"The Russian Air Force has caught the so called “Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham” (ISIS) off-guard in east Hama, striking their main supply route from the Al-Raqqa Governorate to the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur) on a number of occasions today. However, the latest airstrike by the Russian Air Force has proven to be the most lethal, destroying an entire ISIS convoy of reinforcements that were tasked to back-up their exhausted fighters at the Palmyra front in the eastern countryside of Homs. According to a military source, the Russian Air Force caught the ISIS convoy attempting to make their way from the large village of ‘Aqayrbat in east Homs to the city of Palmyra." AMN
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russian-air-force-picks-off-isis-reinforcement-convoy-east-hama/ | Al-Masdar News
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Well, this piece speaks of repeated Russian strikes against IS efforts to reinforce in the Tadmur (Palmyra) area against the Syrian Army's advance spearheaded by the Tiger Forces brigade.
Once again, IMO the wheels are coming off the IS wagon in Syria and Iraq. The question does not seem to be whether Raqqa will be lost by IS but rather when and to whom. pl
Just like killing rats on the Roaring Brook Poultry Farm. Luke would flood one rat hole with a hose. I would smash the rats with a shovel when they came out the other end.
Booby to The Twisted Genius:
An old fashion rat killing, that’s a good description of the Russian cauldron. And like the rats scurrying out of their holes, ISIS fighters should only see the black flag of no quarter.
Booby
A “cauldron battle” or “kesselschlacht” involves an encirclement on the ground and then a concentric attack to annihilation. What we are seeing in my post is effective use of tactical air, not a “cauldron battle.” pl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t1ZDIPiA_Q
I see dead people. Lots of dead people.
A report from Sputnik news says that a Syrian Air Force MiG-21 jet went down in the Hama province, but it appears to be unconfirmed at this time–
https://www.rt.com/news/335391-syrian-mig-downed-hama/
All
Latest news from Syria (Maarat Al Nouman, Idlib province) according to Reuters, quote:
Al Qaeda in Syria seizes bases, weapons of Western-backed group: monitor
… Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Observatory, said the Nusra Front had also detained dozens of members of the 13th Division rebel group, one of the factions that has received foreign military aid, capturing U.S.-made anti-tank missiles. …
Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-nusra-idUSKCN0WF0AS
I think it’s a quite significant development.
It’s confirmed now: the MiG was downed by a MANPAD. The implications for Air Ops are obvious but not who’s supplying them…
Bandolero,
If this really happened as reported, it makes me wonder whether someone gave those weapons to the 13th Division rebel group in the firm belief that al Nusra are rougher tougher fighters than the 13th Division rebel group and would of course take their weapons away.
In other words did someone give those weapons to 13th Division in the clear hope that al Nusra would grab them? Was this a way of stealth-supplying al Nusra on the part of whoever gave those weapons to 13th Division in the first place?
Do you have a link for where it is confirmed?
As for the who could be so criminally reckless and irresponsible we already have the answer.
https://en.zamanalwsl.net/news/335.html
Sorry this is the more recent instance.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-saudi-foreign-minister-adel-al-jubeir-on-syrian-war-a-1078337.html
FWIW An article saying the RF is ready to withdraw from Syria: mission accomplished. This article is in Russian. I read it with Chrome translator.
http://newinform.com/voyna/8667-missiya-vypolnena-rossiya-prekraschaet-operaciyu-v-sirii.html
The rats seem to be turning on each other. Good.
Bob,
I read somewhere recently that Saudi Arabia is spending money fast enough as to measurably reduce its reserves. I can’t remember the figure. But if it would be only a matter of years before KSA has spent all its reserves down to zero, is there a way to keep oil prices low enough for that time so that KSA is indeed forced to spend all its reserves to zero? And then call on its multi-billion member family-owners to give some of their own “personal” money back to the “government” for spending on these expenses?
Reading this interview makes me think of TTG’s hope that we could somehow vaporise KSA’s money with good hacking. Maybe we could vaporise their money by putting them into a more-spending-than-income death-spiral if enough people took enough actions to keep the price of oil lethally low from a KSA standpoint.
Not sure about the veracity of this site…one of the other articles included news about an alien invasion of earth.
Modern air forces are not ideally equipped for this mission
– knocking out thousands of Toyota Landcruisers spread over thousands of sq km.
We have small numbers of incredibly expensive planes, flown by expensively trained pilots and navigators.
Maybe drones are the solution. If we could deploy them in thousands at a unit cost of a few million, and using cheapish munitions.
A friend shared this video of Lavrov:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuvVvrHZdfE&feature=youtu.be
She translated one segment of his response to say:
“…UN must accept Kurds in Geneva. Erdogan like a snake, it’s not his business if Kurds want to build a state in the North of Syria. Erdogan created an enemy in his own country. Also we have an agreement with the USA which including an agreement that Syrian army with our support will take Palmyra , and USA will bomb Raqqa…”
Perhaps someone handy with Russian can verify or refute this. If it’s true then it might have some interesting implications for the “race to Raqqa” and Syria’s territorial sovereignty.
He didn’t call Erdogan a snake, but this is a very pro-Kurdish message. He says that the negotiations in Geneva have to include Kurdish representatives. “Kurds should ignore [Turkish] ultimatums”. “Why would the Kurds even choose to remain a part of Syria unless we talk to them at the highest level”.
He also said that they are “redistributing roles” and that the American coalition should focus on Raqqa more as it’s stronger in that area while the Russian one will focus on Palmyra for now as they are stronger in southern parts of Syria.
Prem,
Against forces with no AA, you can use old planes and gravity bombs. The US is experimenting with that now.
http://fox6now.com/2016/03/11/out-of-retirement-back-into-action-vietnam-era-planes-used-against-isis/
Thank you, N K-K.
I hope the R+6 will at least be able to liberate Deir ez-Zor.
So much for the charge by the Obama administration that the Russians are leaving the terrorists, and particularly ISIS, alone and are only bombing the “moderate rebels” who are supported by the US because the Russians are supporting “the dictator Assad regime.”
N K-K,
“He didn’t call Erdogan a snake…”
Out of curiosity, what did Sergei Victorovich say about his unesteemed colleague, Recep Tayyip?
Was it humorous?
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/03/14/kerrys-secret-war-plan-for-syria/
“Obama agreed in October 2013 to a very risky major escalation of military assistance to the Syrian opposition. That fall the Pentagon sold 15,000 U.S. TOW anti-tank missiles to the Saudis, and throughout 2014, the Saudis doled them out to armed groups approved by the United States. Dispensing anti-tank missiles was a reckless policy, because it was recognized by then that many of the groups being armed were already fighting alongside Nusra Front in the northwest. The missiles were crucial to the capture of all of Idlib province by the Nusra-led “Army of Conquest” in April 2015.”
Speechless.
CNN tv announced this afternoon Russia claims it’s pulling out of Syria
Well, only ” troops” not the Russian Air Forces.
It’s getting more confirmation:
http://thesaker.is/analysis-of-the-russian-military-pullout-from-syria/
LJ
The saker is long winded. pl