Syrian and Shia fighting forces continue push against rebels

According to Reuters:

President Bashar al-Assad's forces fired rocket and artillery barrages on a besieged mountain town near Lebanon on Monday in a push to capture the strategic area following advances against rebels in Damascus and in the north of Syria.

In a separate setback for the fighters, a prominent rebel leader died overnight in a Turkish hospital of wounds suffered in an air raid on Aleppo. Abdelqader Saleh, head of the Qatar-backed Sunni Islamist al-Tawhid Brigades, had been working on regrouping fighters in Aleppo before he was killed.

Heavy bombardments hit Qara, 80 km (50 miles) north of Damascus in the Qalamoun mountains, as rebels hid in the rocky terrain, refugees and opposition activists said. Located near the highway linking the capital to Aleppo, Syria's biggest city, the region has been used by rebels to cross from Lebanon.

[...]

Assad's forces, backed by Shi'ite militia allies from Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, have captured key rebel areas on the edge of Damascus and in Aleppo.

Syrian and Shia fighting forces have recently captured key rebel areas on the edge of Damascus and in Aleppo, their biggest gains in the suburbs south of Damascus, where army troops backed by Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi militia forces have captured five towns since Oct. 11. The latest to fall was Hejeira, which SyA troops swept through last Wednesday, just days after capturing the adjacent suburb of Sbeineh. [Source: Reuters]

Rebel leader Abdelqader Saleh was reportedly KIA at a local HQ in Aleppo by SyAAF air strike. 

Additionally, it's said several Iranian and equivalent to two squads of SyA soldiers were taken prisoner on November 15 during fighting on the outskirts of Damascus.

Also claimed are several IRGC-SF casualties taken on November 16 possibly as part of an air assault operation north of al-Safira attempting to capture a stretch of highway to Aleppo.

Shia fighting forces Hezbollah Brigade Commander Ali Shbeeb Mahmoud recently succumbed to injuries said to be sustained in battle during the successful retaking of 80th Brigade army base, situated a few hundred meters from the airport (ALP / OSAP) on the eastern approaches of Aleppo.

 Below: Hezbollah Brigade Commander Ali Shobeyb Mahmoud, KIA Battle of Aleppo

File photo: AhlulBayt News Agency

IRGC claims it has no combat troops in Syria

 

Above: video still of purported IRGC special forces fighting in Syria 

According to FARS News Agency:

Head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Public Relations Department General Ramezan Sharif denied media reports claiming that Iranian forces are fighting for the Damascus government.

“We categorically deny the presence of any Iranian battalion in Syria,” Sharif said.

“As frequently declared, Iran has no organizational battalion in Syria and is only present in the country at the level of military attachés to transfer its defense experiences to the defenders of Syria,” he added.

There has been a recent flurry of claims and counter claims of Iranian combat troop participation in the Syrian conflict, revolving around Iran's Mehr news agency reported IRGC-QF Lieutenant Brigadier General Mohammad Jamalizadeh Paghaleh, and the public admission of Iranian lawmaker Javad Ghoddusi Karimi that Iran has "hundreds" of troops fighting in Syria (subsequently denied).

The admission of Iranian advisors is interesting. The Syrian Army under Ba'ath Party control has considerably more experience fighting episodic insurgencies as far back as 1964, with significant flare-ups in the 1970s and '80s, in addition to the current conflict. They also had experience during the end game of the civil war that took place in Lebanon. If the IRGC role in the current Syrian conflict indeed involves a level of direction and if the Syrian government is able to ultimately withstand the insurgency, it will mark another success to accompany its previous role in Lebanon's repulse of an IDF invasion in 2006. 

It is believed allied Shia fighting forces taking part in the Syrian conflict include Lebanese Hezbollah, IRGC, and Hezbollahi combatants from Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and various other Shia locales in the region.

Syrian Army retakes Qusair - Photos

Syrian Army T-72M1 main battle tank

Syrian Army ZSU-23-4 Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun

Syrian Army 2S1 Gvozdika 122-mm self-propelled howitzer

Syrian battlefield commander, likely RG

Syrian army troops, likely mechanized infantry