The Turksih Armed Forces and the coalition of Turkish-backed militant groups, known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), reached the outskirts of the ISIS-controlled town of al-Bab after capturing the villages of Swesian, Hazwan, Qadiran, Al-Dana and ‘Awlan in the Syrian province of Aleppo.
The Ankara-led forces are now deployed in about 2 km from al-Bab and readying to storm it. In turn, ISIS militants have deployed in the streets of al-Bab and are setting up barriers and not allowing anyone to leave or enter the town.
According to the ISIS-linked Amaq News Agency, Turkey’s battle tanks and artillery are massively shelling the key ISIS-controlled town. Air strikes by the US-led coalition’s air power were also reported.
Photos – The FSA’sconvoy is heading to al-Bab:
One gets the impression that this is some sort of a major f..kup or it has the approval of Syria. Bit of a mystery.
bring your target closer to you while they kill your enemies and die in the process. elementary battlefield logic, try Sun Tsu’s art of war it still applies here
yes , but the problem in the future is for Syria , having the turkey scum so close to Aleppo, the 2nd larger city….
The Turks will be dealt with later.They dont have any support from NATO.IS and “moderates” have to go first.The rest can be figured out in the future.
Agree. Cant be permanent and make any kind of happiness.
While agreeing with your Sun Tsu’s logic , my concern is the unauthorized American air support . SAA is 10 km or less south of the town , and the Kurdish roughly the same to the west . My guess is the SAA will stand by while the Kurds engage the FSA ( after they take out ISIS) , and likely grind them up . The air support can only be answered by man-pads from the Kurds , not S300s from the Syrians . Be a good show for the SAA .
Still learned nothing after 4 years. US are allowed to fight ISIS and ISIS is a ISIS main town. The US support is autoriseized very much.
Nobody knows whats after Al Bab is destroyed/taken. Nobody.
You could read the map as You like. I can too. Assads has attacked FSA once and twice marked the borderline between Kurds and FSA. Kurds are inside artillery range protaction from SAA.
SAA 10 km from southern/western Al bab means nothing. They dont have troops for it. They can only take land there if ISIS retreat – as I see it.
Erdogan had a peace deal with the Kurds over the past decades conflict in Turkey With PKK. He broke that deal…..started shelling Kurds in Turkey villages while Syrian Kurds fought ISIS at Kobani. Erdogans coup had over 10,000 Gulen supporters on a list which went live in hours Of the coup event. Erdogan planned this …. Since then 100,000 have been removed from state positions,military,arrested and ….. Recently 2 Politicians were jailed… The Mad Sultan is not finished…..He ratchet up this Kurd conflict….cleaned house Of Gulen…and invade Syria. I would not be surprised several world leaders want this guy gone.
Dont see it as a kind of coup. More like trading on and off, because its a center, where very diffrent partners meet and can make much confrontation. It still can.
US has allowence to bombarde ISIS. No one than many kurds like a united Rojava connected by land, which they can never fill out with kurds. Kurds migh have gotten some more independency for the 4 Rojavas or/and making them a little bigger as well keeping Assads as Leader of the whole Syria in a weak possition. We dont know.
Cant see FSA has to get any of that. Might be small corners of their enclaves east of Afrin.
Pure speculation from me.
There is a deal with USA and Turkey. They want to link Turkey to Raqqa. Kurds are been used by USA. Now, cry stupid Kurds, cry.
Far out. Just dirt from You. No memory as well. S/Nato has all the time being against Kurds taking Al Bab.
Just dirt from You talking those kurds down.
I told last time that SAA should have taken Al-Bab first to stop us made “Rojava” and stop the Turks to go down.
So why didnt they take the last 3-4 years. Its about policy hidding Kurds and others hard in Syria as well as Iraq.
More like they have denied to clean up those, which like Al Kaida bombed and gunned everybody as crimnels of the worst kind – until they did it with the Turks too.
What a hypocrasy.