Link"If the government takes Boukamal, they will show that they can control this area and can push back U.S. proxiesProof of US failure if ISIS does not succeed against Syria's army... ponder that?
Syrian troops and allied militias, including Iraqi Shiite groups and the Lebanese Hezbollah, are now attempting to wrest control of the militants’ last stronghold in the country.Capturing Boukamal and gaining access to the border crossing will facilitate the flow of fighters and weapons between Syria and Iraq, while also helping Iran secure a land bridge to the Mediterranean, according to Fabrice Balanche, Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.Control over a section of the border with Iraq is also likely to boost Syria’s economy by allowing trade and exports to resume, he added.
In a broader scope, Balanche said the capture of Boukamal would serve as “proof of U.S. failure,” in eastern Syria and of increased Iranian influence in the country.Balanche has written extensively on developments in east Syria, about the implications of the Syrian government’s latest advance, including its impact on the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, Washington’s interests in Syria and, ultimately, the survivability of President Bashar Assad.*What would the capture of Boukamal mean for the government in Deir Ezzor?
The Syrian government in recent weeks has taken Deir Ezzor city and Mayadeen. The capture of Boukamal would mean that the three most important cities in Deir Ezzor province would be under government control. It will also be easy for Assad to take the countryside, so we should expect areas on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River (controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces) to fall under government control soon. However, northern parts of Deir Ezzor province will remain under SDF control until an agreement is brokered with Damascus.
The capture of Boukamal would give the Syrian government access to a border crossing into Iraq for the first time since 2012. What is the importance of this for Damascus, Baghdad, and Tehran?
The capture of Boukamal means that the Syrian government and allied Shiite militias would be slated to control a large part of the Syrian-Iraqi border. This means that there will be a facilitated flow of fighters and weapons between the two countries.Also, Iran could more easily secure a landbridge connecting its territory to both Syria and Iraq. This will allow Iran to dispatch weapons and fighters to both countries wherever it wants. This is a significant development because Iran has mostly relied on aviation to fly in weapons and fighters to Syria so far. But Iranian aviation is weak, and planes can be easily targeted. So this landbridge will be very important for the deployment of Shiite militias and Iranian troops between Syria and Iraq.For the Syrian government, access to a big part of the border with Iraq is also of economic significance. Before the conflict, Iraq was among the top markets for Syrian exports. A lot of manufactured goods and agricultural produce used to go into Iraq from Syria. So this would be good news for Syrian businessmen and the Syrian economy.Also, access to a border crossing with Iraq means that it would be possible to export Iraqi gas and oil to the Mediterranean through Syria. This will generate a significant amount of royalties for Syria from the transit of gas and oil. This economic factor is crucial for reconstruction and the survivability of the Assad regime
*Do you think that the Syrian government and the SDF will head toward a confrontation as ISIS retreats from eastern Syria?
It is a possibility. However, I think after ISIS withdraws the Syrian government will try a softer approach first. The Syrian government will try to broker a deal with the SDF for them to relinquish territory in Raqqa and eastern Syria. They will also ask the SDF to withdraw from the al-Omar oil fields in Deir Ezzor, Syria’s largest.
If the Kurds don’t accept the agreement, the government and Shiite militias will exert pressure on the SDF, by threatening to dispatch forces across the border into Kurdish-held regions such as Shadadi and east of the Euphrates River as well as areas around the al-Omar oil fields. We have already seen this happen in the Iraqi town of Sinjar last month. Kurds were driven out of the Kurdish-held area by Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militias who have now moved into the region.
Beyond a direct military confrontation, the Syrian regime can also strain the economy of Kurdish cantons in northern Syria by imposing a blockade. The government controls roads connecting the Kurdish canton of Afrin to Manbij and Aleppo. By cutting these roads, Damascus can prevent the delivery of food and medical supplies and obstruct trade. Also, the Turkish border is closed, and Iraqi forces control the Feshkhabour border crossing which is the only option for humanitarian organizations to bring supplies and specialists into northeast Syria. It is possible for Damascus to coordinate with Ankara and Baghdad to enforce a siege on Kurdish territories.
