‘Erdogan ISIS “Daesh” in Panic’: Commanders Fleeing From Mosul ‘En Masse’ Ahead of Major Op

October 4, 2016 By administrator

‘Erdogan ISIS “Daesh” in Panic’: Commanders Fleeing From Mosul ‘En Masse’ Ahead of Major Op

Daesh militants are fleeing Mosul, the group’s stronghold in Iraq, since a long-awaited large-scale operation aimed at freeing the second largest city in the country is expected to be launched in the coming days, Said Mamuzini, a press secretary for the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul, told Sputnik.

“As part of the operation the Iraqi Armed Forces and Peshmerga are shelling Daesh targets in the areas close to Mosul,” he said. “Additional security measures have been taken on the border. According to our information, the militants are digging trenches around the city, as well as setting up traps using explosives and mines.” The spokesperson added that Daesh fighters have placed booby-traps in empty houses and left trucks rigged with explosives on the outskirts of the city that the brutal group captured in a blitz offensive on June 10, 2014.

“Daesh is in a state of panic ahead of the operation in Mosul,” he detailed. “According to our sources, many fighters have left the city for Raqqa,” the group’s de facto capital. “Daesh commanders and their families have moved to Raqqa en masse.”

According to Mamuzini, the brutal group has relocated its key forces to Syria. This offers hope that the city could be liberated sooner than expected. “Daesh’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is reportedly pursuing a new strategy with regard to Mosul. He told his fighters that if they are capable of fighting for Mosul, they should fight and if not, then they should leave booby traps and mines, destroy the city and flee,” he said.

SYRIA Syria: 6,000 civilians fleeing the offensive of the EI in the Aleppo region

May 30, 2016 By administrator

Beirut, May 29, 2016 (AFP) – More than 6,000 civilians fled 24H in the advance of Islamic State group in the province of Aleppo taking refuge in the Kurdish-controlled areas in the northern region of Syria, reported Sunday the Syrian Observatory for fingers Rights (OSDH).

Friday, the Islamic State group (EI) cut the supply route between two strongholds of the rebellion in the region by taking villages between Marea and Azaz, 20 km further north.

“More than 6,000 civilians, mostly women and children, fled these villages Marea and fell the last two days in the hands of the EI”, told AFP the director of OSDH.

According to Rami Abdel Rahman, “the displaced arrived last night in areas west and northwest of Aleppo under control of Syrian Democratic Forces (FDS)”, an Arab-Kurdish alliance that fights on EI fronts in Syria.

The fighters of the IU, who want to take their strongholds for rebels of Azaz and Marea, are now only 5km from the second city, according to OSDH.

“There are only four medical staff at Al-Horriyya hospital, the only one in the city of Marea,” he told AFP an anesthetist of the institution who spoke on condition of anonymity .

Yehya, a nurse responsible for Assalama hospital in the north of Azaz for his part said that Doctors Without Borders had to evacuate patients and doctors in the hospital, fighting now taking place 3 km away.

“Our hospital is de facto closed except for emergency and relief,” said Yehya. He further pointed that “the new camps (for displaced people) are overcrowded and living conditions are precarious, without sanitation.”

The fighting left since Friday start of the offensive launched by the EI 47 deaths among the jihadist suicide bombers including 9 and 61 among the rebels and 29 civilians, according to OSDH which has a wide network of informants across the country.

In Aleppo itself, several areas of the city and areas to the north have been the target of violent Russian aerial bombings and the regime, according to OSDH.

Monday, May 30, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Karabakh general: Azeris shot their fleeing soldiers

April 11, 2016 By administrator

Karabakh General STEPANAKERT. – The resumption of military actions by Azerbaijan didn’t come as a surprise. Turkey had to move the combat theatre to another place, and apparently had to choose Azerbaijan for this purpose.

