Syria-Update: jihadists feud & bomb each other over funds as Russian jets destroy supply lines

October 18, 2015 By administrator

Dmitriy Vinogradov/RIA Novosti

Russian attack jets have hit 51 Islamic State targets in Syria in the past 24 hours, including four command posts, six arms depots, a mortar battery, two underground bunkers, 32 field camps and six outposts.

The strikes took place in the Latakia, Aleppo, Hama and Damascus provinces.

The damage the Russian SU-34 jets caused to the underground bunkers was especially significant, Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said.

They hit the terrorists’ underground infrastructure in Homs, which had allowed the militants to move undetected and increase their effectiveness in combat.

The well-funded Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has been hiding whole weapons caches underground, which included explosive devices for carrying out terrorist attacks.

A small missile factory was among the objects destroyed. However, these underground bases and conduits are believed to be widespread across Syria, so more work needs to be done, Konashenkov says.

A frontline supply junction for transporting fuel, arms and food supply lines was also hit in the Damascus province.

The entire command infrastructure of one of the terrorist groups operating in the Hama province was disrupted by the strikes, sending the militants fleeing from the area, the Defense Ministry added.

According to information from the Russian armed forces, desertions on a massive scale are occurring amongst IS ranks in the north and north-east of the country. In the Raqqa province, IS has started a mobilization of everyone aged 14 and over.

n Idlib and Hama, field commanders with Al-Nusra Front are resorting to separating families at gunpoint in order to get their hands on ever younger child soldiers.

Fighting between different jihadist groups over territory control and funds are also on the rise, the Defense Ministry report states. Intercepted radio communications suggest that IS has targeted Al-Nusra Front with three car bombings in the past week.

IS leaders are demanding that their field commanders employ more car bombs and other home-made explosives against advancing Syrian forces, the report says.

Turkey not to dare confrontation with Russia – expert

October 18, 2015 By administrator

Expert in Turkic studies Andranik Ispiryan believes that Russian air strikes in Syria have caused tension in Russian-Turkish relations, but Turkey well not move toward confrontation.

Rather, it will rely on the United States and NATO.

“Arrival of Russian troops and active air strikes foiled all of Turkey’s plans and the work it has carried out for years, particularly the strengthening of the extremist groups it formed and built up in Syria,” Mr Ispiryan said.

Although tension initially reached the highest pointed in Turkey, with even the Turkish ambassador to Russia recalled, Turkish authorities were able to “keep cool.”

“They have come to realize that a confrontation with Russia will not produce any good results. Now they are trying to retain cooperation, including energy cooperation, but domestic tension continues in both the states,” the expert said.

He also recalled a telephone talk between the US and Turkish presidents, when Barack Obama expressed US support to Turkey.

“They openly spoke of steps against Russian presence. Domestic tension will continue as Russia will go on expanding its influence in Syria,” Mr Ispirayn said.

Demoralized militants fleeing Daesh ranks en masse: Russia general

October 16, 2015 By administrator

Russia’s General Staff Deputy Chief Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov (© AFP)

A senior Russian general says there has been growing discontent among Daesh militants with their command in Syria, with many of them deserting the terror group’s ranks as Moscow presses ahead with its air raids against terrorist positions in the Arab state.

On Friday, Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov, who heads operations in the Russian general staff, said “demoralized” Daesh Takfiris are now abandoning the extremist terror group “en masse” amid Moscow’s ongoing anti-terror air strikes in Syria.

“The majority of armed gangs are demoralized. Discontent with field commanders is growing amid the fighters, and there are instances of disobeying orders,” he told a media briefing.

The Russian military official also said earlier in the day that Moscow may use its warships deployed in the Mediterranean Sea to launch missile attacks against Daesh positions in Syria

A key task of the Russian Navy’s Mediterranean flotilla is to deliver supplies, and in order to accomplish such an objective, a group of warships has been deployed there that also includes amphibious assault ships, he told the Russian language Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

He added that the naval flotilla also provides reliable air defense for the Russian base in the Syrian port city of Tartus, located 220 kilometers (136 miles) northwest of the capital, Damascus.

