Haaretz- Hezbollah and Syrian army take new ground near Golan HeightsI don't like the Haaretz headline- but there it is.Check back for updates & if anyone has any relevant info please leave it in the comment section? Thanks in advance! Looking for verification of Hez and Iranian involvement, after all, this report is from Israeli media First of all- Glad for the Syrians. Israel has been assisting AQ all along in that area. Enabling them to take Syrian territory. So it's good that Syria is taking it back from the Israeli backed AQ terrorists- And make no mistake, AQ are Israel's terror army- Israel admits to treating at least 1,000 of these terrorists- claiming they are all civilians. Garbage. Even the UN has timidly acknowledged such goings on- Israel is AQ support, medical, military and even acts as their air force- That is undisputed established fact!
Syrian troops and fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah group seized several towns and villages south of Damascus on Wednesday, state media and activists said, advancing in a region bordering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The government counteroffensive aims at recapturing areas seized by Syrian rebels and the Al-Qaida (Israeli) -linked Nusra Front, whose recent advances had brought them closer to embattled President Bashar Assad's seat of power.
The government late last year lost large parts of the Quneitra region on the edge of the Golan. State television said troops gained control of the town of Deir al-Adas and the village of Deir Maker, as well as the nearby areas of Tal al-Arous and Tal al-Sarjeh.
"The operations are being led by Hezbollah's special forces," said Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "Their aim appears to be to eventually reach areas bordering the occupied Golan and set up a border zone under Hezbollah's control."(Is that the intention and goal, I don't know?)
The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists around the country, said Iranian volunteers are also taking part in the fighting. It said 20 opposition fighters were killed there on Tuesday alone. Hezbollah has been fighting alongside forces loyal to Assad, saying it is battling Sunni Islamic extremists who pose a threat to the whole region. Israeli officials accuse Iran, through Hezbollah, of working to establish a base in southern Syria to launch attacks against the Jewish state. Hezbollah denies seeking any military presence there.
Not relevant to news, but, image used by haaretzHezbollah fighters hold their party flags, as they parade during a rally to mark the 13th day of Ashoura in the southern market town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014.
On Jan. 18, an Israeli airstrike near the Golan killed seven people, including an Iranian general, a top Hezbollah commander and the son of a slain top commander. Hezbollah said the fighters were inspecting positions in the Golan. Part of the strategic plateau was seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Although Syrian state television and Hezbollah's Al-Manar satellite channel purportedly reported live from Deir al-Adas, a rebel spokesman said they only captured the town briefly before being forced out.
Gen. Ibrahim Jbawi, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army's southern front, said the fighting killed or wounded 200 government forces and Hezbollah fighters. He said rebels also destroyed 13 tanks. His report could not be independently confirmed.
"The (Syrian) regime is trying to regain some of its standing" in the area, Jbawi said.
Israel's Health Ministry claims that around 1,000 Syrians - exclusively civilians (Lies out and out lies! ) - have been admitted into nearby hospitals, but other actors such as the UN have reported evidence of Israeli figures meeting with figures east of the Syrian-Israeli border who appeared to be combatants.
Israel can claim they are treating civilians- common sense tells us all that other then a few for the cameras- Israel has been treating combatants the entire time- So, Israel's Health Ministry has verified for us all that they have treated around 1,000 "Syrians"- 99.9 percent combatants and quite likely most if not all of them are NOT Syrians.UPDATE #1: NYT"s
BEIRUT — Syrian troops backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters swept south of the capital Damascus on Wednesday, seizing strategic hills and villages from rebels and a local al-Qaida affiliate near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
State media and opposition activists said the surprise counteroffensive aims at forcing back rebels
State television said troops on Wednesday gained control of the town of Deir al-Adas and the village of Deir Maker, as well as the nearby areas of Tal al-Arous and Tal al-Sarjeh south of the capital.
A statement by the Syrian armed forces said the "successes" were important because they severed supply lines and communication between "terrorist outposts" in the Damascus countryside, the southern Daraa province and Quneitra
UPDATE #2: The US warns that 20,000 fighters, from more then 90 countries, including the US are heading for Syria to fight alongside ISIS- So, how does the US know with certainty that 20,000 fighters are headed to Syria?Did they organize the fighters? Did they participate in recruiting these fighters?
Official warns of ‘unprecedented’ influx of 20,000 foreign fighters into Syria as Hezbollah fighters, backed by the Assad regime, advance in country’s southThe fresh assault came as a top US intelligence official warned of an “unprecedented” influx of 20,000 foreign fighters into Syria from over 90 countries, the majority of whom are looking to fight alongside the Islamic State and who pose a risk to their home countries upon their return.In his statement before the House homeland security committee on Wednesday, the director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Nicholas Rasmussen, said that of the 20,000 foreign fighters who have travelled to Syria, 3,400 of those are from western countries, including over 150 Americans who either travelled to Syria or attempted to do so.
UPDATE # 3: HaaretzSyrian flag flying- Haaretz imagery
The operation reflects an attempt by Syrian President Bashar Assad to push the rebels out of areas they took control over in the second half of 2014, as well as his fear that opposition progress serves Israel.
Which it does!
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