)
Yes there are pushes in the south and east in Hama, other areas may open up another front , not sure where.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-huge-mechanized-assault-unleashed-syrian-army-south-aleppo-inc-tanks-artillery-warplanes/
Yes I knew about south Aleppo , but east Hama CS which is the right flank of the ISIS/HTS or now the Levant Liberation board. The fact ISIS has been silent about allegedly attacking Sinjar with no evidence.Well to me it seems like they are trying to misdirect the SAA from closing that pocket snug as a rug. The SouthFront article is fake news, too many have been taken in by it.
Yes, i think cleaning of ISIS pocket will be much easier then cleaning rebel pocket …
Russia can bomb them any whether situation, if they want to.
I don’t think so!
LOL. Who publishes this AMAQ bilge? Either Langley, Mossad or Ottomans. :D…Thanks for the comedy though!
As I said yesterday, russian decision to withdraw troops from Syria is the problem to blame. It was obvious mistake. Whole pocket could be already closed for a week with sufficient air support, effective planing and russian advisors + spetsnaz ground forces.
Now SAA is stucked 2 km from joining north and south army groups and is extreme vulnerable because ISIS is attacking from 3 directions with the main goal encircle SAA and destroy them.
ISIS is not stupid, do you already got the message, Russian generals ? Or may be they are stupid but they are following US advisors. At least when they have BIG problems. And by the way, where all the ISIS manpower and supplies came from ? May be from east bank of Euphrate river, now controlled by Kurdish proUS militia ? Who allowed US secret services to airlift ISIS from Deir Ez Zor to Idlib ? Or may be russians think it is sufficient only to report and don’t do anything ? Why you didn’t shot them down ? And then left Syria unprotected and vulnerable ?
Remember Aleppo and a few other battles, the Syrians allowed the terrorists a free and safe passage to Idlib – it was ludicrous then and here we are seeing the payback. The US are probably conducting air drops and I am sure they still have communications obtaining satellite footage of the SAA movements.
Allowing terrorists to go out of Aleppo pocked was a big mistake made by SAA. Allowing terrorists to go out of Raqqa pocket was a terrorists protection procedure. Allowing SDF to take Omar oil fields was a SAA terrible mistake.
the worse bullshit one can read is that written by the people who have to start from the basis “Blame Russia”. People who can have an unlimited amoubt of nicknames and nationalities but in the end is always the usual poor idiot.
SAA has to open front against ISIL from south of khanesir highway or even they can cut isil in 2 if saa start attacking ISIL from north east .bcuz isil doesn’t have enough man power in south . ISIL is using their power in north so they don’t get encircle .
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Agreed, that ISIS pocket has substantially grown in my view – now the Russian air force needs to blitz the area before it is too late and all of there hard work is wasted.
SAA is paying for their mistake now shouldn’t let the ISIS cancer to expand in that area
Shut the mouth of the pocket and game is over.
HTS and ISIS both are untrained terrorists they cannot win. HTS and ISIS are also divided on power.
Idlib is the last pocket. Syria and their allied forces will tie these all terrorists and traitors together.
Hey, Mr. ROb, you can’t advance if you don’t have stable supply lines and secured back of the front. Hitler was advancing in any cost near Stalingrad and lost WW2 as a result. I hope SAA are not so stupid and will eventually retreat and lost a month or so better then got encircled and ruin their army and risk huge ISIS counterattack.
Be silent Jihadi supporter… give your “sky is falling, ISIS is winning” stupid bullshit a fucking rest…
See today or tomorrow that pocket will be completely closed. In Idlib HTS and ISIS both are too week why because they have few effective manpower left second US, UK, NATO etc have stopped fund and weapon supply to them. Now these oppositions, rebels, moderate etc I don’t know howmany names America have given to these terrorists are in losing side.
I’ll never underestimate any opponent. ISIS and their allies really don’t look weak to me. And SAA has some 200km battle front to defend on the south bulge with some 30 km width of controlled area which seems to be pretty vulnerable situation for me.
SAA would be able join north army with some technology edge like heavy russian bomber campaign but russian forces are silent and missing.
I really doubt that SAA is able to achieve encirclement of ISIS in such conditions. If they try, they can got encircled themselves.