Kartapolov also emphasized that there are no Russian officers within the ranks of the Syrian army.

“Our group is operating on its own. We have a small operations group from the Syrian Armed Forces at our headquarters in Syria that provides coordination of flights with the Syrian Air Force, and gives us exact information of where the front line of the government troops is,” he commented.

The senior Russian military figure further noted that Russian fighter jets have struck more than 380 Daesh positions since the beginning of the anti-terror aerial campaign in Syria on September 30.

“Since the start of the operation we conducted more than 600 sorties and bombed more than 380 Daesh targets,” Kartapolov stated.

Russia began its own military campaign against terrorists in Syria upon a request from the Damascus government, shortly after the upper house of the Russian parliament gave President Vladimir Putin the mandate to use military force in Syria.

Moscow says all drones in Syria operate as planned as Turkey downs unidentified UAV

October 16, 2015 By administrator

RT Report All Russian military planes have safely returned to base in Syria after combat missions, the Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding all drones are operating as planned. Earlier, the Turkish military said it shot down an aircraft on the Syrian border.

“All planes of the Russian Air Group in the Syrian Arab Republic have returned to the Hmeimim Airbase after completing their combat missions. Russian unmanned aerial vehicles conducting monitoring and aerial reconnaissance on the territory of Syria, are operating in the routine mode,” Defense Ministry official spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told journalists on Friday.

Earlier on Friday, Turkey’s military said in a written statement that it downed an unidentified drone in Turkish airspace around 3km from the Syrian border.

The military added that it issued three warnings before shooting down the drone.

At the same time, a US official has told Reuters Washington suspects that the drone shot down by the Turkish military was Russian. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to provide further details saying that the information was still preliminary.

Russian airplanes previously violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border on October 3. The incident prompted Turkey to scramble two F-16 jets. On October 5, Russia admitted making a mistake explaining that bad weather caused the warplanes to violate Turkey’s airspace. Ankara has accepted the matter, saying the same day that there is no ill feeling between the two countries.

Russia’s accidental excursion into Turkey – a NATO member state – prompted the military alliance to slam Moscow for what it deemed “irresponsible behavior.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gathered a meeting of bloc member states on October 5, following which it released a statement condemning the “incursions into and violations of NATO airspace.”

In response to the criticism Russia’s envoy to NATO said on October that similar incidents have been previously “clarified through bilateral or military channels” adding that it’s “a common practice.”

NATO has ignored clarifications from Russia about the plane incident saying that all attempts to explain the reasons behind the incident fell on deaf ears, he said.

He also accused NATO of using the incident to “include NATO as an organization into the information campaign unleashed in the West, which perverts and distorts the purposes of the operation conducted by the Russian air forces in Syria.”

Khmeimim Airbase, located in Syria’s northwestern Latakia province, is the strategic center of Russia’s military operation against IS, launched on September 30.

ISIS Supporter Turkey & Saudi issue fresh warnings over Russia’s Syria action

October 15, 2015 By administrator

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (L) delivers a speech during a joint press conference with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu (R) on October 15, 2015 in Ankara. (AFP photo)

Turkish and Saudi foreign ministers have once again warned Russia over its ongoing military action in Syria, with Ankara branding the air campaign a “big mistake.”

“We will continue with our warnings,” Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu said after a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir in Ankara on Thursday.

Sinirlioglu said Russia is making a “big mistake” and added, “What it does will bring no meaning or benefit, other than delaying the transition process to help Syria out of the chaos.”

The warnings came as Russia is entering the third week of its extensive air campaign against the Takfiri group Daesh and other terrorists in Syria. The attacks have infuriated both Turkey and Saudi Arabia, both opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey’s concerns over Moscow’s military campaign in Syria deepened after Russian fighter jets reportedly violated the NATO member’s airspace twice earlier this month. Military officials in Turkey said Thursday that a Russian military delegation arrived in Ankara with the aim of sharing data to prevent a repeat of airspace violations.

