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Units of rhe Syrian Army and its allies have libearted most of the southern part of the Idlib zone, including Ankawi, Kafr Awid, Safuhar, Shahmaz and many other villages, from Turkish-backed forces over the past 2 days. According to pro-government sources, Syrian troops are now preparing to storm the town of Kinsafarah controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Very good, this achievement substantially shortens the front line. Now hurryx and re-take Saraquib!
The terrorists gave up an entire region – including a strategic mountain range – just so they could celebrate taking one town …. they really are some kind of stupid. Now Jisr al Shughour is flankable, game over for the rats when that city falls.
What you all dont get is that Saraqib is strategic town for the upcomming Turkish assault.It cuts the M5 and allowes quick troop and armor movements along M4/M5.The eventual turkish assault will be a mechanised assault same way as on Neirab and Saraqib.You can calculate how fast a Battletank can cross the distance from Saraqib to Marat-Al-Numan then you might understand what will happen to those troops on that mountain.
Yes, Adi is right, the Sarakib situation from the military perspective is more menacing then it seems. The initiative is currently with Turkey/HTS. SAA must contain the situation there by retaking Sarakib, before being able to continue the Idlib operation.
Srian and Russian Air Forces need to bomb the shxt out of Seraqib throughout today.
Alongside retaking Saraqib, SAA needs to establish effective fire control along M4. It needs to establish strategic Artillery positions on the hills close to M4 and enhance Intelligence and aerial surveillance along the route. With this, Turkish supplies can be destroyed before reaching Saraqib
Americans use to attack a Road and inflict a gully like demarcation that makes crossing i possible.. So why don SAA.. Airforce cut off the Road?.. And why is Putin allowing the turks re-enforment?.. Why is illegal observation point not bombed?. Stoping turkish re-enforment by aerial bombing is the only sure way to Quick Victory by SAA
No worries, the turkish terrorists will pay their fair price for all the crimes they did…until the last goatfucker piece of shit
You mean too much easier for the turkish terrorist mechanised forces to be targeted by both syrian &
High precision bombs are only available to Russia and cost really alot.Only way possible is to be in the air 24/7 equiped with those as that takes 30 mins to drive between Saraqib and Marat-Al-Numan.Syrians dont even have those.Its probably 20 mins by now as they took Dadekh an hour ago.
SAA could be having spies all along the route giving them round-the-clock information concerning the actions of Terrorists and Turks, I don’t think they can fail to utilize these basics of combat
I really think you should read this article so you dont embarace yourself dreamin about some winning situation in case Turkey decides to attack:
https://www.gazeta.ru/army/2020/02/21/12970135.shtml?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fzen.yandex.com
I translate a small part for you:
The strength and means of just one 7th Turkish Army Corps (headquarters in Diyarbakır), responsible for most of the border provinces with Syria, Iraq and Iran, is enough to crush Bashar Assad’s Syrian army. We will remind that as a part of this operational-tactical group only the 3rd Infantry Division, the 20th and 172nd Armored Brigades, the 16th and 70th Mechanized Brigades, the 2nd and 6th Infantry Brigades, the 2, 34, and 48th Border Brigades , 3rd Brigade Commandos, 5th Mountain Brigade Commandos. There are eight more Corps in Turkey.
You have a mind that grasps military concepts backwards. Look at the map. Look some more. How can Turkish forces move along the M5 by controlling just a small part of it? See the Valley, broad and agricultural, that lies like an uprooting peninsula East of Jisr-al Shoghur? Now that’s ideal for rapid armoured movement. Turkey’s entire supply line in their offensive stands to be flanked and cut off, withering like a clipped flower. Or weed, to match metaphor with quality. This is why Syria’s two most competent major units were assigned here instead of to the M5 defense. Saraqib is a setback to be sure but if the Syrian offensive can maintain momentum it’s a sideshow and is at major risk of being flanked in the next few days. The entire Turkish-HTS force could be cut off and turned into hostages.
