Syrian Revolution News & Discussions

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Russian intervention in Syria likely intended to force the West to re-engage with Russia on its terms
IHS Jane's Country Risk Daily Report
07 October 2015
EVENT

On 7 October 2015, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported that Russian warships in the Caspian Sea had fired 26 Kalibr-NK cruise missiles, hitting a wide range of targets in Syria. The Ministry of Defence released videos purportedly showing the missile launch.

The targets of the missile strike by the Caspian flotilla were located in eastern and northwestern Syria. Using cruise missiles allowed Russia to avoid deploying aircraft in areas where US fighter jets are known to fly. The strike required prior military co-ordination with both Iran and Iraq, whose airspace the missiles transited to reach Syria. While the missile strike was likely costly (with conservative estimates of USD50 million), President Vladimir Putin probably calculated that this action, complemented by the timely video release, represented an effective show of strength by Russia to impose its decisive influence over the proxy war in Syria.
Russian intervention in Syria likely intended to force the West to re-engage with Russia on its terms - IHS Jane's 360

 

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Russian Navy demonstrates cruise missile capability with Syria strikes
Jeremy Binnie, London and Neil Gibson, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
07 October 2015

A still from a video released by the Russian MoD on 7 October 2015 shows a Buyan-M corvette launching a Kalibr-NK land-attack cruise missile, purportedly at targets in Syria. Credit: Russian MoD

Russia displayed its long-range cruise missile capability for the first time on 7 October, when it announced that warships on the Caspian Sea hit militant targets in Syria using Kalibr missiles.

The attack was first announced by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in a televised conversation with President Vladimir Putin. "This morning, ships from the Caspian Flotilla were brought in. Four destroyers launched 26 Kalibr cruise missiles at 11 targets," he said. "The results of the strikes confirmed the high effectiveness of the missiles at long range, almost 1,500 km."

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) then released a video showing a Gepard-class frigate and at least one Buyan-M-class corvette launching several missiles in sequence at night.
Russian Navy demonstrates cruise missile capability with Syria strikes - IHS Jane's 360

 

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In Syria spotted Chinese Beijing BJ2022 Light Utility Vehicles By Dylan Vosman - Oct 9, 2015

In Syria spotted Chinese Beijing BJ2022 light utility vehicles. The Beijing BJ2022 is a Chinese light utility vehicle. It is also referred as “Yongshi” or Brave Warrior. It was jointly developed by Beijing Auto Works and Chrysler.

A concept vehicle was revealed in 2002. Chinese Army got very interested in the project, as it was looking to replace the ubiquitous BJ212 and BJ2020 light utility vehicles. So a couple of prototypes were made specially for the Chinese army.

Eventually it has been adopted. Production of the the BJ2022 began in 2005. Deliveries to the Chinese Army began in 2007. In 2009 due to financial troubles in the US the Chrysler left the joint venture and granted Beijing Auto Works the rights to continue production of this vehicle under its own name.

Currently the BJ2022 is being produced in large numbers. It is the most widely used 4×4 vehicle in the Chinese army. It is also used by some paramilitary and law enforcement units.

In Syria spotted Chinese Beijing BJ2022 Light Utility Vehicles | Defence blog

 

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Two Shilka-4-23mm, destroyed, TOW:

 

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23 mm truck, destroyed, TOW:

 

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2 Tanks, destroyed, TOW:

 

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Buldozer, destroyed, TOW:

 

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T-72, destroyed, TOW:

 

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A Saudi Arabian official has reportedly disclosed that the Sunni kingdom sent Syrian rebels a new batch of one of the most effective weapons for battling against the Assad regime this week.

BBC correspondent Frank Gardner tweeted that a Saudi official confirmed the delivery of 500 TOW antitank missiles to the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The FSA is currently being squeezed from all directions by the Syrian military, Russian airstrikes, and competition from jihadist fighters, including ISIS.

The delivery of the TOW missiles — which have also been provided by the CIA — will increase the capabilities of the FSA against Syrian armor, and it would enable them to more effectively battle against Assad's recent military advances.

"Five hundred TOWs is not an inconsequential number," Jeffrey White, a defense fellow at The Washington Institute, told Business Insider.

"I don't think it will be a revolutionary event, but it will increase the attrition of regime armor, which will make it harder for the regime to conduct offensive operations."

TOW missiles, as Popular Mechanics notes, are guided missiles that could thoroughly damage tanks, armored carriers, and other vehicles that the Assad regime might send into the field. And, unlike other projectiles used against armored targets, such as RPGs, TOW missiles can be used from a considerable distance.

On Thursday, the FSA and other affiliated rebel units carried out a "tank massacre" after the Syrian government launched a large offensive backed by Russian airstrikes to retake northern portions of Hama province.

According to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, the rebel forces armed "with US-made TOW missiles … [and] other guided rockets ... caused the destruction … of over 15 armored cars, vehicles, and tanks."

REUTERS

White said that the rolling hills and plains in Hama and Idlib are ideally suited to the use of TOWs. Assad's armor has little protection or cover in the region and are ideal targets for the guided missiles.

The presence of these weapons has continued to cause extreme damage among Assad's forces as his offensive has continued into Friday.

The Syrian offensive in Hama is aimed at dislodging rebels from the region while creating a larger buffer between rebel forces and Syria's Alawite heartland in Latakia. The offensive has been backed by heavy Russian bombings, but it has so far failed to dislodge the rebels.