The Saudi and Turkish ministers also said they are in agreement that Assad must not have a part in Syria’s future.

“Saudi Arabia and Turkey are in agreement on supporting the opposition in Syria. What is important is a political solution,” Jubeir said, adding, “We are in agreement that there will certainly be no role for Bashar al-Assad.”

Russia, meanwhile, has voiced full support for Assad’s fight against terrorism, with President Vladimir Putin saying before the attacks began that it would be a huge mistake to exclude Assad from any effort meant to fight Daesh and other militants in Syria.

Syrian Army, Hezbollah, Russian Air Force Coordinating for Aleppo Liberation Operation

October 14, 2015 By administrator

The sources said that the Russian reconnaissance planes are carrying out their last flights over the fortifications of the militants inside and outside of Aleppo.

In the meantime, the Syrian Special Forces and the experienced fighters of Hezbollah are mulling on the different ways to infiltrate into the defense lines of the militant groups at the first steps to the final liberation operation.

The sources added that the Syrian artillery units alongside the Russian fighter jets will pave the way for the rapid action of the ground forces of the army troops and Hezbollah fighters.

On Tuesday, sources said that several fighters of the Lebanese Hezbollah arrived in Aleppo to join the Syrian army to carry out a large-scale anti-militant operation in Aleppo in the coming days with the Russian aerial backup.

The sources said that after the victories of the Syrian army and Hezbollah in Zabadani and conclusion a six-month-long ceasefire agreement with the militants in the nearby areas of Syria-Lebanon border, a 200-member group of Hezbollah fighter has been dispatched to the battlefronts in Aleppo.

The sources said that the experienced fighters of Hezbollah, the Syrian army troops and the Russia air force are to carry out a massive joint operation to recapture the second import Syrian city of Aleppo in the coming day.

Syria Combat report: Russian jets make 41 sorties against ISIS in Syria, cut off its arms supplies (VIDEO)

October 14, 2015 By administrator

Islamic State terrorists in Aleppo province have been cut off from their arms supply sources, the Russian Defense Ministry has stated. Over the past 24 hours, Russian jets made 41 sorties and carried out 40 attacks against the terrorist group in five Syrian provinces.

Russian warplanes attacked dozens of Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) strongholds in Aleppo, Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Deir ez-Zor provinces.

“Sukhoi Su-24M bombers delivered pinpoint strikes against terrorist targets near the city of Aleppo. They took out workshops used by the militant terrorist group to arm vehicles with explosives, which are used in suicide bomb attacks,” Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov stated.

He added that the vehicles were rigged with the explosives were to be used to stage terror attack against Syrian government forces.

The Sukhoi Su-34 and Su-24M bombers, along with a Su-25SM assault aircraft took off from the Khmeimim airbase to take out terrorist command and logistics centers, arms depots and workshops.

An attack by Su-25SM ground-support aircraft near the city of Huraytan with high-explosive bombs completely destroyed an IS arms depot along with their fuel supplies. The same planes were also used to strike a terrorist training center in the Idlib province, which was located in a mountainous area. The facility was completely destroyed.

Russian aircraft also bombed a terrorist workshop some 13 kilometers from Aleppo. The facility was used to repair of armored vehicles and helped to equip SUV vehicles with mortars, heavy machine guns and ZU-23 anti-aircraft artillery systems.