For sure General :) Seems like you are very knowledgeable when it gets to big armored formations.You studied the Iraqi war or Israeli wars? Same way of thinking you have made Ariel Sharon reach Kairo.How do you think to stop an armored/mechanized attack over the highway and i am not taliking about 4-5 militant APC then maybe an armored brigade assault? It takes maybe 1 hour for a battletank to drive from Saraqib to Khan Sheikhun on the M5.If the Syrian Army were smart as they are not they would have fortified Saraqib and then just drove along the M4 from Saraqib to the west and they would have had all the south in one day.Now they stuck their best troops and equipment in the mountain far away from the M4 and M5 while rebels slowely take over the M5 again,and the Turks havent even moved their armor yet.
There is a road leading north from the M4. It curves in a long arc toward the East where it meets up with the M5. If the SAA move with pace, and provide proper flanking defense they can go up that road and encircle the entire Turkish-jihadi street gang force now operating in the Saraqib area. Just saying, while the Turks have made progress there are huge risks to what they’re doing and most especially where they’re doing it.
If SAA maintains effective aerial surveillance along the M4 highway and Saraqib, a mechanized assault will be a Well visible target for SyAAF, VKS, Hezbollah and IRGC and artillery Units on the hills you mentioned. All is not lost for SAA. However, there is no place for mistake for the SAA, VKS, Hezbollah units, IRGC and allies.
The Syrian government must counter attack the position that was recently taking, they should be plenty of target for the airforce since that’s where they mustering a good amount of they troops
It looks like another Turkish ‘observation post’ has been turned into a holiday resort. Time to transport these guests to a real holiday resort. Somewhere in Damascus. Something with a room with a frontseat view on Damascus Airport where the IDF likes to bomb. And strong iron bars.
I’m sure the Russians will intervene on time and appropriately. More spec. forces, more air support, more hardware, they (the Russians) invested to much to let all this progress go down the toilet. But in the end, it’s of course up to the SAA infantry to get the job done….
The SAA’s problem has always been that it just did not have enough elite units capable of successful offensive warfare. The Tigers have always done well, the 4th Mechanized Division and the late Desert Hawks were hit and miss, and most regular SAA units were more miss then hit.
5,000 Russian Speznaz would make an enormous difference. I am hoping they are on their way through Armenian or Greek Airspace.
This is delusional. Russia can not and should not commit a lot more ground troops. Russia can better cripple Turkey in the following ways. 1). Stop trade and tourism with Turkey. This will bring down Turkey in a few months. 2). Add small amount of resources to help LNA beat GNA in Libya. 3). Go with USA to topple Erdogan. Remember that Russia has saved Erdogan once already. 4). And most painfully arm PKK to teeth with MANPADs and ATGMs, which would lead in the long term to disintegration of Turkey. The effect of this will be Russia loosing Turkey back to the US sphere of influence, which is bad fro Russia, but no way catastrophic.
As long as Idlib City is in hands of terrorists it will not be safe in Saraqid. It is too close to the the terrorists base.
How can you possible lose a town you defend and has the skies solely for you? This is only possible if you are a foul, unarmed ore a coward.
Ask Putin who controls the air.
It’s not enough to control the air, but to use it effectively requires strong intelligence.target acquisition.
Saraqib has fallen to Turkish backed militia. Within the next 48 hours, Erdogan goes all in, and I mean all in. For some reason my ‘spidy’ sense is telling me something missing from this ugly picture as in a hidden plan, and it is a big deal…
I expect things to explode in Syria and events get moving really fast, maybe even as fast as the spreading Coronavirus pandemic…
Good, cut off the US head-chopping, heart-eating rapers and slavers by occupying the M4.
But they have lost Seraqib last night plus the major junction between the M-4 and M-5 Hi-ways together with a slice of the M-5.
In less than 20 hours the elite troops from the south will be at M4 and south of Saraqib. Wait.
I sincerely hope so!
Seems like the vacum created is to minimise civilian casualties,if logic can attest to strategy?
SAA is like Iraqi army….without Hezbollah and Speznats on ground both are fake armies….Conscripts use to flee and not fight face to face…we have seen in Syria and Iraq hundred of conscripts surrender in spite of a more than sure execution!
