Syrian Revolution News & Discussions

[BLACKEAGLE]

ISIS battles with Syrian regime forces near Palmyra

The militant offensive on world heritage site Palmyra began on May 13 and has since left more than 350 people dead. (File: AFP)

By AFP | Beirut
Wednesday, 20 May 2015

ISIS militants were locked in fierce battles with Syrian government forces Wednesday on the northern and eastern edges of ancient Palmyra, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting was raging near security buildings in northern Palmyra, including the regime's local state security branch, and close to the city's notorious prison, in the east.

In northwestern Idlib province, which is almost fully in rebel hands, the Observatory said 22 civilians were killed Tuesday in a regime air raid on a border village.

The militant offensive on world heritage site Palmyra began on May 13 and has since left more than 350 people dead.

"Both sides are firing mortar rounds on each other, and regime war planes are shelling the northern parts," the Observatory said.

Mohammad, an activist originally from Palmyra, told AFP that the city was suffering from water shortages and intermittent electricity.

"A large number of people from the city's north have been displaced into other neighbourhoods. Some are sleeping in the streets," he said.

On Monday, IS jihadists seized two gas fields north of Palmyra that the regime had been using to generate electricity for areas under its control.

Antiquities officials fear that IS wants to destroy Palmyra's pre-Islamic cultural treasures, which include colonnaded streets and ancient citadels.

The city is also strategically located at the crossroads of key highways leading west to Damascus and Homs, and east to Iraq.

In Idlib, a regime air raid on the opposition-controlled village of Darkush left at least 22 civilians dead on Tuesday.

Darkush lies on the Syrian-Turkish border, just 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of Ariha, one of the last remaining regime bastions in Idlib province.

Also on Tuesday, a rebel coalition including Al-Qaeda's Syria branch seized control of the Al-Mastumah camp -- the largest military base in Idlib.

A huge blast and fierce explosions rocked the site, and rebels swiftly overran the base as regime forces fled south to Ariha.

According to the Observatory and Syria's state television, a teacher was killed and at least 20 students wounded Wednesday when mortar rounds landed on their school in Damascus.

Syria's conflict began in March 2011 with peaceful anti-government demonstrations, but has evolved into a complex war that has left more than 220,000 people dead.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2015 KSA 13:44 - GMT 10:44
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/05/20/ISIS-Syria-regime-forces-battle-near-Palmyra.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Insurgents seize Syrian army base in Idlib

Rebel fighter fires a vehicle's weapon during what the rebels said is an offensive to take control of the al-Mastouma army base near Idlib city. (Reuters)

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Insurgents have seized a Syrian army base in Idlib province, a monitoring group said on Tuesday, expanding their grip in the northwestern part of the country, according to Reuters news agency.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian troops withdrew from the Mastouma military base after heavy clashes with Islamist-led insurgents and headed towards the northern town of Ariha, one of the last government strongholds in the province.

Syrian state television said army units at the base moved to reinforce defense lines in the town of Ariha.

Houssam Abu Bakr, a leader in the Ahrar al-Sham group which is a member of the rebel alliance that took the base, said the fighters will continue their push towards Ariha and other areas.

“The base is liberated and now the fighting is west of Mastouma. What is left of the army withdrew,” he told Reuters via the Internet.

The base is east of the town of Jisr al-Shughour, which was captured by the Sunni Islamist insurgents in April, an advance that brought them closer to the coastal areas that form the heartland of the minority Alawite sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.

It has been one of the toughest periods for Assad since the first two years of the conflict, which spiralled out of protests against his rule during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

Last Update: Tuesday, 19 May 2015 KSA 20:32 - GMT 17:32
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/05/19/Insurgents-seize-Syrian-army-base-in-Idlib-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Syria regime helicopter comes down in Aleppo province

Jihadist accounts on Twitter said ISIS had shot down the helicopter using anti-aircraft missiles. (File Photo: Reuters)

By AFP | Beirut
Sunday, 24 May 2015

ISIS group supporters and a monitoring group said jihadists shot down a government helicopter in northern Syria early Sunday, but state media said the aircraft had suffered technical problems.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIS had brought down the helicopter after midnight near the Kweyris air base in the east of Aleppo province.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said at least one crew member had been killed but "the fate of the rest is unknown."

Jihadist accounts on Twitter said ISIS had shot down the helicopter using anti-aircraft missiles.

They posted the names of three crew members they said had been killed and posted pictures of a helicopter in flames.

But Syrian state television said the aircraft had crashed because of technical problems.

"A helicopter crashed after takeoff from Kweyris airport in Aleppo province because of technical faults and the crew were killed," it reported.

ISIS fighters have surrounded the air base since March 2014 and have fought fierce clashes with its garrison.

