Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Syrian Army and Hezbollah Captures Qusair



The Syrian army and Hezbollah seized control today of the strategic border town of Qusair, in a major advance for President Bashar al-Assad's forces in the country's two-year civil war.


One Hezbollah fighter told Reuters that they took the town in a rapid overnight offensive, allowing some of the fighters to flee. “We did a sudden surprise attack in the early hours and entered the town. They escaped,” he said. 



Qusair had been in rebel hands for over a year. The government can now reassert control of a corridor through the central province of Homs that links Damascus to the coastal heartland of Assad's minority Alawites.


“Whoever controls Qusair controls the center of the country, and whoever controls the center of the country controls all of Syria,” said Brigadier General Yahya Suleiman. (Mayadeen TV/Reuters, 5 June)



Iran congratulated the Syrian army today for their victory over rebels. Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said “Iran congratulates the victory of the Syrian army and people over the 'takfiri' terrorists,” using a term for Sunni militants who comprise the majority of the country's rebels.


More than 80,000 people have been killed in the fighting and another 1.6 million Syrians refugees have fled a conflict that has fueled sectarian tensions across the Middle East.

File photo: Syrian army tanks making their way to the Dabaa military airfield, north of the Syrian city of Qusayr. 2 June 2013 (AFP)

26 comments:

B.M.A said...

MAY the ALMIGHTY bless our brothers and sisters in the IRANIAN defense industries!!WHEN the History of the middle EAST is re-written, the NAME OF the great Nation of Iran with be inscribed in GOLD!!.

Anonymous said...

Nasha.... shab deraze! The flow of weapon from US and EU to the rebel will start. This is a proxy war between the west and Russia and their allies (Saudi Arabia , Qatar , Iran , Hezbollah) and there is too much at stake. Cold war kind of situation. The conflict will continue with further loss of life and the risk to spread into the neighboring countries.

Anonymous said...

BMA
What about your brothers and sisters in the Russian defense industries??
Are they not worthy? Forgot about the S-300 so soon ?

Anonymous said...

This will only increase the flow of arms to the rebels.The situation was created by the West to suck in Irans proxy Hezbollah and bankrupt Irans economy.In other words this could be Irans Vietnam or Afghanistan under the occupation by the Soviets which lead to the collapse of their empire.

VoiceofReason said...

Give them all the arms they want. At the end if the day these Arabs fighting under the banner if the FSA are too fractured and tribal to win. What Arab army had ever had success other than Hezbollah?

Anonymous said...

They "know"; including author of this blog, that over 80 000 have been killed in Syria, but they don't were eager to count civilian victims of Iraq's war and after withdrawal's casualties...

Western militaries had no responsibility to count those casualties and the "concerned" journalist prefer to be silent about that and related matters.

A-F

Anonymous said...

long live iran
long live syria
long live president assad

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous June 5, 2013 at 2:05 PM

"this could be Irans Vietnam or Afghanistan under the occupation by the Soviets which lead to the collapse of their empire".

In your dreams! First of all, The Canabals have been morally defeated.
2nd in order for this to be a Vietnam or Afghanistan, Iran would have to be the Invading Country. Iran is not invading Syria, Syria is being invaded by a bunch of Organ eating, Camel riding, Wild Arabs,who are being flown in from all over the Arab Peninsula, who've been tricked by the Anglo/Gulf Arab/ZioNazi's that their fighting a stupid jihad. they're only cannon fodder for the Zio/Globalist, actually they've been selected for liquidation. Syria will serve as a killing field for these wild animals. The Zionist are trying to kill two birds with one stone. The plan is simple, stoke the sectarian fire till both sides are weakened then Israel and her allies will come in and conduct mop up operations. But this is not going to work because Hezbollah will be watching and at some point they will attack Israel. As they did in 2006. This conflict will lead to World War3 eventually!

Anonymous said...

3 important evetnts this week
1) Syria Armee advancing, Syria/Hisbullah will win.
the flow of weapon does not change anything, the rebell are disciplined terrorist, hisbullas are soldiers.

2) Turk spring, Unrest by the most important ally of US
the turkey is falling apart

3) The Election campaign in iran running calm and without problem

Iran :3
USA: 0

God loves Iran
God hates the enemy of iran

Anonymous said...

The US/Zionist NATO supported Wahabbi cannibalism is now OVER for good. LONG LIVE PRESIDENT ASSAD, BRAVE SYRIAN MILITARY, HEZBOLLAH LIONS & RUSSIA, IRAN and all Zionist free people of the world.