*Iranian-backed Iraqi militias crossed the border on Wednesday to help the Syrian army encircle Boukamal. Is this the first time Iraqi militias cross the border into Syria and is it a sign that more forces will deploy in the future?
I think this is the first time that Iraqi militias have crossed the border to enter Syria. Although there are thousands of Iranian-backed Iraqi forces already fighting in Syria, most of them have been flown in from Iraq and Iran. They did not deploy across the border.Also, Wednesday’s deployment signals to what I talked about before: We will see more deployment of Iraqi and other Iranian-backed Shiite militias. It is much easier for Iraqi forces just across the border in al-Qaim to cross the frontier and enter Syria now. We can expect more forces to come soon. Especially since these Iraqi militias will help the Syrian government put pressure on the
Syrian Democratic Forces to give up territory they captured in Deir Ezzor, Raqqa, and other traditionally Arab territories.
*What does the capture of Boukamal mean for the U.S.?
The U.S. originally wanted to enter and eventually retake eastern Syria. Between March and April 2017 it tried to send allied rebels it had trained in its base in the southern Syrian town of al-Tanf to Boukamal, but Iranian-backed forces blocked their advance.If the government takes Boukamal, they will show that they can control this area and can push back U.S. proxies. In other words, the capture of Boukamal would mark the failure of U.S. plans to retake eastern Syria and parts of the Iraqi border.
Al Boukamal/Abu Kamal, is, coincidentally, the claimed locale of al Baghdadi!SAA had taken this town, however ISIS, it was claimed, had taken half of it back. And apparently they're dragging Baghdadi alongside them? Link
ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is holed up in the eastern Syria town of Boukamal, according to a media outlet linked to the Syrian military. (doubtful on the linked to Syrian military)
Syrian opposition activists denied claims that al-Baghdadi was in Boukamal, also known as Abu Kamal, saying that the government is trying to make up for its losses it suffered while recapturing the city last week before again losing parts to extremists.
Syria's army declared victory over Boukamal on Thursday after a three-year occupation in the region. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIS reclaimed half of the city by Friday.
However.. via sputnikal Boukamal/Abu Kamal is safe in the hands of Syria's army. And SAA is looking ahead.
"The Syrian army, with support from the Russian Aerospace Forces, has recently retaken the city of Abu Kemal, the last Daesh terrorist stronghold in the eastern Syrian Governorate of Deir ez-Zor. Syrian Brigadier-General Heitham Hassoun and Syrian deputy Walid al Zuubi have revealed to Sputnik Arabic where the government troops will go next.
According to Brigadier-General Heitham Hassoun, there are several places where the Syrian army might strike next.
"The first is the liberation of Raqqa Governorate, which the US has occupied by the hands of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The second variant is to head towards Idlib Governorate," he told Sputnik Arabic.
The military official suggested that the army will opt for the Raqqa operation as it is located closer to the current deployment site of the Syrian troops and thus it won't be necessary to redeploy military equipment and manpower far away.
Heitham Hassoun also surmised that recent changes in Iraq will facilitate the operation. The borders and checkpoints are now controlled by Baghdad, he explained, and thus the SDF won't be able to freely cross the Iraq-Syrian border any longer. Besides, the Iraqi government has recently liberated numerous areas along its border with Syria from terrorists, he pointed out.
I hope that Syria get's all of her territory back. That said, I keep in mind that the US has built yet another military base in Raqqa.. Flashback November 4/2017: US Creates Yet Another Base in Syrian Annexed Territory: SDF/PKK
Syrian deputy Walid al Zuubi, meanwhile, suggested that the Syrian army will opt for Idlib Governorate.
There has been some controversy over the final liberation of Abu Kemal: on Friday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the Syrian army, with the support of Russia's Aerospace Forces, had retaken the settlement. A day later, however, the reports of some Western media sources claimed that Daesh has recaptured nearly 60 percent of its territory, squeezing the government troops out of the city.On Sunday, a representative of the Russian group of forces in Syria refuted all the reports, calling them "unfounded propaganda."
As of this moment it seems that Syria has taken Abu Kemal/ Boukamal. Baghdadi is surely not present. Because he doesn't exist in the real world.