The Syrian government has used helicopters to drop so-called barrel bombs on rebel-held areas of Aleppo province.

The crude weapons -- made from oil drums, gas cylinders or water tanks, packed with explosives and scrap metal -- have killed hundreds of civilians, drawing condemnation from human rights groups.

President Bashar al-Assad has denied they are being used.

Last Update: Sunday, 24 May 2015 KSA 14:22 - GMT 11:22
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2015/05/24/Syria-regime-helicopter-comes-down-in-Aleppo-province.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

ISIS militants release chilling photographs of the horrific conditions inside Palmyra prison where Assad's soldiers once tortured thousands

• Terror group has released images from inside notorious Tadmor Prison
• ISIS jihadis freed the prisoners held there after seizing of Palmyra last week
• Images shows tiny cells with no bedding and a hole in the floor as a toilet
• Prisoners were held in total darkness in windowless stone-walled cells
• Prison was also the scene of the massacre of thousands of prisoners in 1980, ordered by current the president's uncle, Rifaat al-Assad

By John Hall for MailOnline

Published: 09:08 GMT, 28 May 2015 | Updated: 13:57 GMT, 28 May 2015

Militants fighting for the Islamic State have released images of the horrific conditions in which those opposed to the Assad regime were kept at the notorious Tadmor Prison in Syria.

Following their capture of Palmyra last Thursday, ISIS jihadis released dozens of prisoners from the ancient city's jail, which is famous for the torture and summary execution of those held there.

Images of the now empty prison show tiny windowless jail cells where those accused of committing crimes were held in total darkness once the huge steel doors slammed shut.

The only semblance of a toilet in the cells is a small hole in the floor, and even the corridors and communal areas are seen covered in mould - suggesting the building is riddled with damp and unlikely to have any sort of heating during Syria's long and bitterly cold winters.

+11
Terrible conditions: Images of the now empty prison show tiny windowless jail cells where those accused of committing crimes were held in total darkness once the huge steel doors slammed shut

+11
Horror: The new photographs reveal how conditions at the prison have hardly changed in decades - with prisoners held in disturbingly small cells with cold stone walls with no lighting or bedding

+11
Governor's office: Tadmor Prison was the scene of a horrific massacre on June 27, 1980 following an Islamist Muslim Brotherhood assassination attempt on the then president, Hafez al-Assad

+11
Jail break: This picture shared on several pro-ISIS Twitter account claims to show prisoners celebrating with their liberators after being freed from the notorious Tadmur prison by ISIS fighters in the city of Palmyra

Although the images of the now-deserted jail were released as part of a propaganda exercise by ISIS terrorists, they show a building notorious for the guards' brutal treatment of prisoners and even a state-sponsored massacre of those held there in the early 1980s.

The new photographs reveal how conditions at the prison have hardly changed in decades - with prisoners held in disturbingly small cells with cold stone walls with no lighting or bedding.

The corridors of the prison are crumbling and the entire building looks as thought it was abandoned decades years ago. It is hard to believe the prison was crammed full of prisoners just last week.

Tadmor Prison was the scene of a horrific massacre on June 27, 1980 following an Islamist Muslim Brotherhood assassination attempt on the then president, Hafez al-Assad.

The day after the attempted attack, the president's brother Rifaat al-Assad ordered the country's Defence Brigades to enter the jail and butcher the prisoners. It is estimated that more than one thousand people were killed in the cells, dormitories and corridors of the prison.

Chilling footage shows conditions inside Palmyra prison

+11
History: Tadmor Prison was the scene of a horrific massacre of thousands of prisoners on June 27, 1980 following an Islamist Muslim Brotherhood assassination attempt on the then president, Hafez al-Assad

+11
Makeover: ISIS have already decorated the entrance to the prison with Islamic slogans written in black paint

+11
Sentry: These sand steps lead up to a watchtower where prison guards could keep an eye on the prisoners

ISIS release footage of the seized ancient ruins of Palmyra

ISIS is accused of executing hundreds of people in and around Palmyra since it swept into the oasis city last week after a lightning advance across the desert from its stronghold in the Euphrates Valley to the east.

But they have also released propaganda images showing the terrorists releasing prisoners from Tadmor Prison - with the convicts seen embracing one another in the streets after being freed.

Yesterday the extremists 'called people to watch' as they executed 20 local men in a Roman ampitheatre in the ancient Syrian city.

The men were shot dead in the restored ruin, which had been used for an annual festival in the city, in front of the crowd. The murdered locals were accused of being government supporters, according to a report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

'IS executed 20 men by firing on them in front of a crowd gathered in Palmyra's Roman theatre, after accusing them of fighting for the Syrian regime,' Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

He added: 'IS gathered a lot of people there on purpose, to show their force on the ground.'

