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The MQ-9 Reaper, an unmanned combat air vehicle belonging to the US Air Force, crashed near the ISIS-controlled city of Tabaqa. The US Air Force said that a loss of control by remote pilots caused the crash. The statement added that the Reaper “was destroyed by coalition aircraft and is not in enemy hands.” In turn, ISIS-linked media outlets say that the Reaper had been shot down by ISIS fighters.
Amid the effectless attempts of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to break the ISIS defenses in Manbij, the coalition aircraft increased air strikes in the urban area of the city. Recently, 8 coalition air strikes hit “ISIS positions” in Manbij’s residential areas.
On July 5, Syrian and Russian warplanes hit militant positions in the eastern and northern parts of Homs province, countering a major ISIS counter-attack in the area. The ISIS terrorist group had launched a counter-offensive against the government forces at the village of Khattab. All attempts to seize the village were repelled by the Syrian army. Pro-government sources say that air strikes inflicted heavy damage to ISIS units that were participating in the attack.
Separately, the Syrian army and the National Defense Forces have repelled a major ISIS attack near the vilalge of Mabougah in the eastern part of Homs province. On July 3, pro-government forces seized Mabougah and nearby areas from the ISIS terrorist group. On July 4, after a series of heavy clashes, the loyalists partly withdrew from the area. However, after the fail of the ISIS counter-attacks on July 5, the Syrian army and the NDF got a new chance to achieve new gains.
These “sitreps” used to be a review of the changes on all fronts. good and bad. – Now you guys just talk about two or three isolated incidents and call that a “war report”. – What is happening in Deir Ezzor, Latakia, and Aleppo? Only RT and AP care about Manbij/Homs.
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“…Amid the effectless attempts of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to break the ISIS defenses in Manbij, the coalition aircraft increased air strikes in the urban area of the city…”
The limit of precision U.S. air strikes in urban warfare is that it only works in scorched-earth, city-flattening schemes IN DESERTED CITIES. Manbij is not deserted.
This was a failed strategy from the start – it never took into account the realities of Manbij. This is a rehash of failed U.S. military strategy in Iran. Useless U.S. military planners had secretly hoped all civilians would flee Manbij, and then the city (and ISIS) could be leveled block-by-block if necessary just like in Kobane. One wonders if they actually waited until the Kobane was completely overrun IN ORDER TO employ this mindless. cowardly strategy.
The U.S. operations room in Jordan had held out for the same assinine fantasy to its extreme at al-Bukamal and will try the same exact thing in Deir EzZor. They have not learned a single thing and will repeat this again AS LONG AS U.S. troops are not dying in these futile attempts. Kurds? NSyA? Syrian civilians? The U.S. seems perfectly willing to sacrifice as many of *them* as it takes to keep coalition aircraft busy in endless futile air campaigns. Was there a sale on bombs last week or is this some longer-range U.S. strategy to depopulate Syria and destroy every last bit of its infrastructure to get at ISIS? And then they criticize Assad for ‘barrel bombs’ – isn’t the effect the exact same in the end?
You cannot send in a fraction of the ground forces you need into a heavily fortified and POPULATED city and hope to make up the difference with precision air power. How many times does this strategy have to fail before the micro-cephalic CENTCOM military planners finally understand that it is useless and inhumane? I almost have to believe that they DO understand this at some level, but are OK with the costs. They are in a psychopathic frenzy to destroy ISIS, not save Syria or any of its citizens. In fact, the Syrians are just in the way of U.S. bombs!