Southwest Syria offensive is over (ISIS Pocket Cleared)

al Masdar News ^ | 2018-07-31 | Zen Adra

[BeauBo]

The Syrian Army has finally managed to recapture the entire Yarmouk Basin region following fierce clashes with the Islamic State... - their defeat in southwest Syria.

[BeauBo]

The last pocket where ISIS held ground in SouthWest Syria (the part near Israel, Jordan or Lebanon) has been re-captured by the Syrian Arab Army.

In the SDF/Kurdish-controlled area East of the Euphrates River, only one last small urban area, Hajin (peacetime population around 35K), remains to be cleared of ISIS. That could take another month or two, if they fight to the death there.

This means that the Assad regime, and its Russian and Iranian allies can now focus their combat power on a relatively small area in the NorthWest where the jihadis have concentrated, and which is now primarily occupied by Turkey.

This is a new phase of the war. Until now, the Syrian regime has avoided direct engagement with Turkey, except for a brief period during Turkey's recent invasion of the Syrian Kurdish Canton of Afrin.

Now the many factions, and confused map are settling out into three clear areas, controlled by three (pretty) clear groups:

1. The Assad Regime in the Syrian Heartland from Damascus to Aleppo, including the Alawite heartland along the Coast.

2. The SDF/Kurds in the NorthEast (everything East of the Euphrates River)

3. The Turks along with the remaining jihadis in a 10 to 20 mile band in from the Turkish border, from Idlib in West, around to Jarabulus on the Euphrates in the East.

The chances of (NATO member) Turkey getting into direct combat with Syrian, Russian, and/or Iranian forces is going way up in this next phase. Turkey is not inside Syria on behalf of NATO, nor even with the approval of NATO. They are their despite NATO. Combat operations in Syria would not invoke the mutual defense clause of the NATO charter, only attacks on Turkey itself would. But most of the territory that Turkey now occupies in Syria is within artillery range of Turkish territory, so counter strikes on such artillery would be a grey area. Also, Turkish Intelligence could stage fake incidents, attempting to draw NATO in.

To add to the fun, China has recently said that it intends to participate in the operation to recapture Idlib.

Here is a recent map, which shows the ISIS pocket in the SW (colored black), that was just cleared.

[super7man]

ISIS is not defeated until they destroy the IDEA of ISIS.

[mrsmith]

And Aleppo...
https://twitter.com/halaljew/status/1029082367800029184
“Turkish occupied North Aleppo is different from Idlib in that Turkey exercises direct control over the administration, as opposed to Idlib where they just have varying degrees of influence over some of the different rebel groups. Turkish postal service even operates in N. Aleppo.”

And Afrin.

Turkty has bitten off more than it can chew.

[WMarshal]

Turkey has already picked a side and now they need to pay the price for their poor decision.

[BobL]

Nice, hopefully we help Syria rebuild, since we were responsible for destroying it.

[Phillyred]

Trump: Making ISIS JV Again

[sockmonkey]

*** Trump: Making ISIS JV Again ***

If you have been following the Syrian War, it has not been Trump,and the Coalition but Syria, Russia, and Hezbollah who have destroyed ISIS.

[BeauBo]

Syria, Russia, and Hezbollah played no part in the biggest battles against ISIS - Mosul, Fallujah, Raqqa and many more.

Until the last year, they focused on other rebel groups, and left ISIS largely to the US and its allies in Iraq, and SDF Kurds in Syria.

In terms of air sorties, or net explosive weight of artillery dropped on ISIS, the US coalition is between 10 to 1,000 times higher than the Syrians/Russians - and our stuff is significantly more accurate.

[nikos1121]

They need jobs

[VanShuyten]

Now, if they can just figure out how to get the Iranians and their puppets out of Syria, then things might calm down.

[BeauBo]

“ISIS is not defeated until they destroy the IDEA of ISIS.”

That’s true, and elements of ISIS have already regrouped as an undercover guerrilla/terrorist group in Iraq.

It is still important to deprive them of territory. Not only does it take away a safe haven, it also deprives them of income and other resources. Also, under islamic law, they can only wield the legal authority of a Caliph or Caliphate, if they control territory.

Hajin (on the Euphrates River near the border with Iraq) is about the last place they are ruling on their own, but they may give themselves credit for some some small area in the North, which is now occupied/protected by Turkey. Especially important to them is the small town of Dabiq, which looms large in their ideology as the prophesied site of a great culminating battle, like Armageddon.

They also might have a mud ht in Somalia, or sand dune in Libya to fly a flag.

[BeauBo]

Likely the only thing that could really get Iran out of Syria, is regime change in Iran.

[granada]

“biggest battles against ISIS - Mosul, Fallujah, Raqqa and many more.”
/
/
/
If America hadn’t invaded Iraq, or sponored the Arab Spring.....

[granada]

“Syria, Russia, and Hezbollah who have destroyed ISIS.”
/
/
/
Very true.
Iraqi/Syrian Kurds have been pulverised by ISIL, if Iran hadn’t given them a hand.

[granada]

Thanks Obama, the MSM is still willing to give America’s syria operation a positive coverage.

It’s obama government’s legacy, isn’t it?

[sockmonkey]

*** Syria, Russia, and Hezbollah played no part in the biggest battles against ISIS - Mosul, Fallujah ***

Based on the title and content, I assumed this was a thread about Syria, not Iraq.

[sockmonkey]

Meanwhile, today in Ghazni, Afghanistan, the Taliban took over an army base, and has posted videos. The civilians in Ghazni City said they warned Afghan Government/US days ago, but were ignored.

[BeauBo]

*** Syria, Russia, and Hezbollah played no part in the biggest battles against ISIS - Mosul, Fallujah ***

“Based on the title and content, I assumed this was a thread about Syria, not Iraq.”

Those were by far the biggest battles were the most ISIS fighter and leaders were killed. Raqqa was the biggest in Syria.

To put it bluntly, your statement “it has not been Trump,and the Coalition but Syria, Russia, and Hezbollah who have destroyed ISIS.” is absolutely false. A whopper of a lie.

Syrian, Russian, and Hizbollah combat operations against ISIS were absolutely trivial, compared to the combat operations of the US Coalition against ISIS. Trivial.

The Coalition cleared ISIS from their heatland in the Euphrates River Valley, from the Turkish border to the Persian Gulf (with the small exception of Deir ez Zour City). Mosul was the biggest urban battle since Stalingrad in WWII. All Coalition. Raqqa alone dwarfed the totality of all Syrian/Russian/Hezbollah operations against ISIS, combined. In terms of ISIS killed or captured (in total), the US-led coalition leads the Syrian/Russian/Hezbollah team 100 to 1.

Splitting hairs is no defense for a huge whopping lie.