MP and Major General of the Karabakh National Assembly (NA) Vitaly Balasanyan said the aforementioned on Public Television of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“This didn’t come as a surprise to us, since Azerbaijan had begun preparing for war since the moment of signing the ceasefire agreement on 12 May 1994. The signing of this agreement was a serious political mistake for us. This was followed by the information disseminated by the Azerbaijani media outlets, events in Turkey and Middle East. It should have been clear to us that Turkey would move the combat theatre to another place, and this could be only Azerbaijan, Turkey’s shelter in the Caucasus. We should have felt this earlier. We should have analyzed the developments,” Balasanyan said.

In the night of April 2, when Azerbaijan unleashed its aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, the general headed for the 4th line of defense which led furious fighting without any losses. According to the general, only two soldiers sustained minor injuries.

“Azerbaijan should understand that the issue cannot be solved through military means. The World War III has started long ago, but no superpower confesses that it has started,” Balasanyan stressed.

In his words, on the first day the main attack was directed against Aghdam, and then in the southern and northern directions. The goal of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces was to breach defenses in the center and separate two parts of the Defense Army from each other, the general noted. But they didn’t manage to do this, he added.

The Karabakh Defense Army managed to retaliate on time and open aimed fire.

According to the MP, the Azerbaijani side suffered colossal losses and failed the offensive operations, despite leading a literate battle. “Currently the Azerbaijani Army is more improved. I’m sure they were seriously prepared, and weren’t weak tactically: one shouldn’t downplay them. Our task is to mobilize in the shortest period possible and deploy in order to come into positions. The adversary supposed that we wouldn’t be able to come into our positions after the rocket and artillery bombardment. All the roads along the frontline came under fire. This wasn’t an illiterate fight from their side. Moreover, it was easy for them to attack, since they had drones and could watch the fight from above,” the general said.

But why didn’t the Azerbaijani army achieve success? Because there are few people in the Azerbaijani army who are ready to struggle for their homeland. “The lowest echelon of the Azerbaijani army is constantly oppressed. We can see what is happening at their hungry and thirsty posts. We can see this both from the air and from our posts. Not every soldier there is ready to stand till the end. I’m sure that at least 80 percent of the Azerbaijani soldiers don’t consider it as their homeland,” he said.

The general also added that they saw the Azerbaijani militaries shoot their fleeing soldiers.

Azerbaijan “punishment” forces “penalize” fleeing soldiers

April 4, 2016 By administrator

default55 YEREVAN. – Azerbaijan uses retaliatory detachments that are punishing the servicemen who choose to back away from the fight, spokesperson for the Armenian Defense Ministry wrote on Facebook.

“According to confirmed sources, the combat efficiency of the Azeri troops has fallen so drastically that even hired mercenaries with vast terrorist experience are unable to help. At this moment, in these territories, Azerbaijan uses forces of punishment by death to those servicemen who choose to back away from the fight,” Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote.

The situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone dramatically escalated on Saturday night. From regular shootings and frequent sabotage-reconnaissance attempts, Azerbaijan has now moved to large-scale attack all along the Line of Contact, using a variety of weaponry as well as artillery, armored vehicles, and air force. Both sides have suffered losses.

Turkish terrorist fleeing Syria for Turkey has doubled: Army

December 27, 2015 By administrator

The number of foreign-backed terrorists withdrawing from Syria toward the Turkish border has doubled in the wake of the recent achievements made by Syrian forces.

Syrian Army spokesman Brigadier General Ali Mayhoub said Saturday that the Syrian army, in cooperation with popular defense groups, has made fresh gains in the fight against Takfiri terrorists in many areas including the capital city, Damascus, Dara’a, Suwayda, Latakia, Aleppo, Hama, and Homs.

Also on Saturday, the Syrian air force destroyed a convoy of vehicles belonging to the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front in the village of al-Hbeit, on the border between Idlib and Hama provinces.

Meanwhile, army units discovered a 200-meter-long tunnel between Housh al-Farah and Housh Nasri in Douma Farms area, located east of Damascus, where the Takfiri Daesh terrorists are active, Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported.

The tunnel was reportedly used for the transfer of weapons and the movement of the militants.

