A Russian Su-24 strike aircraft in the sky over the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Photo: Dmitriy Vinogradov / RIA Novosti
On July 12, a wave of Russian airstrikes hit the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib which is occupied by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its Turkish-backed allies.
Warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out at least eight airstrikes on the outskirts of the town of Mashoon and Balshoon in the heart of the al-Zawiya Mount in the southern countryside of Idlib.
The Syrian Arab News Agency revealed on July 13 that the Russian airstrikes destroyed a network of underground barracks and a drone workshop. A reporter of the state-run agency said that the airstrikes were carried out in response to recent attacks on the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) by HTS and its allies. Official footage of the airstrikes were released by the agency.
The airstrikes came following a series of intense artillery strikes by the SAA that targeted positions of HTS and its allies in the southern Idlib countryside and the western countryside of Aleppo.
An artillery strike that targeted the town of Kafr Amma in the western Aleppo countryside on July 11 claimed the life of Ahmad Najar, a field commander of the Turkish-backed al-Sham Revolutionaries’ Brigades, and wounded two of his militants.
The ceasefire agreement on Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than two years ago, is still in effect. Yet, the situation in the region is far from being stable.
A new military confrontation could soon break out in Greater Idlib if HTS and its allies continue to challenge the ceasefire. The situation in the region could also deteriorate if Turkey went on with its plans and launched a new military operation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria.
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Russia is getting top of the line Iranian drones and loitering munitions that will change the regional power-balance.
Iran is supplying Russia with “hundreds” of drones, including armed ones, for use in its war in Ukraine, according to the U.S. government. To date, Ukraine has taken a leading role in using armed drones from US, UK, Turkey and Israel in the conflict.
With over 30 Il-74 flights to Russian, Iranian military support and large scale transfer of drones will provide Russia with battle-tested Iranian expertise to prosecute different kinds of drone strikes, including against maritime targets if the need arises, for example, if the conflict expands into the strategically vital Black Sea. Tehran has much experience in this area, having attacked, or coordinated attacks, on commercial shipping on a number of occasions in the past. In August last year, for example, U.S. Central Command released details of a fatal drone attack on a Liberian-flagged, Zionist-operated tanker, M/T Mercer Street, off the coast of Oman. Iran was blamed for that incident, which involved three strikes carried out by “one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles,” better known as suicide drones.
Other Iranian drones have been developed specifically to seek and destroy air defenses, in the same kind of role that was first pioneered by the Israeli-developed Harpy drone which the Iranians cloned. This could be of particular relevance to Russia as it seeks to further degrade the Ukrainian air defense network, especially as new kinds of NATO surface-to-air missiles begin to threaten Russian aircraft. Degrading Ukraine’s air defenses via anti-radiation seeker-equipped drones could help open up the airspace in the western part of the country for attacks by traditional manned assets.
Correct also this is the perfect time for Iran to test out weapons against NATO. People were laughing at the fact that Russia “needs” Iranian weapons because they’re “losing” but this will be the perfect chance for Iran to show everyone that they’re in the game since people didn’t learn from US missile attack by Iran. We both know Hezbollah and Iranian commanders/soldiers are in Russia assisting them, using these drones and their commanders to gain more experience in a real war against NATO will prepare them even more for Israel. Israel may officially help Ukraine now because Russia is getting Iranian weapons, but I hope Iran will send missiles as well in the near future.
This is bad https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/06/30/russias-car-manufacturing-collapses-by-97-in-may-a78151
Iran denied their supply of drones to Russia.
Yeah baby as we speak those Sunni-Wahhabi terrorist that survived the strikes are basically buried alive, swallowing their tongues and slowly suffocating to death. Aloha Snackbars.
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This is how a truthful news item should be delivered in wider public domain.. Fact-checking wouldn’t be required anymore since it is unquestionably supported by a real time video footage. Perfect.
How the hell they see so far underground? With just infrared?