This map provides a general look at the military situation in Syria on January 24, 2018;
- The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army and the Turkish Armed Forces continued their operation against YPG/YPJ forces in the area of Afrin.
- The Syrian Army and its allies further advanced in the area of Abu al-Duhur.
Click to see the full-size map
What could possibly be the reason for leaving that large ISIS pocket west of the Euphrates between Al-sukna and Al-Bukamal be? The majority of the SAA elite units were there, they had them with their backs to the wall. HTS in Idlib was for the moment contained, so the SAA and allies could have finished them off. So why leave that pocket???I am very curiuos what the “regulars” of this forum think of this matter!
There is nothing there. Just desert. Why waste resources on sand when it could be used to free up populated areas and shorten active frontlines?
We armchair generals do not know realities but there is no gain to crush isis in desert. Garrisons in eastern Syria would stay there regardless to protect from sleeper cells and new border.
Paint this area black, red, green it doesn’t matter much.
Not even Russia has paint this area in red, meaning that it is still a land to be recovered by Syria and there must be at least 1,000 ISIS’s. Remember the report where ISIS can go back and fort from this area to AT TANF area to reinforce the terrorists. I have the same dude that Jakke has, and i do not see any convenient argumente yet.
That pocket is just plain desert and sort of no-man’s land. The few (if any) DAESH units in the zone, must be small semi-nomadic commandos with their supply and communication lines severed and whose main concern right now would be just to survive and which are not able to interfere in any important way with the war events. At this moment, locating and elliminating them would be an expense of time and effort not worth it while there are other zones requesting forces and resources.
A different matter are those last villages on the left bank of the Euphrates, in the Kurdish-dominated zone. Those are well known DAESH settlements, and proving a pain in the **** for the SDF. The reason why the kurds and the International coalition have not wiped them from the map is still a mistery to me.
Regards the plain dessert on the West – I think they were saying there would be approximately 1,000 vermin scattered around, whether that is true or not, I don’t know.
Absolutely correct , T2 and T3 , should have become drone “airports” , keeping and eagle eye on the border and over into American occupied Syria east of the river .