“Hitler was advancing in any cost near Stalingrad and lost WW2 as a result”
Yes, and you forgot trench warfare at the Somme during ww1 and massed musketeer advances in the 1870 Franco-Prussian war.
Not to mention that the Eastern front was hundreds of kilometers of supply lines while here it’s tens or units at the most. And they didn’t even have helicopters in 1942.
This is potentially very serious for SAA. To blame it on Russians is nonsense. Assad could have decided to respect the de-escalation zone. He has not respected any of them as of yet, thereby in effect forcing rebels to cooperate or even unite.
To have either supported (tacitly) or just ignored the IS pocket is beyond stupid.
Intelligence gathering seems to be lacking too.
Maybe Assad should de-escalate?
well, Assad had not any other option in Idlib. He must eliminate ISIS or those areas will be source of US backed terrorism forever. Plan was good – split ISIS forces in half – but key aspect was speed of the operation and SAA failed join north and south forces in time.
Now is SAA pressured on both flanks in no-win situation. May be they overcame it, but the price will be probably high.
Apparently lack of russian technology-edge was the decisive moment leading to the “problem”. I hope it is still a problem only, not disaster.
From now onwards will be better as previously bad weather grounded most Russia air Support
How the heck the terrorists still fight when it is plainly hopeless
Not true from what has been reported. It’s your forces that breaks the ceasefire
“my” forces?
Thank you for the implied compliment.
However, you are overestimating me.
Well, which side do you wish to see win this war, dutchnational? Or are you as neutral as a UN observer? Your history of statements leaves some of us wondering.
Dutchglobalist is a zionist terrorist supporter, he cheers everytime civilians are murdered by his terrorist idols.
I am against islamists, I am against sectarian goons of Iran, I am against a butcher like Assad.
Sometimes one has to live with some of them and I suppose there is for the time being no getting rid of Assas.
In principle I am for secular, gender neutral, multi ethnic and democratic movements. In the Syrian context that leaves only the PYD/SDF as a relevant side within Syria.
The HTS terrorist slime broke the ceasefire when they rejected agreeing to it as did another couple groups of terrorist slime.
You seem to be conveniently ignoring fact that HTS launched the initial attacks in the Idlib deescalation zone – and the alleged moderates joined in with them – the same HTS that were, of course, never included in the deescalation agreements. The SAA merely responded to the HTS attacks in kind – and were able to not only successfully defend but push forward.
I am not ignoring the fact that SAA has been shelling East Ghouta for a long time between october and december, until they provoked AAS to start an offensive there.
Something like that happened in the south, which is therefore two of the four zones.
As for Idlib, RuAF has conveniently bombed areas where there were only civillians or non HTS forces. This is one of the major reasons why most rebel forces joined with HTS in its attacks on Iranian proxies.
You live in your own bias-confirmation reality. Where you appear to be claiming that the militants are somehow honest and faultless actors in all of this – and every agreement infraction can be laid at the SAA and Russians. Do grow up. The militants are sectarian jihadists and foreign wage-paid mercenaries – they are neither nice nor trustworthy people to put it very mildly – and they rarely ever abide by the agreements they make. Based on past events, it is quite clear the militant’s policy is to consider any truce or deescalation agreement a temporary convenience. Whilst their foreign military advisers, located in southern Turkey and northern Jordan based strategy control rooms, invariably order their militant factions to periodically break the agreements in order to generate multiple front pressures designed to diffuse and slow SAA operational advances in other sectors down.
Tigers will be trapped in a pocket if sinjar falls. It would be a devastating blow to Assad.
Time for Russian bombers.
Let us look back few weeks ago. The US-backed SDF entered Raqqa. An estimated, (by BBC reporter), a convoy of 100 vouches filled with ISIS terrorists, with their “light weapons”, have spirited out of Raqqa under the full supervision of SDF and USA forces in the area. Now we know where these terrorists were moved to. One can only conclude that those ISIS fighters are executing the US proxy war in Syria. The USA is openly taking the initiative back to pursue its declared goal of removing the Assad regime and the break down of Syria fulfilling Israel strategy to remove the last obstacle to its expansionist policy. It is about the time to realise that the real fight is with US imperialism and its forces is the area. Al Qaeda, Al Nusra, HTS …etc are tails and carriers of the venom … US is the head of the snake.