"There is an attempt by the regime to advance, but the situation is under our control," a rebel fighter involved in the counteroffensive against Assad's forces told Reuters.

The reported injection of an additional 500 TOW missiles from Saudi Arabia will be a big boost to the rebels.

The missiles, however, do nothing to counter Russia's continued airstrikes against rebel positions. And Russia is going after the TOW recipients.

In the past, Saudi Arabia and other US allies have suggested funneling man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADs) to the Syrian rebels to help shoot down Syrian, and now Russian, fighter jets. MANPADs are relatively easy-to-use shoulder-launched missiles that could reach enemy aircraft.

However, the US has consistently opposed this idea, as the weapons could conceivably end up in the hands of al Qaeda or its affiliates and be used to down a civilian airliner (or a US military aircraft). Saudi Arabia may also be reluctant to provide these weapons due to the risk of directly antagonizing Moscow and the US.

"If the TOWs are primarily used against Assad armor, that's not the same as being used against Russian personnel," White said.

"If the Saudis were to supply the rebels with surface-to-air missiles, that would be different."

Institute of Study of War


Syria's ground offensive against rebels started on Wednesday in its first close coordination with Russia. The offensive was aimed at four key regions across the provinces of Idlib, which is completely under rebel control, and the contested province of Hama.

The rebel's cache of TOWs, and the resulting "tank massacres," may also have the unintended consequence of forcing the Assad regime to change the nature of their offense.

"If this continues," White warned, "expect to see the [Syrian] regime move away from using armor and start using higher firepower and air operations as a solution."

 

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'Tank massacre': Rebels hit Syrian forces hard after initial offensive

The Syrian government's massive offensive in northern Hama has suffered an initial setback after multiple armored vehicles were destroyed in a melee of anti-tank guided-missile fire that activist media dubbed a "tank massacre."

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reported that rebel fighters in the north Hama region had met the joint Russian-Syrian assault by targeting the attacking regime forces on the ground "with US-made TOW missiles … [and] other guided rockets, which caused the destruction … of over 15 armored cars, vehicles, and tanks."

The Syrian regime on Wednesday launched an offensive backed by intense Russian airstrikes along four axes of attacks starting from a line of government-controlled positions approximately 25 kilometers north of Hama.

The offensive aims to push back a rebel salient dipping toward Hama, with government forces aiming to seize the town of Lataminah in the southernmost section of the rebel lines.

Meanwhile, an attack was also launched farther to the east to take Khan Sheikhoun as well as the Latamin and Sayyad heights, while another aimed for Atshan, and yet another farther to the west set the town of Kafr Nabudah as a goal.

The following videos document the use of TOW and other rocket systems by rebels during the fighting.

The Free Syrian Army-affiliated Division 13 destroys a tank near northern rural Hama's Masasneh checkpoint with TOW rocket.

Read the original article on Now Lebanon. Follow Now Lebanon on Facebook. Copyright 2015. Follow Now Lebanon on Twitter.
'Tank massacre': Rebels hit Syrian forces hard after initial offensive - Business Insider

 

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ISIS nears Aleppo despite Russian air strikes

A general view shows damaged buildings in the town of Darat Azzah, west of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, following reported bombings by government forces on Oct. 7. (AFP)

By Reuters | Beirut and Ankara
Saturday, 10 October 2015

ISIS fighters have seized villages close to the northern city of Aleppo from rival insurgents, a monitoring group said on Friday, despite an intensifying Russian air-and-sea campaign that Moscow says has targeted the militant group.

News of the advance came as the United States announced it was largely abandoning its failed program to train moderate rebels fighting ISIS and would instead provide arms and equipment directly to rebel leaders and their units on the battlefield.

The Obama administration is grappling with a dramatic change in the four-year-old Syrian civil war brought about by Moscow’s intervention in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

The Pentagon said on Friday it expected to hold new talks with Russia’s military on pilot safety in Syria’s war as soon as this weekend, as the former Cold War foes seek to avoid an accidental clash as they carry out rival bombing campaigns.

Russian air strikes
The Russian defense ministry said stepped-up air strikes on rebel positions in Syria killed 300 anti-Assad rebels and that it hit 60 ISIS targets over the last day. There was no independent confirmation of the death toll.

About 200 insurgents were killed in an attack on the Liwa al-Haqq group in Raqqa province while 100 died in Aleppo, the defense ministry said. Two ISIS commanders were among the dead in Russia’s most intense raids since it launched strikes in Syria 10 days ago. In previous updates Russia has reported hitting 10 targets daily.

However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the fighting, said there had been no significant advances by government forces backed by allied militia in areas where ground offensives were launched this week. “It’s back and forth,” said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Observatory.

Iran commander killed
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps said separately that one of its generals had been killed near Aleppo, once Syria’s most populous city. Iran, like Russia an Assad ally, says it has advisers in the country.

ISIS is now within 2 km of government-held territory on the northern edge of Aleppo, which has suffered widespread damage and disease during the civil war that erupted in the wake of protests against Assad.

Syria’s military, backed by Russia, Iran and allied militias, has launched a major attack in Syria’s west to recapture land lost to non-ISIS rebels near the heartland of Assad’s minority Alawite sect. That area is considered vital to Assad’s survival.

Last Update: Saturday, 10 October 2015 KSA 07:57 - GMT 04:57
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/10/ISIS-closes-in-on-Aleppo-despite-Russian-airstrikes.html

 

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