PHOTO: Rebels defeating a regime attack on Kafr Naboudeh in Hama Province


LATEST

TUESDAY FEATURE

  • Op-Ed: How to Write Like an “Anti-Imperialist”

    UPDATE 1700 GMT: The rebel coalition Jaish al-Fateh has announced an offensive moving from northern Hama Province upon Hama city:


    ORIGINAL ENTRY: Rebels dealt blows to the week-long, three-front ground offensive by President Assad’s military in western Syria on Monday.

    Despite intense airstrikes by Russian warplanes and multiple launches of rockets and cluster bombs, regime forces were repelled near Salma in northeastern Latakia Province and at Kafr Naboudeh in northern Hama Province. Rebels reclaimed territory near Salma, and reportedly killed 50 regime troops — including the colonel commanding the operation — at Kafr Naboudeh.

    After a week of Russian air attacks, the Syrian ground offensive started last Wednesday in the “Hama salient” which includes Kafr Naboudeh, adjoining rebel-held Idlib Province to the north. The next day, operations began in northeastern Latakia and in the al-Ghab Plain between Latakia and the Hama salient.

    The Kafr Naboudeh assault began on Monday with more than 25 airstrikes, shelling, and missiles — with 120 in a single launch, according to rebels Syrian troops moved into the town, as pro-regime accounts declared an important victory. However, the force was immediately ambushed by the rebels. Videos showed intense firefights and, after the battle, rebel celebrations and the bodies of the attackers.

    The opposition said it also captured eight Syrian troops and destroyed four tanks, two armored troop carriers, and heavy weapons.

    First-person video of the fighting:

    The regime attempt to take Salma, held by rebels since 2012, began on Sunday as troops moved into five building blocks in the southeast of the town. The occupation was brief, however, and rebels then began a counter-offensive. By Monday, the opposition had not only taken the Kafr Dalbeh hilltop but had recaptured the village of Dourin, held by the regime since March.

    Regime Gains v. Islamic State East of Aleppo City

    The Syrian military did gain territory on Monday against the Islamic State, reclaiming areas east of Aleppo city.

    Pro-regime media say the Syrian Army’s 4th Mechanized Division and militia took the villages of Jabal ‘Antar and Kafr Tunah and attacked ISIS in the Free Trade Zone.

    Rebel supporters say there were no clashes as the Islamic State withdrew and left the area to President Assad’s troops.

    Last week, the Islamic State had taken advantage of Russian bombing of rebels to move into the Aleppo Infantry Academy, in what has effectively become a three-way battle near Syria’s largest city.


    2nd and 3rd Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commanders Killed Within 5 Days

    Iranian media report that two more Revolutionary Guards commanders have been killed in Syria.

    Hajj Hamid Mokhtar-band and Colonel Farshad Hasounizadeh, both former commanders of Guards brigades, were named as the casualties. Hasounizadeh died on Tuesday.

    Both men were reportedly in “southern Syria”.

    Three Guards commanders have been slain within five days. Last Thursday, the overall commander of Iranian forces in Syria, General Hossein Hamedani was killed near Aleppo by Islamic State forces.

    Iran Daily, Oct 10: Tehran’s Top Commander in Syria is Killed


    Amnesty International: Kurdish “War Crimes in Northern Syria

    Amnesty International has said that the “forced displacement of civilians and home demolitions” in northern Syria by Kurdish militia amount to war crimes.

    Reporting on the aftermath of the Kurdish advance against the Islamic State this spring, Amnesty the autonomous administration of Syrian Kurdistan had failed to provide civilians with compensation for their losses or alternative housing, meaning that many of them were displaced in Turkey or inside Syria.

    Amnesty visited 14 towns and villages in the Hasakah and Raqqa Province, interviewing 37 individuals “who had directly
    experienced abuses perpetrated by the Autonomous Administration’s security forces or witnessed them. Its report claimed forced displacement of resident from 10 villages and towns.


    Video: Kerry Defends US Approach to Syria

    Secretary of State John Kerry defends the Obama Administration’s policy on Syria in a 12-minute interview with Al Jazeera English:

    Kerry’s initial focus was more on Russia and Iran than on US strategy and operations:

    If [the Russians] are there to fight Daesh [the Islamic State], no problem. But if they’re there to prop up Assad, that will attract more terrorists, more foreign fighters and that will be bad for Syria and everyone.

    However, Kerry then said that the US “really didn’t know” what Russia was seeking with its military escalation: “We are trying to ascertain whether or not they are prepared to be a legitimate part of solving the problem politically.”

    Asked to clarify the US position on the regime, Kerry responded, “There is no way for Assad to be part of the long-term future of Syria…because his own actions have made him unacceptable to the millions upon millions of Syrians who have been affected by his choices.”

    However, Assad could be part of the political transition “for a reasonable period of time”, the Secretary of State said.

    And would the US defend Syria’s rebels in the meantime, given the Russian attacks supporting a regime offensive? Kerry replied:

    The President is considering all his options right now. We have made it very clear to the Russians, “Do not attack the legitimate opposition.”

    They [the Russians] have said they understand that.

    Kerry made no further commitment towards the rebels.