Turkey summons ambassadors from Russia, US

October 14, 2015 By administrator

Turkey has summoned ambassadors from both Russia and the United States regarding ties with Kurdish forces in Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said, reacting to any probable arms support to groups which have ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK), Hurriyet Daily News reported.
“As the ally countries would not excuse arms support to al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, Turkey cannot excuse any armed support to groups linked to the PKK; it certainly cannot allow any tolerance in this matter,” he said during an Istanbul joint press conference with his visiting Bulgarian counterpart, Boyko Borrisov, on Octber 14, Hurriyet Daily News reports.
The prime minister said no one could guarantee that the arms sent to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria would not be taken over by the PKK and used against Turkey.
Davutoglu’s reactions came as the US Department of Defense confirmed that a U.S. cargo plane had airdropped logistic material to the PYD late October 11 in line with Washington’s plans to reinforce the Syrian Kurds in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.
On October 13, Davutoglu lashed out at both the United States and Russia for supplying weapons and support to the PYD in its bid to fight extremist jihadists. While talking toAnkara newspaper bureau chiefs, Davutoğlu called the United States’ ambassador to Turkey, John Bass, to the Foreign Ministry to convey Ankara’s strong reaction over the airdropping of ammunition.

Armenian girl’s murder by Azerbaijani boy is captured on video

October 14, 2015 By administrator

Moscow police have arrested the young Azerbaijani man who killed Anna, a nineteen-year-old Armenian girl.

The young man has been taken into custody for two months.

There is no doubt that Emil Zulfagharov had committed this crime.

The victim’s father said the boy was not leaving his daughter alone.

Since Anna had rejected his love, the Azerbaijani youth had started following her.

The girl’s relatives had to always accompany her to and meet her from the university she was attending, reported NTV television of Russia.

A street video camera has captured the last seconds of this Armenian girl’s life. The recording shows the boy hitting the girl several times in the stomach and fleeing the scene. Subsequently, the bleeding girl falls on the pavement and dies before an ambulance arrives.

Anna’s father noted that even though he had repeatedly petitioned to the police, the latter had ignored his complaints about this Azerbaijani boy.

Source: news.am

Russia unveils footages of fighter jets’ strikes in Syria

October 12, 2015 By administrator

The Russian Air Force has conducted 55 sorties in Syria targeting 53 ISIL facilities, Sputniknews.com reported, citing the Defense ministry.
Russian airstrikes have destroyed a stronghold of the Islamic State in the Syrian Salma and Latakia. Seven command centers, six training camps and six ammunition depots were also destroyed, the Defense Ministry spokesperson said.

“Russian air and space reconnaissance continues to pinpoint new objects 24 hours a day of the Islamic State’s terrorist infrastructure in the Syrian Arab Republic to be destroyed by Russian air groups,” Major-General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing.
An ISIL camp used as militant base for fighters coming from abroad was destroyed by Russian Aerospace Forces in Idlib.

“Su-34 bombers attacked a militant camp located in the town of Mastumah, Idlib province. According to intelligence data, this camp was used by the IS group as a gathering point for militants arriving from foreign countries,” ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told reporters.
Russian aviation has destroyed with KAB-500 guided bomb an underground command center of the Islamic State in the Syrian province of Hama, Konashenkov said.
“In the area of the Hamah province, a Su-24M bomber destroyed an ISIL underground command centre with a KAB-500 guided air bomb. The precision strike eliminated all the engineer facilities of terrorists.”
In the Syrian province of Hama Russian airstrikes have destroyed ISIL motorcade with ammunitions and fuel. Three cars equipped with mortar guns and truck with ammunitions were also destroyed.
Konashenkov said that a considerable part of the Islamic State’s weapons, munitions, and fuel depots for its military hardware has been destroyed by Russia’s precision airstrikes.
Russian Aerospace Forces have practically destroyed the Islamic State’s material and technical support along the line of confrontation with the Syrian Army, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Gen.-Maj. Igor Konashenkov said Monday.
Terrorists from the Islamic State have been desperately trying to send weapons and armaments from the Raqqa Province to the front line with the Syrian Army, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Gen.-Maj. Igor Konashenkov said Monday.
“Over the last few days, terrorists have been making desperate attempts to send armaments, weapons, fuel, and technical equipment from the Raqqa Province to the front line with the Syrian Army,” Konashenkov said.
Russian Aerospace Forces have conducted scores of sorties in its nearly two-week air campaign in Syria, destroying ISIL facilities and equipment, and enabling Syrian government forces to liberate large areas from the militants.