On June 18, the joint forces of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Turkish-backed militant groups launched an assault on several positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in northern Hama.
The so-called “moderate opposition” reportedly used at least two suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive devices. One exploded near SAA positions in Jalamah. Another one was eliminated in the nearby area. At the same time, clashes were reported near Sheikh Hadid, Qiratah and Jub Suleiman.
By June 19, the militant attack had been fully repelled by the SAA. Despite this, pro-militant media outlets claimed that all devices had worked as intended and “Assad regime forces” had suffered dozens of casualties. According to pro-government sources, the militants lost up to 30 killed or injured fighters, and 6 pieces of military equipment, including a battle tank.
The militant advance also triggered a new round of Syrian airstrikes on their infrastructure in southern Idlib and northern Hama.
The SAA halted offensive actions in the area last week in the framework of the temporary ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia. However, this move does not seem to be appreciated by the so-called opposition.
Clashes between the SAA and ISIS erupted north of the town of al-Sukhna in the Homs province. ISIS cells reportedly ambushed at least one SAA checkpoint there. There are no confirmed reports regarding the casualties.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) detained nearly 100 people in the town of Tayaneh on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, according to Syrian state media. The SDF also stormed the village of Shwehan arresting 11 more people. Reports claim that the raids came in response to the locals’ refusal to hand over their crops of wheat and barley to the US-backed militias. Earlier reports appeared that SDF units were burning crops in farms that do not support the SDF’s administration policy. Pro-SDF sources deny this.
When the US loses a large number of lives in one battle they have tended to tuck tail and go home. Be it at Chosin Reservoir or Beirut, loose a few thousand or a few hundred and the fight was over. I wish Trump would do what he campaigned on “Get out of Syria”, it is NOT the US’s fight nor does any American kid deserve to die there.. Signed another US vet.
The US does not get out of Syria until Israel says so.
Totally correct.
When American kids start to die and getting wounded like real deal in Syria they’ll get the hell outta there.
You clearly don’t see the end game here. With the loss of Turkey as an ally there most be something to replace them, that is a Free Kurdistan. The only reason that it doesn’t get more support is that the Kurds are a bunch of commies. I say better that than a bunch of Islamic fundamentalists.
The kurds are a bunch of commies.
Being simplistic is a way of life too.
PKK started out as communists, yes, in the late 70ies.
As anything, they evolved. They went from statism to cooperism, added ecology, added feminism and bottom up democracy. Starting PYD, they added local issues. Starting Rojava, they incorparated many other local kurdish and non kurdish parties.
They are people, mostly good people. They adapt to circumstances and mske for their best. Their economy is a mix of private ownership and communal ownership and the promote the latter while not obstructing the former.
Communism is just a label, in this case a simple and incorrect one.
The Kurds are bunch of worthless whores for the empire much like you pathetic Dutch.
What you wanna say is ‘wahhabis’ not ‘Islamic fundamentalists’. It is so broad, but if you address them correctly, as they are-wahhabi head choppers it kinda disenable them to manouver and restric them to what they really are. Wanna be Muslims- called wahhabis.
The Turks are not Wahhabis, they are Hanafis. They only support Wahhabis when it suits their purpose.
They are just like them. Cowards and nationalists. Wahhabis are not Muslims at all, and that is what most Ulemmas conclusion, and who have troubles understanding that he is whether chauvinistic Muslim hater, or utterly malicious person. All ullema, exept Albanian, Bosnian, which includes Croatian, Serbian and Montenegrin, Kosovar, Macedonian and Slovenian. In say Chechnya they’re out of faith.
Why does SF continually refer to HTS as the so called moderate opposition, they were designated a terrorist organization by Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey in september last year, and were accordingly redesignated as combatant forces [according to Astana], not moderate opposition. Only the groups that make up the FSA, SFL, NFL are still designated moderate opposition forces according to the agreement, and yet SF erroneously still refers to HTS forces as the designated moderate opposition, but the Syrians, Russian’s, and even the Turks call them terrorists and valid targets for hostile operations. So officially according to Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey, HTS isn’t a moderate opposition group at all, it’s a designated terrorist organization, and isn’t included in the reconciliation process at all, yet for some reason SF continuously refer to them as the moderate opposition, but no one else does. The moderate opposition that Turkey does officially back and that are actually included in the reconciliation process [Astana agreement], are the groups that make up the NFL/SLF/FSA, they’re the only groups that are officially designated as moderate opposition groups by the Syrians, Russian’s, Iranians, and Turks, and Turkey officially only supports them, not the designated terrorist organization HTS [yeah sure]. But the NFL, SLF, and FSA, who Turkey does openly support as so called ” designated moderate opposition”, is assisting HTS [the designated terrorist group], in every way possible. The NFL/SLF/FSA not only assist HTS with equipment and logistics, they also participate in coordinated attacks against the SAA as well. So in reality there’s not much difference between the moderate opposition and the designated terrorists, and the only real difference I can see is this, the moderate opposition groups can receive Turkish support [weapons and equipment] but HTS can’t, at least officially they can’t, but we all know that the Turkish backed groups in the NFL/SLF/FSA, are killing more SAA than HTS is, as well as assisting HTS in every way they can to repel any SAA advances into HTS held territory. It wasn’t that long ago HTS was practically invincible, with only 10 to 15,000 fighters they managed to expel most of the so called moderate factions Turkey officially supported in Idlib, some 30 to 35,000 fighters, taking over more than 60% of the territory, and in the process of doing that also gained an influx of fighters from All Nusra front, which has now officially boosted their combined forces to about 30,000 fighters, so convenient hey. Erdogan just used that coordinated stunt to reshuffle the terrorist around, all the worst groups and individuals he couldn’t legitimise he left with Al Nusra, and all the rest that he could legitimise he enlisted into the NFL/SLF/FSA, and then quickly moved most of them to Aleppo to join the Euphrates shield operation. So early on in the year HTS was fighting all the other so called moderate opposition groups, for control of Idlib [curiously the SAA didn’t take advantage of the situation], and in the end they managed to control more than 60% of the territory, beating all the other moderate groups decisively, but now the SAA are invading and regaining territory from [the supposedly invincible] HTS, all those so called moderate opposition groups that HTS was fighting just a while ago [and beating easily], are now coming to the invincible HTS’s aid, instead of taking advantage of the situation and taking revenge on them. That beggars belief in many ways, HTS easily vanquished their enemies earlier on in the year and took over most of their territory, but now those same enemies are back again stronger than ever [with new Turkish weapons/equipment], and instead of seeking revenge or the desire to take back the territory they lost from HTS, they’re actually here to help the HTS keep the territory they stole from them, What? The Turkish OB posts have to go, most of them are in HTS controlled territory now and no longer relevant anyway, they no longer separate the [so called]] moderate opposition from the SAA anymore, now they’re mostly just standing in between the SAA and HTS terrorists instead.
the Kurds never learn—in aligning themselves w the USA they guarantee that both Syria and Turkey will reduce their influence