Posted on 08/24/2014 9:39:46 AM PDT by jimbo123
Islamic State militants capture key Syrian air base - giving them open road to the sea and massive store of weapons and ammunition.
Islamic State militants have seized a major Syrian air base, wiping out the last government stronghold in a province dominated by jihadists.
The extremists won a week-long battle today to capture the sprawling Tabqa base 25 miles from their stronghold in Raqqa, reportedly killing dozens of soldiers in the process.
The base was reportedly one of the military's largest facilities in the region, with several warplane squadrons, helicopters, tanks, artillery and ammunition.
Its capture is a huge blow to President Assad's regime and will spark concern over the treatment of any survivors.
Militants beheaded Syrian soldiers and impaled their heads on fence posts when they captured similar bases, including the sprawling Division 17 base in Raqqa.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
the Russians will not tolerate ceding coastal access to the terrorists or losing one of Assads major bases with all their equipment they gave him- and Russian advisors to maintain and operate it. Putin also takes no prisoners
Gog and Magog are forming?
Dance like its’ the end of the world!
Everyone is pressing for American air strikes.
Why is Russia not flying any sorties against ISIS??
The implications of events through the wars there so far. Seems like the Syrian government weakness is that they have few soldiers but lots of equipment. So they depend mostly on firepower. Also it seems they have little in the way of a reaction force, probably because they are tied up in small garrisons. And that neither Hamas nor Iran is able or willing to supply the troops.
You have Hamas and Hezbollah confused. Hamas is the Sunni “government” of the Gaza strip. Hezbollah is the pro-Iranian, pro-Syrian government Shi’ite militia in Lebanon.
Yep. The Syrian Army is consists mostly of Alawites, who makes up perhaps 10% of the population in Syria?
How do you know they're not?
Would you expect this administration, or the mainstream media, to tell you if they were?
Putin don't care is why. He is focused exclusively on the Ukraine.
And he's giggling like mad for the diversion they're creating.
Ping
Yes, thank you. I meant Hezbollah. Brain troubles, they come with old age.
As per the story, the Syrians themselves are putting in a lot of airstrikes. They have a large air force. Much of the way they have been fighting this war against all their opponents is through airstrikes. They are doing it with Russian equipment. That’s of very limited value if they don’t have reliable infantry to hold ground or counterattack. I don’t see that the Russians can help much by basing their own planes there on bases at risk from guerilla attack. They don’t seem to have the precision targeting capabilities of US aircraft.
I assume that’s the case, plus they have had the support of some Sunni tribes, hence the news that ISIS was doing some ethnic cleansing of certain Syrian tribes. Also the Syrians have mercenaries of various sorts, some sporadic help from Hezbollah (rather less of it recently I think), and supposedly a few Iranian special forces types. All in all not exactly a levee en masse.
How far is it from Tartus, where the Russians have a base?
Did the US bomb and for which side?
...giving them open road to the sea and massive store of weapons and ammunition... wiping out the last government stronghold in a province dominated by jihadists... a week-long battle... the sprawling Tabqa base 25 miles from their stronghold in Raqqa... with several warplane squadrons, helicopters, tanks, artillery and ammunition... Militants beheaded Syrian soldiers and impaled their heads on fence posts when they captured similar bases, including the sprawling Division 17 base in Raqqa.No way! Haven't you heard? Assad has ISIS on the ropes, he's rolling up al Qaeda, and heroically rescuing Christians in order to usher in a golden age of tolerance and diversity!
If Russia’s interests were threatened, Russia would be acting
apparently IS in Iraq and eastern Syria is a western problem, so far
But if they threaten Assad or Syrian bases with Russian advisors, all bets are off
I would bet IS hasn’t taken and wont take any Russian hostages
From previous thread today...Obama released the head of ISIS 5 years ago.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/08/170782-obama-released-isis-head/
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