I’m hoping Vlad the Impaler Putin has sent a Force of 5,000 + Speznaz to Idlib via Greek or Armenian Airspace to re-take Seraqib following which warming-up exercise they can simply drive along the M-4 and overwhelm Jisr al Shughour.
hts scum just took back dadikh it’s not looking good fam… wtf is wrong with the saa and allies
Driving south-west on M-5 and south from M-4. They need to stop the savages at Khan alSobol or before they ever even arrive there.
the saa should stop whatever they are doing and send all troops to the m5 front also bring some big guns and call for hezbollah’s help asap
If they do, the situation gets worse because it’s too costly to go from place to place and it makes you vulnerable.I think what they need to do now is slow down the attack with airstrikes and buy time, move south and move fast.
turkish artillery needs to be dealt with asap they are currently pounding saa positions in mardikh and khan asubul after they captured dadikh…. saa can’t afford to lose maarat alnuman…i don’t like the saa advance in the south its too slow they shoul’ve cleared the entire pocket overnight and reach the outskirts of the m4 they are still fighting in alghab wich doesn’t make any sense …also the airstrikes ratio is weak russia needs to step it up
Troops move faster on a highway then cross a mountain. ;)
The mountains sent the nazis rushing out of mainland greece in ww2, you as per usual assume one ought be sitting ducks trapped between both sides? Won’t work like that,conversely syria with russian intelligence is about as stout as it gets, this real world scenario can be done both ways,being to assist or destroy saa,nice try!
The SAA is losing important points just because it will advance from the South. There seems to be a coordination issue. This is not a tactic I think.
They withdrew from Saraqib as soon as HTS captures Nyraab. The SAA didn’t even put on a fight. Seems like they were willing to sacrifice Saraqib for southern Idlib. Now they should just bomb it into oblivion and capture it. This could be proof of SAA not having the manpower to wage 2 front assaults.
They expanded the front without manpower. The airstrikes have been cut in half. In the days ahead, we will see what negativity this withdrawal brings.
The loss of Saraqib is only a temporary set back. The same thing happened to Palmyra. Perhaps the only way to take Idlib town and, by extension, Saraqib is to cross the M4 and create another, unstoppable flank from the western direction.
Hope they will cut M4 at Jisral Shoghur – that would cut Turkey supply line to Idlib and render their victory at Saraqib useles and fall of Idlib only matter of time..
saa cutting the m4 will not cut the turkish supply routes to idlib, the turks use bab alhawa border crossing from the north to supply idlib…saa is still far away from the m4 as they didn’t even take albara overnight …not looking good
Lets not be too pessimistic.. Time for pessimism was at 2015 with Latakia and Damascus about to fall..
True words. Some here fall too quickly into an apocalyptic end-time mood as soon as something goes wrong.
The main thing is, to have the fighting troops for the offensive. Even if it’s really a bit questionable, in retrospect, that despite this immense Turkish deployment, one was probably in the belief that these troops would not be used.
This is great but unfortunately what is happening in Saraqib shows that the SAA can’t fight on two parts of the battlefield successfully (unless it is some sort of a cunning plan to lure the enemy into a false sense of victory then counter attack) :/ It’s not YET a disaster, I have faith in the Syrian Command but if they don’t retake Saraqib soon it will be a lot harder.
Russia should do more if it wants to end the Terrorists in Idlib… If Turkey could send it´s troops to region so could Russia… Send some Airborne Troops, and Armoured Divisions…That will scare the Turks…they´re are easily scared… Letting the Syrians taking all the damage now is cowardice… Real Russian Troops on the Ground, by a Syrian Arab Republic request… And Russia should also cancel that crazy S-400 deal… Batshit, Turkey was always an enemy. Russia should also uses VVS to rain hell not only in Saraqib, but on Idlib itself. Locate the recent supplies to the terrorists and send the to hell… It´s also time to launch some Kalibr missiles in the Terrorists… Must also arm the Kurds with ATGMs, and stop that batshit “joint patrols” with the Ottomans… Putin is too soft…If was Khruschev…
I see a salient coming around Saraqib))
This is no big deal and most likely something that the SAA and Russians had anticipated due to the capital being so close to the front lines. It’ll be interesting to see how long the SAA can drag out the battle to retake Saraqib so they can deplete the ranks of the local HTS units in order to force them to call for reinforcements to see if any actually show up.
it Looks like Russia do not have enough aircrafts in Syria.