This is an amazing feat of arms for Hezbollah and the Syrian military which has proved to be the best in the Arab world as always.

For the imbeciles predicting "Vietnam" nonsense, they obviously don't have clue about Syria or regional demographics. What a bunch of retards!

Anonymous said...

VICTORIOUS SYRIAN & HEZBOLLAH FORCES CHASING TERRORISTS TO IRAQI BORDER

Western intelligence sources report that Syrian aerial bombardments are decimating the Salafi terrorists in full-flight from al-Qusayr after its capture by Syrian army and Hizballah units was completed Wednesday. Many of the fleeing are being killed. Syrian troops have raised flags bearing the photograph of their leader President Bashar al Assad at all major government buildings and are now providing medical teams access to the 1,200 wounded trapped in the town by days of fighting. The Syrian government has also announced amnesty for all civilians who had fled the terrorist take-over of the town eleven months ago.

The Syrian high command said that after smashing the rebels in al Qusayr, its iron fist will crush every other rebel position in the country. The loss of Qusayr has cut off the Saudi and Qatari supported terrorist groups still holding onto remote locations in central and northern Syria from their Lebanese sources of supply. Fast moving Hezbollah units have already blocked terrorist infiltration units from Jordan, prompting a panicky US response of deploying Patriot missiles and F-16 fighters to protect the tiny Jordanian puppets from victorious Syrian military reclaiming their national territory from Jordan based Salafi terrorists.

Why the U.S. Will Lose in Syria, No Matter Which Side Wins the War

Washington Post' reports Iranian drones, advanced equipment for gathering intel aiding President Assad in fight against terrorist groups.

Sophisticated weapons that Iran and Russia have provided to Syrian President Bashar Assad have "cemented an advantage" gained by his forces in recent weeks with the arrival of Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon, The Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing Middle Eastern intelligence officials and analysts.

“We’re seeing a turning point in the past couple of months, and it has a lot to do with the quality and type of weapons and other systems coming from Iran and Russia,” one official said.

Iranian surveillance drones, anti-mortar systems and advanced monitoring equipment to gather intel are among the technology helping Assad's forces track and destroy opposition fighters, according to the report.

In addition to the weaponry provided to President Assad, new tactics being used by Syrian military leaders suggest foreign training and counsel, the Post quoted experts as saying.

The Syrian military has maintained unit cohesion and displayed a very high level of professional competence, unlike other Arab armies. The superb battlefield tactics and morale of its Hezbollah allies was never in doubt, and once again Sayyed Hassan NasrAllah has delivered on his promise, raising Hezbollah's legend and lofty stature to astronomical levels the region.

The video footage out of Qasayr show amazing degree of victorious Hezbollah organization, superb weaponry and exceptional professionalism. This is something Iran and Russia should be very proud of and is an omen of things to come for the US/Zionists if they ever make the suicidal mistake of tangling with Syria, Iran or Hezbollah lions.




Anonymous said...

President Assad vows to eliminate terrorist plague for ever

QUSAIR - Syrian government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies seized control of the border town of Qusair on Wednesday, a severe setback to mostly foreign supported Salafi terrorists battling to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

"We will not hesitate to crush with an iron fist those who attack us. ... Their fate is surrender or death," the Syrian armed forces command said in statement. "We will continue our string of victories until we regain every inch of Syrian land."

In a frank assessment of their defeat, an opposition group from Qusair said more than 500 rebels had died in two weeks of combat, with a further 1,000 wounded, and the rest being captured by out-flanking Syrian-Hezbollah pincer.

Facing the might and determination of completely fearless Hezbollah guerrillas from neighboring Lebanon, who swung the fight Assad's way, the surviving terrorists decided to escape in the night through a corridor that the attackers said they had deliberately left open to encourage flight and then ambush them on the open plain leading up to the town of Qusair. Low flying Syrian gunships were seen hunting the fleeing terrorists in the neighboring hills near the Lebanese border, with victorious Hezbollah troops gathering for a return to their bases amid roar of celebratory gunfire and boom of Syrian jets overhead.

"We went in, there was some fighting, and then (the terrorists) ran," said one ebullient Hezbollah fighter heading home to rest after four sleepless nights of relentless fighting. "We saw them leaving in about 400 cars being chased by Syrian gunships."

Some bodies of Salafi terrorists still lay in the street; at least three men, sporting long beards, appeared to have been executed.

