Now, the pro-government forces’s positions are reportedly in about 300 meters from the Castello Highway, the only supply line to the militant-controlled areas of Aleppo city. Following July 7 advances, when the Syrian army secured the Mallah Farms and set a fire control on the Castello Highway, pro-government forces are desperatly advancing on the joint forces of Al Nusra, the Free Syrian Army and other militant groups, operating in the area.
Ambulance is picking up dead people on the Castello Highway:
#Syria #Aleppo #NorthernAleppo Ambulance Picking up Dead People on #Castello #Castello_Road. pic.twitter.com/r4xxwmc808
— Ivan Sidorenko (@IvanSidorenko1) July 8, 2016
Following the recent advances of Syrian army at the strategic highway the Kurdish YPG units launched an advance to link up with the pro-government forces in the area. Now, the Kurdish YPG is engaged in heavy clashes at the front of the Youth Housing Complex near the higway.
Al Nusra, Nour al Dein al Zenki, Levant Front, Jaysh al-Fateh and the Free Syrian Army are attempting to re-open the only supply line to their allies in Aleppo. Militants are deploying massive reinforcements from the Idlib area. Pro-rebel sources say that up to 40 000 (or event 50 000) militants will be engaged in the battle for Aleppo.
Reports appear that Jaysh al-Fateh and Fatah Halab will held meeting in Turkey in next days about their strategy in the Aleppo battle.
Mmeanwhile, hundreds of Jaysh al-Fateh fighters arrived in Eis in order to participate in the operations in the Aleppo area.
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Let’s see if the VVS is going to get their heads out of their asses this time. Apparently jihadis are massing near Al Hadher. How about some interdiction there before they take it?
Previously, VVS incompetence was laughable. If the SAA loses Al Hadher and the southern flank, all the advances in the north will be nullified. I can imagine these guys need a real victory now, otherwise the little troops they have left will be spent, low on morale and tired. Then, Assad can forget about a stable Syria and Russia can forget about their bases in the middle east.
Time to go overboard with cluster munitions and barrel bombs. This is it, the rats are coming out of the woodwork, it’s kill or be killed. Good luck to the SAA+allies and to the pilots.
Well, there has a new general appointed to the Russian forces in Syria. Maybe now they will fight more intense against Al-Nusra and ISIS? If the terrorists are concentrating now to attack Aleppo, they are a better target for the Russian warplanes, aren’t they?
I had the same idea. I believe that Assad wants to provoke them concentrate around Aleppo. 50.000 militants sounds like an enormous, unrealistic number, unless the total opposition force is gathered there.
The Russians are leaning towards a political solution, however, the terrorists are not going to be able mount any significant concentrated deployment against the Syrian army, because of their vulnerability to air, gunship, and missile attacks from Syrian and Russian units. Russians are good hemorrhaging their enemies slowly until the death blow is dealt swiftly. Keeping the rats in their holes and cutting off their supply lines and communications would suffice to render the rats as dead rats.
Russia needs more assets for a battle like Aleppo the Russians need at least 100/120 aircraft in a ground support role and tactical interdiction , Even if they can maintain 80% of their assests opearational at the peak of the battle it means only 100/80 planes some to be used in Latakia ,Idlib , Deir Eizzor /Palmyra Dsera and Damascus and reconaissance flights,The ideal would be 180/200 planes excluding fighter planes. The Syrian Airforce would complement airsupport and interdiction with a capability of over 150 strikes in Aleppo alone in 24 hours .Carpet bombing , precision strikes of both frontlines and terrorist staging areas toprevent trrop concentrations, Another40/60 combat helicopters ( gunships) , drones and high flying reconaissanceaircraft with night reconaissance capabilities passive and active would complement a package I would ask for . Apart of anadditional 3000.Hezbollah fighters and Lebanese SNP forces teaming up with the YPG wich could bring in an extra 8000 men to fight and expand their sectors and why not a volunteer Armenian expeditionary force of 3000 men( Syrian Armenians , Armenians and Kurdish Armenians armed by the Russians +about an additional 10.000 Iranian troops and an other 5000 Russian troops wich totals an aditional 23.000/25.000 men without counting the Syrian Army and the Syrian National defense forces , in support and fighting role, Frwee use of HE, Napalm ,WP and clusterbombs,on mooving troops thermobaric bombs and bunker busters on entrenched terrorists in rural non inhabited areas when necessary.( who cares if the Jihadist are blown to pieces or fried ) important is not to use it in civilian areas . Most of the massing is in rural areas so no problem in the use of Napalm and WP. On the back at safe distance of the first line and protected by infantry 120/ 152/175 mm long range self propelled artillery in the numbers of sometging like 350/400 batteries assisted by large quantities of 122 mm /108 mm, 220 mm TOS-1A Solnitsa, multiple vehicle mounted rocket launchers for area fire would be adequade all complemented by tank borne artillery , recoiless and mortars taking into consideration that flank security and the quality of comunication trenches and bunkersis adequade and also in spite of troop diversity a good control and command structure is assured.