US Targets Syrian Military Over Weekend: Report
http://www.activistpost.com/2015/12/us-targets-syrian-military-over-weekend-report.html
Four US-led coalition warplanes launched nine rockets on one of Syrian Arab Army locations in Dier Al Zour province yesterday evening on the 6th of December 2015.
Their attack claimed the lives of at least three Syrian soldiers and injured more than thirteen others in addition to destroying many military vehicles, armored vehicles, machine guns, and other kind of ammunition belonging to the Syrian Arab Army.
The Syrian foreign ministry, considers this to be an aggressive act and an obstruction of the Syrian Arab Army’s efforts in fighting terrorists. The Syrian Foreign and Expatriate Ministry addressed this position in two messages to the United Nations United Council.
Earlier, on 10th October 2015, two US-led coalition F16-aircraft violated the airspace of Aleppo province and bombed two power plants leaving the Syrian people in the area without power
Earlier this year, on 18th of March, Syrian Air Defenses Forces shot down a US-led coalition drone that was flying over the Syrian Presidential palace in Lattakia province. The drone was the same kind that the US uses for spying and assassinations in Afghanistan.
Syria: Kremlin responds to CIA TOW missiles: dozens of T-90 tanks deployed to the south of Aleppo
http://www.difesaonline.it/mondo-militare/siria-il-cremlino-risponde-ai-missili-della-cia-decine-di-carri-armati-t-90-schierati
English translate: 12- 06- 2015 (Photo: MoD Fed. Russian / web) IZAKOVIC
Moscow has sent to Syria a first armored attack force consisting of T-90 tanks to support the upcoming campaign to the south of Aleppo. The presence of tanks of the third generation is motivated by the ability of the enemy (Isis- rebels supported by the US) to use the TOW missiles (*), capable of destroying less advanced armored platforms such as the T-72 tank standards Damascus has heavy 41 tons.
The T-90 weighs 47 tons. And 'it armed with a 125 mm cannon and anti-tank missiles AT-11 Sniper. In addition to the standard passive armor, it is protected in front by the third generation of explosive reactive armor Kontact-5 ERA, integrated with the electro-optical system "Shtora" (**).
The T-90 is the flagship of the Russian armored forces, pending the entry into the production of the universal modular fighting platform "Armyrmata". Syrian media claim that the T-90 will be led into battle by loyalist troops, but it seems highly unlikely and is clearly a propaganda stunt.
The technology of the latest version of the T-90 is jealously guarded by Moscow and its "surrender" to the enemy is not deemed acceptable by the Russian General Staff (as was the case for Iraqi Abrams, "given away" to the enemy without a fight). Despite their presence has been confirmed in Chechnya and Ukraine, the Syrian context is the first redeployment in a war zone for the Russian army T-90.
The new Russian countermove should be seen as the latest attempt to give a new impetus to the troops of the Syrian government in the civil war and counteract the effect of TOW antitank missile.
The presence of the T-90, is intended as a game-changer, is a clear response to anti-tank missiles of the rebels, rivals to the regime provided by the countries behind the CIA program. The turret of the T-90 is wrapped with reactive plates able to clear all anti-tank missiles with shaped charge. To put them out of order, then, would serve missiles with double charge. Syrian media report that the tanks T-90 will join the Fourth Armored Division of the Republican Guard, commanded by Syrian Ali Maher Assad, younger brother of President Bashar Assad.
Until recently the six Russian T-90 were sent to Syria to protect the city of Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. Now at least twenty T90A are already in Syria. Their number could double in the next 96 hours in support of Syrian armored divisions consisting of about 200 T-72 (another 200 T-72 would be a protection of the nerve centers of the country).
(*) Program TOW
The TOW program overseen by the CIA, is totally separate from that what failed miserably fielded by the Pentagon that, as intended, would have to affect the outcome of the other led war in Syria, one in the north-east of the country against the Islamic state. The CIA has launched the TOW program in early 2014, with the aim of countering Damascus providing training, arms, ammunition and anti-tank missiles: tools that would prove essential to bridge the gap with the heavy equipment of the government loyalist. The missiles arrive in Syria from Saudi Arabia, after delivery from the CIA. The plan, as described by the Pentagon, was intended to exert sufficient military pressure against Assad's forces and convince him to a political compromise. A sort of "invitation" to the negotiating table, perhaps avoiding the collapse that would unleash chaos in the country. The arrival on the scene of Russia, however, has upset the whole strategy of the CIA. The TOW program, despite everything, continues.