The capture of Qusair secures an important corridor through the central province of Homs, which links the Syrian capital Damascus to the coastal heartland of Assad's Shia sect.

Bolstered by his Iranian and Russian backers, Assad's forces have launched a series of stunning counter-offensives in recent weeks against mainly foreign recruited Wahabbi rebels battling to overthrow him and end his family's four-decade grip on power.

Some bodies still lay in the street; at least three men, sporting long beards, appeared to have been executed.

The capture of Qusair secures an important corridor through the central province of Homs, which links the Syrian capital Damascus to the coastal heartland of Assad's Alawite sect. Iran and Russia quickly sent messages of congratulations to the victorious Syrian army and its Hezbollah allies on the swift capture of Qusair.

An opposition group called the 'Qusair Revolution' posted a statement on Facebook about what it said were the lessons learnt from the battle, accusing political exiles of ignoring them and some militia chiefs of worrying more about money than fighting.

"There are battalion leaders in this revolution whose profession has become profit. They do not move unless they have gotten enough money for their weapons and ammunitions paid for."

A security source with ties to Syrian forces said Assad's troops had left an escape route into nearby Debaa and the Lebanese border town of Arsal to encourage rebel fighters to quit Qusair, once home to 30,000 people.

"We are heading now to crush Debaa," a beaming Syrian soldier said.

In the Hezbollah stronghold of southern Beirut, residents set off celebratory fireworks and gunfire as news of Qusair's fall spread. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's men had once again won the day and added to their legend.



Anonymous said...

Amen to Iran, Russia, Hezbollah and above all the VALOR & SHEER TENACITY OF THE SYRIAN MILITARY.

Iran is definitely going for the GOLD!

Always shows the savvy Iranian and Russian strategic thinking. It is all about sheer DEMOGRAPHICS now as Shias outnumber the Zionist/Wahabbi scum by 7:1 in the wider Middle-east. No wonder the Persians invented chess. Also this is a matter of great martial prowess of Shias from Hezbollah to Iran. Shias have proved to be the SWORD ARM OF ISLAM and consider it a privilege to die in battle rather than bow to anyone but God. The footage of Hezbollah troops out of Syria is awe-inspiring and will create its own mythology and terrify their enemies for ages to come. Imagine what the Iranian military will do to its enemies if ever challenged? Ya Mollah ALI!

This was a superb team effort and Sayyed Khamenei and Sayyed Nasrallah's BOYS WON THE FIGHT.

Anonymous said...

It is "Ya Mola Ali" Not "Mollah Ali" stupid basiji boy. Imam Ali was no "Mollah" like your masters.

Nader Uskowi said...

This was s big victory for the regime, as the reassert their control over the southern route through Homs province to the coast, the Alawite stronghold., and better access to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. The victory substantially improves the regime’s position in Homs province. It is also a psychologically important victory for the regime and the Hezbollah. It displays their strength to allies and enemies alike. Inflicting a military, political and psychological defeat on the rebels serves the government during Geneva 2 and any future peace talks.

A Syrian general famously said yesterday, after the victory in Qusair, that whoever controls the city, controls the center of the country, and whoever controls the center of the country, controls all of Syria. However this is an obvious exaggeration. Because if the general’s analysis is correct, then we should say that the rebels controlled all of Syria for the past year, because they controlled Qusair. But the rebels did not control all of Syria last year. The general’s statement is the typical exaggeration that we see on both sides when they score a victory.

As many think-tanks were saying yesterday, Qusair was not the last or decisive battle for Syria. The rebels still are active in other areas: eastern Homs, Deraa, and Aleppo. If the experiences of last two years are any indications, the battles in this war tend to have incomplete outcomes whose consequences erode overtime. Both sides often find themselves fighting again on the same ground, as in Homs city, Aleppo and Derra. It is the war that needs to come to an end.

Anonymous said...

The difference now is that it is assads forces that seem to have the initiative and this forces the rebels to have to react to them rather than vice versa,for assad this is just one more reason for him not to take the geneva talks,if they ever get off the ground that is,very seriously.The army's new weapons and tactics plus the Hezbollah fighters[soldiers really]plus the new militia seem to have definitely shifted the balance in favor of the government,whether this is enough to completely crush the rebels is hard to say but it seems increasingly likely that the rebels will be pushed into the more remote and desolate parts of syria,the government may well be satisfied with holding the populated areas.If the rebels were smart now would be the time to agree to geneva and sue for peace,whether assad would accept that now that his forces are on the offensive and have won a major victory seems unlikely

mat said...

Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement says the Syrian army’s liberation of the strategic town of Qusayr is a major blow to the Israeli regime and the United States.

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem made the remarks in a statement issued after the Syrian army gained full control of the town on Wednesday.

"The battle today has only one significance, and that is the fight against Israel, and those who support its plans," Qassem said, adding, "Today we proved without any doubt that the gamble to topple Syria is a delusional plan."

The Hezbollah deputy secretary general also called for a political solution to end the unrest in Syria.

Anonymous said...

Listen pal,Hezbollah is no longer trusted or liked by the vast majority of Sunni Arab masses.The occupying Islamic regime in Tehran has pumped $20 billion to prop up Assad's regime and temporily prevent it from collapse.The reason why Assad's regime is using Hezbollah is because his forces are deminishing.Iran can't afford to support such a long term campaign without long term consequence for the occupying Islamic regime in Tehran.
You are incapable in understanding this and that Israel is the one that is watching the situation in Syria and that the West planed to suck in Iran's proxy Hezbollah so that Iran's economy can be further drained.If there is a "World War 3" the Islamic regime will be the one that will be consigned into the dustbin of history.You need to lay off those computer games and less of the hookah!

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:22 PM.....It's good to know that the regime in Iran is spending billions of dollars of the countries money.This will make the Iranian people angry towards the theocracy and will hasten its demise.
The theocratic regime is definitely going for fools gold!

Anonymous said...

Qusayr was a debacle for the US/NATO stooges and Zionist muuts: Aftershocks felt in Lebanon, Occupied Golan and Gaza Strip

The Salafi terrorists defeat in the key town of al Qusayr, Wednesday, June 6, was also a major strategic debacle for the US, the Zionist entity and NATO warmongers, the price they paid for arrogance and misreading the obvious cues from Russia and Iran. Syrian-Hezbollah troops superbly led by Iranian officers now have a clear field to win the day. The Syrian-Hezbollah machine is now ready to capitalize on its victory and roll into Aleppo and southern Syria to extinguish rebel resistance there too. Liberation of Zionist occupied Golan and Shebaa Farms is next in its sights.

Almost six months ago, I had predicted a “Bashar Assad, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Vladimir Putin and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah victory based on a simple analysis of Syrian military strength, regional Shia demographics and the fact that most of the cannibal mercenaries were foreigners and had no real stomach for a fight. Their cannibalism and atrocities repulsed every decent human being, let alone the Syrian civilians who bore the brunt of the Takfiri scum. I had also summed up how step by step cool-headed President Bashar al Assad was turning the tide of war and recovering the initiative, backed by a broad alliance of powerful actors like Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hizballah.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has posted 20,000 troops on the Syrian border to seal it off against the passage of Takfiri and alCIAda reinforcements for the Syria terrorists. Iraqi commandos are preparing to launch raids against alCIAda linked forces in eastern Syria in a pincer with Syrian "Fuji" commando force and Hezbollah elite mobile forces. The Saudi created al Nusra Front, for instance, appears to have suffered the brunt of Hezbollah's wrath and has now vanished from the battlefield and keeping a low profile. The speed of Syrian-Hezbollah assault caught most of the Salafi terrorists by complete surprise, as they were not accustomed to the tempo of Syrian-Hezbollah operations.

Moscow, Tehran and Baghdad managed to repair the inroads made on Assad’s military power by two and-a-quarter years of hard fighting, and fashion a combined Syrian-Hizballah fighting machine capable of crushing the Syrian uprising at will and even capable of fighting off any Zionist threat. The exceptional performance, valor, elan and professionalism of the Syrian military has stunned even its supporters.
Having proved its mettle in an epic victory, the Syrian-Hizballah partnership will eventually confront the Zionist entity, Jordan and the US forces posted there with plans to follow up in its success in two stages: First, to conquer Aleppo and southern Syria and clear them of rebels; second, to use the Golan as a jumping-off base to face Israel on the battlefield.
Already, their campaign to seize the town of Quneitra on the Syrian side of Golan has begun. The roar of gunfire and shells heard distinctly on occupied Golan, June 6, Zionists will now be facing a battle-hardened Syrian-Hezbollah force on the Golan with Walid Jumblatt's Druze already shifting alliances to the victorious Syrians and their Hezbollah allies.
Syria’s half million Druzes, sheltering away from the conflict in their mountain villages on Jebel Druze in the south, were given an ultimatum by Hezbollah to proclaim their loyalty to Bashar Assad or face attack. The land locked Druze with their crazy Mokhtar (Chief) Kemal Jumblatt would last a mere few minutes in face of a Hezbollah attack.
The region is now in a flux of shifting political alliances and the Palestinians of both Hamas and Fatah factions wasted no time in jumping on the winning Iranian bandwagon. A delegation is already in Tehran waiting to plead for a new military cooperation pact.

