Syrian War Report – January 5, 2018: Militants Retreat From More Villages In Southern Idlib

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On January 4, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Tiger Forces, backed up by the Russian Aerospace Forces, captured the villages of Rsm al-Abid, al-Fhail, Rubaida, Msheirfeh, al-Qasr al-Abyad, Rabeeah Musa, Haqiyah and Umm Rjaim Hill in southeastern Idlib.

According to pro-government sources, at least 7 militants were killed and a vehicle was destroyed during the SAA advance.

On the same day, the Sham Legion reportedly destroyed a SAA battle tank with an anti-tank guided missile near the town of Atshan in northern Hama.

Now, government troops are developing their advance on the town of Sinjar.

In Eastern Ghouta, the SAA started an operation to lift a siege imposed by Ahrar al-Sham on the Armoured Vehicles Base.

The SAA reportedly captured dozens of buildings in Harasta and killed many Ahrar al-Sham members in the district. Meanwhile, the Syrian Air Force destroyed a militant HQ in the same area.

Jaish al-Islam repelled an SAA attack on Ayn Zuriqa and restored the control over the village. 3 SAA soldiers were reportedly killed there.

On January 4, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces started storming the ISIS-held town of Hajin in the Euphrates Valley. Clashes are ongoing there.

The pro-opposition media outlet Hammurabi’s Justice News reported that the SAA and Russia had rejected a US-led coalition request for an assistance in securing the 55km zone around the US military base at At-Tanf in southeastern Syria.

If this is true, the report confirms that the US-led coalition and its proxies had done almost nothing to combat ISIS in the area controlled by them near At-Tanf and are still not able to do this without an additional assistance.

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Expo Marker

The US coalition cried that the SAA and Russia were doing nothing to stop ISIS in Idlib, but the SDF still has to clear the east banks of the Euphrates, and Al-Tanf still crawls with ISIS (further proving the US supported the ISIS takrover of al-Qaryatayn).

Jonathan Cohen

ABORTION RIGHTS IN HAJIN!!!!

Jens Holm

Al Tanfs is not crawling and Russians has forbidden US by France to make those ISIS leftovers back into stoneage.

Very difficult to clean the desert of Syria as well as iraq. Many hideouts. Not so many “Crawlers”. probatly leftovers from T2 , Sukna and like that as well as froim the Iraqian minedistrict.

You are right about the bank of Eufrat. Thats a complicated tribe matter. I am sure its very dirty both ways. Kind of tribers whoich were with ISIS, the accepting ones and the ones, which has come back with and by SDF.

Terra Cotta Woolpuller

Nah just the same ones in the region that the USknows about and the US is forbidden to fly jets as they are more of a threat to the civilians in this area, than ISIS happens to be.

The Eufrates is a very complicated region with those tribes loyal to the Syrian govt being labeled as ISIS by the US/SDF and those that are ISIS to the bone. This happens when you have foreigners in terrorist groups invited by the US and Company whom are not on the same page as them.

Jens Holm

Kind of funny those at jaffra and Omar field didnt took the fields themselves and helped SAA uphill…

Most Assads loyalists are not as you say. They only came back as freebees, when SAAhad taken the top of ISIS.

Like windmills taking in wind from the direction it comes and wings removed, when its storm.

Terra Cotta Woolpuller

The ones at Jaffra and Omar were local Shammar tribesmen who jumped between loyalty to ISIS and the US, their loyalty was to the Syrian Government when it was in the region. The Cheiftan doesn’t control all of the tribes as other Emirs like him see that he has no honor and loyal to money, talked about attacking Riyadh all bluster from a weasel. Then he tried to pass himself as member of Raqqa tribal council he is not from the region, then Deir ezzoir the same thing as member of the Tribal council. This is a weasel the US is stuck with makes Erdogan look stable he is the leader of the Shadaddi council and nothing more…

That is the typical loyalist for the US tell you a lie for convenience and nothing more can be said about that. Look how Talo and others have left as they don’t see the US having the ability of winning this and they are looking at ways to get back under other ways.