The army also said it had destroyed command positions of militants in the countryside of Hama and Idlib provinces over the past 24 hours.

A command position of the so-called Ahrar al-Sham terrorist group was ruined in Hama, while the air force also destroyed a command position of the al-Nusra Front and other Takfiri groups in an area located east of the town of Latamna. They also destroyed a command position in Ma’ar Kibba village, north of Hama.

The Syrian army has recently carried out a number of successful operations to recapture areas under the control of terrorists. The military gains have been expedited since Russia, acting on an official request of Damascus, began an aerial campaign against terrorist positions in Syria on September 30.

200,000 Kurds Fleeing Turkey Amid Increased Violence – German Media

December 23, 2015 By administrator

Europe may soon face a new wave of migrants. About 200,000 Kurds are fleeing from the southeastern parts of Turkey amid armed clashes in the region, German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) reported.

The situation in the region deteriorated after serious clashes between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish security forces. In the middle of October, about 100 people died as result of a bomb attack in Ankara on the Kurdish peace demonstration.

According to the newspaper, the local population describes war-like conditions and significant number of victims. One of the local residents told the newspaper Today’s Zaman that they have no running water and that electricity transformers have exploded.

“I have seven children, they can no longer attend school. We have to drink the water, which we normally use in the toilet,” the woman said.

Another local resident said in an interview with Today’s Zaman that his 11-year-old daughter was hit by a bullet when she went to buy bread. People no longer dare to go to the streets and that is why her body lied on the ground for about 15 minutes before anyone could go and help her, but it was too late.

“Now I have only two children left. We are in a poor situation,” the man said, adding that he managed to take his family away from the conflict zone, but lacks money and can’t make ends meet.

The operation Ankara is carrying out in southeastern Turkey is war against its own people, a German journalist wrote earlier in an article for Neues Deutschland.

The main goal of the operation, according to Ankara, is to eliminate Kurds who seized towns, constructed barricades and dug trenches.

The so called anti-terrorist operation started last week and has involved nearly 10,000 military and police forces. As result of the offensive, over 100 PKK militants have been destroyed.

Foreign capital fleeing Turkey FAST hits 2.5-year high on Fed, jet crisis

December 8, 2015 By administrator

Jolted by strong signals from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) for a hike in interest rates in its Dec. 16 meeting and escalated diplomatic tension between Russia and Turkey, foreign investors in the Turkish stock exchange, Borsa İstanbul (BİST), sold off $1.14 billion worth of stocks in November, the highest amount since June 2013.

Having recorded a short-lived rally immediately after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) regained its parliamentary majority after a five-month hiatus on Nov. 1, assets at BİST dropped 5 percent in value for the whole month, during which the Fed deemed a rate hike more likely than before, attracting investors to assets in the US. Also, Turkey’s downing a Russian jet on Nov. 24 over a border breach at its Syrian border also unnerved investors, with BİST dropping more than 4 percent on the same day.

Foreign nationals made a net purchase of $2.58 billion in 2014, during which they bought $392 million worth of government bonds. This group of investors has sold $5.9 billion worth of government bond this year so far, of which $405 million were sold in November alone.

Quoted by the Hürriyet daily on Tuesday, Murat Barışık, a senior executive at the Ata Yatırım consulting firm, said November saw the greatest exodus from Turkey since the Fed’s announcement in June 2013, which triggered a capital exit from emerging markets.

Turkish terrorist are fleeing syria to Turkey under name Turkmen for protection

November 22, 2015 By administrator

Nearly 1,500 so called Turkmens from villages in northern Syria have fled to the Turkish border amid an offensive targeting their area, the governor of the Turkish border province Hatay has said.

Army forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been carrying out attacks on opposition groups in a rural area of Latakia, which is inhabited by Turkmens, in a military operation supported by Russian forces. Turkey’s government has condemned the attacks, summoning the Russian ambassador in Ankara to protest Russian military support for the Syrian offensive.

