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September 8, 2016 saw heavy action for the Islamic State in eastern Qalamoun, Damascus. Faylaq al-Rahman, the Alabdo Martyr brigade and the Islamic State exchanged fire near the capital on Thursday. The Islamic State was reported to have lost a 23 mm gun to a TOW missile strike from Faylaq al-Rahman during combat.
The so-called ‘Free Syrian Army’ captured Qunra, Mirzah and Tel Ali from the Islamic State. Aided by Turkish airstrikes, the rebel factions wrested control of the Turkish border region from Daesh’s grasp.
Turkey reinforced its border forces by deploying 43 Armored Personnel Carriers with 180 fresh troops to Gaziantep. In Islahiye, north of Afrin, a Turkish army convoy deployed a number of T-155 Fırtına self-propelled howitzers.
The Kurdish People’s Defense Force (YPG) engaged Turkish forces at the border post in Hatay provincewith machine gun fire—and were in turn, engaged themselves. Five Rojava fighters and a single Asayish police force member were killed in the ensuing conflict.
While Kurdish forces have retreated from Manbij, they have not withdrawn East of the Euphrates River, as Turkey has demanded.
In Aleppo, a Nour al-Din al-Zinki missile team used a Kornet Anti-Tank Guided Missile against an alleged group of Hezbollah fighters.
Abu Umar Homsi, Head of Military Operations for Jabhat Fateh al-Sham was killed during airstrikes on the terrorist faction’s operations room in Aleppo.
Although rebels reported the demolition of a building occupied by Syrian government forces in Ramouseh, the Minister of Defense would later confirm that pro-Government forces had secured the entire district.
Iranian troops arrived in the countryside of southern Aleppo to help bolster pro-government forces for further offensives.
So far, so good. On to al-Bab at the best possible speed with support and encouragement to the FSA in their push to al-Bab from all other anti-ISIS forces.
Very sad. Different anti-ISIS forces should not be engaging in skirmishes with each other but should maintain a cease-fire and not encroach upon ground held by the other.
I suggest that Turkey & FSA focus on the advance to al-Bab and so long as SDF-YPG absolutely do not interfere with the Turkish-FSA advance to al-Bab then the issue of Kurdish forces who have not yet withdrawn East of the Euphrates could be overlooked by Turkey for now. There is no urgent need for Turkey to press this issue now. It is not helpful.
In all fairness to the YPG-SDF they did take Manbij and it is understandable if they assumed they would have the rights to make a claim here – and feel betrayed at being asked to withdraw by VP Biden.
If Turkey and the FSA had taken Manbij before the YPG-SDF had then the issue of Kurds not fully withdrawing east of the Euphrates would not have arisen.
Signal to anti-ISIS forces from Supreme Allied Condista.
TAKE AL-BAB
TAKE RAQQA AS PER BATTLEPLAN
Supreme Allied Condista urges –
NATO support for Operation Euphrates Shield, while cautioning President Erdogan to temper his rhetoric against our brave and trusted allies, the Kurdish YPG and Syrian Democratic Forces.
That NATO does now rapidly deploy the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Turkey (NRDC-T) in support of Operation Euphrates Shield to secure al-Bab for the anti-ISIS coalition, with a view to a NRDC-T armoured ground attack west of the Euphrates to attack and liberate Raqqa from the south, coordinating with our YPG-SDF comrades attacking ISIS forces from Kurdish-held territory east of the Euphrates moving southwards towards Raqqa.
Congratulations to the Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve for the great success of the anti-ISIS air warfare campaign which has broken the back of the enemy ISIS who are consequently very vulnerable to our ground forces.
http://supremealliedcondista.newsvine.com/_news/2016/09/08/36062818-take-raqqa-battleplan-2016