Oct 13, 2014, Al Masdar: West Hama Road Liberated by Tiger Forces; Salma is on the Verge of Liberation:
“The main road to the villages of Al-‘Aziziyyeh, Al-Tamana’a, and Al-Jayid in western Hama are now under Syrian Arab Army control, following a successful military operation earlier today. The SAA’s Tiger Forces – led by Col. Soheil Al-Hassan – stormed Jabhat Al-Nusra positions outside of the village of Al-‘Aziziyyeh, killing over 20 militants and wounding a dozen others, before declaring the road under Syrian Government control. The road overlooks the besieged village off Al-Haweeja in west Hama; it is used by Jabhat Al-Nusra as a nest for snipers.
In northeast Latakia, the National Defense Forces (NDF) have liberated the surrounding hills near the rebel-controlled village of Salma. The NDF and SAA have launched a cooperative offensive in northeast Latakia, aimed at reclaiming the rest of the Turkish border within the province. According to a military source in Latakia, the SAA and NDF are currently on the fringes of Salma, overlooking the town from the southwest. The rapid advance into the vicinity of Salma has forced Jabhat Al-Nusra and Islamic Front militants to fortify their positions and seek reinforcements from Idlib and Turkey.”
Oct 13, Al Masdar: SAA Captures ISIS Base in Deir Ezzor; Scores of ISIS Fighters Killed:
“The Syrian Arab Army’s 104th Brigade of the Republican Guard liberated the imperative Al-Ba’ajeen School in the Jubeileh Quarter of Deir Ezzor City on Saturday. The school was used by the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) as a control-and-command center for all terrorist operations in the Deir Ezzor District. According to a military source, the 104th Brigade killed over 60 militants and wounded/captured 30 more in the process of liberating the school.
The Syrian Air Force carried out a wave of airstrikes over the weekend, targeting ISIS gatherings in the eastern Deir Ezzor district of Al-Mayadeen. The airstrikes destroyed 2 pick-up trucks mounted with 23 mm machine gun turrets and scores of ISIS militants. According to sources in Deir Ezzor, 2 ISIS field commanders were killed during the airstrike, including Abu Khabaab Al-Nidooneesi and Abu Saheeb Al-Yemeni. …Over 175 ISIS fighters have been killed over the last 10 days of fighting in the Deir Ezzor District.”
Oct 13, 2014, Al Masdar: Syrian Army Downs Reconaissance Drone; 9 Villages Liberated in Southern Aleppo:
“On Saturday, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) downed a reconnaissance drone in the southern Aleppo village of Al-‘Adnaniyyeh.
…On Friday and early Saturday, the Syrian Arab Army and National Defense Forces (NDF) liberated 9 villages in southern Aleppo near the As-Safira District, after 2 days of violent clashes with ‘Ahrar Al-Sham. Last weekend, ‘Ahrar Al-Sham captured the villages of Bashkawi, ‘Umm Al-Jarran, Qashouta, Al-Wawiyya, Al-Barzani, Rassim Al-Helou, Deemaan, Rassim Al-Sheikh, and Al-Hussaniyyeh, during a brief rebel offensive near Khanesser. One week later, the SAA and NDF regrouped and countered the offensive, taking back the villages controlled by the militants.
…The SAA broke the rebel siege of the Al-Rashideen District in west Aleppo, after retaking the areas controlled by the Islamic Front militants in the western sector. Meanwhile, near the Aleppo Citadel, fierce firefights were reported a few hundred meters away between the SAA and Islamic Front; these clashes are still ongoing between the 2 groups.”
Oct 12, 2014, Eretz Zen: Lebanese Christian Villages in the Bekaa Valley Take Up Arms in Anticipation of Terrorist Attacks:
Oct 11, 2014, Electronic Resistance: The battles in Qalamoun: No turning back:
“Since the start of last summer, the fighters of the Syrian army and Hezbollah have managed to repel more than six major assaults in the direction of Lebanese territory or within Syrian territory, from the Qusayr countryside to Qalamoun – the battles in the wilderness near Brital and beyond on Sunday being the sixth such round. On the Syrian side of the front, the leadership of al-Nusra Front has been focusing on the town of Assal al-Ward. This town is closest among the towns of Qalamoun to the Lebanese border (opposite the town of Tufail). The wilderness area near the town also connects with those of Tufail, Serghaya, and Zabadani. For this reason, the militants have focused their attacks on this region, at a rate of one attack per week (though some attacks were very limited in scope).
In the six major attacks, as well as in the limited ones, the opposition militants, led by ISIS and al-Nusra Front, failed to make a breach that would allow them to restore their “lost glory” in Qalamoun. …
…the militants lose in each battle some of their “elite” fighters. Attacks like these cannot be carried out by ordinary fighters, after all, who just bear arms but are not skilled fighters and do not have the courage to stage daring attacks. So with each battle, al-Nusra Front and ISIS, as well as other factions, lose more and more experienced fighters. …
…“We know they will fight fiercely and carry out attacks that are close to being suicide. They may stage attacks in Lebanon to attract media and political attention. But with every attack, they will lose more and more of their veteran fighters. They will not be able to take things back to how they were before the liberation of Qalamoun last February.”
“Whenever they launch an attack, they will become less and less able to advance. Hezbollah and the Syrian army will not stand idly by, and will step up their special and security operations.” Summing up the plans of the Resistance leadership regarding the events in Qalamoun, the sources then said, “The decision to take part in the conflict in Syria has many motives, most notably to prevent al-Nusra Front and ISIS, and their allies, from controlling Syrian regions adjacent to the border with the Bekaa. This is a red line and crossing it is forbidden.””
Filed under: Syria