Saudi Arabia reiterates its support (none other than the projection mirror the US) to the rebels. Browse around a clause in the program: the missiles are delivered in limited quantities. To get supplies, the rebels must demonstrate that they possess the same pitchers delivered. A clause, we do not know how this can really work, to avoid the systems can end up on the black market. In 2013, Saudi Arabia has purchased 13,975 anti-tank missiles, providing fully delivered. By contract, the Saudi government must inform the Member States of final destination of the missiles. The US approval is implied.
(**) Defensive Aids System Shtora-1
The Defensive Aid System Shtora-1 protects the tank from missile guided by SACLOS (Semi-Automatic Command to Line Of Sight) the laser. And is considered effective against missiles TOW, HOT, AT-4, and AT-5 Sagger, as well as against some ATGM.
Developed by the Research and Production Corporation Zenith it entered service in 1993. It is a warning system that detects the threat and directs the laser turret automatically in the direction of the threat, triggering then shielding.
The DAS Shtora-1 is formed by a train of interference electro-optical (jammer, the modulator and the control panel), grenades for shielding against enemy "illuminations", an alarm system precision laser and the main control panel that processes information from the sensors, activating the defensive screen.
ISIS Makes Major Move In Yemen, Assassinates Aden's Governor After Executing Two Dozen Houthis (Video)
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-06/isis-makes-major-move-yemen-assassinates-adens-governor-after-executing-two-dozen-ho
One point we’ve been keen on driving home as the war in Syria intensifies is that while the sheer number of combatants and the overt involvement of at least seven world powers certainly means that among the many conflicts raging in the Mid-East, the war in Syria is the fight that matters most for the non-Arab world, it’s important not to miss the forest for the trees.
That is, it’s critical to see the bigger picture here, and that entails understanding how Syria is related to the conflicts raging in Iraq, Yemen, and to a lesser extent, Afghanistan. Iran is determined to expand its regional influence. Tehran is the power broker in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon and it’s no coincidence that the Houthis in Yemen are backed by the Iranians and neither is it a coincidence that Iran is rumored to be funneling weapons and money to its old enemy the Taliban in Afghanistan. This is about checking the spread of Sunni extremism and, concurrently, curtailing and diminishing Saudi influence. While Iran and the Taliban make for strange bedfellows (the militants are, after all, Sunni extremists), Tehran is determined to check the spread of Islamic State and with the IRGC, Hezbollah, and the Quds-controlled Shiite militias already fighting ISIS on two fronts (Syria and Iraq), the Ayatollah isn’t particularly thrilled about the prospect of an expanded ISIS presence on its eastern border. Supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan (with whom Iran nearly went to war in 1998), should help to check ISIS gains in the country and has the added benefit of keeping the US off guard which itself speaks to how quickly alliances can change as it was just 12 years ago that Iran assisted the US in picking Taliban and al-Qaeda targets (read more here).
As for ISIS, the official line is that everyone is an enemy. The Taliban are led by “illiterate warlords,” al-Qaeda are “a bunch of donkeys”, the Houthis are heretics as are the Iranians, the Saudis are just plain in the way in Yemen, and everyone else is an infidel. Of course there’s no telling what the group’s leadership really thinks given the support they undoubtedly receive from any number of states governed by “nonbelievers,” but we’ll leave that aside for now.
Ok, so why are we telling you this? Because on Sunday, ISIS killed the governor of the Yemeni port city of Aden in what amounts to the group’s most brazen attack in the country to date. As WSJ reports, “in a statement distributed on social media and translated by the extremist-tracking SITE Intelligence Group, an Aden-based branch of Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb that killed governor Jaafar Saad and several of his guards as his convoy traveled through the city.”
Sunday's explosion could be heard about 10 km (seven miles) away," Reuters reports. "Medics said the body of Saad and the others who were killed were burned beyond recognition." In a statement ISIS said it detonated a car packed with explosives as Saad's convoy drove by. The group promised more operations against "the heads of apostasy in Yemen". Here's the statement: (photo)
Whether or not an expanded ISIS presence in Yemen will benefit the Saudi cause largely depends on whether the Houthis become Islamic State's main target in the country, or whether they intend to wage a protracted war against pro-Hadi forces.
