BEIRUT (AP) -- The Latest on the developments in the war in Syria (all times local):7 p.m. The Russian military says the Syrian army, relying on Russian air cover, has fended off a massive rebel attack intended to break the siege of Aleppo, killing over 800 militants.
Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military's General Staff said about 5,000 militants launched an offensive late Sunday southwest of Aleppo in a bid to rupture the government's blockade of the rebel-held part of the city. Rudskoi told Monday's briefing that the rebels also lost 14 tanks, 10 other armored vehicles and over 60 gun trucks.
He said the al-Qaida linked Nusra Front spearheaded the offensive.Rudskoi said 324 civilians so far have left the militant-controlled part of Aleppo through corridors set by the Syrian government last Thursday. He said that 82 militants also have put down weapons.
“The Syrian army troops and Russian air force repelled a massive militant attack today. More than 800 militants were killed, and 14 tanks, 10 infantry fighting vehicles, and more than 60 technical vehicles with mounted weapons were destroyed,” Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy
Rudskoy noted that militants continued to pull reserves from other areas in an effort to undermine the government troops' resolve, and prevent the local population’s escape from the combat zone in an effort to use them as human shield.
To use the civilians as human shields- exactly as I had mentioned the other day in the post linked below regarding Russia's humanitarian operation..I've no doubt the rebels are threatening the civilians- After all they need dead civilians for the cameras- They need human shields. This is why NATO's thugs move into civilian areas. This is why the PKK took their destabilization to the cities of Turkey. They want dead bodies for the camera
“Thus, the terrorists executed four people attempting to exit through the humanitarian corridors yesterday in the Eastern part of Aleppo,” he said.
In case you missed this news: The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that one of its Mil Mi-8 helicopters was shot down in Syria on 1 August.
The MoD said the helicopter had delivered humanitarian aid to Aleppo and was returning to Humaymim Air Base when it was hit by ground fire as it flew over Idlib province. It added that the helicopter was carrying three crew and two Russian officers involved in the reconciliation process at the time.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov subsequently told journalists that the crew had died heroically as they attempted to crash the helicopter away from civilians on the ground.
I did see some of the imagery surrounding the shot down helicopter- And suspect the Russian soldiers (unsanctioned by the higher ups)- will be delivering some retribution for what was done to their comrades. Flashback! Washington to Make Final Offer to Moscow - Assad Transitions August 1 or else.....That's correct readers today was the day John Kerry said Assad had to start transitioning out or else!Do you all know when Kerry made that threat against Syria and Russia- JULY 13/2016- Just TWO DAYS ahead of the coup attempt in Turkey
" Frustrated by months of failure in Syria, the Obama administration is taking what might be its final offer to Moscow: Enhanced intelligence and military cooperation against the Islamic State and other extremist groups if Syria’s Russian-backed president Bashar Assad upholds a ceasefire with U.S.-supported rebel groups and starts a political transition, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, July 13.
“The target date for the transition is 1st of August,” Kerry told reporters two months ago, hoping to get Russia and Syria to halt military operations. “So either something happens in these next few months or they are asking for a very different track.”
Makes me wonder if it wasn't US/UK/Israeli special forces embedded with their terrorists that shot down the Russian helicopter? Could be!I'm going to update as new info becomes availableUPDATE: 7:00 PM EST-US Urges Russia/Syria to Stop Offensives
The United States has called on Russia and the Syrian government to refrain from offensive operations in Syria, as fighting continued on the day US Secretary of State John Kerry hoped a political transition could begin. "It is critical, obviously, that Russia restrain both itself and the Assad regime from conducting offensive operations, just as it is our responsibility to get the opposition to refrain from engaging in those operations," Kerry told reporters.
Rebel shelling kills civilians in Syria's Aleppo
Firas Maksad, a Washington DC-based Middle East analyst, said "Aleppo is key" for government efforts to keep supply lines open.
"For the opposition, on the other hand... this is really their last stand," he told Al Jazeera. "If they lose Aleppo, which they've held a major portion of now for about four odd years, they might as well have lost all the battle for Syria"
"The regime, backed by Iran and Russia, is seen to have the upper hand... the rebels are in a bad situation. If they manage to break that siege [on Aleppo], their situation at the negotiating table will improve but ever so slightly."
BTW: The US has launched airstrikes in Libya- As of today: August 1/2016 Also:
The United States-led air campaign against the Islamic State expanded into Libya on Monday in what Defense officials said was the start of a sustained offensive against the militant group there.
Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook said American drones and warplanes pounded a series of ISIS targets—including vehicles and a tank—in the coastal city of Sirte, one the jihadists’ most critical outposts beyond the territory it controls in Syria and Iraq. The airstrikes came in response to to a request for assistance from the United Nations-backed Libyan government, Cook said.
I had a couple of post regarding the planned US attack on Libya- which was set for the end of July- So August 1st it is!Related to Syria:
"Syrian Kurds" aka PKK/YPG Terrorists Reject Syrian Request to Leave Aleppo
U.S. worries Russian humanitarian operation in Syria may be 'ruse'
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Turkish Leader Brings Military Under More Civilian Authority