Anonymous said...

While you know I may not share your analysis on the whole Civil War, at this particular turning moment of the strategic balance, and the dangerously triumphant posture Asad is rapidly taking on the diplomatic front as much as on the battlefield, as to go as far as openly stating he may even run again for another term would election time come for Christ's sake, this is indeed a sad day for any legitimate secular opponent of the Baathist regime, now buried deep under the rubble of proxy wars and multi-layered external interventionism, taking its peak with Hezbollah stepping in the war, which provokes growing rifts even within their base now. Let's just hope it all ENDS fast, that unfortunately the last remaining hope we can set our eyes towards from now on... fear of Sunni extremism has worked well to turn much of the neutral population in Assad's favor, and drastically reinforcing the regular troops' morale and their efficiency in the process, on top of their Shiite support.
Until very recently i was genuinely happy with Gulf States failure to put forward their opportunistic plans for rapid dominance in the area in place of moderate Syrians through their Al Qaeda-linked militias brought from abroad and namely Iraq, but now, seeing the symbols of the Baathist regime come back and Assad's face placarded on every standing official building gives me such a bitterness it becomes unbearable all of a sudden... "mesle in ke beineh mar o afih gir kardim" as the saying goes back home, right ?

-Abtin

Anonymous said...

Rampant Syrian airpower decimates terrorist ranks

Western intelligence sources report that Syrian aerial bombardments and relentless gunship attacks are decimating the Salafi terrorists in full-flight from al-Qusayr and Homs regions. Syrian low-flying helicopter gunships and deadly accurate airstrikes are continuing after the capture of strategic crossroads of Qusayr by Syrian army and elite Hezbollah units was completed Wednesday. Many demoralized terrorists are being killed or captured.

The Syrian high command said that after smashing the rebels in al Qusayr, its iron fist will crush every other rebel position in the country. The loss of Qusayr has cut off mostly foreign recruited terrorists still clinging onto remote locations in central and northern Syria from their Lebanese sources of supply. Most NATO, CIA, Qatari and Saudi arms and terrorists were entering Syria from the Lebanese port of Tripoli. Now Hezbollah and the Lebanese military are slowly choking the terrorist groups based in Lebanon.

Anonymous said...

Anon 7:26PM
This is a very good idea to make a weekly count of Iran's successes and enemy's defeats.

A-F

Anonymous said...

Hezbollah don't take no mess
By Pepe Escobar

The "Friends of Syria" are appalled. Their much vaunted "rebel held" stronghold of Qusayr is gone. This BBC headline sums it all up: "Syria conflict: US condemns siege of Qusayr."

For White House spokesman Jay Carney, "pro-government forces", to win, needed help from by their "partners in tyranny" - Hezbollah and Iran. Right: so the "rebels" weaponized by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the CIA, not to mention jihadis of the Jabhat al-Nusra kind, are partners in what, "freedom and democracy"?

Spin out, facts in. This is a monster strategic defeat for the NATO-Gulf Cooperation Council-Israel axis. [1] The supply lines from Lebanon to Homs of the Not Exactly Free Syrian Army (FSA) gangs and the odd jihadi are gone. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) will next move to Homs and the whole Homs governorate. The final stop will be two or three Aleppo suburbs still controlled by the FSA.

There's absolutely no way Qusayr can be spun in the West as yet another "tactical withdrawal" by the FSA. The rebels insist they "withdrew". Nonsense. It was a rout.

This, in a nutshell, is how it happened. Qusayr had been under control of the Homs-based al-Farouk brigade, part of the FSA, for no less than 18 months. Six months ago, the SAA had already cleared the Syrian north-south highway, not far from the city - essential for all Damascus-Aleppo business.

Qusayr was strategically crucial as a key weaponizing depot for the FSA; Sunnis in Lebanon were relentlessly shipping them weapons through the Bekaa valley. So the first thing the SAA did was to encircle Qusayr. Then Hezbollah stepped in - as most of Qusayr's population of 30,000 had already left for either Lebanon or Jordan.