The truth is we know the US took the cream of ISIS as they were some of their own contractors. They continue training the New ISIS army and are trying to rename it so it doesn’t end the way the old one from Jordan ended.

Keep dreaming because all others are going to keep on trucking and tucking in these new gunmen into an early grave when they raise their ugly head.

dutchnational

It is a guess how developments in southern Idlib, Hama would be if all opposition factions were to join the fight against SAA.

Elsewhere it is reported that Zemki, the headchoppers, joined AAS, HTS and several other groups against Iranian proxies, RuAF etc.

We will imo see their defeat unless they unite, which seems to be unlikely. If they do not accept Turkey as their patron, they are in for hard times.

Unity has always been a problem for zealots.

Seems those even exist within Jihadist groups.

The world holds indeed many surprises.

Gregory Louis

Even if they’d decided to join there would be no point the other rebel groups know this they don’t need the full force of the SAA and the Syrian airforces and RuAF down on there small groups necks….it’s also HTS’s fault for not agreeing to ceasefires in areas where other rebels operate in who cares there all traitors if not then their foreigners paide to do dirtywork for cheap pay….they either reconcile and join the army or just die no third option as long as HTS calls all the shots in Idlib

John Whitehot

“It is a guess how developments in southern Idlib, Hama would be if all opposition factions were to join the fight against SAA”

The answer is that the combined ragheads forces get defeated anyway and anyhow, because they have had their logistic, infrastructural, material and human resources smashed into bits.

War isn’t the result of a sum of little engagements, it’s the other way – engagements are decided at what lies “above” of them. What warchair analyst are failing to see is that Syria has been put into position to win the war because the rebels, at their more general level, are not able to function.

So the question is not who will win, but in how much time.

dutchnational

Likely agreed. Pivotal point for their survival is indeed logistics, which is why I referred to accepting Turkey as a patron. Were that to happen, anybodies guess as far as chances go, it would change the ballgame there to some extent.

The southerners are goners imo, unless Jordan and US accept them as clients, also unlikely imo.

John Whitehot

also, command, communication and organization. Although the rebels have shown to be much more integrated than the medias presented them (and that is because no matter if it was ISIS, AN or FSA they had the common objective of removing Assad), their ability to 1- generate valid orders and 2- disseminate them through chains of command, is likely compromised beyond recovery (I base this last assumption on the fact that even non-openly, countries and coalition accepted that the rebels have lost their ability to fulfill objectives).

Terra Cotta Woolpuller

Turkey has left them on their own as like the others they all realize these ones are a lost cause as all of them are. Turkey is worried it may have to return Hatay back which is very likely if they want to continue in the good graces. They need this in order to prevent Turkey from going into a master minded civil war/PKK terrorism bolstered by ISIS forces and with few allies as Turkey has will be the target when Russia and Iran fail.

Terra Cotta Woolpuller

Yes Nouri al Denki has joined with the other head chopping groups as they all follow the Salafi and Wahhabi ritual of killing children and people. There are no real Iranian proxies as most of them are fighting in the desert against ISIS. There are the SAA and new regiments raised in these areas liberated from these Foreign gunmen and headchopping rapists no one wants them around anymore. Turkey has refused to help them as they were asked not to setup in this region as this isn’t their zone.

The groups whom are joining are breaking their units as more of their commanders and units get killed or captured.

The surprises for these foreign gunmen headchoppers and rapists will soon see their capture or demise.

Icarus Tanović

They (Americans) did nothing against ISIS in Al Tanf area? Wow, they suport them, so no wonder they did nothing. Now all that is back and hit them in their head.

Jens Holm

Not even children under 3 told by their grandparants believe that.

Terra Cotta Woolpuller

Most people believe that except those you like you whom have another agenda.

Cheryl Brandon

HTS/ Henchmen/Traitors/ Sadists .inc. May all rats die a horrible death for mass murdering of people fin Iraq and in Syria and in Afghanistan!