+11
Takeover: ISIS raised their flag over an ancient citadel in Palmyra while state television is reporting they have killed hundreds of women and children

+11
Many of the ancient Roman buildings in Palmyra have been standing for thousands of years

+11
Chilling: The short video released by the local pro-ISIS media company Aamaq News shows thick black smoke rising over Roman ruins that have stood for thousands of years in the central Syrian desert city

+11
Sickening: A picture sent by activists to a Western journalist shows a row of men lying in pools of blood in a street in Palmyra last week. At least four of the men had been decapitated

Road to Palmyra deserted but inside the city people celebrate

The images of Tadmor prison emerged as the leader of Al Qaeda's branch in Syria says they have no plans to attack the West and denies that the so-called Khorasan group exists.

The Syrian known as Abu Muhammed al-Golani, who heads the Nusra Front, says the aim of his group is to march to the capital Damascus and bring down President Bashar Assad's government.

He said in an interview with the Al-Jazeera TV aired last night that 'there is nothing called Khorasan group. We heard this from the Americans only.'

Washington says the Khorasan group is a special cell within Nusra focused on plotting attacks against Western interests.

Al-Golani said that the directions they have received from Al Qaeda's leadership are 'not to use Syria for attacks against the West and Europe.


ISIS VOWS NOT DESTROY RUINS - BUT WILL 'PULVERISE' THE STATUES
ISIS has claimed it will not destroy the ancient ruins at Palmyra - only the 'statues miscreants used to pray for'.

The extremist militants, who have already smashed up countless precious historical relics across Syria and Iraq, has apparently decided the much-loved UNESCO World Heritage site is worth saving.

Its loss, should it come to that, has been described as a crime against humanity.

In a radio broadcast, they revealed they would spare the vast majority of the ancient city from their bulldozers - but were making one exception.

The IB Times reported the short broadcast, apparently made by ISIS commander Abu Leith on rebel network Alwan (Colour) FM, promised: 'Concerning the historical city, we will preserve it and it will not undergo damages, but what we will do is to pulverise statues that the miscreants used to pray for.

'As for the historical monuments, we will not touch it with our bulldozers as some tend to believe.'

ISIS release Palymyra prison photos where Assad soldiers tortured thousands | Daily Mail Online

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Nusra takes last regime-held town in Syria’s Idlib

a fighter from Syria's al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front holds his group flag as he stands in front of the governor building in Idlib province, north Syria. (AP)

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Thursday, 28 May 2015

A rebel coalition led by Al Qaeda's Syria franchise on Thursday seized Ariha, the last remaining government-held town in the northwestern province of Idlib, a monitor said, according to AFP.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Al Nusra Front and its allies captured the city after fierce clashes with regime forces, including Hezbollah fighters, who were then seen pulling out.

“Jaish al-Fatah has taken full control of the city of Ariha after a lightning offensive that ended with a heavy pullout of regime forces and their allies Hezbollah from the western side of the city,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Jaish al-Fatah, or Army of Conquest, is the name of the coalition which comprises Al-Nusra Front and its allies -- mostly Islamist rebel groups.

The Britain-based monitor said dozens of regime military vehicles were seen pulling out of Ariha.

Ariha, which was home to 40,000 people before the conflict began, was the last remaining government-held city in Idlib province which borders Turkey.

The Army of Conquest coalition has won a string of victories in Idlib, including taking the provincial capital on March 28 and the key town of Jisr al-Shughur on April 25.

[With AFP]

Last Update: Friday, 29 May 2015 KSA 07:15 - GMT 04:15
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/05/28/Al-Qaeda-allies-take-last-regime-held-city-in-Syria-s-Idlib-.html

 

[Falcon29]

Arab nations you need to step up armed support of rebels. We can't allow Iran to break morale of rebels and prolong this war. Iran's goal in Syria is to stop rebel gains at least until nuclear negotiations come to an end. They don't want to lose a card to play. But they won't take drastic measures in order to avoid tensions. So this is an opportunity for Arabs to take advantage of situation. If our people want this to prolong than that is tragic. It is US/Israeli policy on Syria. We should do opposite and end it quickly.
.............
Pro-Assad daily: Iran preparing Idlib offensive


BEIRUT – A top pro-Assad daily in Lebanon has reported that Iran has deployed troops into northwest Syria in preparation for a counterattack in Idlib.

“During the last [few] days, and through a joint Syrian-Iranian-Iraqi decision, more than 20,000 Iranian, Iraqi, and Lebanese fighters have poured into the Idlib area,” As-Safir reported in a dramatic article published Tuesday.

The report said that the new troops had been sent to the regime’s front lines in the northern Hama province village of Jourin and areas in the southern part of the Idlib province, which rebels seized last week following months of sweeping advances.