Speaking after a meeting with representatives of Syrian Turkmen groups in the Yayladağ district on Saturday evening, Governor Ercan Topaca said measures have been taken to meet humanitarian needs of the Turkmens, including tents, blankets and food. Turkish authorities have already provided 575 tents, 4,200 blankets and 20,000 cans of food and will begin serving hot meals as of Sunday, he said.

He said the Turkmens will be let into Turkey if such a need arises, with the authorities currently working on providing the infrastructure on the Turkish side of the border for a possible entry of the Turkmens.

Run for the Hills: ISIL Fighters Fleeing Raqqa Amid Russian Air Campaign

November 18, 2015 By administrator

Islamic State fighters are fleeing Raqqa, the terrorist group’s stronghold in Syria, as Russia and France have intensified airstrikes on their positions, Russian media reported on Wednesday.

The terrorists have abandoned their positions and are fleeing toward the Turkish border, while some of them are hiding in civilian buildings, RIA Novosti news agency wrote, citing local eyewitness reports on Wednesday.

In Tel-Abyad, a town 100 kilometers north of Raqqa, ISIL fighters abandoned their strongholds under pressure from Kurdish self-defense forces.

The Islamic State group is coming under increased military pressure after claiming responsibility for last month’s bombing of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt and Friday’s attacks in Paris, which killed more than 120 people.

Russia said on Tuesday that it had doubled the scale of its attacks on Syria.

The latest airstrikes are “the most intense” since world powers led by the US started targeting the group.

Russia deployed 37 new aircraft to carry out airstrikes after security officials said the passenger plane that crashed over Egypt’s Sinai on October 31 was caused by a bomb. ISIL Egyptian affiliate had claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 224 people.

Russia conducted 34 cruise missile strikes and deployed long-range Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers from its bases to hit ISIL’s de-facto capital of Raqqa as well as other targets.

Russia planned 127 sorties on 206 targets in the first 24 hours of the new campaign, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

France bombed Raqqa on Sunday night in its most aggressive strike against ISIL to date destroying a command center and a training facility used by the terrorists.

Source: sputniknews

Syria: Head for the Hills: 3,000 Islamist Militants Flee Advancing Syrian Army

October 5, 2015 By administrator

Scores of Islamic State militants have reportedly fled Syria in fear of an upcoming large-scale Syrian Army offensive.
More than three thousand militants from the Islamic State, Jabhat Al-Nusra and Jaish al-Yarmouk jihadist groups have left Syria for Jordan, fearing the forthcoming Syrian Army offensive, Russia’s news agency Ria Novosti quoted a military source as saying.
“At least three thousand militants from the Islamic State, the Al-Nusra and the Jaish Al-Yarmouk fled to Jordan. They are afraid of the army’s advance on all fronts and the Russian aircraft airstrikes,” the source said.
According to the source, the Syrian army on Sunday attacked militants from the Islamic State and the Jabhat Al-Nusra” in the suburbs of the capital Damascus and the provinces of Deir Ezzor and Homs, as well as near the city of Palmyra.

In Deir Ezzor, about 160 militants were reportedly killed during the fighting, while the army’s assault on Holms and Palmyra left at least seventeen militants dead.

Earlier on Monday, Syrian air force helicopters dropped leaflets in the south of Hama province, inviting terrorists to surrender and warning civilians about the beginning of a major military operation.

Agitational leaflets were dropped on the territories of Rastan and Talbiseh settlements, currently controlled by Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra militants, RIA Novosti reported.
On September 30, more than fifty Russian aircraft and helicopters, including the Su-24M, the Su-25 and the Su-34, started precision airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria upon Syrian President Bashar Assad’s request. Earlier that day, the Russian upper house of parliament unanimously supported the country’s President Vladimir Putin’s request to deploy the Russian Aerospace Forces abroad.
Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad confirmed that Syrian Army airstrikes, supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, were carried out against armed terrorist organizations, not political opposition factions or civilians.

Source: sputniknews.com