The final, wily SAA tactic was to allow the Aleppo-based al-Tawhid brigade to sneak into Qusayr to help the al-Farouk. So when these twin top FSA brigades were properly encircled, the SAA pounced. Virtually no civilians were in town, apart from a few farmers nearby. There was no "genocide".

And then Paris went chemical

When will the NATO-GCC axis ever learn? Hezbollah's Sheikh Nasrallah staked his reputation by going on air and promising a victory. Once again, he delivered. Contrary to Western spin, Hezbollah did not do it by itself; it was a combination of SAA, Hezbollah and Iranian specialists applying superior tactics and displaying crack urban warfare knowledge.

It's also easy to forget that a prime wet dream among US Think Tanklanders these past few months was the possibility of pitting Hezbollah against al-Qaeda-linked jihadis inside Syria. They got their wish.

Hezbollah fighters though don't need to overextend themselves and venture inside Syria further than Qusayr - which is roughly 10 km from the Lebanese border. Their "mission" is in practice to secure the Syrian side of the Lebanese border.

Whatever replay strategy Susan and Samantha may come up with, Russia and China will veto. Moreover, even the Washington establishment admits all options are noxious. To top it off, Turkey has been plunged into the Taksim/Occupy Gezi/Down with the Dictator maelstrom - and the last thing an embattled Erdogan will be thinking about is to further empower a bunch of "rebel" losers.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-060613.html

Anonymous said...

Surge by Iran-Hizbullah-Syria axis stuns Israeli intelligence community

Special Military Analysis

TEL AVIV — Israel’s leadership is concerned about what the defeat of Sunni rebels by Syrian President Bashar al Assad would mean.

Officials said Israel’s intelligence community was closely following the
Assad offensive against Sunni rebels in the spring of 2013. They said the
community envisioned that a victorious Assad could be emboldened to launch
hostilities against Israel in coordination with Iran, Iraq and Hizbullah. A victorious Assad is not going to sit quietly,” an official said. “He
will take revenge against anybody he feels helped the rebels, and he could
attack us to restore his revolutionary credentials.”

Officials said the community was stunned by the rapid advance of Assad’s
military, backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hizbullah. They said the offensive marked a significant improvement in the capabilities of the Syrian military as well as its coordination with foreign allies.

“If they [Assad forces] continue at this rate, they can wrap up the war
within a few weeks, and leave the north for a later stage,” the official
said.

The community has assessed that the war cemented the coordination
between Assad, IRGC, Iraqi Shia militias and Hizbullah. Officials said Israel’s military and intelligence agencies did not rule out that Iran, Iraq and Syria would form permanent joint units for war against Israel or Jordan.

On June 6, a Syrian parliamentarian regarded as close to Assad warned
that Damascus was ready for war with Israel. Ahmed Shalash said the Syrian
military has been ordered to fire missiles the next time Israeli warplanes
enters Syrian air space. The Zionists have kept a very low profile as Syrian armor moved into the Occupied Golan Heights DMZ to rout the last foreign Salafi terrorists from a ckeckpost.

“The next time Israel dares to violate Syrian air space, there are
orders to retaliate with missile fire without referring back to the
leadership,” Shalash was quoted as saying by the Saudi-owned Al
Arabiya satellite channel. “They want an open war — let there be an open
war. We don’t have a problem with that.”

But other officials sounded less sanguine. They said the mostly foreign Salafi rebels were collapsing amid a short of equipment, weapons and feuds among commanders.

“Those fighting against Assad are mostly foreigners, paid by Qatar and
Saudi Arabia,” another official said. “There is not much left of the
indigenous rebel movement.”



mat said...

The Russian Navy has always had a presence in the Mediterranean, but now it has the go ahead to stick around permanently.

Bloomberg reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has endorsed his Navy’s plan to stick around the Mediterranean Sea. More importantly, the Navy will be able to stay close to Syria – a region that’s been embroiled in a bloody civil war for three years now. It’s said that 16 ships in total will be stationed in the region.

So, why is the Russian Navy staking a permanent presence in the region? Putin says it’s to maintain national security:

“This is a strategically important region. We have our national interests here, linked to the need to maintain national security. Resuming a permanent Russian military naval presence in the Mediterranean sea isn’t saber rattling.”

The move isn’t all too surprising considering that Russia has been regularly patrolling the area around Syria since fighting broke out in 2010. Earlier this year, the Russian Navy also took part in an exercise involving 36 warships.