As-Safir mentioned Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani’s visit to the area, saying that the famed general was “accompanied by units that took part in fighting in Iraq, and in the recapturing of [the country’s] Salaheddine [province].”

According to As-Safir, “the mobilization in northern Syria is unprecedented [with regard to] Iranian and Iraqi presence in Syria since the outbreak of the war on [the country] four years ago.”

“A mobilization of this size registers as a break from the undeclared Iranian-Turkish understanding, that direct and exposed confrontation between the two countries in Syria is to be avoided.”

The pro-Syrian daily also cited Arab sources as saying that “the Iranians, who hesitated after the fall of Idlib, in preparing for a counterattack, and underestimated Turkey’s plans in northern Syria, now see the Syrian front as a priority, in the open confrontation from Iraq to [the Lebanese-Syrian] Qalamoun [border region] and Yemen.”

The report in As-Safir comes just days after Soleimani’s surprise visit to the Jourin front, after which the Qods Force commander vowed that upcoming developments in Syria would soon “surprise” the world, Al-Quds al-Arabi reported.

“The world will be surprised by what we and the Syrian military leadership are preparing for the coming days,” the state Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) quoted Soleimani as saying.https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsRepo...dlib-offensive

..............................

 

[Scorpion]

Arab nations you need to step up armed support of rebels. We can't allow Iran to break morale of rebels and prolong this war. Iran's goal in Syria is to stop rebel gains at least until nuclear negotiations come to an end. They don't want to lose a card to play. But they won't take drastic measures in order to avoid tensions. So this is an opportunity for Arabs to take advantage of situation. If our people want this to prolong than that is tragic. It is US/Israeli policy on Syria. We should do opposite and end it quickly.
.............
Pro-Assad daily: Iran preparing Idlib offensive


BEIRUT – A top pro-Assad daily in Lebanon has reported that Iran has deployed troops into northwest Syria in preparation for a counterattack in Idlib.

“During the last [few] days, and through a joint Syrian-Iranian-Iraqi decision, more than 20,000 Iranian, Iraqi, and Lebanese fighters have poured into the Idlib area,” As-Safir reported in a dramatic article published Tuesday.

The report said that the new troops had been sent to the regime’s front lines in the northern Hama province village of Jourin and areas in the southern part of the Idlib province, which rebels seized last week following months of sweeping advances.

As-Safir mentioned Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani’s visit to the area, saying that the famed general was “accompanied by units that took part in fighting in Iraq, and in the recapturing of [the country’s] Salaheddine [province].”

According to As-Safir, “the mobilization in northern Syria is unprecedented [with regard to] Iranian and Iraqi presence in Syria since the outbreak of the war on [the country] four years ago.”

“A mobilization of this size registers as a break from the undeclared Iranian-Turkish understanding, that direct and exposed confrontation between the two countries in Syria is to be avoided.”

The pro-Syrian daily also cited Arab sources as saying that “the Iranians, who hesitated after the fall of Idlib, in preparing for a counterattack, and underestimated Turkey’s plans in northern Syria, now see the Syrian front as a priority, in the open confrontation from Iraq to [the Lebanese-Syrian] Qalamoun [border region] and Yemen.”

The report in As-Safir comes just days after Soleimani’s surprise visit to the Jourin front, after which the Qods Force commander vowed that upcoming developments in Syria would soon “surprise” the world, Al-Quds al-Arabi reported.

“The world will be surprised by what we and the Syrian military leadership are preparing for the coming days,” the state Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) quoted Soleimani as saying.https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsRepo...dlib-offensive

..............................

I hope we do something about it and not leave it to the Majosis.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

A Syrian Air Force MiG has been shot down over Deraa:

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Rebels hit a regime tank in Thalah Airbase, Sweida:

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

BMP was hit with AT-13:

 

[UAE]

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Iran brings home body of top general killed in Syria| Reuters

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Three Syrian officers killed as IS downs helicopter | Zee News
Last Updated: Saturday, June 13, 2015 - 22:36

Damascus: Three Syrian officers were killed when their helicopter was downed by Islamic State (IS) militants in the northern province of Aleppo, a monitor group reported on Saturday.

The helicopter was downed by the IS overnight in the vicinity of the Kwers airbase, which is besieged by the IS militants in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Separately, the London-based watchdog group said the militant groups targeted government troops` positions in the districts of Ashrafiyeh and Khalidiyeh in northern Aleppo, adding that the Syrian forces fired two surface-to-surface missiles on the rebel-held district of Bani Zaid, with no reports on losses yet.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Syria’s economy more than halves during conflict
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/economy/2015/06/24/Syria-s-economy-more-than-halves-during-conflict.html